Category: Europe

It’s common practise for racing sailors, but marking your lines is crucial even if you are an occasional cruising sailor Many cruising yacht skippers mark very little on board their boats. They rely on experience and remembering how the sails should be set in various conditions. But it is an advantage to have a good…

Ken Endean looks back on the boats he has owned over 50 years and explains why the hull lines of older yachts continue to offer first-class handling Most of Britain’s yacht owners, both now and in the future, will be sailing boats built in the 1960s to 1980s, that are highly durable, structurally sound and…

James Stevens considers a problem sent in by a Yachting Monthly reader who asks how to rig a yacht’s mooring lines to avoid chafe Jenny and Ted are cruising with their two teenage children on board their 10m yacht Oyster Catcher. Forecasters have been warning of wet and windy weather for the next few days.…

Sometimes, rather than knowing where you are, it’s easier to know where you aren’t, says Justin Morton in his guide to yacht navigation 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 style of…

It seemed odd when container vessels mysteriously started keeping clear of Peter Webb’s yacht, but the AIS-related answer only appeared in harbour. 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 about, and…

Nick Quirke answered the call for some adventurous hands-on schooner training, with no experience necessary to sail around 3,500 miles from Cape Verde to Rotterdam. 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…

James Stevens considers a problem sent in by a Yachting Monthly reader who asks how to recover from a violent gybe at sea? It is the roughest sea Simon has ever experienced. He and his four crew are sailing eastwards on his classic 1960s 12m wooden sloop, Sea Thrift, towards the Azores with about 500…

Ivar Dedekam is the author of Illustrated Sail & Rig Tuning brings us this guide on how to tune the rig of a yacht and make your sailing better It is important to have a correctly tuned rig. Boats that have poorly tuned rigs are slower, point lower, heel more, make more leeway and may…

We rely on the engine a huge amount, but when it stops, do you know how you would get yourself back on track and into harbour? Rachael Sprot works through the options Yachts engines are like bodies; we only appreciate them when they stop working. On more than one occasion last year, the engine on…

James Stevens considers a problem sent in by a Yachting Monthly reader who asks how to squeeze a yacht into a tight berth? Jane is on a cruising holiday on board Storm Petrel, her 10m yacht. The boat has a long fin keel and skeg. When engaging astern there is a strong prop kick to…