Sailing News
All the latest news from the world of sailing and stories from experienced sailors.
When coming into the river Crouch a young man was told by a yachtmaster candidate to steer a course of 245 degrees and to follow the buoyed channel. Because the boat was on the starboard tack and the wind from the north the student could not see the red channel marks and so followed the… Read more
Day Skipper Training
The internationally recognised Day Skipper qualification is something any aspiring skipper or someone just starting off in yachting should be setting their sights on. It is the qualification that most charter companies like to see before they charter you a yacht. Day Skipper Training is split in to two separate courses. The Day Skipper Theory… Read more
Running aground while learning to sail – it will happen one day!
Running aground is something that will happen one day, and if you sail on the east coast it is a possibility every day. Get your calculations wrong and a great day of sailing becomes a day of mud wrestling. But the mud can be a great asset when training. Our skipper asked each of us… Read more
Yacht Winter Refit – do it yourself: Anne’s Refit tips – If I can do it, so can you!
I am just finishing the winter refit work on a Jeanneau 40 . She is from 2002 so it’s important to check things carefully each winter so that there are no unpleasant hiccups in the summer sailing period. Time spent in the winter really pays dividends. Some of it starts when you take the boat… Read more
5 Reasons Why You Should Take the RYA Day Skipper Shore-based Course Now….
Taking a shore-based RYA Day Skipper course makes sense for many reasons, five of which are listed below: It will make you a better and safer sailor whether you intend to be crew or skipper as you will learn, amongst other things: How to work out tidal heights and tidal flow How to get from… Read more
RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Course in London
Is navigating using a sextant a dying art? In this modern age of GPS do we still need to know how to navigate by the stars? The RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Course (such as the one being run in Canary Wharf, London at the end of January) builds upon sailors’ basic navigational knowledge so those present… Read more
Now the Olympics is Behind Us…
Didn’t Team GB do well in the Olympics? Highlights for me – Ben Ainslie’s penultimate race before he went on to win Gold. It was totally gripping. Besides watching the Olympics, during the summer we ran a competition based on the games. Those taking part had to answer three questions and then their names went into a hat.… Read more
One of the first steps in Learning to Sail a Yacht is to take a Competent Crew Course
For anyone looking to learn how to sail an RYA Competent Crew course would be a good place to start. The course syllabus is set by the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) but run by sailing schools. The Competent Crew course forms part of a whole series of RYA courses that take you from total beginner to… Read more
Learning to Sailing in the wake of the Olympics
Perhaps the sailing Olympians inspire you to give sailing a go. Perhaps you have been meaning to try sailing for ages but have never got round to it. Well learning to sail is easy and if you are completely new to sailing this is the page for you! Years ago the Royal Yachting Association (RYA)… Read more
What’s the difference between a Buoyancy Aid and a Lifejacket?
A buoyancy aid supports the wearer in the water but is not designed like a lifejacket to turn the wearer face up. Falling or being knocked into the sea causes shock and disorientation so a lifejacket, either permanent foam or gas inflated, will turn an unconscious or incapable person face up. A lifejacket must have 100… Read more
