Mile-long RNLI flotilla for 200th anniversary

As the RNLI celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, more than 40 rescue vessels formed a flotilla more than a mile long in Poole in May.

Ella Hibbert to sail to Norway and Russia in Arctic preparation

Intrepid 27-year-old sailor Ella Hibbert has made the difficult decision to delay her departure to sail solo around the Arctic circle until next year, but will instead depart this summer on a training expedition to Norway and Russia in preparation.

Orcas sink a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar

A pod of orcas attacked and sank a 15m yacht in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar in May, the latest in a series of encounters in the area that have sunk five yachts in the past four years, the Spanish maritime authorities reported.

Why Pip Hare needs you now

Sailing with Pip Hare last week reminded me of my father’s sailing mantra: ‘It’s all about drag.’

ADVENTURE THE CALL OF THE SOUTH SEAS

What is the call of the South Seas? The Hoiland family were curious to find out, so they set off west to explore. This is the story of their year sailing through the islands and atolls of French Polynesia

HOW TO DODGE GALES IN THE ISLES OF SCILLY

Ken Endean tries a two-anchorage strategy

Picking up fore and aft moorings

Mooring fore and aft can be a fiddly process, never more so than in Cornwall's Polperro. If you can do it here, says Rachael Sprot, then you can do it anywhere

TECHNICAL PURCHASING POWER

Sam Fortescue explains how to check you have the power needed to handle your running rigging safely - and how to fix it if you don't

NEW GEAR

Dennis O'Neill reviews the latest products designed to make sailing safer and easier

'NEVER BEFORE HAVE I SAILED IN SUCH WILD WEATHER'

When Jeremy Edwards and his sister were hit by a 'weather bomb' en route to Tonga it gave him a new-found respect for his sister's skippering ability

ADVENTURE RACING AROUND THE WORLD

First Mate Rachel Burgess tells YM what it was like to race 28.000 miles around the world to win the Ocean Globe Race with her all-female crew aboard Maiden

FIRST TEST DUFOUR 41

There have always been yachts that claim to offer the best of all worlds. They lure you in with the promise of being able to luxuriate in spacious opulence after a day of exhilarating sailing.

How to rig preventers and boom brakes

Rigging a preventer or using a boom brake is just good seamanship when sailing downwind, but doing so badly is asking for trouble, says Rachael Sprot

Don't let Thames sewage kill off this lovely boat

Samuel Pepys mentions oysters in his diaries 68 times, but that was when they were as common as winkles along the banks of the Thames and when they were a source of cheap protein for the masses.

I finally found the magic of the sea

I won’t be in theatres with a notebook as much as usual this month – time for some wider, wetter horizons – but may be musing, as I often do, on how rare it is for theatre to express a convincing reality about the oceans and the trade or pursuit of seafaring.

TECHNICAL GOLDEN OLDIES

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

HOW IT WORKS MARKING

Many cruising yacht skippers mark very little on board their boats.

TECHNICAL INSTALLING A NEW ENGINE

When a mysterious loss of coolant jeopardised his sailing, Andy Du Port knew the time had tome to replace his yacht’s:veteran Volvo Penta

NEW GEAR

Dennis O’Neill rounds up the latest marine innovations, including developments in women’s sailing jackets

MARIE TABARLY HONOURING HER FATHER

Marie Tabarly took line honours in the Ocean Globe Race, surpassing her father’s record while racing aboard his famous 73ft ketch Pen Duick VI

HEATHER THOMAS SMASHING RECORDS

In leading her all-female crew to victory in the OGR, Heather Thomas has broken records and taken women's sailing into the stratosphere

MAIDEN MAKES HISTORY AGAIN

Being the first all-female crew to win a round-the-world race is seismic in itself, but the diverse nationalities of the crew are just as significant for the future of sailing

HOME WATERS CONQUERING THE SOUTH COAST

Intrepid novice skipper Monty Halls takes his family sailing along the south coast of Devon and Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly and back

'WE GOT BATTERED BY A STORM THAT WASN'T FORECAST

When David and Sarah Smith decided to take on their first proper ocean passage, they didn’t anticipate storm Oscar, but survived unscathed and relished the experience

FIRST TEST GRAND SOLEIL 42LC

Performance pedigree and Italian panache certainly make for stylish boats, but how do they translate into a serious cruising boat? Theo Stocker tests the baby of the range

Orford Sailing Club celebrates 100 years

Situated in arguably one of Suffolk’s prettiest villages and under the watchful eye of its medieval castle and church, Orford SailingClub celebrates its centenary in 2024.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF AIS IN THE NIGHT-TIME

When container vessels mysteriously started keeping clear of Peter Webb's yacht, it seemed odd, but the answer to their unusual behaviour didn't emerge until they were safely in harbour

A sea change in lifejacket design

Mustang Survival introduces ils new ISO approved Atlas 190

Are you brave enough to have a go?

The flexing of spring’s muscles calls for a dusting down of my jobs list.

Translated 9 retires from OGR with hull damage

Translated 9, one of the leading yachts in the Ocean Globe Race (OGR), has been forced to retire from the round-the-world race with hull damage and has diverted to Madeira.