Female skippers and crew came to the fore as the Ocean Globe Race reached its denouement in Cowes with Marie Tabarly, skippering Pen Duick VI to line honours and then the all female crew of Maiden taking the overall race win in IRC to seal a magnific

From 2002, the Beneteau Oceanis 473, Allegro of Yar is a great all-rounder, and is perfect for local cruising or for venturing further. Cherished and well-maintained, she has had numerous upgrades in her current ownership, including new standing rigg

Lossiemouth Marina really is delightful place in which to base a yacht because not only does it offer extensive Gold Anchor facilities, but its location just 34nm from Inverness is ideal for exploring. Based at the gateway to the Moray Firth Lossiemo

Bigger screens, faster processors and more power: marine is no different from any other branch of the electronics industry. This year, for instance, Navico is launching its new NSX Ultrawide touchscreen plotter, which is 63 per cent broader than its

One of the wonderful things about our sport is that, however much racing you’ve done in different places on different boats and with different people, there are still new things to try. Even though I race around 3,000 miles most years, and occasional

When people talk about chartering in Greece they are often referring to the Ionian. This northern area of Greece is definitely a charterers paradise due to the even spread of islands, good shelter and relatively docile winds. Yet the Ionian makes up

Yes, we’ve all heard it before: ‘The longest losing streak in sporting history’. That’s right, we plucky Brits can proudly lay claim to that title, having lost the 100 Guinea Cup back in 1851 and summarily failing to reclaim it since. Could this year

Everyone loves the French Canals – or so it seems. For years I’ve been regaling my friends with all the thrilling sea voyages I’ve done, be it from Greece to France, from Portugal to the UK, or from the UK to Ireland. Most of the time they nod polite

Whether you are new to sailing, keen to improve your racing skills, or perhaps want to learn the art of foiling, there’s never been a better time to take the plunge. Gone are the days when a sailing school was all about beginners taking their first s

I am looking at one of the most beautiful yachts I have ever seen. She is a 130ft cutter-rigged sloop, with sleek, graceful lines, four sets of spreaders, teak woodwork glowing like fresh honey, a pale grey hull, and a Cayman Island flag so large tha

As I swam ashore with the stern line at Gemiler Adasi near Fethiye, spellbound by the submerged ruins of a fourth century church clearly visible through the turquoise water beneath me, the incongruous beat of a 90s pop hit gradually increased to a sh

Martin is sailing around the world with his wife Ilke and their kids, Fedde (13), Aniek (11), Jurre (10), and Hidde (8), on their Bavaria 50 Cruiser. They left home in the Netherlands in August 2022 and, since then, they have sailed through the Engli

‘Love, soft as an easy chair…’ sang my watchmate for the 10th time since eight bells, following with a whistled version of what he imagined to be the next line. I thought how much better Barbara Streisand delivered the number and ground my teeth sile

A couple of big backtracks recently, both of them good. The first is by Calor Gas who I described a few months ago as “no longer my friend”. Their crime had been to withdraw two popular gas cylinders which fitted nicely into most sailors’ bespoke gas

It’s Saturday night on a glorious mid August day in 2020, with the South Coast packed with boats, yet fewer visitors’ moorings than usual available due to Covid restrictions, and the Solent’s popular anchorages are jam packed. Yet a couple of hours b

Hanse Yachts broke with go-to designer of many years – Judel/Vrolijk – a couple of years back and this was the catalyst behind the launch of a new generation of Hanses designed by the French team of Berret/Racoupeau. In addition to a marked change in

After sailing from the Ionian, south to Pylos, then around tempestuous Cape Maleas, our circumnavigation of the Peloponnese had turned north. The first week’s sailing, which was reported in last month’s issue, ended at Athens’ Alimos marina where we

Some years back I was invited by the West Sweden Tourist Board to take a press trip to that area which would involve cruising around the area in a Swedish built Maxi yacht, sampling raw herrings, sweltering in saunas, whacking other journalists with

Armel le Cleac’h is one of an elite band of offshore sailors. He has won the Vendee Globe Race and recently completed the extraordinary ARKEA Ultim Challenge – a turbocharged singlehanded around the world race in massive Ultim class trimarans that ar

"A dream gig” is how Giles Scott describes his new position as driver of the British SailGP team, Emirates GBR, adding “It’s a super exciting prospect”. The 36-year-old double Olympic medallist and seasoned America’s Cup tactician was handed the rein

With a multitude of coral reef atolls encompassing aquamarine water, secluded anchorages and miles of low lying coconut palm trees, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d arrived in a tropical paradise when sailing in the Tuamotus in the heart of F

Think of an Italian yacht and I generally think of a stylish cruiser/racer; I’m thinking Grand Soleil, Solaris, Eleva, Italia, ICE yachts – I could go on but the point is made and, frankly I love this genre of yacht. I mean who doesn’t want to sail f

With the buzz of the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show still in the air we’ve rounded up some highlights from this jam-packed marine event. This year, the Farnborough Exhibition Centre had even more in store, housing over 170 exhibitors,with talks from

Fog’s not what it used to be. Time was when our whereabouts was down to an ‘analogue’ estimated position, and any poor masher who hadn’t kept the dead reckoning (DR) up to date was left blundering around in confusion. We know where we are today thank

You can’t always tell a boat that’s had its hull wrapped. It isn’t always about a big logo splashed across the bow or a riot of colour adorning the transom. An increasing number of boatowners are choosing to have a single colour applied and some even