Thursday, 23 April 2026

Why “Looking Around” Is the Most Important Sailing Skill

There’s a moment when learning to sail where everything feels like it’s happening at once.

The tiller’s in one hand. The mainsheet in the other. The crew is saying something about the jib. The wind shifts. The boat heels. And just as you think you’ve got it under control…

You realise you’ve been staring at the front of the boat the whole time.

Sound familiar?

👀 The Skill No One Teaches First

When I started sailing at the Upper Thames Sailing Club, I thought the most important skills were:

Steering
Trimming sails
Not falling in

All useful… but not the skill.

The real skill?
👉 Looking around. Constantly. Properly. Intentionally.

It sounds simple. It isn’t.

🚤 Why It Matters (Especially on the Thames)

Sailing on a river like the Thames isn’t like being out at sea. It’s busy. It’s narrow. And things happen quickly.

If you’re not looking around, you’re missing:

🚤 Other boats (some much bigger than you!)
🌬️ Gusts of wind approaching across the water
🌊 Changes in current and flow
⚓ Moorings, buoys, and obstacles
🧭 Where you actually need to go next

I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve been happily sailing along… only to realise we’re heading straight for trouble.

Usually because I was too busy admiring my excellent (and short-lived) sail trim.

🌬️ Reading the Water

Looking around isn’t just about avoiding collisions.

It’s how you see the wind.

Dark patches on the water? More wind.
Ripples changing direction? A shift is coming.
Other boats suddenly heeling? That gust is heading your way next.

The sailors who glide past you effortlessly aren’t lucky.

They’re watching. Constantly.

🧠 Free Speed (Yes, Really)

Here’s the surprising bit.

You don’t need new sails.
You don’t need a faster boat.
You don’t even need more strength.

👉 You just need to look around more.

By spotting wind early, you can:

Head up slightly and gain speed
Avoid dead patches
Position yourself better for the next tack

It’s the cheapest performance upgrade in sailing.

And I like cheap upgrades.

😅 My Personal Failing (and Progress)

I’ll admit it.

I still forget.

I get focused on one thing—usually the wrong thing—and stop scanning.

Then:

We slow down
We miss a shift
Someone overtakes us (again)

But on the days when I do remember to look around?

Everything improves.

Not dramatically. Not instantly.

But noticeably.

And in sailing, that’s often the difference between last place… and slightly less last.

🎯 How to Practise “Looking Around”

Like everything in sailing, it’s a skill you can train:

🔄 Scan every 10–15 seconds (make it a habit)
👥 Talk to your crew – they can see things you can’t
👀 Look behind as well as ahead
🌬️ Pick a patch of water and watch it – what’s it doing?
⛵ Compare with other boats – who’s faster and why?

It’s not about frantic head-turning.

It’s about calm, regular awareness.

⚓ Final Thought

If you only take one thing onto the water next time, make it this:

👉 Lift your head up and look around.

Because the boat doesn’t just go where you steer it…

It goes where the wind, water, and everything around you allow it to go.

And you won’t see any of that staring at the bow.

Wednesday, 22 April 2026

One Mast, Two Masts… or Three? How Many Do You Really Need?

When I first started sailing on the Thames, I thought a mast was simply… a mast. One stick, one sail (or maybe two), job done.

Then I discovered there are boats with two masts… and even three. Naturally, this led to the obvious question:

👉 Are they better… or just showing off?

Let’s take a look.

⛵ The One-Mast Boat (Sloop Rig)

Most of us on the river are sailing single-masted boats, known as sloops.

Think of your typical dinghy or modern yacht:

One mast
A mainsail
A jib (front sail)

Why it works:

Simple to rig and sail
Efficient upwind
Perfect for racing and learning

👉 On the Thames, this is king. Less to think about, more time trying not to hit the bank.

⛵⛵ The Two-Mast Boat (Ketch or Yawl)

Now things start to get interesting.

A two-masted boat splits the sail area:

Main mast at the front
Smaller mizzen mast at the back

Why have two masts?

Easier sail handling (smaller sails instead of one big one)
More balance and control
Ideal for long-distance cruising

Downsides:

More ropes (sorry… lines)
More decisions
More opportunities to get it wrong

👉 Perfect if you like the idea of sailing and mild confusion at the same time.

⛵⛵⛵ The Three-Mast Boat (Schooner or Tall Ship)

Three masts? Now we’re into proper sailing history.

These are the grand old vessels:

Schooners
Tall ships
Ocean-crossing legends

Why so many masts?

Massive sail area spread across multiple sails
Manageable by a crew (instead of one enormous sail)
Designed for long voyages before engines existed

Reality check:

You don’t sail one of these on the Thames
Unless you want to redecorate several riverside gardens in one go

🤔 So Which Is Best?

Like most things in sailing…

👉 It depends.

1 mast → Simple, fast, ideal for rivers and learning
2 masts → Balanced, manageable, great for cruising
3 masts → Impressive, historical, needs a crew (and probably a cook)

⚓ Final Thought

As someone learning to sail at 65+, I can confidently say:

👉 One mast is more than enough to get into trouble with.

Add a second, and I’d need a checklist.
Add a third… and I’d need a project manager.

Tuesday, 21 April 2026

Learning to Sail at 65+ – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Short answer: quite a lot.

When I decided to learn to sail properly at 65+, I had visions of graceful manoeuvres, quiet rivers, and the occasional gentle breeze.

Reality has been… different.

There have been:

Moments where I confidently steered in entirely the wrong direction
Times when “duck!” was shouted slightly too late
Situations where I pulled the correct rope… at completely the wrong time

And then there’s terminology.

Port. Starboard. Sheets. Halyards.
At one point I was convinced everyone was just making words up to confuse me.

But here’s the thing…

Despite all of this, it’s brilliant.

Every session gets a little easier. Every mistake teaches something useful. And every now and then, everything comes together and the boat just… works.

Those moments make all the chaos worthwhile.

Monday, 20 April 2026

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Sail

When I first stepped into a dinghy on the River Thames, I assumed sailing was mostly about pulling ropes and hoping for the best.

It turns out there’s a bit more to it than that.

Here are five things I wish someone had told me before I started:

1. Sitting in the wrong place matters… a lot
Balance is everything. Sit too far back and the boat drags. Too far forward and you bury the bow. Too far to one side and you’re swimming.

2. Stop staring at the sail
I spent far too long admiring the sail instead of looking where I was going. The river, other boats, and the bank are far more important.

3. Small movements beat big ones
New sailors (me included) tend to oversteer. Gentle corrections work far better than dramatic swings.

4. Wind awareness is everything
If you don’t know where the wind is coming from, you’re not sailing—you’re drifting with intent.

5. It’s supposed to feel awkward at first
Everyone looks slightly incompetent at the beginning. The trick is to keep going.

I’m still learning all of this… just slightly less badly than before.

Saturday, 18 April 2026

We Have Arrived – Marina, Croatia at Last!

After weeks of planning, packing (and repacking), checking lists, losing lists, and wondering if I really needed that many cables… we have finally arrived in Marina, Croatia.

And what a place to arrive.

First Impressions

Warm air. Blue skies. Palm trees.
Already, this feels very different from launching a dinghy on the slightly brown (but much-loved) River Thames.

We’re based near Trogir, a stunning little town that looks like it’s been lifted straight out of a history book and gently placed into the Adriatic. Narrow streets, ancient stone buildings, and boats everywhere.

And not just any boats…
Proper yachts. The kind where everything is shiny, neatly coiled, and far more complicated than anything I’ve been pretending to sail up to now.

The Reality Check

Of course, arriving is one thing.
Actually sailing for a week as “Competent Crew”… that’s something else entirely.

Some early observations:

There are more ropes (sorry… lines) than I remember.
Everything is bigger.
Everything is more expensive.
And everything matters just a little bit more when you’re not five metres from the bank.

Rosamund is already spotting photographic opportunities every few seconds, which is promising.
I, on the other hand, am wondering how long it will take before I call port “left” in front of everyone.

The Mission Begins

Tomorrow we meet the crew, the instructor, and—most importantly—the boat.

Somewhere out there is a 47-foot yacht waiting patiently…
Probably unaware of what’s about to happen.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

First attempt at stepping aboard gracefully
Forgetting how to tie a bowline
Dropping something important into the sea
Calling the boom “that big swinging thing”

But that’s all part of the adventure—and exactly why we’re here.

Friday, 17 April 2026

Less than 100 Days to Go – SailGP heads back to Portsmouth!

“100 Days to Go – Will I Be Ready for SailGP in Portsmouth?”

There are moments in sailing when everything feels just a little bit… faster.

This is one of them.

In 100 days, the high-speed, heart-in-mouth spectacle that is SailGP returns to Portsmouth for Season 6 — and if you’ve never seen these boats fly, you’re in for something rather special.

🚀 Not Your Average Sunday Sail

Now, I sail on the Thames.

We worry about:

Wind (or lack of it… usually lack of it)
Current (always in the wrong direction)
And whether we’ll finish before the next race starts

SailGP teams?

They worry about:

Hitting 100 km/h
Keeping control while flying above the water
And not capsizing on live international television

Slight difference.

⛵ The Boats That Fly

These aren’t your typical sailing boats. The F50 catamarans lift clean out of the water on hydrofoils — more aircraft than boat.

Watching them is like seeing:

A Formula 1 car
On water
With no brakes
And the occasional splashy reminder that physics is still in charge

Why Portsmouth Matters

There’s something quite fitting about SailGP returning to Portsmouth:

Historic naval city
Packed spectator views
And (hopefully) just enough wind to keep things interesting

For those of us learning to sail “the traditional way,” it’s a reminder of just how far the sport has evolved.

🤔 Will It Help My Sailing?

That’s the real question.

Will watching the world’s best sailors:

Improve my tacking?
Stop me from finishing last?
Help me understand wind shifts better?

Probably not.

But it will remind me why I started:
👉 The thrill
👉 The challenge
👉 And the occasional moment when everything just works

🎥 The Plan?

Between now and race day:

More practice on the Thames
More filming for pmrsailing
And possibly… slightly fewer last-place finishes

(We can dream.)

⏳ Countdown Begins

So here we are.

100 days to go.

Time to:

Check the kit
Charge the cameras
And maybe… just maybe… learn to sail a bit faster

Wednesday, 15 April 2026

1 Day to go – Departure Eve

“Tomorrow It Begins…”

Well…

This is it

The Journey So Far

From:

River sailing on the Thames
to
Preparing for a week in Croatia

It’s been:
Quite a journey already

I have been to Croatia before in the summer. I remember getting on the plane in England in the cool rain and then arriving in the heat of Croatia. Perhaps not this time.

How Do I Feel?

Excited ✔
Slightly nervous ✔
Wondering what I’ve forgotten ✔

What Comes Next

New skills
New experiences
New mistakes

A few days in Croatia before our trip on the yacht, and then three days of exploring after the trip. before we return on Monday night.

Final Thought

This isn’t just about sailing.

It’s about:
Trying something new
Stepping outside our comfort zones
Enjoying the journey and knowing I'm taking thousands of photographs and hours of video, hopefully all backed up.