Sailing tales, practical advice, the top adventures and adventurers

by Nancy Knudsen, Editor on 3 Jul 2014 Imagine. You're hundreds of miles from the nearest port and your boat is suddenly taking on water at an alarming rate. You've tried to stem it at the source, but that's only partly successful. The bilge pumps are working hard and you and your crew are constantly bailing.

Carrying the fantasy nightmare further, the rescuers are on their way, but you've done your rough calculations and the boat will have sunk before they arrive. What else can you do to keep the boat afloat? O yes, there's the liferaft, and you already have it ready-to-go just in case, but that's hardly the preferred option.

Read this week's story of how the skipper of British boat Simanderal tried keeping her afloat long enough so they could step off the yacht into the rescue craft. It was a tragedy that they lost their yacht, after having sailed most of the world, but that skipper is the kind of skipper I guess we all aim to be – cool, quick-thinking, decisive. It's an inspiring story.

A vast range of other subjects covered in this week's news magazine again – everything from the very practical to the very philosophical.

Stories of our environment, of other people's sailing tales, what what the greatest adventures in sailing are, of what authorities are doing to make our lives easier or more difficult.

Most Australian sailors who step off our shores for the first time head to the South Pacific, a sensible decision. But what about New Zealand, which has some of the most alluring coastal sailing in the world? Many are put off by the crossing of the Tasman - 'the ditch'. John Martin of the Island Cruising Association this week gives us the good oil to get us across to New Zealand - before we venture to the Pacific.

We also feature a couple of past sailing heroes. What do those made famous in the sailing world by their adventures do, once their great feats become just vague memories? 'Wasn't she the sailor who....?'

It's all there, so run your eye down the headlines to find your interest, and,

Sweet summer sailing!