Why Sailors Can't Swim and Other Marvellous Maritime Curiosities
We review the Icom IC-M35 handheld. Read the full review
Reeds Nautical Almanac is the indispensable trusted annual compendium of navigational data for yachtsmen and motorboaters, and provides all the information required to navigate Atlantic coastal waters around the whole of the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands and the entire European coastline from the tip of Denmark right down to Gibraltar, Northern Morocco and the Azores. Buy your copy 
The SafaSail Hard Hat looks just like a sailing cap, but will help protect you if you get a bang to the head. Â See our Sailers.co.uk - latest news
Olympic Yachtsman dies in capsize tragedy
- Created on Friday, 10 May 2013 13:44
- Written by Sailers
- Hits: 569
The British Olympic sailor Andrew Simpson, 36,  was killed when his team's ultra-modern catamaran capsized on Thursday in strong winds in  San Francisco bay and trapped him underwater during training for the America's Cup.
The 72-foot Artemis catamaran flipped over at around 1.15pm local time, sending its 13 crew members into the water and trapping Andrew under the vessel's platform for about 10 minutes.
Rescuers pulled him into a support boat but despite attempts to rescusetate him, he was declared dead about 20 minutes later.
Simpson won a gold medal for Britain in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a crew member in the star class, and he also took silver last year at the London Games.
"The entire team is devastated by what happened," said Artemis chief executive Paul Cayard, a sailing world champion and America's Cup veteran. "Our heartfelt condolences are with Andrew's wife and family.
Five people and tender missing in Malta
- Created on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 07:58
- Written by Sailers
- Hits: 1537
Five french yachtsmen - two men, two women and a 15 year old boy - are missing after leaving a Maltese restaurant to return to their anchored yacht.Â
The Spanish skipper of the yacht ‘El Pirata’ reported them missing at 16.30hrs the following day, saying that they had left the yacht the previous evening in the tender to have dinner in Xlendi Bay.  Maltese police discovered that they had left the restaurant at around midnight, but the tender never made it back to the yacht.
Maltese Rescue Coordination Centre mounted a large scale air and sea search, but so far there has been no sign of the missing people. Â Full story here.
Anyone with information about the missing people is aked to contact RCC Malta on 22494202.
Somali Pirate Chief seeks end to piracy
- Created on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 01:39
- Written by Sailers
- Hits: 741
One of Somalia's most notorious Pirate chiefs is now urging young Somalis to give up piracy, writes Peter Martell in Mysinchew.com (full story here).  Mohamed Abdi Hassan, better known as "Afweyne" or "Big Mouth", whose men once terrorised vast stretches of the Indian Ocean -- generating millions of dollars in ransoms from seized ships -- now claims to have renounced piracy.
"The young men need to be trained, to get skills and get integrated into society," Afweyne said, pulling out of his briefcase an official letter apparently nominating him as an "anti-piracy officer".
Afweyne, who says he earned his nickname as a child "because I would cry a lot", claims to have persuaded almost a thousand young pirates to quit.
"We are convincing the youths to give up piracy... I have influence, and have been mobilising the community... to keep the men from the water," he told AFP over a cup of tea in an upmarket hotel in Somalia's war-ravaged capital Mogadishu.
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Passage Making Made Perfect
- Created on Friday, 05 April 2013 00:14
- Written by Sailers
- Hits: 2597
By Alastair Buchan
Planning and carrying out a successful, safe and enjoyable passage is a real art, and this book covers the whole process, from planning before setting off to fine tuning once underway.
Passage Making Made Perfect shows how planning is about making the most of your time, your crew, and giving you the confidence to be more adventurous. Recent regulations issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have also made passage planning a legal requirement for small boats, so now it's not just good practice - it's something you have to do.
Danish Yachtsman rescued after dismasting
- Created on Thursday, 04 April 2013 14:45
- Written by Sailers
- Hits: 2411
Twenty eight-year-old Christian Liebergreen, a Danish yachtsman who had almost completed a solo circumnavigaton, has had to be towed into Brixham after his yacht was dismasted in heavy seas in Lyme Bay last night. He was making for Copenhagen. (Full story from South Devon Herald here).
Christian (pictured left by photographer Olivier Vergnault) said:Â ""Two days ago I spotted Land's End. It was the first time I had sight of land in two and a half months.
A Fastnet Diary Part 5 - Equipment
- Created on Monday, 25 March 2013 06:28
- Written by Skipper Glenn Smallcombe
- Hits: 3252
We're following Quantum Sailing’s Fastnet Race 2013 campaign – this diary is our ‘soup to nuts’ account of what’s involved in preparing for, and participating in, one of the world’s most challenging offshore races. We hope that this will be useful to others considering doing something similar in the future.
Part 5: March 2013: Equipment
At the end of the last diary entry we were embroiled in sorting out certification for the yacht stability rating (STIX & AVS). I’m glad to say that issue was resolved relatively quickly and quite painlessly. Armed with all of the documents that I could get from Jeanneau, and having identified other Sunfast 37s that had been rated, the IRC Rating office were able to confirm the stability data on our handicap certificate.
Rosie & Brian’s Big Adventure Part 19 - Winter 2012
- Created on Sunday, 24 March 2013 02:29
- Written by Rosie
- Hits: 3365
Still Sailing!
A surprise email from Richard - did we have any more updates for the Sailers website? We had renewed contact through the Cruising Association forum when I asked for advice on getting into Rhodes Mandraki harbour where we were to collect my sister and her husband for a 2 week cruise. We joined the CA earlier this year after being encouraged to do so by many of our cruising friends, and I have to say it has been useful. Not only did I get good advice for Rhodes (where we did managed to get a place) but also some of the discounts applied to a few of the marinas we have visited this year. So long as you remember to get your CA membership card out when registering!
