The strenuous life of a live-aboard ship's cat
My name is Bengie. I am ten years old, a female Bengal and have been the ship cat on Take It easy (and Medina before that) since I was a three month old kitten. So, I am well-travelled: lots of…
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.
Exporting and importing: what are the rules?
Australian yachts arriving home are being told their yachts have to be imported and, perhaps, include a duty to be paid. When friends left Australia in 2013 they queried entry requirements and were told: “None. Just turn up.” Photos to…
Irma sinks cruising couple's dreams
By Angela Daniels of The Herald Live. Left with nothing but a borrowed pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a phone, a Port Elizabeth woman and her husband are now trapped on a Caribbean island after narrowly escaping Hurricane Irma…
Cruising rally added to NZ's Coastal Classic
The New Zealand Mutlihull Yacht Club has teamed up with 36° Brokers and PIC Insurance Brokers to offer an alternative Coastal Classic for those wanting a more relaxed kind of journey north The all new Cruising Rally is aimed at…
Jon Sanders back in Australia with words of wisdom on Noumea
Jon Sanders arrived in Bundaberg yesterday (August 28, 2017) and now just needs to sail to the other side of Australia to complete his 10th circumnavigation of the world. Here is his latest blog, sent while in transit from Noumea:…
Port Stephens: the capital of Australia
Looking for a safe anchorage while sailing the New South Wales coast? After a quick stopover on your rapid journey north or south? Or are you looking for a quiet out-of-the-way place for memorable beach barbecues, with swimming beaches, fishing,…
Shaggers get together with Hands Across the Blue for prostate cancer
This weekend the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club will host their annual rendezvous in Gloucester Passage, Whitsundays, Queensland. With over 1000 boaties, all Vice Commodores of their own special part of the world, joined together for a weekend of festivities…
Sunshine, smiles and support on ARC Channel Islands 2017
The second edition of ARC Channel Islands, organised by World Cruising Club in association with RYA Active Marina, came to a close at the weekend following a week long cruise exploring Cherbourg, Guernsey and Alderney from the rally's start port…
Jon Sanders – in Noumea and pondering the vagaries of the Pacific winds
“Noumea” New Caledonia a long Island kinda lies south-east to north west. 30 N Miles wide and 220 miles long, sort of. Plenty of reef. The fringing reef well out with several well posted passages into the Lagoon. Once inside…
Installing an anchor winch
I must be really showing my age; the other day a lovely young lady stood up and offered me her seat on the tram. After I got home a long look in the mirror confirmed the sad fact, time has…
Drone on: using the new tech correctly
We all want better photographs of our boat and the beautiful places that we visit, but we are normally restricted to sea level unless we can find a convenient hill to climb. Recently, small camera drones have become affordable. They…
Fishing in the Pacific: how one crew do it
Sandy is the fisherperson on our boat. She has always loved fishing and the pile of fishing gear that was on board when we bought the boat is probably her secret reason for wanting this particular vessel. Our steady donations…
Up the far canal in a yacht
We all have a dream. We wanted to circumnavigate the world and part of that dream was to go through the French canals in our own yacht. In 2009 we finally found the yacht we were looking for in New…
What use are a yacht's polar plot for cruising?
These days you will often find published in boat brochures and boat tests, a diagram showing the performance of a particular boat. The diagram is called a polar plot and a typical one is shown in figure 1. Understanding how…
34th Musket Cove Regatta – time running out to book
Sailors from around the Pacific and beyond are already signalling their intention to be part of the legendary Musket Cove Fiji Regatta, which will be staged from September 15-20 this year. Such is the interest in the colourful event, that…
Mystery sailboat towed to Limassol port
Angelos Anastasiou of the Cyprus Mail Online reports a strange case of a sailboat with a broken mast and no crew: A crewless sailboat, which had been spotted some 90 miles south of Limassol two weeks ago but not found by…
Retired teacher rescued after storm rolls sailboat in near freezing temps near Iceland
Richmond Times – Dispatch. By Bill Lohmann. Three Virginia sailors, including a recently retired teacher from Richmond, were plucked from the cold waters of the North Atlantic on Wednesday after their 40-foot sailboat rolled over in stormy seas 200 miles…
Jon Sanders muses on trade winds, food and what awaits in Noumea
Jon Sanders is nearing the end of his 10th circumnavigation of the planet. When things go quite on board, his mind goes into overdrive and he commits his random thoughts to paper – or rather, his computer. This is his…
Ocean cruising experts to share knowledge at Boat Show forums
Sailing rally organisers World Cruising Club (WCC) will be hosting a series of forums this autumn set to inspire sailors to extend their offshore cruising boundaries. Each forum will feature a panel of experienced blue water cruisers sharing their personal…
Family of four with dog rescued by Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat crew as yacht sinks
A family of four and their Labrador dog were rescued last night (Tuesday 25 July) by the volunteer Lyme Regis lifeboat crew, after their yacht was swamped by waves and sank at Charlton Bay, west of Lyme. The yacht was…
Lisa Blair on her successful circumnavigation of Antarctica
On Monday night as I sailed the final leg of the journey the winds were blowing from the NW to the NNW at 15 knots and I was making steady progress towards Albany. I was right on schedule racing along…
Jon Sanders – pondering on the trade winds as he heads for New Caledonia
Jon Sanders is nearing the end of his 10th circumnavigation of the world. In this blog he ponders on the trade winds. The South Pacific Trade Winds – all the way across the Pacific. First one has to get into…
Lisa Blair finishes epic circumnavigation of Antarctica
Lisa Blair, who became the first woman to circumnavigate Antarctica on July 21 when she crossed her track below 45 deg South. Last night (July 25) she returned to port in Albany to a raucous reception from a large waiting…
Isabella Hellmann mystery spans three continents, raises questions
A few months ago, we ran a story about the disappearance of a Columbian woman from a catamaran off the coast of Florida. Her husband, a dual British and Australian citizen with links to a solar company in Queensland, claimed…
Scientists confirm the existence of a South Pacific garbage patch
ResearchGate.net. By Katherine Lindemann. A team of scientists has confirmed the existence of another ocean garbage patch, this time in a remote area of the South Pacific. Unlike the famous patch in the northern Pacific Ocean, which has long been…
Lisa Blair just 230nm from finish of epic adventure
Lisa Blair has completed her circumnavigation of Antarctica below 45deg S, becoming the first woman to do so. She is now just 230nm from reaching her departure port of Albany in Western Australia. This blog was filed the night before……
Lisa Blair – turning left for Albany today
Lisa Blair is about to become the first woman to circumnavigate Antarctica below 45 deg S. At 6am on July 21 she had just 720nm to go to the finish in Albany but she is likely to cross her track…
Jon Sanders on oysters, Bernard Moitessier and the Tuomotu Archipelago
Jon Sanders is heading west on his 10th circumnavigation of theglobe. He ponders on all things nautical and delivers some gems. Hon. Ian Campbell former Australian Senator and Federal Minister has a Oyster 68 ft single mast yacht. It is…
Jon Sanders on the subject of eggs and Cape Leeuwin
Jon Sanders is currently heading back to Australia on his 10th circumnavigation of the globe. Island regions affect wind strengths. Often beginning several hundreds of miles distant. Generally less wind – up wind or down wind. Vis Rodriguez Island, Mauritius,…
BIA backs Cattle Bay marina project in NSW
This article first appeared on our sister website Marine Business. The Boating Industry Association has thrown its support behind the proposed Eden Marina development on the NSW South Coast, stating that its economic value is “greater than other investments in…
Lisa Blair – climbing the mast in the Southern Ocean
Evening All, Last night to my great disappointment the winds maintained 8-10 knots from the North to North West and even with the Full main sail and the genoa out I was only able to get 5 knots in speed…
Lisa Blair – counting the days until left turn to Australia
Lisa Blair is nearing the end of her quest to become the first woman to circumnavigate Antarctica. Her is her latest blog: Evening All, Last night was a long night. I know I have been saying this a lot lately…
Video: Parachute Rescue Team saves two people off Florida
What do you do when people are in trouble but outside of Coast Guard helicopter range? Send in the paratroopers, of course, as Maritime Executive reports: On July 7, eighty U.S. Air Force personnel and four aircraft from the 920th…
Dramatic drop in number of containers lost at sea
According to the website Maritime Executive, the World Shipping Council (WSC) estimates that the average number of containers lost each year has dropped since 2014 by 48 percent. Based on the most recent survey results, an average of 568 containers…
Entries now open for Multihull Solutions Australian cruising rallies
Entries are now flowing in for Multihull Solutions’ cruising rallies in late 2017 with the events shaping up to become popular fixtures on the annual multihull calendar. Relaxed cruising is the primary focus of these events, which give participants the…
Busy weekend for AMSA's Coral Knight as solo yachtsman assisted
It was a busy weekend for AMSA's Coral Knight, assisting in two rescues. The first call out happened on Saturday night when the ship assisted a solo yachtsman with mechanical trouble off the coast of Cape Melville National Park. The…
Lisa Blair – wild ride, even wilder ride coming
Lisa Blair is in the final stages of her Antarctic cirumnavigation but the loss of her rig and subsequent repairs in Cape Town mean she is taking on the Southern Ocean in winter. After two days of calm conditions, the…
Lisa Blair – halfway home and enjoying good conditions
Lisa Blair is making good progress on the final leg of her circumnavigation of Antarctica. Having put in to Cape Town after breaking her mast, she is now halfway across the Indian Ocean and heading back to the starting point…
Jon Sanders – arrival in Tahiti
Jon Sanders is on his way back to Australia on his 10th circumnavigation of the globe. As always, his insights into the places he visits are priceless. Now Tahiti. A lot of years back France resumed underground nuclear testing at…
Calls for an encore as ARC Portugal comes to an end in Marina de Lagos
It is one month to the day since crews of the 2017 edition of ARC Portugal gathered together at Mayflower Marina in Plymouth, eagerly awaiting the latest weather forecast which would dictate their departure across the Bay of Biscay to…
