During the afternoon of 20 March, 1923, following ‘a good lunch’ in the Royal Irish Yacht Club, Conor OBrien slipped the mooring of his yacht Saoirse (pronounced ‘Seershah’ and meaning…
Yachting Monthly
I sailed across the pacific with one hand
Having reached Bora Bora, I was about to set off on the next leg of my circumnavigation, covering the 1,850 miles to Fiji on my own. There followed a series…
Your handy 10-point plan to prepare your yacht for winter
Winter is a great time to make a detailed assessment of your boat’s condition. Dennis O’Neill offers some handy reminders on areas that shouldn’t be overlooked. Standing rigging Check sheaves,…
Boatpoint to bring the first new Elan Impression 43 to the UK
The Impression 43 distils four decades of experience into a boat that combines razor-sharp Italian design and excellent performance with fantastic stability and interior comfort. Little wonder that it has…
Sailing the Ionian: idyllic islands
Being hit by the boom is not unusual, but headbutting it is. It was the second morning of our Ionian cruise and we were about to manoeuvre out of Episcopi,…
How to cope with steering loss at sea
Retiring from the MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch) has allowed me to reflect on developments in marine safety over the past few decades, particularly in the sailing sector, which is…
How a yacht’s hull fittings work
It’s unfortunate but true that the hull on any vessel will have to have some holes in it. This will usually be for the wet exhaust, the stern tube, and…
11 myths about sailing across the Atlantic that people still believe
For many people, sailing the Atlantic Circuit is a voyage of a lifetime, encompassing both adventure and the challenge of crossing the world’s second-largest ocean. Yet, like any great adventure,…
Exploring the Pembrokeshire Islands by boat
Setting off from our swinging mooring at Rudders boatyard, Burton, in Pembrokeshire, we have to travel the length of the Cleddau estuary to reach open water. With the wind and…
A disastrous trip saw this sailor shipwrecked for the second time on the same islands… 50 years later
During the afternoon of Christmas Eve 2019, I was steering a tubby old steel ketch called Cristina on a delivery passage slowly westward along the south coast of Isla Las…