How to get your boat home if you experience an engine failure
Yachting Monthly
by Rachael Sprot
1d ago
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 my Luders 36ft long-keeled sloop, Nimrod, reminded me not to take it for granted. But engine failure happens to us all at some point and the list of possible causes is long. Mechanical problems can be reduced with preventative maintenance and routine checks, but there are also many factors beyond our ..read more
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How to squeeze a yacht into a tight marina berth
Yachting Monthly
by James Stevens
1w ago
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 starboard but once the yacht is moving astern it is reasonably easy to handle. Jane has been the owner for five years. She has two crew who are both quite experienced. She is approaching a marina where she has been allocated an overnight berth A2, port side to if bow in. The marina is full except for her berth. To r ..read more
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How to optimise sail trim
Yachting Monthly
by Toby Heppell
2w ago
The author of Illustrated Sail & Rig Tuning, Ivar Dedekam, provides his expert advice on how best to optimise sail trim High performance cruising yachts that are comfortable, fast and easy to handle do exist! It is difficult to describe ‘correct’ sail shape, but the three most important things to consider are: sail draft (the fullness of the sail), draft position, and twist (controlled by the kicker/vang and leech tension). Sail draft Sail draft (chord depth) is an imaginary line from luff to leech called the chord. Chord depth can then be expressed as the ratio percentage between the maxi ..read more
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The sailing rules you can ignore… and those you can’t: an expert guide
Yachting Monthly
by Andy Pag
2w ago
Andy Du Port explores which rules need to be followed to the letter to avoid collisions at sea and considers those which can be safely ignored Saying ‘International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea’ is something of a mouthful, let alone learning all of them verbatim. Commonly called the ‘Colregs’, they are a fine example of comprehensive, logical and unambiguous rules which have been adopted worldwide by almost all countries with coastlines (the only two which have not are the Western Sahara and Taiwan). In case you are yawning already – ‘Not another sermon on the Colregs ..read more
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How do you recover a man overboard?
Yachting Monthly
by James Stevens
1M ago
James Stevens considers a problem sent in by a Yachting Monthly reader who asks how do you recover a man overboard Paul and Emma own a 10m yacht and are day sailing with Paul’s parents on a fine day in early May. The weather is fair so they are all wearing fleeces and lifejackets but no wet weather gear is needed. The wind is about 10 to 15 knots coming off the land. Paul’s father, Jack, was an enthusiastic sailor in his youth and is keen to get involved. He notices that the mainsail leech line is fouling the upper mainsheet block on the boom. Before Paul can do anything, Jack is standing on ..read more
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‘We suddenly heard a loud noise from the engine. We had no idea what it was and it got us worried ’
Yachting Monthly
by Toby Heppell
1M ago
After the engine breakdown on board his Nicholson 35 Lady Blue in the Kiel Canal, one of the busiest commercial channels in the world, Harry Dekkers explains how they resolved the situation The Kiel Canal provides a convenient shortcut between the North Sea and the Baltic, or as the Germans call it, the Nordsee and the Ostsee. We Europeans call it the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, or NOK for short, while you Brits just call it the Kiel Canal. Going from west to east you enter the Kiel Canal via the Elbe River where you enter the locks at Brunsbüttel and you leave the Kiel Canal at Holtenau locks where y ..read more
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How sailors navigate using just the sun: Expert guide to celestial navigation
Yachting Monthly
by Toby Heppell
2M ago
A sextant and the sun is all you need to find your position, says Tapio Lehtinen. It’s easier than messing around with stars and much more satisfying than GPS Mark Sinclair on the GGR, shooting the sun When you read this, I will be somewhere in the depths of the Southern Ocean, bound for Cape Horn aboard the Swan 55 Galiana WithSecure. Supported by a crew of young Finnish sailors, I’m taking part in the Ocean Globe Race, a fully crewed round-the-world race that eschews modern technology, including GPS, to recapture the spirit of adventure of some of the early offshore races. I actually first s ..read more
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The forecast is unsettled, should you leave harbour?
Yachting Monthly
by James Stevens
2M ago
James Stevens considers a problem sent in by a Yachting Monthly reader who wants to know whether you should leave harbour with an unsettled forecast Bill is in Plymouth in September planning a passage to the Med. He has decided that the first leg is to sail to Camaret near Brest in Brittany. His yacht, Aries, is a 12m cruiser racer. He has three crew. The forecast gives a low off south-west Ireland with SE 5-6 winds becoming 6-7 and veering south later for sea area Plymouth. The long-term forecast is for unsettled weather, so Bill is anxious to set off and sail south as soon as he can. The co ..read more
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How do solo sailors sleep at sea? Experts share their tips and advice
Yachting Monthly
by Andy Pag
2M ago
When Andy Pag was planning a 450-mile solo passage, sleep was the biggest source of worry. Here’s how he created an effective solo sleep routine When I was planning my first solo offshore sail on my Lagoon 410 Cushla, from Grenada to Bonaire, my biggest concern was not the risk of pirates off the coast of Trinidad, or the night-time squalls that might sneak up unseen in the trade winds. Even the risk of falling overboard and watching the boat sail away as I drifted alone in the current wasn’t giving me restless nights. The concern I was losing sleep over was sleep, and how I could ensure I’d ..read more
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How to sail a trimaran: Expert advice for sailing with three hulls
Yachting Monthly
by Theo Stocker
3M ago
For their size, trimarans can punch well above their weight in speed, cruising potential and fun. Monohull sailor Theo Stocker gets to grips with how to handle one Getting a float fully submerged is when it’s time to back off Humans tend to gravitate into tribes of like-minded enthusiasts, enjoying the encouragement, support and sense of identity, while often looking askance at others; sailors at motorboaters, cruising sailors at racers, monohull sailors at raft, I mean, multihull sailors, and everyone looks askance at jet-skiers. Large cruising catamarans (40ft now counts as a small one) are ..read more
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