Yachting Monthly

Marine companies across the UK have responded to the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topsham-based EXE Sails & Covers has collaborated with staff at North Sails’ Gosport loft to make

Sail Scotland has welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement of a £100m fund to support the self-employed and small businesses affected by the coronavirus lockdown. The national marketing organisation for sailing and boating tourism has been pre

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is advising yacht skippers that they should still carry pyrotechnic flares for use in an emergency, rather than Electronic Visual Distress Signals (EVDS). It has just renewed its advice with the publication of

Sailors in Greece will no longer need the DEKPA permit after the Greek Government scrapped it in April. The Cruising Association (CA) has welcomed the move, stating that the cruising permit was not popular with either the Greek authorities or visitin

The number of people taking online navigation courses, we are told, has been soaring. Stuck at home and estranged from the sea, droves of us have been turning to theory lessons, virtual regattas and digital passage planning. It’s a poor second best,

02 Llanion Cove-based Pembrokeshire Performance Sailing Academy has announced it is planning on opening a second centre in Lydstep. 360 The Scottish Maritime Museum is giving free access to 3D scans and 360° virtual tours of some of Scotland’s histor

The RYA has said more people have signed up for its online courses during the coronavirus lockdown. It has seen an increase in students taking part in its online navigation courses and the RYA Marine Radio Short Range Certificate (SRC). The RYA’s tra

A message in a bottle, thrown overboard by Randall Reeves during his record-breaking Figure 8 voyage, has been found in the Bahamas. Deb and Keith Kremer made the find while cleaning a beach on the Berry Islands. Reeves, who is the first person to so

Send us your questions in less than 200 words by email [email protected] or by post Yachting Monthly, TI Media, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF WIN The letter of the month wins a bott

After a friend had a seizure, Frank Spiniello began to wonder how he would haul him out of the water if he had another incident while out on his boat and fell overboard. The Bedford sailor began experimenting with ideas, and two years later he develo

Tel: 01252 555 213 Email: [email protected] Editor Theo Stocker, 07984 026406, [email protected] Deputy editor Katy Stickland, 01252 555 166, [email protected] Sailing editor Toby Heppell, [email protected] Cruisi

After time at sea it is natural to wonder what has changed ashore. Will we step back on terra firma and like Rip Van Winkle wake up to a new and strange dawn? Will we find the global economy crashed? World War III broken out? Or Nigel Farage knighted

Whilst it is unlikely that you would take your own yacht around Cape Horn there are several charter companies which can offer you the chance to sail past it. The best time to go is during the Southern Hemisphere summer, which runs from December until

I remember swelling with pride when dad asked me to pull up the yellow flag as a foreign shore rose above the horizon. ‘I am a foreign vessel requesting free pratique’ seemed gobblegook but sounded cool. Since then I have raised it too many times to

This strange, frustrating lockdown has torpedoed the fitting-out season – unless you were cunning enough to have the boat on the driveway or wintering within ‘permitted exercise’ distance, with authority turning a blind eye. As for early cruises, tha

Jonty is a lifelong cruising yachtsman and retired GP. He keeps his Southerly 105 ketch Aurial in Milford Haven. Jayne is an award-winning journalist and press photographer, and is a competitive solo sailor. Harry is an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and h

Q Whilst we’re all stuck at home does anyone at YM have an idea of good online yacht maintenance resources? David Dawson A Because of the very broad topic and the specialist nature of much of the work, we at the RYA have specifically avoided the crea

Taylor Grieger, 28, and Stephen O’Shea, 29, met while on the swim team at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, Texas. After graduating the pair went in very different directions and lost touch for six years. Taylor joined the US Navy as a

Make sure everybody knows what to do in an emergency. Include raising the alarm in all safety briefs, especially with crew who are new to the boat. Explain which buttons to press on the VHF and chart plotter, and what they must do next. Always nomina

There is no doubt that the most useful and reliable bit of kit is the Mk1 eyeball and Mk1 ear. To augment these the following can be of use, and it is a good idea to check their presence and operation before setting out on any trip: ▪ Binoculars▪ Sea

James Steven’s article in the February issue of YM ‘A question of Seamanship’ about snagging a rope on the prop, reminded me of our experience while sailing our Hanse 345 Fifty Fifty along the French channel coast in July 2018. My sailing partner and

As it was flat calm we didn’t consider making a Pan Pan or Mayday call. Instead, we just thought about our best immediate option. Had conditions been difficult with high winds and seas, the situation would have become very difficult. Anchoring offsho

The season doesn’t really get under way until May, and May and June are often the best months. Daylight hours are very long and the air can be sparkling clear. July is the peak month for yacht traffic; by the end of August things are staring to wind

£325 It would be easy to look at onboard intercom systems and lump them into the ‘not essential but useful if you have the money’ category. The benefits for cruisers seem fairly obvious: clear and effective communication over a distance, negating the

Lara Maiklem Bloomsbury £9.99 (also available in electronic and audio format) Thames mudlark, Lara Maiklem, is as intent as any yachtsman on tide times and ranges – except where sailors usually want more water, she wants less… It amazes me how many p

£POA This is the second remote-controlled, propelled lifebuoy we have seen being marketed in the marine industry. There are already several Dolphin 1s in operation across the world, including Brighton Beach Patrol in the UK and the Royal Yacht Club P

£ 20 This may not be an obvious choice for a yachting library as it’s about rivers but not boats. Laurence C. Smith is a hydrologist who is currently tracking changing river flows in the Arctic. The scope of this book is global, ranging from the earl

Retired opticians, Mike and Janet Jones, have owned Aquila from new and still love everything about her, ‘except, maybe, her dubious close-quarter handling’ says Mike. Prior to buying her they owned a Westerly Merlin, Colvic 26 and a Coribee. The Van

1 Check pullpit and pushpit feet for any movement. Any wobbles here are usually a sure sign of problems. 2 Check stanchion bases – again various types, but many have the odd crafty screw or bolt that gets too much loading and then allows moisture ing

Galvanic corrosion is a phenomenon that affects the majority of boats. If you have two dissimilar metals, such as stainless steel and bronze, the water will act as an electrolyte and the less noble of the two metals, the bronze, becomes an anode and