Amid lockdowns, travel restrictions and other COVID-19 curbs, many boat owners won’t have had an opportunity to get their boats out of the water and lavish a little TLC on the hull. We’re among them, so we started looking at issue of antifouling with a view to finding a compromise between the needs of Amneris …
Low pressure systems can be bad news for sailors, bringing storms, squalls and general unpleasantness. Thankfully, they can usually be predicted – and you’ll need to know how if you are planning to take your RYA Yachtmaster exam, or indeed if you intend to have a long and relatively comfortable sailing career. Depressions are low …
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has died at Windsor Castle, at the age of 99. One of the more controversial members of the British royal family (one might respectfully describe him as having been a “character”), he was also a keen sportsman and had a lifelong love of sailing and the sea. Philip was …
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The weather can be a sailor’s best friend, or worst enemy. Learning how to predict what kind of mood it is in is a vital skill, and you will need to know about this not just for safe and pleasant sailing, but also if you intend to take a Yachtmaster exam. This article is the …
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For most sailors, it is second nature to pull on a life jacket before slipping the lines. Modern designs are lightweight and comfortable to wear, and can last many years if serviced regularly and professionally. Early life jackets, though, were a different matter altogether. They were bulky and inconvenient, yet did the same job that …
Sail power is making a comeback, as shown by the recent example of the cargo ship that docked in Torquay bringing wine, coffee and olive oil from Portugal. Nordlys (pictured) was built on the Isle of Wight in 1873, which could make her the oldest vessel of her kind still operating. But that’s not all …
Skippers who can spin their boat on a sixpence, moor alongside under sail in the teeth of an offshore gale and fix their position without instruments in fog so thick they can’t see their own bow might still fear one aspect of a Yachtmaster exam: the interrogation about their knowledge of the International Regulations for …
Read more “Sail training theory tutorial 3: understanding COLREGs”
Do you give much thought to what’s below your boat (apart from rocks) when you drop anchor? Do you know where to find your nearest pump-out location? How can you minimise risk to the environment when removing/applying anti-fouling, or simply cleaning your boat? The Green Blue is an excellent place to start if you want …
Sea-sickness is a common malaise, experienced by most sailors at one time or another. But setting sail alone for even short periods can also have effects on mental health. Most sailors know the story of Donald Crowhurst. When he slipped his lines in Teignmouth to take part in the first Golden Globe race neither he …
When Vice-admiral Horatio Nelson sent the rallying cry “England expects that every man will do his duty” from HMS Victory ahead of the Battle of Trafalgar, he signalled his message using flags. In these days of electronic communication it might seem that such signalling methods are old hat – but flags, the phonetic alphabet and …
Read more “Sail training theory tutorial 2: flags, morse code and the phonetic alphabet”