If there is one class of boat that has turned more heads around the world in the last decade than any other, it must surely be the foiling Moth. Having…
Matthew Sheahan
5 tips: faster foils – make sure your keel and rudder are in tip top condition
If you want to go faster, which would you choose: a new headsail or a fully faired and professionally finished set of foils? If you currently have a silky smooth…
5 tips: why spring weather should be treated differently from summer
The boat is sorted, the sails back on board and the crew lists are taking shape, but how much thought have you put into early season spring weather? Why should…
What will foiling do for you? Why foils will change sailing forever
“There’s nothing new in what we’re trying to do with foiling America’s Cup boats,” says Land Rover BAR’s head of engineering, Dirk Kramers. “The Wright brothers would have understood the…
America’s Cup: uncovering secrets at the Land Rover BAR mission control
Deep in the carbon hollows of the internal structure of Land Rover BAR’s new boat banks of red, yellow and green LEDs wink away like a spaceship on standby. Underneath…
M32 catamaran – a high-speed cat for the World Match Racing Tour
America’s Cup foiling cats look spectacular and turn plenty of heads, but the rate at which the demands of the new technology have been accelerating is leaving many of us…
Formula Whisper, the exciting new boat that anyone can learn to foil
As I stepped off the Formula Whisper, our cameraman and photographer Richard Langdon was full of praise for my first attempt at flying. “How polite,” I thought. I had been…
GC32: A profile of the cat that learned to fly at 30 knots
First published February 2015. “Hike her down, guys, and we’ll get her up,” called our helmsman Paul Campbell-James to the five crew of the GC32 Richard Mille. As our backsides…
The story of Yes! How a racer and innovative designer breathed new life into this classic 36ft racer
Adam Gosling and designer John Corby breathed new life into the classic 36ft racer Mustang Sally to turn her into the 12th Yes!
The foiling phenomenon – how sailing boats got up on foils to go ever-faster
Here’s a challenge. Design a way to support the weight of five saloon cars on a plate the size of your desk on the water. That was the task that…
How to win at Cowes Week: some people seem to ‘get lucky’ every year! How do they do it?
Lone Star – XOD Name of boat: Lone Star – built 1960 Type of boat: XOD – 119 Owner: Stuart Jardine First Cowes Week: 1956 (won in Persephone XOD 92)…
The 10 most common Cowes Week mistakes – and how to avoid them
10. Running aground Tidal curves are essential and can be found free on www.easytide.co.uk. These will help with calculating the rise over chart datum. Knowing when to push your luck…
Breathing on the Dragon class – how the long-lived keelboat gets a makeover in Dubai
Receiving Olympic status is not always the blessing you might expect. The rate at which some of the world’s best sailors and teams refine and develop Olympic class boats and…
The French JPK 1080 ticks all the boxes for a successful racing keelboat, says Matthew Sheahan
Today, success in the racing keelboat market relies on far more than delivering an exciting-looking boat that goes like a runaway train off the breeze. To win the wallets of…
Cowes Week tactics: use our local knowledge to get the best out of racing in the western Solent
Knowing how to play the rocky Island shore and the shallow mainland coastline of the western Solent can make a big difference to your overall performance when considering your Cowes…
VX One: could this be a modern keelboat class to match the popularity of Flying 15?
I’ll come straight out with it: there are some boats that hit the spot from the outset and for me the VX One is on that list. In fact, I’ll…
Boreal 52 boat test – The sailor’s off-roader
If ‘off-road’ or ‘off-piste’ were categories in sailing, the Boréal 52 would be among the top contenders. From the brushed aluminium topsides to the no-nonsense, multi-layered protection offered by the…
Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 on test – a multi-purpose cruiser-racer
For all the meticulous market analysis and detailed planning behind a new production boat launch, sometimes even the big players can get caught unawares and stumble upon a recipe for…
Exposure Marine X2 marine torch
Why would you need a marine torch that costs £200, particularly if it needs recharging rather than using batteries? Although I had been impressed with Exposure Marine’s innovative and extremely…
Vaavud Mjolnir Wind Meter for smartphones
You can stand on the shore and guess, you can log onto the many live weather data sites or you can plug in a set of whirling cups to your…