Isabelle Joschke, skipper of MACSF, was forced to retire from the Vendée Globe last night after her keel broke free of the temporary ram that had held it in place…
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London Boat Show – remember when January looked like this?
For all the boaters out there, the London Boat Show was the perfect antidote to the January blues. Thousands of boats and bodies packed blissfully close to one another at…
DIY boat engine replacement – How I fitted a Beta 30 in a Moody 31
I bought my 1987 Moody 31 MkII in September 2017 and still remember the excitement of flying down with a friend from Edinburgh to Southampton for the day to view…
Get paid to write articles in PBO – guide to submitting your work for publication
We publish dozens of reader-written features every year: online and in print 13 issues per year. Sail, power, rowing, sculling, surfing, foiling, shipping, inland, offshore, solo, fully crewed… there are…
3 great british motor-sailers: boats that you buy by the pound
Over a career spent as a boatbuilder and latterly as a freelance journalist, I have noticed that some owners of sportier yachts tend to trade up to bigger or more…
Brexit for boat owners – expert advice updated
What does 2021 and beyond hold for British boat owners interested in sailing in EU waters? There are multiple permutations, exceptions, caveats and potential changes still to come, but broadly…
The year we’ll never forget – and a thank you from PBO!
Covid may have put a spanner in the sailing this year but it didn’t stop the influx of amazing stories from DIY-ers, liveaboards and cruisers across the globe. Thank you…
The worst boat I ever surveyed
Back in the 1970s I used to do a small amount of yacht surveying while working in a boat yard. Insurance companies in those days didn’t require qualifications or third-party…
Excellent adventures – why keeping a logbook is for more than just navigation
I’ve been keeping a log almost as long as I’ve had my Offshore 8M Karima. The first entry was on 27 July 2005, heading out with Philip, my generally non-sailing…
Sailing around 200 islands in a 4m dinghy
Funny how small ideas in life often turn in to bigger ones. The Yodare challenge is definitely one of those. What started out as sailing around one solitary island in…
How we designed and built a folding dinghy for under £350
A dinghy adds an enormous amount of fun to a cruising holiday, but on a small boat there is always the problem of where to stow it. Hang it on…
Pip Hare races Vendee Globe rival Costa towards Cape of Good Hope
Pip Hare should cross the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope early tomorrow, her first of the Vendée Globe’s three Great Capes. Lying in 20th place, onboard Medallia, she’s…
Studland Bay wildlife protection orders may lead to complete boating ban in the bay
One of the South Coast’s most popular boating areas, Studland Bay, just outside the entrance to Poole Harbour, is likely to be the subject of further restrictions in order to…
Stay with the boat or take to the liferaft? Escoffier’s impossible decision
Could you describe what happened? It’s still hard for me to believe it; to believe that I broke the boat inside the wave at 90 degrees. I should have taken…
Vendée skipper Escoffier rescued from liferaft
Kevin Escoffier, the 40-year-old skipper of PRB, was rescued by fellow competitor Jean Le Cam this morning, after spending 12 hours in his liferaft off the coast of South Africa.…
Alone at sea with whooping cough
What could be safer than being alone in the middle of the ocean during a pandemic? This has been a frequent response to the news that this year’s Original Singlehanded…
How to fit a rode counter to make anchoring from the helm a reality
I often sail single-handed and after using a rode counter on another boat, I decided to fit one to my Nimbus 365. I already had markers on the chain at…
Self-isolation comes naturally for some of us…
Self-isolating has never been a problem for me. In fact, I’ve been following government guidelines ever since 2005, when I bought my Sailfish 18, and two months later the sheet…
Yacht maintenance not ‘essential activity’ during second COVID-19 lockdown
Government officials have said private individuals visiting their boats for maintenance or winterisation purposes is not an essential activity, and should not be a reason for people leaving their homes
Pip Hare – from folkboats to five oceans
“It’s not hard being on your own. Or even being in the middle of the ocean. It’s learning to sleep that’s so tough,” confides British sailor Pip Hare, ahead of…