Innehållsförteckning för November 2025 från Practical Boat Owner

As the nights draw in… There’s a distinctly autumnal feel to the weather as I write this, and thoughts are already turning to annual winter maintenance. During the season we tend to make a note of what needs doing on board, and jobs that don’t need to eat into summer sailing time are firmly put on my ‘To Do’ list. To help me, I have decades worth of PBO in my basement–a vital reference tool I turn to again and again to read the sage advice of our experts. I’m pleased to say marine electrical engineer and surveyor John Payne has now joined this illustrious group, given that there isn’t much he doesn’t know about boat systems. In this issue, he shares why it’s so important to check often overlooked…

An annual report by the MAIB flags up that it’s awaiting action from British Marine following safety recommendations made after the Cheeki Rafiki tragedy more than a decade ago. The loss of a yacht and its four crew in the Atlantic Ocean, around 720 miles east-south-east of Nova Scotia, Canada, occurred on 16 May 2014. A recommendation was made in the MAIB report, published in April 2015, for the British Marine Federation to “co-operate with certifying authorities, manufacturers and repairers with the aim of developing best practice industry-wide guidance on the inspection and repair of yachts where a GRP matrix and hull have been bonded together.” A progress report published in July 2025 states: “British Marine is yet to implement this recommendation. The MAIB is awaiting an update.” A British…

Ella Hibbert, who is the first British woman to sail the Northwest Passage single-handed, has halted her solo sail around the Arctic due to safety concerns ahead of attempting the Northeast Passage behind schedule, but vowed to continue again next summer. The 28-year-old RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and PADI divemaster will be diverting to Alaska to over-winter her 1978 38ft Bruce Roberts offshore steel ketch Yeva there. In an emotional announcement on her @ella. at.66.5N Facebook page on 7 September, she said: “Yeva and I are behind schedule, from equipment failures in Greenland, to battling weather and ice through the Northwest Passage to my unfortunate running aground, we are late.” Hibbert has liaised with Russian authorities about the northern sea route and said: “The Deputy General for Navigation for the Northern…

It has been reported that the new digital system (EES) for tourists entering the European Union (EU) will require non-EU passport holders to have finger-prints and a photograph taken, as well as provide evidence of medical insurance and a return ticket or the means to purchase one–when it is rolled out from 12 October. Judy Evans, of the Cruising Association’s RATS group, said: “The introduction of the EES (European Entry Exit System) is primarily focused on digitising the means of recording entry to and exit from the EU of third-country nationals, by collecting and retaining biometric data on all travellers at the point of entry into Schengen. Ultimately passport stamping, the current method by which monitoring of lengths of stay in the Schengen Area is carried out, will cease. A…

A new dinosaur with a ‘striking sail’ along its back and tail that may have evolved for mating displays, has been identified from fossils found on the Isle of Wight. The 125-million-year-old bones were thought to be from one of the two similar known local species, until Jeremy Lockwood, a retired GP, took a closer look as part of his PhD studies at the University of Portsmouth and the Natural History Museum in London. Re-examining the partial skeleton at the Dinosaur Isle museum, he noticed that it had “particularly long neural spines.” Researchers then created a large database of similar dinosaur backbones to trace the evolutionary history of the heights of backbones on a new family tree of iguanodontian dinosaurs. Dr Lockwood has named the new dinosaur Istiorachis macarthurae–Istiorachis means…

Joan, my big sister, was due to be 70 last summer, and I had A Plan for her present. She’s a regular swimmer in their nearby loch, Loch Brora (57 miles north of Inverness), and after each of our West Highland holidays messing about on sit-on kayaks, she’d been wistful about the fun she could have with one at home. She and her husband, Steve, have a campervan, so I imagined her paddling out on adventures while Steve read Classic Motorcycle. Also, the holiday cottage we were booked into only had two kayaks, and our cousin Lita would be joining us next time, so a third would be ideal. In short, an inflatable kayak would be an excellent Big Birthday present. Amazon had a selection at under £100, but the…

The workshop echoes with see-sawing files and spinning sanders. A radio plays softly in the background, and fans whirr above as young men polish rudder bearings and weld spinnaker blocks. A grey tabby stretches on the office chair, while its owner, Kai Brossmann, talks me through the day’s jobs: a snapped boom on an Ovni 370 and a mast wedge for a Nauticat 43–plus a dozen other ‘small things’ such as a broken toilet seat and glitchy autopilot. boatCV could be any marine workshop… except that ‘CV’ stands for Cape Verde, and it’s in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean–over 300 miles from continental Africa–on an archipelago of arid and mountainous islands that have for centuries harboured weary sailors, fugitives and, more recently, yacht rallies. For the past 12 years,…

Launched into a gentlemen-only sailing club era, when Britain’s dinghy scene had barely started and yachts were becoming subject to local-specific rules, the Yacht Racing Association (YRA) was founded in November 1875. Aside from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club–set up on the Isle of Wight in 1845 so that the Queen could be a member–most establishments were ‘male only’. The YRA met a need for an umbrella organisation that would unify the rules covering handicaps of boats depending on their tonnage, and for behaviour afloat. The association began with just over 120 members, each paying two guineas (equivalent to about £320 today). Despite much support, the detractors were out in force, decrying the efforts to control what was seen as a free sport. However, in 1881, when the Royal Thames…

Ellie Aldridge, from Poole, Dorset, first took the tiller aged five, when her family bought a wooden sailing dinghy called AB. Her family were members of Parkstone Yacht Club, an RYA training centre. Aldridge said: “Going out sailing with your friends gives you a freedom that is totally different to normal life.” After leaving school in 2016, she raced the 49erFX skiff before taking a gamble in 2018 to switch to the new RYA Kite4Gold scheme. She said: “The opportunity of a new class to pioneer and a new generation of people was exciting.” Within a year she was European Champion. Last year, Aldridge claimed the inaugural women’s kite Olympic crown at Paris 2024. The 28-year-old said: “The RYA has given me the best platform over the past 10 years…

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With advances in heating, clothing and insulation, winter sailing is now more popular than ever, but most boat owners still prefer to haul the boat out for the winter months. Some also winterise afloat, sometimes out of necessity, or because they still hope to grab an occasional day of bright, midwinter sailing. A Boxing Day trip, for example, remains on many boaters’ wish lists. For anyone owning a boat, the key factor in winterisation is to keep it dry inside, especially as moisture can do more damage than just assist the growth of mould. For boats that have a lot of external natural wood, keeping the exterior dry too, especially during a spate of biting frosts, will help extend the life of the finish. As soon as autumn arrives there…

Norwegians have a long heritage of maritime history going back to the Vikings, who were extraordinary navigators. They are proud of their beautiful country and incredibly welcoming. Most people speak some English and are pleased to help in any way. Give yourself plenty of time to cruise Norway and explore. As in most popular sailing destinations, July and August are very busy months when many people take to the water. Polar night and midnight sun The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles. At roughly 66° 34’ N, its latitude is not fixed, but depends on the earth’s axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, owing to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the moon. Its current position is…

A new cruising rally for sail and motor yachts will cover 1,000 miles in the Baltic Sea, visiting five countries in one month. World Cruising Club’s ARC Baltic will take place over 28 days in July. Starting in Kiel, Germany, on 3 July, the fleet of up to 25 boats will visit Stralsund, Germany; Bornholm, Denmark; Gotland, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; the Åland Islands and the Stockholm archipelago, concluding in Bullandö, Sweden, on 31 July 2026. Said to be ‘ideal for family cruisers, motorsailers and trawler yachts’, the fleet is limited to 25 boats between 27-50ft. ■ pbo.co.uk/ARC_Baltic…

Orca interactions in the Spanish estuaries are increasing, the Cruising Association has confirmed. A small pod of Iberian orca has damaged several boats in and around Rías Baixas–a series of four estuarine inlets located on the southwestern coast of Galicia. Researchers still believe the orcas are being playful rather than aggressive and refute local suggestions that the orca have been hunting octopus. John Burbeck, orca project lead for the Cruising Association (CA), told PBO: “According to Grupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica (GTOA), orca have been sighted in these Galician waters before. There have been interactions in and around the Rias previously, but not in such large numbers. In August 2025, GTOA recorded 11 interactions in the mouths of the Rias, compared with just three in August 2024, although the true number…

Dogger Bank, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm–currently in construction off the coast of England in the North Sea–is set to get even bigger. Joint venture developers SSE and Equinor have finalised a seabed lease with The Crown Estate to progress the Dogger Bank D offshore wind project, following the establishment of terms last year. This marks a proposed fourth phase of the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, located 210km off the Yorkshire coast. A public consultation recently shared plans for up to 113 installed offshore wind turbines on fixed bottom foundations as well as up to two offshore substation platforms at the 262km2 seabed site; plus associated export and inter-array subsea cabling connecting with onshore infrastructure in the East Riding of Yorkshire for transmission of the electricity generated by…

SOUTH COAST & CHANNEL ISLANDS Fatal RIB crash Two men died and another was injured when a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) crashed on the edge of Portsmouth Harbour. Police said an Emsworth man in his 60s was pronounced dead in hospital following the incident at Tipner, Hampshire, on 14 August at around 1920. Police, coastguard and ambulance services attended. A man in his 50s, from West Sussex, was taken to hospital and later discharged, while searches were carried out for a third man, aged in his 60s, from Portsmouth. The missing man’s body was discovered on the morning of 19 August. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said in a statement: “Police and the man’s family would like to thank everyone who shared our appeal, contacted us with information or…

There’s nothing like that feeling of contentment from waking with the sun after a night of dreamy slumber in a peaceful anchorage and emerging to welcome the wonders of the world as if it was the first day of creation. And this was nothing like that. Though Snipe had rocked as gently as a cradle that would soothe a teething baby with croup, my fitful dreams had been filled with terror, maths, malevolent, violent rage and a lust for money–£25 million, to be precise, with enough left over to buy a torpedo boat. Even for me, this is not normal. The maths is perfectly routine for any night spent at anchor, with the digits of tide-height calculations clattering round my cranium. The terror too, because if by chance you don’t…

Being a keen small-boat sailor, I’m always on the lookout for a good hotel which is close to a launching site or a boat hire facility. I also like an outdoor pool for a dip and just by chance found that the Lodore Falls Hotel, on the banks of Derwent Water in the Lake District, provides a good outdoor pool while also being close to a slipway/marina. It is also an excellent hotel with an amazing restaurant and spa facilities. So, if you are keen on sailing but your partner prefers a good walk and being pampered for a few days, arrange a good hotel–this could be the perfect solution. We don’t all have a partner who is keen on boating. Moored astern of me at Rye was an extreme…

While Kai Brossmann and team get on with repairs, the yacht crews are free to explore Cape Verde. Many take a tour with Aventura Turismo to nearby Santo Antão, a staggeringly beautiful island at the north-westernmost tip of the archipelago (and the westernmost point of Africa). Arid and desert-like at its base, it’s hard to imagine how this can be the major supplier of fruit and vegetables, until you drive 1,500m up its winding cobbled roads into national parkland, high above the clouds, where eucalyptus, cypress and pine trees grow, and cattle graze in extinct volcanic craters. After a short hike on the mountainous summit, the bus tour descends via terraced plantations–home to mangoes, sugar cane and bananas–with stops at rustic roadside cafes, a distillery where you can sample the…

For decades practical boat owners have built yachts in their gardens and gone on to sail them safely offshore, and many of the skippers in the 2025-25 Mini Globe Race are following in their footsteps. So far, 13 of the entrants have now sailed their Globe 5.80s across the Atlantic and almost halfway across the Pacific Ocean, but how have these plywood 19ft boats stood up to the rigours of racing offshore? During the race’s layover in Fiji, I caught up with some of the skippers who were busy replacing standing rigging, renewing antifouling, power-washing, repainting the inside to deal with mould after weeks of sailing in damp Pacific air, and making more handholds for safety, in preparation for Leg 3, from Fiji to Cape Town. Performance Most skippers were…

1875 The Yacht Racing Association (YRA) is founded in an era when sailing was a privilege reserved for royalty and wealthy men–the aim to unify the rules covering handicaps depending on boat tonnage, and also for behaviour afloat. 1886 Introduction of a ‘more meaningful’ set of YRA rating rules, devised by leading yacht designer Dixon Kemp is published, replacing the ‘1730’s rule’ that drove excessively narrow boats with far better, ‘owner-friendly’ designs. 1894 The YRA’s rule that when an owner entered a race, he undertook a contractual obligation to make good any damage was upheld by the House of Lords following a dispute between the owners of Valkyrie II and Satanita. 1904 The YRA allowed women to join. Its first female member was Mrs HG Allan, an accomplished Solent sailor.…

When the engine failed on Carol Wu’s Hallberg-Rassy, she was 750 miles from land. At the same time, James Kennings’ hydrogenerator was delivering ‘nothing but drag’, and Rasmus Haurum Christensen’s lead-acid batteries had dropped below 12V. “I made a mistake,” he told PBO. “I just couldn’t keep them charged overnight!’ As any transatlantic sailor will tell you, managing power offshore can be a challenge. No matter how much effort you put into topping up your batteries, equipment will break, and even renewable sources can fall foul of weed, and a lack of wind or sunshine. In extreme cases, such as Wu’s, you may have to resort to paper plotting and sailing onto a mooring–thank goodness she was an experienced RYA Yachtmaster. Better management The good news, however, is that offshore…

When faced with an insect infestation on board your yacht, it’s usually best to address the problem as soon as possible to avoid a large-scale infestation. As always, the imperative is to make sure everyone on board remains safe, so extreme caution is required if an infestation involves stinging insects such as wasps, bees and hornets that may swarm and collectively deliver a potentially lethal dose of venom if the group feels threatened or is defending a nest. My first encounter, however, was more prosaic. It followed a big provisioning trip ashore that included a lot of fresh fruit. It was October in Greece and not particularly warm, so we figured there was a lower risk of an insect infestation at that time of year than in high summer. I…

Removing a propeller from your sail or motorboat doesn’t always translate to smooth sailing, even on a well-maintained yacht. Imagine doing it on an old wooden motor cruiser which was sitting neglected at her mooring for more than 10 years, and then on a hard for almost two years! I acquired Marabou a few years ago–she’d not had any care or maintenance for more than 10 years and it is only due to the first class materials she was built from that she was still worth saving when I found her at the end of 2022. In 2023 she was hauled out and I started to work on her. It is a slow-going process, particularly as she’s on an island about 400km from my farm. The main goal of my…

A former Plymouth lifeboat volunteer has returned from his 30,000-mile circumnavigation on his 36ft yacht, nine years after setting off. When Barry Perrins, 68, left Devon in June 2016 to fulfil a childhood dream aboard his steel sloop Van de Stadt yacht, he did not tell his family he planned to go “all the way around” as he wasn’t sure himself. “I’ll keep going and see where I end up” was his motto. After a stop in Portugal, he crossed the North Atlantic for the Caribbean. After Panama, he became becalmed in the Pacific Ocean and was reported missing until a French rescue aircraft spotted him and reported back to Falmouth Coastguard. He reappeared on the island of Hiva Oa, French Polynesia, 71 days later. Covid restrictions meant having to…

Skippers and crew of small boats are being advised to consider boarding aids such as additional ladders, handholds, and alternative means of access, such as a tender. Updated guidance by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) highlights that unsafe boarding arrangements continue to cause serious and sometimes fatal–accidents. Recent MAIB reports include falls from ladders, poorly lit pontoons, and gaps between vessels as recurring risks. Boat owners or skippers are responsible for the use of their own ladders or gangways. Marina and harbour operators are responsible when shore-based equipment is provided. In many cases, the responsibility is shared–but the MCA stresses that safety is everyone’s concern. Properly secured gangways with guard rails are at the top of the access “hierarchy”, followed by direct step or level access between vessel and…

The equinox has come and gone, the mooring buoys are emptying out, and yachtsfolk seeking knowledge are filing into weird-smelling Further Education centres or squinting at screens to gain shore-based qualifications. One of the most important aspects of these SBQs is Plotting your Position, which answers various ancient seagoing questions, viz. Where the Hell Are We?, How Did We Get Here?, and Where Next? The student mariner is by slow degrees inducted into the mystic arts of determining course to steer and course made good. His EPs cover the practice chart, and his ditty bag clanks with bits of transparent plastic, dividers and the odd sextant. After a winter’s endeavour and a certain amount of varnishing, he will be perfectly qualified to climb aboard his yacht, throw all the navigational…

The history of sailing is not just a story of wind and water–it is also a story of boats. The sea has a way of separating the merely good from the truly legendary. Some boats are just tools–floating concoctions of glassfibre and wood–while others etch themselves into the soul of sailing, rewriting the rules and leaving wakes that never fade. From humble trainers to ocean-conquering racers, these designs didn’t just sail–they revolutionised sailing and inspired generations of sailors. OPTIMIST Where sailors are born Every child’s first sailboat: simple, cheap and legendary. Every sailor remembers their first love. For most, it was an Optimist, a blunt-nosed plywood pram that felt like a bathtub but sailed like a dream. It looks like a wooden box with a sail, and that’s precisely the…

Wind vanes, to some, are an ugly protuberances, burdening the stern of otherwise handsome yachts. But to many an offshore sailor they are a godsend, an inexhaustible crew member who will toil night and day without complaint or sustenance. And without wind vane self-steering gears–often simply called vane gears–this particular sailor would be reluctant even to put to sea. Yet, if you ask around, experiences seem mixed. Some skippers find them obliging and obedient; others have had less consistent results. Many say they rely on their electronic autopilots for shorter passages, preferring push-button simplicity to the relative complexities of setting up their vane gears, though I find this surprising, since it takes no more than a few seconds to rig and engage a modern, well-engineered gear. But there’s no doubt…

The subject of diesel engines, maintenance and breakdowns is seemingly never-ending. Many of the issues with yacht diesel engines are entirely preventable. They require simple and basic maintenance and inspection by boat owners, without the need for costly marine mechanics. I started my marine career as a junior engineer on old British tramp cargo ships, a reset from my then-not-long-completed electrical fitter/mechanic apprenticeship. Several years of sea time on the engine room plates with some very skilled and competent engineers eventually rubbed off. One mentor had his own mantra: “It’s all about the fluids, laddie, look after the fluids, and your engine will look after you”, which he used to frequently intone along with several other expletives, while also encouraging me to better watchkeeping diligence. As everyone knows, the primary…

When rafting up, try to lie alongside a boat that is the same size as yours or slightly larger. Always give them a hail before going alongside. The crew may be aboard and can help by taking your lines. Even though they may be rafted up, some outside yachts will leave their dinghies alongside as a hint to go elsewhere. Sometimes, skippers will attempt to discourage you from coming alongside by appearing in the hatchway and announcing that they are leaving very early in the morning or in the next half hour, whichever is the soonest. If you have chosen the best (or only) place to berth, then be politely ruthless. It is surprising how often these boats change their plans. If there is no-one aboard the yacht you have…

Enjoying a perfect start to our Isles of Scilly adventure, my two friends and I set off aboard my 42ft yacht Blue Dolphin after a good night on a mooring in Helford Passage. The sun was up, and we had a decent 15 knots of wind with a moderate sea. On 29th April this year, we left early to catch the fair tide and plotted a course to clear the Manacles Cardinal buoy, which was now just abaft the beam. We were thinking about engaging the autopilot and settling down for the first brew. We were under full main and genoa, and enjoying that feeling of a boat sailing well, when there was an almighty bang and my 2013 Southerly 420 shuddered as though struck by an enormous force. As…

SAILS Rig tension on a hinged mast Q I have a fractional-rigged Pegasus 700 on the Norfolk Broads with a hinged mast to get under the low bridges. Are there any considerations I should be aware of for setting the rigging tension when the mast is frequently raised and lowered? Simon Steadman  Wilf Chaplin replies: I think the Pegasus 700 originally came with an A-frame to aid with the process of raising and lowering the mast short-handed, so I would imagine that she has been set up from the start to make this a relatively straightforward procedure. Looking at the deck layout and the mast, it appears as if the fractional version is set up as you’d expect a deck-stepped single spreader fractional mast to be done on a cruiser…

Trying on my brand-new oilskins, I belatedly realised that they were not big enough for me to wear additional warm layers underneath. Oh no, this was my first time above the Arctic Circle, it was the beginning of May, there was still snow on the ground and it was cold. I had flown to Svolvær, in the Lofoten Islands, the day before and I was about to skipper Isbjørn, a beautiful 48ft Swan, south towards Bergen via Flam at the end of the longest fjord in Norway. I went to the local fisherman’s shop and bought myself an all-in-one insulated waterproof suit to wear over my oilskins. The temperature was around 4°C during the day, colder at night and even colder with the wind chill factor. It did the job,…