CENTENARY SPECIAL

Foreword
The Princess Royal celebrates a century of sail

Editor’s log
Now we are 100, says Paul Gelder
Opening shot
Almita, a sweetly shaped gaffer, shares a birthday with YM
Libby Purves
A hundred years of YM – and Libby’s been aboard for more than a third of them
Cunliffe on Cruising
Tom recalls the best of sailing times
A steady course
Mark Fishwick and a host of well-known sailing names share their reminiscences of Yachting Monthly
A barrel of laughs
Cartoonist Nick Newman pens some would-be birthday cards for YM’s 100th
Win a Legend 27 worth £45,000!
Our biggest-ever prize giveaway!
Just add water
Stunning sailing photographs from the best in the business

BOATS AND GEAR

New boat test: Southerly 42RS
Sparkling performance, precise handling and stability – is it all for real in a lifting-keel cruiser?
New boat test: Legend 27
Easy and light to sail, the Legend fits the bill for weekend sailing
Shoal-Draughtsmen
Maurice Griffiths changed the face of cruising, recounts his biographer, YM’s own Dick Durham
The weakest link
Are your shackles and anchor chain up to the job? Read the results of our destructive lab-test
New gear
The latest equipment to look out for at the chandlers

CRUISING

The nine lives of Wild Goose
With 40 years of lucky escapes behind her, Wild Goose has been blessed with the nine lives of a cat
Club-Class cruising
The first in a new series featuring yacht clubs from the Solent to Scotland. This month: the Isle of Wight
A day at the races
Throw your crew overboard in a war without rules – Anguilla’s very own Wacky Races!
Around the world in an Oyster Sloop
More than 100 years ago, Joshua Slocum defied the odds to sail around the world singlehanded
Landfalls: West Mersea & the Blackwater
Your guide to the backwaters that inspired Maurice Griffiths
The long weekend
Through the Caledonian Canal and down the North Sea, John Chadwick completes his ‘part-time’ cruise around Britain
The majestic Tamar
Sheltered sailing and memorable scenery in the River Tamar
Blue water letter
Marooned in Monemvasia – Rod Heikell gets more than he bargained for in a murky Mediterranean
The world’s best anchorage
Paul Gelder explores the San Blas islands PLUS the latest news from Gipsy Moth IV

SAILING SKILLS

Shakedown sail
Set your boat up for the season ahead and bid farewell to troublesome weather helm
Learning curve: A night in drag
With winds peaking at 50 knots, Mac McDiarmid made doubly sure his boat would stay put
Skipper’s tips
Bleeding engines and local flag sensibilities
Question of seamanship
Is there a better way to pilot through the shallows?
Any Questions
Are you nuts to use split pins?
A charge for the better
Free yourself from shorepower with better battery management. Mike Balmforth tells you how

REGULARS

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Readers’ letters
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Around the coast
Confessional