Clearly, I must be doing something very different. Judging by some of the Instagram comments, I am being lumped together with the YouTube sailing channels. I had this discussion with Paul early on (it became rather heated). He, too, had the idea that, because I post on YouTube, I want to be a “YouTuber” – … Read more
Why don’t I wear a harness? This is a contentious topic. I used to wear a harness – indeed, I contrived a sort of “self-rescue system” involving a line around the scuppers on both sides, which I could reach up and pull to disconnect the self-steering. Then, when the boat rounded up into the wind … Read more
It’s one of the perennial questions. Well, I do have a fishing line – with a huge, murderous-looking hook. It was on the boat when I bought her, and I’ve never opened it. Then I became a vegetarian. The reasons were complicated – mostly too much time on the internet. This started years ago when … Read more
When I bought Samsara, she came with two 100-litre fibreglass water tanks tucked away under the bunks. This was a huge improvement – Largo only had a single 25-litre stainless tank in the bilges (it once lasted me for 32 days). But Samsara’s tanks leaked around the inspection hatches – as soon as the boat … Read more
I had better do some explaining. This blog has always been free – and I have been proud of that. I write it because that’s what I do. Even if nobody took the trouble to read it, I would write it. I have written stuff for more than 70 years. I feel more comfortable writing … Read more
“You’re not stopping in Bermuda? Or the Azores?” It was something people had trouble processing – to sail directly from Sint Maarten in the Caribbean, directly to Ireland. “But that’s, what? Four thousand miles?” “About 3,500, actually. It’s what I do. I sail long voyages and write about it.” It’s true. There are three … Read more
Nobody is more surprised than me. The oldmansailing Instagram account is now closing in on 90,000 followers. Across all social media platforms, the short videos I have been posting have encouraged well over 100,000 people to follow oldmansailing in one form or another. Who would have thought… The trouble is, I have always been rather … Read more
Since the 1980s I had been a devotee of the Aries windvane self-steering. Tough as old boots, the worse the weather, the better it worked. The trouble is that self steering is so important on a singlehanded yacht that you stop thinking about it logically. It becomes an emotional subject. Then, I broke the rudder … Read more
Other people argue over politics or religion. Sailors argue over anchors. When I started sailing back in the 1950s, my father taught me that the ultimate in anchors was the CQR. The makers wanted to call it the “Secure”, but the regulators wouldn’t allow a name that could be seen as some sort of guarantee. … Read more
I had never heard of a Super Zero – a Code Zero, yes. A Code Zero is a huge downwind sail. But a Super Zero…. Now I think it is just the most wonderful thing on the boat. It is an enormous lightweight sail made of some high-tech plastic*, set on a short bowsprit inside … Read more
