A remarkable change in the field of sailing holidays has taken place. You may be surprised, but Croatia is no longer the most popular sailing destination among sailors from Europe. It was not without reason that Croatia was the number one sailing destination for years. The phenomenal sailing areas, many islands, a wealth of available […]
Continue ReadingIf you’re an elite sailing geek like me you may want to check out Thomas Colville’s solo round the world record attempt that’s happening right now on the trimaran Sodebo. After 20 days at sea he is only 5300 nautical miles from the finish and is a whopping 1600 nautical miles ahead of the […]
Continue ReadingLearning to read the weather is core to learning to sail. Whether being able to get an idea if it is safe to go on your sailing trip, or to judge the weather patterns for a longer passage, it really helps to know as much as you can about the science of meteorology. I’d even […]
Continue ReadingWith the Grand Depart of the Vendee Globe singlehanded round the world yacht race just eight days ago, some people will be thinking of what it would be like to sail solo, and what qualifications there are out there to sail alone? The fact is, most people will sail singlehanded at some point in their […]
Continue ReadingThough tricky at times, docking and undocking is an essential part of being afloat. It is also the most public show of your boat handling skills, with who knows who potentially watching you either comfortably slip onto the dock with barely an error – or making an absolute tit of yourself as you smash about […]
Continue ReadingNews broke last week that the sailing coaching business Stormforce and its owner Douglas Innes are to face criminal charges for the deaths of four sailors who were crossing the Atlantic. From what we can gather at The Boating Hub, while the case has yet to go to court there are already some […]
Continue ReadingSo, the Olympic sailing circus has left Rio. Has it improved opportunities to learn to sail there? While Brazil came away with a Gold medal at the sailing events, and the waters are some of the most beautiful on the world (at least on the surface) there isn’t much for those inspired to learn to […]
Continue ReadingIn 2015 I wrote about the outcry as the International Paralympic Association (IPA) pulled the plug on future Paralympic sailing. In 2012, 23 nations had entries in the Games, while in 2016 at Rio, only 16 teams had entries. The IPA dropped sailing from Tokyo in 2020 for one simple reason – not enough nations […]
Continue ReadingSo, the Olympics is over again. More smiles on the podium, and hundreds of young sailors who can move on with their lives with ‘Competed in the Rio Olympics for my country’s team’ on their CVs yet who confidently could say they had no hope at a medal from the start. This isn’t to slag […]
Continue ReadingEvery year the RNLI and other rescue authorities end up rescuing hundreds of people who on impulse have bought a lilo or inflatable dinghy with the idea of having a paddle off the beach. Where normally I focus on various ways of learning to sail and the qualifications you may need for your leisure or […]
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