How safe is your boat on her mooring? We reveal horror stories of winter neglect ...
- Safe for the winter?
How safe is your boat on her mooring? We reveal horror stories of winter neglect and the Hamble?s deputy harbourmaster offers advice on checking your mooring before the storms strike. We also talk to four sailors about lay-up procedures - Cape Horn to starboard
Lin and Larry Pardey?s engineless
8.1m (26ft 6in) cutter, Taleisin, is thought to be the smallest boat to have circumnavigated against the prevailing winds by way of the great Capes. Lin tells the thrilling story of rounding Cape Horn
- Destinations ? FREE chart
St Valery-sur-Somme
William the Conqueror sailed from here in 1066 to invade England and Joan of Arc was imprisoned in the town. David Jefferson explores this historic town in the Baie de Somme, between Dieppe and Boulogne
- Spanish landfall
Susie Harris and family sail to La Coruña in glorious autumn sunshine. Engine failure and light winds, however, delay the promised paella.
- Gallant Knight?s adventure
Alison Panes helps her dad deliver his Westerly GK 24 from Brighton to Conwy, North Wales, with fog off Selsey Bill and Solent storms before the half-way haven of Padstow
- Stability and seaworthiness
In his sixth, concluding article Andrew Blyth tells you what to look for when choosing a cruising boat
- Sailing skills
In Better Boat Handling, Simon Jinks looks at safety when sailing downwind ? gybe preventers and poling out the headsail
- On Test
Mike Kopman went to Palma Majorca and was impressed with the sprightly performance of the six-berth Bavaria 38, which costs an astonishing £64,000.
James Jermain steps aboard the Rob Humphreys – designed Elan 31
- Blue Water Letter:
Colin Lowe reports from Bermuda and Nova Scotia