No matter where you are in the world, coastal sailing is all about knowing how to read your immediate surroundings to have fun and stay safe while cruising and one…
Cruising life
‘Our dinghy outboard was being smashed to pieces by the swell’
Our dinghy is the equivalent of everyone’s car at home; it’s how we get from our boat at anchor, to anywhere in the harbour. Used most days, it has to…
Zhik Spirit of Adventure: ‘Wonderful opportunities for whale watching as these gracious creatures head north’
Sailing a yacht down to Antarctica can be an incredible adventure. Get it right and it will earn its ‘voyage of a lifetime’ reputation. Taking a small yacht into the…
Day sailing to the Isles of Scilly: Dodging a 35,000-tonne cargo ship
Quaker Girl is waiting patiently at the end of steep granite steps for her third skipper. Not that she needs three, or even one for that matter. But as I…
‘You have to be a better sailor… using electric power’
I barely move. The slightest ghost of a breeze is nurtured for every tenth of a knot. 1.2 knots kicks up to 1.5 knots and my smile gets wider. The…
‘Every time you turn on your engine, the exhaust water makes the sea more acidic’
The sun shines bright in the sky and the gentle wind moves a lock of hair on my cheek. I turn the wheel, tack and pull the sheet towards me.…
Can you use AI to make a decent passage plan at sea? Would you? – Lu Heikell
From time to time, we get asked for advice on cruising routes from those looking to explore a new area. We are generally happy to oblige, as it usually isn’t…
Zhik Spirit of Adventure: ‘Steep cliffs rose into immense mountains [and] ice fields shone high above’
Sullen clouds pressed down upon a pewter sea. To port, the mountains vanished into swirling mist; to starboard, Bird Island jutted from the restless ocean. I stood in the cockpit…
‘The engine coughed, then spluttered, then died, and I had a brief moment to reflect on chaos theory’: A leaf caused problems aboard my yacht
The engine coughed, then spluttered, then died, and I had a brief moment to reflect on chaos theory, which notes that ‘the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial…
‘It’s easy to make friends while cruising’ – Paul Trammell
Sailing singlehanded as I do, I place a high value on my solitude and am quite happy to spend many consecutive days alone. However, sailing alone amplifies the value of…