For those dreaming of the joys of owning a yacht, Nick Ridley offers encouragement as well as a look at the harsher reality of financing your dreams

My motives for this trip were varied. I was on the committee that vetted applications for the Ocean Cruising Club’s Challenge Grant when Project Manaia had applied for a grant to support their environ

Orca damage, rudder failure and a monkey bite were just a few of the setbacks facing crews en-route to this year’s ARC+,writes Ali Wood, but happily all 83 boats made it to the start line in Las Palma

Tony Moss and his wife Marike cross the North Sea to sail around Britain anticlockwise, braving the Scottish summer along the way

Per Harrtoft shows how much fun you can have on a fast open day boat

Marsali Taylor swaps skippering her Offshore 8m for being crew on a converted herring drifter, with comfy berths in the former fish hold