Sailcare Tips by Norths
Sailcare Tips by Norths An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Proper sail maintenance is easy and takes little time, and can make a big difference in the life and performance of your sails. Whether you have…
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.
The A-Z of cruising
Feature: Cruising jargon Cruising Helmsman March 2009 Simon Kent gives us a crash course in cruising and cruising jargon in this fun A-Z. Ais for anchor The earliest anchors date back to the Bronze Age and were simply big rocks….
Anchorage Marina Port Stephens
Fancy a night in a luxury resort? Or simply dinner at a top a la carte restaurant? Caroline Strainig checks out a marina with a strong resort flavour where cruisers are welcome. At the marinaMany sailors believe the best thing…
Lexus Port Lincoln Regatta
Destination: Lexus Port Lincoln Regatta Commodore's welcome South Australia is a land of big skies and cascading peninsulas falling into azure blue gulfs, as typified by the beautiful Port Lincoln. For those who've just sailed from Adelaide or elsewhere to…
Security: Just Cruising by Keith Fleming
JUST CRUISING BY KEITH FLEMING. Cruising in foreign waters can be dangerous so considering some basic security matters makes sense. Just as you would make plans for your navigation on a partial or complete circumnavigation so you must make plans…
Sailing a classic
CLASSIC CRUISE Taking the famed Gypsy Moth IV cruising along the Top End while also being part of a social sea-going experiment was an amazing experience, reports Andrew Bray. Many places on the north Queensland coast were named by British…
Tales of Hybresail: Singapore
By Anne Wilson A land as old as time itself swathed in the mysteries of the exotic east has expanded to become arguably the world's largest floating warehouse. We crossed the shipping highway between Batam Island Indonesia and the island…
Electronics with Navico: Broadband Radar
By Chris Radford, Navico I know some of you will be thinking “well he works for Navico, so of course he's going to say it the best thing since sliced bread”, so I'll leave the introduction to Navico's Broadband…
In the wake of Banyandah: Going fishing for monsters!
Walking aft to our tower, I saw our Ocky strap bowstring tight and the trolling line singing. Shocked and alarmed I jumped back shouting, “Hey Jude. Oi! Come look. Something huge is hooked up.” We nearly always troll a fishing…
In the wake of Banyandah: Lucky, lucky, lucky
By Jack Binder “Lucky, lucky, lucky,” that's how my sister described it. I should have known better. Tradition says beginning a voyage on a Friday is a bad omen. Fuelling this ominous portent – our last shakedown began Friday the 13th….
In the wake of Banyandah: The people you meet
By Jack Binder Hello seafarers and settee sailors. I thought I'd offer two glimpses from our life that happened while preparing Banyandah for her Southern Ocean crossing When guests of the Fremantle Sailing Club, I awoke feeling a bit old…
Sailing with the Smallwoods: Life in the fast lane
Sharon and Julian Smallwood enjoy life in the fast-lane (well sort of) when Airlie Beach and Hamilton race weeks come to town. The cruising life follows a different agenda to most, but that doesn't deter us from entering into…
Sailing with the Smallwoods: Hitting the cruising highway
by Sharon Smallwood Leaving Bundaberg at the end of July, I had assumed we'd be a little late in the season to find many other boats, especially this far south. Surely those with any sense would have already escaped the…
Sitting out the cyclone season
By Fiona Harper. Sitting out the cyclone season Cruisers heading north, who find themselves waiting for the cyclone season to finish do have an alternative to sitting out the hot windy summer in Fremantle. There are a number of safe…
The adventures of Dreamagic: Heady stuff
Alan Littlefield tackles some heady heights on his Bavaria 44, Dreamagic, on the eve of the 2009 Cairns-Louisiades Rally. I am not generally fond of toilet humour. It's not a funny subject, but heads on yachts seem to be a…
The Adventures of Dreamagic: Stories of the cormorant
By Alan Littlefield Recently a cormorant has taken to sitting on my starboard spreader at daybreak and watching the sunrise. I am partial to do this myself, (watch the sunrise, not sit on the spreader) and I am glad…
The Adventures of Dreamagic: Preparing for the Louisiades
By Alan Littlefield Dreamagic (a Bavaria 44) has now successfully completed her voyage from Pittwater in NSW to her new home in Cairns. On the way we managed to fit in the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race, a few…
The Adventures of Dreamagic: Racing the family home
By Alan Littlefield We can't help it can we? Get two boats on the water and they race. I can remember my early days of sailing home in a Cole 23 under the Harbour Bridge. It was a beautiful…
Sewage and the sea
John Champion delves into murky territory when he boldly goes where few cruisers would go if given a choice. Our cruising homes, like land-based ones, require toilet facilities that can reasonably be expected to work when needed. Unlike shore-based plumbing,…
Memorable Mooloolaba
Sharon Smallwood profiles one of SE Queensland's most memorable ports – Mooloolaba. Mooloolaba is probably best known as one of the towns collectively comprising Queensland's Sunshine Coast. For the cruising sailor, it is not only the gateway to this region…
Working holiday in the Whitsundays
What do you do when you have a few days up your sleeve before or after a bareboat holiday in the Whitsundays? Well, if you're a sailor who wants to improve their sailing, some sail training, of course! While in…
Across Arnhem Land
Cruising Helmsman March 2009 By Sharon Smallwood Sharon Smallwood and her husband Julian explore one of Australia's most remote regions. Perhaps it was the lure of places closed to casual visitors. This certainly aroused my interest. Perhaps because Brilliant II…
That pollution insurance
Chris Ayres tackles the controversial issue of compulsory pollution insurance for boats over 15m in Queensland. If my boat is over 15m, do I have to take out special pollution insurance before visiting Queensland? A reader from Darwin, Bill Shorter,…
Surfing from Darwin to Ambon
Caroline Strainig shares some memories and pictures of the 2008 Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race & Rally and reports on plans for this year's event. Surfing the net can get you into trouble. For years I had thought it would…
Virgin yachtie
Having a novice friend along for a cruise? Caroline Hynes tells what the experience is like from the crew's point of view and gives tips for others following in her footsteps. I had just started my summer holidays from school….
From Melbourne to the Whitsundays – a cruising plan
From the land of fine dining to tourquise waters and white sand, William Merritt details his warm weather escape plan. Speaking as a Melbourne-based yachtie, I’m aware that our northern neighbours rarely consider sailing south. To be honest, I can’t say…
From the Gold Coast to Lady Elliot
Tony Little combines work and pleasure when he cruises his Seawind 1000 from the Gold Coast to Lady Elliot Island to teach a first-aid course. In addition to teaching Coxswains courses for the Gold Coast TAFE and invigilating radio courses…
Loading: Just Cruising by Keith Fleming
Adding weight onboard can make quite a difference to stability, performance and even comfort. There are two points to be considered. The loading of fixed items like furniture and tanks, and the loading of everything else that you take on…
Good company in the Louisiades
Destination: PNG Guy Chester, who helped organise the event, was among those who set sail in the first-ever official Louisiades Rally. In 2002 I was sitting on the beach at Nanuya Lailai of Blue Lagoon fame in Fiji. I had…
The most beautiful place
Destination: Suvarov Meryle Thomsom's world circumnavigation is now long behind her, but there is one place in particular that she will always remember – Suvarov in the Cook Islands.“Suvarov is the most beautiful place on earth, and no man has…
Seychelles landfall
Destinations: West Indian Ocean World girdling sailor Lynelle Parker and husband Lloyd found their voyage west towards Africa an intoxicating mix of scenes and scents. A popular passage west across the Indian Ocean from both northern Australia and from South-East…
Colourful Yellowpatch
Destination: Queensland Jill Knight explores Curtis Island's Yellowpatch, a dramatic sand-blow-coloured orchre south of Queensland's Keppel Islands. Just as there are fashions in après-sail wear, I think there may be fashions in anchorages. When my brother regularly cruised the Queensland…
Electrics: Just Cruising by Keith Fleming
Electrics are the hidden but essential part of any cruising boat. Nothing will work without a good electric system. So many problems occur during an extended cruise because of breakdowns in electrics. If you cannot start the motor, it is…
Stacking Up
How does Australia stack up compared to other countries when it comes to visas and officialdom? Maria Grigg asks international cruisers for their candid opinions. In the past few years I've met many overseas cruisers and often asked how they…
Stopover at Tathra
Destination: NSW South Coast Bob Couper finds a gem among gems when he stops for a break on the east-coast trek north from Victoria. If you're cruising along the southeast coast of Australia or towing the trailer-sailer up its roads,…
Planning for a world cruise
Feature: Circumnavigating Five years into a part-time world circumnavigation, Aussies Don and Agnes Reed reflect on the destinations they have visited and the options open to the would-be circumnavigator. A voyage from Australia around the world could be done in…
Feeling powerless
Petrea Heathwood explains how to check voltage drop in your power system.It can pay to check the voltage drop (or resistance) in the charging circuit wiring between power sources (engine alternator, solar panels, wind generator) and your storage batteries at…
Queensland: Rediscovering the Newrys
Jill Knight revisits one of her favourite get-away-from-it-all destinations – the Newry Islands 25km north of Mackay. “I hear they've done a lovely job there.” The cruiser I had met casually on the dock in Mackay was responding to my…
Coming home
Judith Thomson describes the last leg of a two-and-a-half-year voyage. Across through Shark Bay, we were chased by a squall until we dropped anchor in the lee of intense red Pindan sandhills. The cliffs jutted above narrow creamy beaches and…
Better buying
Heading along to the local chandlery? Chandlery assistant Kerry Ashwin has some tips. The very nature of boats means they have a myriad of parts and those parts inevitably need repair at some point. You don't need to be an…
