2021 High tide series

2021 High tide series 2

December 18th and 19th 2021. The Antigua Yacht Club hosted the annual Budget Marine High Tide Series. The sailing conditions were challenging for the regatta with strong NE trade winds and numerous squalls with gusts reaching 33knots at times and seas up to 3 meters on the southern edge of the course. The committee set […]

THE VIKING EXPLORERS FLEET EN ROUTE TO GRENADA UNDER STRONG TRADEWINDS

07Jan2022 – The participants of the 5th edition of the Viking Explorers departed the Marina Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands after months of preparations. 20 boats and 71 crews from all around the world departed early in the  morning on the 6th of January with strong Tradewinds, whereas some decided to leave a […]

Robbie Ferron gives his view on the up and coming season of racing.

Having established that visiting yachts in the Caribbean are numerous in 2022, the question is now what the quality of competition looks like in the big regattas. If you review the online entries there is reason to get excited. Antigua Sailing week stands out with a class of seven “sports boats“ which might suggest a […]

CANOEING, KAYAKING, MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS?

Add this item to your emergency quick fix list. By Ruth & Niels Lund Whenever we managed to prise our yacht from a seductive bay and head out to sea for destinations further away than a dinghy ride, one of the first things on our “must have before we leave” list, was a range of […]

JOIN THE FAN CLUB

By Ruth Lund Before I went cruising, I was not a fan of fans. I found them them noisy, sometimes hurtful to people and pets, a devil to keep clean, and always in the way when not in use. However, I could never have survived 21 years living onboard a yacht in the Caribbean without […]

Cooking with gas

Propane (LPG) is heavier than air and the crew aboard two boats destroyed by a gas explosion had no idea the gas was in the bilge.  The first explosion lifted the boat’s entire deck almost a foot in the air; remarkably, the crew who unknowingly lit a cigarette, lived to tell the tale. The folks […]

RIGGING MATTERS

By Niels Lund Rigging is an essential component of a sailing yacht, but it tends to get the least attention. Perhaps because it is often out of sight and therefore out of mind when the boat is anchored, or can look strong, even when it isn’t. The prospect of going aloft to inspect something you […]

Corrosion comes weeping and creeping

It always amazes me while looking around sailboats just how many have telltale rust on their stainless rigging and how, more often than not, it just goes ignored. While cruising, my wife and I were having sundowners on a neighboring boat when I noticed that he had quite a lot of rust around his rigging […]

Dinghies! Inflatables, deflatables, and topside bangers

In my boating career I have had them all. Some I loved and some I beat to death with a stick. So, what is the right dinghy for you? Technology has vastly improved the designs and durability of inflatables since, with my wife rowing frantically and me squeezing a foot pump under my arm like […]