It was all just a bit of history repeated for the crowds in Cowes, Isle of Wight, in mid-April, as they witnessed Tabarly come home at the helm of Pen Duick VI (pictured above left) to take line honours in the Ocean Globe Race, followed, a few days l

John Leather’s book Clinker Boatbuilding (Adlard Coles Nautical) includes a sketch of a rebated stick used for marking the overlap or landing of one plank on another. The idea is for the rebate to locate on the top edge of the plank and the tool be m

Marinas in the Med are full of smart-looking yachts which are used as holiday homes by their wealthy owners and which, if they ever leave harbour, never stretch an ounce of canvas. No6 Texel is not one of these, says Nic Compton. Although until recen

It was soon after the WW2 that synthetic ropes, like those spun from polyester and nylon, and later polypropylene, became available. They had massive advantages over their natural fibre predecessors, which were prone to rot (although that could be le

There is a motor yacht in Istanbul that people of a certain age, especially those familiar with the shores of this strait that separates Europe from Asia, know rather well: she is Hiawatha, named after a great pre-colonial American native leader who

Feel brighter every day with Telegraph Puzzles. Tackle a brilliant range of brain-teasers, from PlusWord and Panagram to Killer Sudoku and our classic Cryptic Crossword. Scan the QR code or visit telegraph.co.uk/tele-puzzles To scan the QR code, open

Captained by Sir Francis Drake, The Golden Hind was the first English ship to circumnavigate the globe on a voyage that set sail in 1577, lasted three years and covered 36,000 miles. It was to be one of the most significant voyages in English history

I’m very glad to be able to shed some light on the mystery Thornycroft desk piece (Letters, March 2024, reproduced below), which is unmistakably a model of the full-size boat I have in my shed. The original boat, on which the model is based, dates fr

Two centuries after HMS Beagle sailed around the world with Charles Darwin on board, the 1918 Dutch three-masted schooner Oosterschelde is retracing the wake of that voyage, reports Milly Karsten. Darwin 200, as the project is called, aims to continu

For 40 years the Massachusetts-based Anne T Converse has brought her documentary photographic style to capturing sailing events. From being based on Buzzards Bay, “behind” Cape Cod she has travelled to classic events from the Caribbean to Europe in s

Just to be clear, we will not be discussing that beast of a machine which is the leading cause of serious workshop injuries, but an entirely amicable hand saw. With a blade of around 14in (35.5cm) length tapering from 2in (25mm) at the heel to ½ in (

The Cornish pilchard driver Barnabas, 40ft (12.2m) LOS and built by Henry Trevorrow of St Ives, embarked on a six-week, 1,000-mile voyage on 19 April, to visit ports in Cornwall, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. The world’s last surviving St Ives double-

The modest shed that sits on the hard at Suffolk Yacht Harbour (SHY) has played host to a broad array of restorations over the years, more than a few of which have featured in our annual awards. On our visit, for instance, we see the continuing work

You have to admire Sean Langman’s pluck. Even before the 2023 Fastnet had begun, he had placed bets on his Maluka – the smallest and second oldest boat in the fleet – beating a Sigma 33 racing in the same class. Not on handicap, mind, but on the wate

Suspended in a cradle at the former Creese’s yard at Battery Point, the 40-year-old, 40ft (12.2m) wooden yacht Tradition is being brought back to life to compete in the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart next year. Owner Rob Gough, with John Saul aboard Sidewi

There are architectural masterpieces that require centuries to take on their definitive form. The mind goes to Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Família in Barcelona, begun at the end of the 19th century and not yet quite finished; it extends even to the Duomo

The Round the Island race is fast approaching [15 June]. It ranks as one of Britain’s great summer sailing spectaculars, alongside the likes of Cowes Week and the Fastnet. It also holds the distinction of being the highest-participation sailing event

As the Titanic foundered in the north Atlantic ice on the evening of 14 April, 1912, bandleader Wallace Hartley played his way into eternal memory, striking up the hymn ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ to calm the passengers in a heroic effort of self-sacrifi

It was no ordinary Monday morning. Eleven of us were on board the three-masted lugger Grayhound, anchored off the small town of Saint-Louis on the Caribbean Island of Marie-Galante and preparing to set sail towards Guadeloupe. With the calm patience

The ninth edition of the Hamble Classics Regatta (31 August – 1 September, 2024) offers a weekend of racing and social events for a wide range of classic yachts. Online entry is now open with an early bird rate until 1 July. Full details about yacht

A fresh insight to the life and times of the great Uffa Fox was played out at the recent performance of Uffa – Malcolm Turner’s new play about yachting’s eccentric genius, writes Sue Pelling. Moving on from the Trinity Theatre (Cowes) to the Hen & Ch

All hail to those heroes who keep the old trades alive. Some of these, such as boatbuilders like Luke Powell, are on the front line. They are well publicised and rightly so. Others toil in the background, but their efforts are equally important. If y

Pen Duick VI, famous under Tabarly, and for her spent uranium keel, has been winning races again… This little clinker dinghy is brand new, and entirely traditional – apart from the addition of electric power The Arcangeli Commander was a noble preten

As I snuffed out the lovely old brass gimballed oil lamp on the mast post and closed an old hardback copy of Maurice Griffiths’ Magic of the Swatchways, the twinkling stars shining through the hatchway gave me just enough light to savour my surroundi

Oh the silence in the cockpit when the bleeping ceased, as the battery died, and the instrument that once showed where I was, and how far I had to go and in what direction, cut to black. I still had a compass, analogue speed, depth, or rather height,