Blog

14 July 2022

After I first learnt to dive, my instructor took me down to 30m (100 feet) deep to show me a cave. He was very excited when we discovered there was a large nurse shark resting within it. I was excited in a different way and decided to beat it back to the boat. Alas, when I got to where I expected... Read more

04 July 2022

Well, that is it! I am now officially old… at the time of writing I have just passed that special Birthday which makes me officially a Master, at least in terms of ILCA sailing age categories. Having been learning to be old in the Apprentice Masters category for a decade I am now finally a Master... Read more

01 July 2022

So, 1 July is World Marine Aids to Navigation Day. Which is a bit of a mouthful. But if I asked you to list the navaids that are most important to you, we would all I think have GPS at the top of our lists. But for myself, a close second would be the humble lighthouse. Lighthouses are part of the... Read more

27 June 2022

There is more to fishing than trying to catch a fish! True, anglers love to tell a story and, even in the pub when the wind is howling outside and the rain beating down on the roof, anglers still dream of being on the water and will bore anyone prepared to listen about the fish they have caught,... Read more

15 June 2022

As sailors we’re always thinking about & talking about the wind. It was strong, it was weak, it was steady, there wasn’t any, the discussions go on for ever. One of the great things about ocean racing is that you see the wind in many more of its states than usual, and your whole existence becomes... Read more

15 June 2022

Let’s be clear, I’m not talking about that part of the sea yachtsmen inhabit, I’m talking about that shallow area, just off the coast which dinghy sailors use as their championship playground and most yachtsmen try to get across as quickly as possible to reach the smoother waters offshore. I... Read more

07 June 2022

No matter how much we might think otherwise, the majority of our lives take place in a fairly small zone. This zone geographically extends to the towns we live in, the places we work and wherever we visit and explore. Conceptually, this zone extends to the things we read, the topics we focus on and... Read more

31 May 2022

The thing most of us love about sailing is that even when you think you have all the answers, you get bitten again and realise how little you know. Whether that is on the boatspeed and equipment side, the boat handling aspects or the strategy and tactics front, our sport has endless approaches to... Read more