After the big winds and seas we motored in very light conditions with a large but diminishing swell left over from the gale. I invested in a long term weather forecast and discussed the situation with my crew and AWOL. The dilemma is that, with their shortage of fuel, they need to ‘chase the wind’... Continue Reading →

The traditional advice for sailing east to the Azores is to take loads of extra diesel as you are likely to experience long periods of dead calm and flat sea. As I write, we are 4 days into the passage, broad reaching in 23 knots of wind with a lively sea having hardly used the... Continue Reading →

Well, it seems the Watermaker membrane is buggered. We ran the unit through the night and in the morning; the quality of the water was just as bad, if not worse. Email exchanges with the ever helpful Jim at Mactra confirmed the diagnosis and so Peter has another piece of equipment to add to his... Continue Reading →

Something over 25 years ago, I went through the sequence of RYA shore-based courses which culminated in Yachtmaster Ocean. This is way back when Morse was still part of the Yachtmaster Offshore syllabus! I completed them with the practical on all but the Ocean qualification. The Ocean practical is largely about celestial navigation and with... Continue Reading →