Yachting Monthly UK Magazine - March 2024

In this issue

NIGHT VISION SCOPES
Why night vision is better than torches, and how to choose one for your boat.

EAST COAST RIVERS
There’s a world of magic to be found cruising up quiet creeks, discovers one solo sailor..

Blue skies at Ocean Globe Race leg 3 start

Blue skies and steady winds heralded the start of the 6,000-mile third leg of the Ocean Globe Race from Auckland around Cape Horn to Punta del Este, with spectators cheering on the retro yachts from the deck of legendary Whitbread yacht Steinlager 2.

2 mins

Huge wind farm to be in UK waters

Danish renewable energy giant Ørsted has agreed to go ahead with plans for the world's largest wind farm, Hornsea 3, off the coast of Norfolk.

1 min

MAIB recommendations after RIB fatality

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published several recommendations for the protection of passengers after an investigation into the tragic death of 15-year-old Emily Lewis, who died in August 2020 when a high-speed Seadogz RIB crashed into a 4.5m-high channel maker in Southampton Water at a speed of 38.4 knots.

1 min

Government approves HVO on inland waters

Campaigning by the RYA, the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) and the Cruising Association (CA), together forming the HVO Joint Working Group, has resulted in the Department of Transport allowing inland waterways vessels to be supplied with HVO.

2 mins

Falmouth Harbour appoints scientist as new commissioner

Falmouth Harbour has appointed environmental scientist and businessperson Natasha CollingsCostello as a new commissioner, joining its board to help shape the harbour's strategy and prosperity.

1 min

Calor to resupply phased-out gas cylinders

In response to demand from the public and boat owners in particular, Calor will continue to supply the 3.9kg propane and 4.5kg butane sizes, reversing a decision to phase them out taken in February last year.

1 min

NCI joins passport stamping points on the SW Coast Path

The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) has become an official 'Coast Path Passport' stamping point partner, working with the charity which cares for the UK's longest national trail, the South West Coast Path.

1 min

A healthy dose of fatalism is good for you

Nancy, my mother, drummed into me a set of lower middle-class rules, the origins and the validity of which remain, a lifetime later, lost to comprehension.

3 mins

We'll miss the shipping forecast

The long-wave shipping forecast reaches its centenary in 2024, though it’s not much of a celebration given that LW itself, ‘at the end of its life as a technology’, will be turned off sometime in the middle of the year.

3 mins

HANSE 410

There appears to be no slowing down of the competition between the major boatyards when it comes to building new mid-size cruising yachts

2 mins

X-YACHTS X4⁹ MKII

Updating existing models is nothing new, but X-Yachts is currently working its way through its whole Pure X range, having already updated the X56, and the X4³, the Mk II of which I sailed last years, and loved (YM, Aug 23). The X4⁹ Mk II is following in the same vein as the other two models to have received the treatment.

2 mins

SAFFIER SL 46

Dutch yard Saffier have a reputation for stylish, quick day sailers. While their origins lie in their smaller 6.5m and 8m cabin boats, the yard has seen real growth in its SE range, standing for Saffier Elegance.

1 min

FIRST TEST POINTER 30

This sleek and sporty weekend sailer from the Netherlands has plenty of appeal for the coastal sailor, found Theo Stocker

10 mins

HOW NOT TO BUY A BOAT...A GUIDE TO GETTING IT WRONG

When Dominic Fohnson’s dream of owning his own boat finally became reality, the litany of errors he made when purchasing and maintaining her sapped both his energy and his bank balance. Here he explains how you can avoid the same fate...

6 mins

CRUISING ENGLAND'S EAST COAST RIVERS

A solo, septuagenarian sailor rediscovers the joys, magic and mystery of England's East Coast rivers, sailing over four bars and under two bridges

7 mins

LUNGI MCHUNU THERE ARE NO LIMITS

The first African woman to sail to the Arctic, a citizen scientist and climate change activist, Lungi has dared to dream and believes there are no limits to what we can achieve Here she tells Yachting Monthly her story

4 mins

GARMIN FENIX 7 SOLAR SMARTWATCH

I’ve loved testing the Garmin Fenix 7 solar edition. I wasn’t a big smartwatch fan before I got one, but I now find myself wearing it most of the time. Primarily a multisport watch, I use it for running and cycling, but it’s also useful for sailing, as well as almost any other activity out there.

2 mins

PIONIER 10

One of the prettiest production cruisers ever built, the Pionier 10 has the manners and performance to match her appearance, says David Harding

8 mins

Read all stories from Yachting Monthly UK

Yachting Monthly UK Magazine Description:

Published by Time Inc (UK). Yachting monthly is at the heart of the British yachting market and is for people who actively sail their boats - whether cruising across the channel, around the coast or further a field in blue waters. It provides an entertaining mix of vital information for cruising yachtsmen with all levels of experience, which maximises their enjoyment, increases their skills and gives them the confidence to broaden their horizons.