I used to do a lot of skydiving,” Simon Mitchell told me. “While you’re still in the aircraft you have options but, once you leave the door, gravity takes over…
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5 best family yacht: our pick of the best yachts for sailing with the family
There are many categories in the European Yacht of the Year awards, from the best luxury yachts to performance yachts. But some of the most hotly-anticipated options come when it is time to…
America’s Cup: preliminary regatta announced for 2023
The Catalonian port of Vilanova i la Geltrú, has today, Friday 17 March 2023, been announced as the Host Venue for the first Preliminary Regatta of the 37th America’s Cup,…
Best luxury yacht: Our pick of the top options
There are many categories in the European Yacht of the Year awards, from the best family cruisers to performance yachts. But some of the most jaw-dropping options come when it is time to…
World’s coolest yacht: America True
America True was a ground-breaking campaign for the 2000 America’s Cup. Created by Dawn Riley, it was the first America’s Cup syndicate to be headed up by a woman, and…
The new wingsail concept that could revolutionise shipping
The words ‘muscles’ and ‘sails’ are often included in the same sentence, such is the physical nature of our sport. But what I hadn’t expected to hear in a recent…
Beneteau First 36 review: Is this the best First yacht in years?
You might not appreciate it at first glance, but this could well be the best performance production yacht we’ll see for some time. This realisation creeps up on you slowly,…
The Ocean Race: is racing under autopilot ‘cheating’?
That’s not racing. It’s cheating. If you’re going to use the autopilot to sail around the world you might as well simply control the boat by remote control from home.”…
Best performance yachts: Our pick of the top options
The European Yacht of the Year awards is the most thorough and impartial awards programme – the winners here are widely considered the best yachts of the year. As such…
Double handed sailing skills: Spinnaker drops
Taking a spinnaker down without the aid of the snuffer or furler is when double handed sailing is a challenging manoeuvre. This will be your biggest sail; it is slippery…
Vendée Globe: Meet the British skippers due to compete in 2024
As the 2024 Vendée Globe draws ever closer it looks like British fans will have plenty to shout about in the next edition as a bumper number of British skippers…
Caribbean sailing: BVIs are back and as beautiful as ever
As the 30-seater inter-Caribbean turboprop aircraft banked to starboard, through my small window I caught a first glimpse of Tortola and the Sir Francis Drake Channel. I felt my pulse…
Catamaran sailing: can you fast track multihull skills?
Can one week change your life? That’s a whole lot of pressure to put on a holiday. But for a surprising number of graduates of the Nautilus Sailing catamaran sailing…
Jessica Watson: the true story of True Spirit star’s voyage
In the late Noughties and early 2010s, sailing garnered astonishing levels of attention due to a series of teenagers bidding to become the youngest sailor to sail around the world.…
‘Demolition Derby’ begins in Leg 3 of The Ocean Race
Leg 3 of The Ocean Race was always expected to be an punishing test for the five IMOCAs and their crews, but it’s been a particularly tough start for the teams…
Why have Orcas been attacking yachts? A puzzling mystery
Late in November last year, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Farr 65 pilothouse cutter, Sanjula, was being sailed 10 miles west of Cape Finisterre in Spain when it was surrounded by orca…
Everything you need to know about Southern Ocean storms
Any colour you want as long as it’s grey! That’s my overriding memory of life in the Southern Ocean – we tend to forget the sun reflecting off icebergs and…
Sailing a junk rigged schooner in Greenland
Dave Leet’s Nomad is a junk-rigged schooner which he sails mostly single-handed. He certainly puts the miles in, because although this article is about his experiences in West Greenland, when…
Wild start to leg 3 of The Ocean Race
It was an extraordinary ‘stop-go’ type of start to Leg 3 of The Ocean Race in Table Bay as the five-boat IMOCA 60 fleet set out on their 12,750 nautical…
How to follow The Ocean Race Leg 3 (and why you should)
This weekend five crewed IMOCA 60s will take to the startline for the third leg of The Ocean Race, on a month-long epic which is likely to be the toughest…