When you first start to learn about yacht navigation it can seem complex and pretty nuanced, but in reality what you are doing falls into two overarching styles. The first…
Yachting Monthly
What are the most affordable ways to start sailing?
Pardon the liberal use of cliches, but as somebody once said, ‘Sailing equates to standing in a cold shower tearing up £10 notes.’ If it’s racing, it will be £50…
‘Dodging ships can feel like being a chicken crossing a very busy motorway’
The North Sea at night: I love it. It can turn wild, like any mountain or desert, but that’s not all the time. When it’s calm, fishing lights appear, dodge…
Sailing around 3,500 miles on the 1917 schooner Oosterschelde: Training in a time warp
I have always wanted to sail on a tall ship; to experience night watches on the high seas, to make sail changes, to helm. Although I’ve done all these things…
‘We passed no living creature apart from three cows and a lone sheep’
There aren’t many places where you can anchor so close to a mountain it breathes on you. In heavy weather the draughts of exhaled tempest that rush down the sheer…
Why I took my Ketch rigged yacht and turned it into a brigantine square-rigger
People have asked why I decided to change a perfectly good ketch into a staysail schooner? It’s a reasonable question. The simple answer is that I always wanted a brigantine.…
10 hidden must-see destinations on the West Coast of Scotland
The sheer beauty of the Western Isles and the West Coast of Scotland draws many yachtsmen. Cruising on the west coast of Scotland may have a reputation for being for…
‘The outcrops of rounded pink granite and sandy beaches reminded me of the Scillies’ – exploring the Aegean
Arriving in late March at my partner’s home in Greece, I was expecting a few days at the house before sailing. But with a period of southerly winds forecast –…
‘Sardines cook over charcoal, sea shanties are sung and cider is swigged’ – Lu Heikell
There is a narrow street leading up from Port du Rosmeur to the town centre of Douarnenez, in the Finisterre region of Brittany. Rue Obscure is paved with cobbles and…
‘My experience of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race’
Dirty, wet and hungry; riding 30ft waves on a boat which was permanently tilted at 45°, I realised that this experience wasn’t quite what I’d been sold on that induction…