What is hot in the galley? Stoves of course
It has been said that, next to the mast, the stove is the most used piece of equipment on board. On my boat this is certainly true. After almost nine years of sailing I know the most important thing about…
Cruising
Dedicated to Cruising the world under sail including destinations, navigation, sailing tips, safety ideas, yacht & multihull reviews along with stories and insights for the sail cruising life in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
A marine biologist's worst meal ever
Most cruising sailors and other travellers look forward to eating fresh seafood when visiting Pacific islands. Many sailors catch their own fish from nearby reefs and some choose to buy from the ubiquitous coastal fish markets. In the latter case,…
Australian cruising family stalked by pirates off the coast of Yemen
The Daily Mail. By Adam Mccleery For Daily Mail Australia An Australian family sailing around the globe were stalked for four hours by pirates before Japanese and Pakistani warships sailed in to save the day. Lachin Turner, wife Louise and their…
15 Years Strong: Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek
PHUKET, Thailand – A lot can happen in 14 years. 493 boats and more than 2,500 sailors have taken part in Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek since its inception in 2004 and as the organisers look to the event's 15th year…
Australian and NZ weather experts issue joint statement
The Bureau of Meteorology has joined forces with New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) to issue a joint Special Climate Statement about unusual weather patterns over summer. This is the first time the two organisations have…
Australian Navy conducts anti-piracy patrols in Phillipines
Manila Bulletin. By Nonoy E. Lacson. Zamboanga City – The Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) started yesterday its Second Maritime Security Engagement exercise with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the waters off Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in which are aimed…
Avoid the FNQ tourist traps: there is plenty to see
In a quest for the quiet life on the water, many cruisers give any place popular with tourists a wider berth than a category five cyclone. Unfortunately in doing so, they often deny themselves the opportunity to experience some truly…
Iconic Pacific: cruise Fiji's Yasawas
The find of my day: long snout, check; slim body in ringed bony segments, reddish tail, check, check. Solitary and cryptic, absolutely. The reeftop pipefish. Camouflage is one of the distinctive features of pipefish, which seems a contradiction of course….
Won't you come home Bill Bailey – the wave that was waiting
By Lin Pardey “Have you ever wanted to chuck it all in, give up cruising and move ashore?” I have been asked this question more than once when I happened to meet someone who had just dropped anchor after a…
Registrations open for Tahiti Pearl Regatta
Entries to arguably the world's most breathtaking sailing rally are open with registrations filling fast for the 2018 Tahiti Pearl Regatta in May. The event, which is sponsored by Multihull Solutions, is staged from 7-12 ay and held on the…
Five reasons to race Top Of The Gulf Regatta 2018
PATTAYA, Thailand – Now entering its 14th year, Top of the Gulf Regatta presented by Ocean Marina has grown to become an award-winning multi-class regatta held annually in the Gulf of Thailand. Homed at Ocean Marina Yacht Club, the regatta…
Great Barrier Reef shines in collaboration focus at Australian Superyacht Rendezvous
Delivering a unified Great Barrier Reef destination message is the key focus of four collaborating superyacht marinas at this year’s Australian Superyacht Rendezvous. Taking a collective marketing approach to target international superyachts, Abell Point Marina, Cairns Marlin Marina, Crystalbrook Superyacht…
Carnarvon's landlocked yacht club stops tourists and damages local economy
ABC Online. By Joanna Prendergast. Business owners in a remote town on the West Australian coast say the community's landlocked yacht club is damaging their already struggling local economy. Since April last year, the Carnarvon Yacht Club has been cut off…
Good Samaritan replaces sunk cruising boat for $1
ABC (America). By Josiah Bates. Tanner Broadwell and Nikki Walsh had been living on a boat in Florida for about a year, with plans to sail to the Keys, but those plans ended abruptly three weeks ago when their boat…
Cruising Club of America names Jessica Watson among 2017 Award Recipients
NEW YORK, N.Y., USA (February 25, 2018) – Webb Chiles (Hilton Head, S.C.), Rich Wilson (Boston, Mass.) and Jessica Watson (Buderim, Queensland, Australia)are among Cruising Club of America’s (CCA) 2017 award recipients selected for outstanding contributions to the sport of…
New route announced for ARC Channel Islands 2018
Following two successful editions ARC Channel Islands, entries are now open for this summer's rally which features a new route for 2018 with Dartmouth as the start port. Run in association with RYA Active Marina, the Rally is popular with…
Customs clearance facility on the Gold Coast increases vessel numbers
The Gold Coast’s customs clearance port, which is now in operation, has paved the way to drive growth in the superyacht and tourism industries. The new port, which opened mid last year at Southport, means foreign superyachts and other international…
OCC Azores Pursuit Rally filling up
Dartmouth, Devon, UK 14 February 2018 – At least 36 vessels have signed up to sail to Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores this coming June to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Peter Café Sport. The Ocean…
Rising above it all: aging cruiser gets creative
I doubt that there is anything more uncomfortable for a middle-aged cruising bloke than the canvas bosun's chair. Getting into it at deck level can be a circus act. With one hand you are holding the halyard and the other…
Young Kiwi couple who sailed off with no experience at all
Stuff.co.nz. By Lorna Thornber. When Kiwi couple Abby Sanford and Rohan Honson-Morris took their yacht out for the first time ahead of their planned Atlantic crossing, they didn't even know how to turn on the engines. The pair had been…
Entries open for 2018 Sail Port Stephens
Entries and the Notice of Race for the 2018 Sail Port Stephens race week have now gone online as another ripper regatta is predicted for April 9-15. The success of last year’s 10th anniversary regatta is projected to provide a…
Couple who quit jobs to sail the world lose everything as boat sinks two days in
Metro.co.uk. By Georgia Diebelius A couple who sold all of their worldly possessions to sail around the world have lost everything after their boat sank two days in. Tanner Broadwell and Nikki Walsh set off on the Monday on the once-in-a-lifetime adventure….
AIS: A sailing must have in SE Asia
The port light looked like it was getting closer but was somewhat difficult to tell as the wind howled and the rain sheeted down. It is always the way, I thought, as I wondered how far away the ship was….
Phuket ‘ghost yacht’ washes ashore on Sumatra, captain safe
Phuket News PHUKET: The skipper sailing a yacht from Phuket to Langkawi, Malaysia, that washed ashore unmanned in Sabang, Indonesia, has been safely rescued by a passing cargo vessel off Sumatra. Paul Van Isacker reported reported himself to be alive…
Noumea couple rescued after classic yacht runs on to rocks at Cape Raoul
January 16, 2018. A 51-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man from Noumea were rescued by Tasmania Police with assistance of tender craft from the cruise ship Coral Discoverer after the couple's 12m yacht Claire de Lune ran on to rocks…
New year brings new adventures for World ARC rally circumnavigators
Saturday 6th January marked a special day for close to two-hundred intrepid cruising sailors chasing new adventures with annual editions of World Cruising Club's round-the-world cruising rally World ARC. In the rally's Caribbean home port of Saint Lucia, the World…
Notice of Race published for 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta
PATTAYA, Thailand – The Notice of Race has been published for the 14th Top of the Gulf Regatta Presented by Ocean Marina and entries are now being taken. Scheduled for 27th April to 1st May, 2018 at Ocean Marina Yacht…
Hong Kong: Riding the crest of a wave
Hong Kong proudly welcomes the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 (VOR) to Asia’s world city for the first time. As one of 12 VOR Host Cities, a Hong Kong Stopover from January 17 to 31 features a Race Village and…
Jon Sanders completes tenth circumnavigation of the world
Fremantle, NSW, 21 December 2017 – Jon Sanders AO OBE CitWA left Rottnest Island on the last leg of his mostly single-handed circumnavigation last week. The passage was approximately 500nm. He arrived in Carnarvon, WA aboard s/v Perie Banou II,…
Eden wave attenuator selection process called into question
In the December issue of Cruising Helmsman we ran a news item announcing the call for expressions of interest to construct a wave attenuator in Snug Cove, Eden. We have just received a letter that denounces the image used in…
Special celebrations in Saint Lucia conclude ARC+ 2017
As the sun set in Saint Lucia on Wednesday 6th December, crews of ARC+ 2017 came together to mark the end of a wonderful ocean adventure with a special prize giving ceremony held at Pigeon Island National Park. The experience…
Multihull Solutions Pittwater Rally makes a splash
A fleet of multihulls took Pittwater by storm in late November at the hugely successful Multihull Solutions Pittwater Rally. Thirteen multihulls participated in the biennial three-day event which incorporated laidback cruising in Pittwater’s marine wonderland and an itinerary of relaxation…
Missing Polish yacht drifts to Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago NEWSDAY. A Polish yacht whose skipper fell off, leaving only his untrained wife on board, was recovered in Lambeau last Friday where it had run aground on the reef. A search was mounted for the yacht last…
Jon Sanders: Leaving Sydney and the Tamar River
While in Sydney I waited for a weather break before my departure. It would be silly if I didn’t; there was plenty of wind, wave and surf warnings. I would now be able to sail comfortably south down the Australian…
'Lunch with La Vagabonde' is a one-off opportunity
Multihull Central is presenting YouTube cruising sensations 'Sailing La Vagabonde' to the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron for one exclusive day, sunday 17 December, sharing their adventures of sailing around the world. On Sunday the 17th of December, Riley and Elayna…
Missing Canterbury man's yacht found abandoned
The New Zealand Herald reports that a search operation has begun for a missing 66-year-old man whose 25ft yacht was found abandoned on Lake Benmore in the country's South Island. Police say they are concerned for the safety of George…
How a love of sailing helped Einstein explain the universe
ABC News. By Michael Troy. If the world's most famous physicist Albert Einstein is any guide, modern-day scientists need to get out of the lab more and onto the water. Around 1900, a cheeky Swiss patent clerk wrote to a…
Sailboat towed into St George’s Harbour after losing mast
The Royal Gazette. By Owain Johnston-Barnes. A sailboat was towed into St George’s after losing its mast, boom and propeller in a squall. A member of the public called Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre at around 1am last Wednesday to report that…
Into the Atlantic – ARC 2017 Sets Sail from Gran Canaria
An international fleet of yachts taking part in the 32nd edition of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) set sail today from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, beginning an amazing transatlantic journey to the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Under…
Naval fliers rescue British yachtsman
The News Portsmouth HELICOPTER crews launched a rescue to save a British yachtsman whose boat was ravaged by storms in the Bay of Biscay. Wildcat helicopters from 825 Naval Air Squadron were scrambled from RFA Argus after an SOS…
