Having your boat prepared to take the ground can open up new cruising opportunities - and save you cash! Ben Meakins and PBO experts share their tips for drying out
seamanship
Lessons from the ARC: 24 top cruising hacks for blue-water sailing
Laura Hodgetts caught up with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers sailors for their best blue-water sailing hacks for everything from maintenance to lifejackets to lifestyle. 1. Winch upgrade Skipper Henrik…
How one boat owner made a mooring bridle to secure his yacht
Greg Manning explains how he made a bridle to ensure his Fairey Atalanta remains safe in a storm while on a swinging mooring
Start of season boaters’ checklist
As excitement builds for the new sailing season, minimise the risk of shakedown cruise glitches and common mistakes with this handy guide.
Forgotten seamanship: How to use anchors to manoeuvre without an engine
Dick Everitt passes on a few tips about alternative ways of using your anchor
Going boating shorthanded
Gilbert Park shares how he safely gets on the water with limited crew
A stroke off the Isles of Scilly: How a medical emergency left this skipper’s wife “hanging from a wire in a near gale”
Early July 2025 found my wife, Veronica, and I sailing in our Dufour 40, Spook from Falmouth in Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly, blissfully unaware of the dramatic rescue…
MOB recovery: which is the best single-point vertical lift technique for getting a crew member back on board?
Which is the best single-point vertical lift recovery method when faced with a man overboard? David Harding examines the best way for MOB recovery
Gybing a cruising chute
Knowing how to gybe with a cruising chute will give you the confidence to make the best use of it. PBO's David Harding shows you how
Sailing alone: a checklist for solo sailors
It’s easy to forget vital bits of information when setting off on a single-handed passage. Making checklists helps, but everyone’s will be slightly different
Pete Hill on sail repair, damaged steering and two lost drogues while battling storms in the Tasman Sea
Pete Hill faced damaged steering and lost two drogues while battling extreme conditions in the Tasman Sea. Graham Cox tells his story
Why your boat crew is the most important system on board
Will Spencer explains how to choose and manage a competent and friendly crew for an enjoyable offshore passage
Practical ColRegs for cruisers
Nick and Wendy Tyler’s advice on avoiding collisions, based on their own experience
6,000 miles solo in a £1 boat: lessons learned from an Atlantic Circuit
The wind was coming on like my brother Alex had warned me it would, as I approached the north side of Carriacou island, one of the Windward Islands of the…
Estimating anchor scope: how to get it right
Alex and Daria Blackwell reveal a simple way to check anchor scope when determining the correct amount of rode to let out
Boat towing at sea: how to tow astern
Ben Meakins and the PBO team examine the techniques of towing and being towed astern at sea, trying out the textbook theories in practice
First prosecution under new watercraft safety laws
A motorboater who injured a teen kayaker in a “completely avoidable” collision is the first to be sentenced under new watercraft safety laws.
Time to change the Beaufort Scale?
John Savage argues that the Beaufort Scale needs an update to make it more simple
How to avoid spinnaker broaching
Spinnakers and cruising chutes can make downwind sailing fun and faster – as long as you don’t let them take over. David Harding offers some tips on safe handling
Sailing through a thunderstorm at Portland Bill: How I survived a solo knockdown
David Edgar experiences a knockdown on a fraught solo sail round Portland Bill as a gale gathers strength