CATEGORIES

Sula's story

Julia Jones explains how an English yacht became a Scottish workboat and how a 120-year-old Crinan Ferry design was upcycled

Boatbuilding college shuts downs

After 50 years of inspiring the next generation of traditional boatbuilders, the International Boatbuilding Training College -IBTC Lowestoft -is closing its doors for good.

The Silhouette Mk2

The Robert Tucker-designs with their familiar serpentine shears are popular pocket yachts. Clive has owned both Mk2 and Mk3 versions

Weathering winter weather

A handy guide to keeping warm and dry

Sailing in the lap of the Gods

Beyond GPS: divine assistance, suitable rites and a belt and braces multitheistic approach

Cornish Shrimper 19 - Cape Cutter 19 | Hunter Liberty or Minstrel | Drascombe Coaster

Rupert Holmes looks into why this small, traditionally-styled cruiser remains so universally popular -and suggests some alternative boats that fulfill a similar brief

How to keep your boat in top condition

The experts at boatcare on the importance of scheduled maintenance

Gamming in Maine on board Lewis R French

Frances and Michael Howorth set sail on board a schooner launched in 1871

MCA launches PLB rescue consultation

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has launched a public consultation into new safety measures set to make the search and rescue response faster and easier for people carrying Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) on the water.

What to do with difficult crew mid Atlantic?

A QUESTION OF SEAMANSHIP - Jim is regretting taking on Ed as crew on a transatlantic voyage. Bellatrix is a sturdy 13m production GRP yacht in good condition with all the recommended safety gear for ocean sailing.

ADVENTURE SAILING THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

The Reverend Bob Shepton braved freezing gales and ice floes to sail 6,059 miles through the Northwest Passage with his crew of four South African climbers

ROUNDING CAPE HORN

Breaking bread with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Skip Novak and Jean-Luc Van Den Heede? Then you’d better be a good listener. Dick Durham is all ears at the annual Cape Horners’ dinner

Are we really a maritime nation?

Many years ago, I was on a family motoring holiday driving towards Brittany when, in a small town, we passed under a banner proclaiming a regatta. I was baffled: we were still 40 kilometres from the coast. Such hinterland support for sailing was new to me: back home a candy-floss stick's length from the coast, folks knew nothing and cared less about the maritime world.

'FOG, GALES, HURRICANES AND CALMS IN ONE VOYAGE'

Fog, currents and calms would challenge us as we tackled the Grand Banks, Gulf Stream and Azores High. We were at the French island of St Pierre off the Newfoundland coast, next stop Flores in the Azores

PROVIDENT'S CENTENARY VOYAGE

Steve Jones and Morag Slesser sail Provident, a historic Brixham Sailing Trawler, on a centenary voyage from Scotland's west coast to her roots on the South Coast

HOW IT WORKS - CLEANING AN ANTI-SYPHON VALVE

On sailing boats the exhaust pipe is swept up into a swan neck to stop following waves flooding the exhaust when the engine isn't running.

With boats, does beauty matter?

A seagoing boat is not a toy. It is the most serious of vehicles, built to let humans brave an unpredictable, lethally dangerous element with efficient control and reasonable dispatch. Boat design and boatbuilding are therefore solemn endeavours, demanding utter trust from vulnerable human customers who will face peril miles away from help. Materials, rig and balance in design can make the difference between life and death.

FIRST TEST - BENETEAU OCEANIS 37.1

Can a smaller boat pack in more space and more performance than her predecessor? Theo Stocker went to sail Beneteau's latest cruiser

Shared ownership

A private syndicate, a boat club, or charter lease? Ben Lowings compares the options for reduced-cost boat ownership

Man overboard while crossing the Atlantic

Swedish sailor Dag Eresund was tragically lost overboard from Volvo 70 racing yacht Ocean Breeze while sailing across the Atlantic with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) which sees hundreds of yachts safely cross the ocean each year.

Yacht builders fined for using 'blood' teak

Two landmark court cases in the UK and the Netherlands have seen stiff penalties handed out to luxury yacht builders for using illegal 'blood' teak imported from conflict-torn Myanmar on vessels, notably on Jeff Bezos's superyacht Koru, the largest sailing yacht in the world.

CRUISING - BLOW AWAY THOSE WINTER BLUES

Every month through the winter, scores of sailors sign up for the Little Ship Club's fast cruises. Dick Durham joins one and reports back

'MAYDAY, GRANDAD OVERBOARD!'

When David Richards and his grandson Henry went out racing from lowey, they didn't expect their sail to end with a lifeboat rescue

PILOTAGE DONE PROPERLY

Chartplotters are an amazing aid, but can detract from your real-world pilotage if not used with caution, says Justin Morton

VERTUE

For a 25-footer, the Vertue has a huge reputation and has conquered every ocean. So what makes this little boat quite such an enduring success? Nic Compton finds out

ARCONA 50

The new flagship for Swedish yard Arcona represents a new era and a bold new direction. Theo Stocker went to find out whether there is still a family resemblance to her smaller siblings

HOW THE PANAMA TRANSIT IS GETTING EASIER

Transiting the Panama canal was an epic milestone for Andy and Julie Pag. It required practical seamanship, bureaucratic navigation and help from onboard guests

Sailing siblings

Mabel Stock, her brother Ralph, a friend Steve and an unnamed paying passenger passed through the Panama Canal in December 1919 on the sturdy Norwegian cutter Ogre. They were towed to a quiet anchorage in Balboa away from the boat traffic but within rowing distance of the shore.

TECHNICAL MAINSAIL MODIFICATIONS

Safety and performance improved hugely when Mike Reynolds reduced the size of his mainsail and re-configured the systems controlling it

ADVENTURE MAISIE GOES TO GOES

To depart or not to depart? That is the question. Is it safer to stay, or suffer the wind and weather of a rough North Sea?