Practical Boat Owner

Published by Time Inc. (UK) Ltd Practical Boat Owner is Britain's biggest-selling boating magazine, trusted and respected by all its readers. A source of useful and helpful information for both power and sail boat owners, PBO helps you get the most from your boat acting as a forum for interacting with like-minded individuals.

Practical Boat Owner

Waiting for with the tide • Off to sea in a small boat

News • News and current affairs from the world of boating

Crashing sinking boat onto rocks saves family

Waverley steamer hits pier, injuring 24

Killer whales ‘ram’ yachts off the Spanish coast

Investigations into three boating fatalities

Hardy Marine under new ownership

New lease of life for ‘Guernsey hero’

Pip Hare’s Medallia takes line honours

DIARY DATES

Regional News • News from your cruising area

Next month

Letters • Readers share their thoughts and opinions

Channel hopping • Essential monthly highlights from the world of online sailing channels with Kass Schmitt

Bringing clarity to varnish • The tricky problem of getting wood to shine

Too hot to handle? • What level of risk are you prepared to take for a bit of winter warmth on board?

Feathered friends • There’s an affinity between those who go afloat and the creatures of the air

How to Moor a yacht securely • Mooring a boat alongside properly will make manoeuvring easier, protect the boat and give you peace of mind, says Rubicon 3Õs Bruce Jacobs

Drascombe Drifter 22 • Taking a Drascombe Drifter 22 for a spin, Peter Poland discovers why this red-sailed trailer sailer is so popular

Seamanship without showmanship • The Jester Challenge 2021 is a series of offshore sailing events for single-handers. Event founder Ewen Southby-Tailyour takes up the story while on page 34 regular PBO contributor Jake Kavanagh prepares to set sail

HOW TO ‘JESTERFY’ YOUR YACHT • The Jester Challenge is a single-handed event for yachts under 30ft, and in 2021 will have two destinations: Southern Ireland and the Azores. Jake Kavanagh finds out how the skippers prepare their boats

Further reading • The following books will help you gain some more insight into what makes a successful Jester Challenge:

Mingming II & the Impossible Voyage • Jake Kavanagh escapes to the wilderness with Roger D Taylor’s latest book

New Gear • Rupert Holmes on cabin heating and the latest boating gear

The amazing history of rope • Do you know your hemp from your manila and the surprising qualities of Dyneema? Roger Hughes untangles the mysteries of rope

Read Practical Boat Owner on screen • Get every issue on Android, iPhone, iPad or desktop

Becoming a Day Skipper • From classroom conundrums to night-time navigation, dinghy instructor Margaret Norris decides to give big boats a go

Struck by a waterspout • Alan England recalls a frightening blast from a waterspout in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Tales from a tall ship • Bill Howlett recalls a youthful week on board TS Sir Winston Churchill that cemented his love of sailing (if not a love of heights)

Rescue of a holed motor yacht • Rupert Holmes recounts the emergency tow rescue of a sinking motor yacht in less than ideal conditions

Anchor swivel failure • Richard Hare recalls an afternoon spent losing and then recovering his anchor, and suggests measures to avoid it happening again

Building a wheelhouse • Tony Davies describes how he built a steering shelter on a 1978 Reinell V-204 motorcruiser

Stern tube concern • Mike Pickles on a routine boatyard job that became a serious reconstruction

The surveyor's view • Ben...