CATEGORIES

FIND ME A SECONDHAND...RIVER BOAT

Offshore boats can certainly venture upstream, but dedicated river boats are optimised for inland cruising. So this month, we are back on the river, decked out in a straw boater and striped blazer, glass of Pimm’s in hand (once safely moored for the afternoon, of course).

Diesel heat exchanger and manifold repair

Barry Pickthall explains how he carried out engine repairs on a budget after a couple of years of Covid lockdown neglect

BUYING A USED...GRANDEZZA 34

With more than 76,000 islands, 56,000 lakes and 300,000 kilometres of coastline, the Finns are never far from water. Unsurprising then that they should make best use of it, with traditions ranging from the downright peculiar (eg: washing their rugs in the brackish water of the Baltic) to building some of the finest vessels afloat. In fact, the nation’s boatbuilding prowess knows no bounds; from the 250,000 GT Icon of the Seas passenger liner right the way down to Finnmaster’s petite 5.5m Husky R5.

LIFE ON THE OPEN ROAD

Andrew Wilson-Bett explains why trailer boating is the best fun you can have

FIRST TEST - X-YACHTS X4³

X-Yachts' latest model promises to be a fast passage-making cruising boat that's fun and engaging to sail but won't scare your socks off. Theo Stocker went to find out how well the X4³ toes the line

A GUIDE TO HAVING YOUR BOAT DELIVERED (OR HELPING DELIVER ONE)

If you need help getting your boat from A to B after a purchase or for a cruise, a delivery crew might be the solution,

FROM LOCKDOWN ΤΟ LOCK MANIA

Nic Compton and assorted crew members lock into the French canal network from the Channel to the Mediterranean

The lessons we should not forget

Sailors have famously short memories. Arriving in New Caledonia after blast-reaching in near gale conditions up from New Zealand, we had that slightly wild-eyed, salty-haired look that comes with an eventful passage. And we weren’t even meant to be in New Caledonia. A weather forecast shortly after setting out from Opua showed a low forming just off these islands, deepening rapidly and moving eastwards. Our planned passage up to Fiji would have meant we would effectively be ‘racing’ this weather system to Fiji. Our ETAs would be pretty much equal. Not good.

My boat is a welcome retreat

Tracey and I have just commenced construction of our very own Grand Designs in so much as we are self building a long dreamed of off-grid house in our little corner of Cornwall. It’s cool to be using technology that we used to test and develop during the early days of short-handed racing.

THE ARCTIC IS CHANGING COLOUR

Tobias Carter launched the Unu Mondo project to document climate change in the Arctic. His article was runner-up for the 2022 Brian Black Memorial Award

'THE ORCAS SHOOK THE BOAT LIKE A TOY'

Theo Wakefield’s boat was significantly damaged and his nerves shaken after an encounter with orcas off Portugal

TESTED EWINCHER ELECTRIC WINCH HANDLE - £2,099

Designed for yachts from 30 to 60 feet, Ewincher is an electrically assisted winch handle recently upgraded and relaunched with more power and longer battery life.

HOW TO NAVIGATE 'ORCA ALLEY'

In the last three years, orcas have started 'attacking' yachts on their way through the Gibraltar Straits. James Kenning looks at how to minimise the risk

SHAKING UP THE INDUSTRY

THE BIGGEST TRANSFORMATION OF BOATBUILDING - AND THE WIDER MARINE INDUSTRY IN OUR LIFETIME IS UNDER WAY, WITH THE DRIVE TO ELIMINATE CARBON EMISSIONS AND USE COMPOSITES TH THAT CAN BE RECYCLED INTO A NEW BOAT. RUPERT HOLMES VISITS THOSE YARDS SPEARHEADING THE CHANGE

EXTRAORDINARY BOATS

SEAN MCNEILL ON MALIZIA-SEAEXPLORER

SPECIAL REPORT

ANNABEL FINDING ON CRUISING IN TÜRKIYE

GEAR FOCUS

TAKING THE OIL OUT OF OILIES: SAM FORTESCUE ON ECO FOULIES

SWAN STYLE

CAN A MODERN FAST CRUISER BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE? TOBY HODGES TRIALLED THE FIRST SWAN 55 TO FIND OUT IF NAUTOR'S DECADES OF EXPERIENCE CAN ACHIEVE SUCH A FEAT

MAKING A BREAK FOR IT

WANT TO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD WITHOUT RETIRING? MAX GOODMAN AND CHARLOTTE BRANNSTROM ON HOW THEY ACHIEVED THEIR DREAM AS ‘CAREER BREAK’ CRUISERS

VOYAGE OF THE AEGRE

A YOUNG COUPLE SURVIVES A SEEMINGLY HOPELESS SITUATION WHEN THEIR 21FT CLINKER YACHT IS ROLLED MID-PACIFIC

CALLING THE SHOTS

TERRY HUTCHINSON IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST TACTICIANS, BUT HE'S YET TO ACHIEVE HIS ULTIMATE AMBITION. SEAN MCNEILL FINDS OUT WHAT IT TAKES TO CALL THE SHOTS AT THE TOP

CITY OF WATER

PHIL AND ROXY JOHNSON ENJOY A MEMORABLE CRUISE TO VENICE, EXPLORING THE ‘CITY OF LOVE’ BY BOAT

5 EXPERT TIPS

ROBERT STANJEK ON TACKING

Hull design HOW IT IMPACTS PERFORMANCE

Peter Poland explains how hull design has evolved over the years and how this affects boat handling and accommodation

A modern take on the traditional proa

Ali Wood finds out more about visionary designer Rob Denney

How NOT to start the sailing season

It's like the boat-launching Olympics for Greg Manning as he leaps hurdles and avoids cutting corners to cover 1,920 miles back and forth in 15 days to get his yacht safely afloat

Cruising through mountainous Wales

Charles Beddingfield takes a nostalgic tour of Milford Haven and the Pembrokeshire coast

It's the voices

When you can’t do right for doing wrong, doing wrong Is the right thing to do

Frank and Margaret Dye

Roger Barnes reflects on the legacy of small-boat sailors Frank and Margaret Dye

AEGEAN ADVENTURE

MBY regulars Thomas and Jutta Kittel continue their annual Mediterranean cruise this time heading towards Albania and Greece from Montenegro