Laura Hodgetts

Features editor

Laura Hodgetts

After graduating with a 1st in BA (Hons) Multi-Media Journalism at Bournemouth University, Laura worked for Digital Photographer magazine as a staff writer, before taking voluntary redundancy to go travelling.

Laura then joined the Dorset Echo as a news reporter, completing the NCTJ senior news reporter qualifications. Laura’s love of watersports saw her write the Echo’s Afloat page and become Newsquest Dorset’s only accredited reporter for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events, held in Weymouth and Portland.

She has completed the RYA day skipper, dinghy sailing level 2, powerboat level 2, windsurfing and kitesurfing beginner, and PADI advanced open water diving courses.

Laura joined PBO as news and website editor in December 2012, and has worked on sister title Yachting Monthly as cruising editor.

Follow Laura Hodgetts

A diver applying a protective marking solution to a bronze cannon on the Klein Hollandia protected wreck site. Credit: MSDS Marine/Martin Davies

For the first time in the UK, artefacts including cannons are being forensically marked underwater on some of the 57 Protected Wreck Sites in English waters which have the highest…

Practical Boat Owner magazine, November 2023 issue cover

The boat owner's ultimate guide to wood, the best coastal cruisers under 40ft, laying up – top tips to beat the bug, sailing around every island in England and Wales...…

Practical Boat Owner magazine (PBO) September 2023 issue cover

Best boats to sail around Britain, buyer’s guide to portable toilets, Jimmy Cornell's secrets to a successful voyage, how to design mods for your boat, 25 pages of boat DIY…

A yacht in front of the waterfront at Falmouth; anchoring charges have now increased

Are anchoring charges fair to those sailors who do not use facilities ashore? We look at both sides of the argument

“How do you get from one lake to another?” My brother Jack, a ferry captain, wanted to know when I said I was off to sail a cruising yacht on…

May the Standard Poodle

Standard Poodle May claimed a coveted 'Seadog of the Month' slot in Practical Boat Owner magazine – and now she's using her buoyancy aid prize on a circumnavigation of Britain

Practical Boat Owner magazine cover, Summer 2023 issue

Cruising to Europe: EU regulations explained, Different rig types – the pros and cons, Become a boatbuilder - behind the scenes at the academy in Lyme Regis, Electric for beginners:…