THE BOATING BLOG
The Latest Boating Blog Updates.
CPR Training
Yesterday I did a refresher course in CPR. Not just for boating, but also useful in your workplace, at home or out and about driving. People crash vehicles all the time, people collapse in supermarkets and knowing how to administer CPR can save someone’s life including one of your family members. Go spend a couple of hours and do some CPR training!
THE BOATING BLOG
The 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race is on the brink of departure, with the fleet assembling in Les Sables‑d’Olonne ahead of the 6 September 2026 start. This edition continues the race’s retro ethos: solo, non‑stop, unassisted circumnavigation in small traditional yachts, navigating only by sextant and paper charts, without GPS, computers or modern electronics. It is widely regarded as one of the toughest endurance challenges in sport.
Seventeen skippers from around the world have converged on the Vendée coast for final preparations, though only 16 have made it to Les Sables‑d’Olonne by the official arrival deadline. The weeks leading up to the start are filled with safety inspections, medical training, emergency drills, rigging checks, and the crucial SITraN Prologue offshore test. The mood on the docks mixes excitement, apprehension and relief—simply reaching the start line is considered a major achievement. Across the previous three editions, 43 sailors started and only nine finished, a completion rate of roughly 21%.
The race start mirrors the original 1968 Golden Globe: no starting gun, just a parade down the channel before each yacht departs at two‑minute intervals to begin an eight‑month battle with isolation, storms, calms and self‑reliance. As the countdown continues, anticipation is building for one of sailing’s purest and most demanding adventures.
The Golden Globe Race permits only traditional full‑keel production yachts between 32 and 36 feet, designed before 1988, to preserve the retro, 1968‑style challenge. Approved designs include the Rustler 36, Biscay 36, Tradewind 35, Tashiba 36, Cape George 36, Saga 36, Hans Christian 34, Tayana 37, and similar long‑keel cruisers with keel‑hung rudders and robust displacement hulls. These boats must be heavily built, capable of carrying large stores, and stable enough for months in the Southern Ocean. The fleet gathering for the 2026 start features examples of all these classes, such as the Rustler 36 Lazy Otter, Biscay 36 NURI, Tradewind 35 Bernard, Tashiba 36 Spirit, and Saga 36 Silvermines Hydro. Follow the race here.
THE BOATING BLOG
Do you own a High Speed Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB)?
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has come out with guidance aimed at reducing injury risks caused by shock and vibration on an RIB. It is stated that Whole Body Vibration (WBV) and Repeated Shock (RS) injuries are well known hazards for passengers and crewmembers. This is especially evident in rough surface conditions, with injuries being potentially serious or even fatal. Evidently there have been several serious accidents on everything from offshore, to inland waterways and estuaries. The range of injuries includes spinal compression injuries, serious damage to joints as well as leg and feet fractures.
There have been a range of recommendations for both RIB design and RIB boat operation. One is that the helmsman be naturally inclined to adjust the speed to a level that ensures their own comfort. That means adjusting boat speed to conditions, rather than bashing irrespective of the motions.
One recommendation is to adopt an upright posture, with the spine being in a natural "S" shape, and always facing forward in the travel direction. Standing or sitting sideways increases spinal stress and injury risk. There is also advice on older people who have a high propensity for injury such as more brittle bones and conditions such as osteoporosis. So while granny wanted to go skydiving for her birthday, taking her for a high speed bash around the bay on your RIB is also potentially hazardous. Stay safe out there! Or end up being featured in this boating blog.
THE BOATING BLOG
Stolen Yacht Disappears
The adage what goes around comes around is certainly true in this case. A sailing yacht named Secret Plans, out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, activated an EPIRB distress signal in the middle of Hurricane Larry. The yacht then disappeared. The USCG contacted the registered owners of the EPIRB and the owners learnt that their yacht had been stolen. The suspect is believed to be a drug smuggling suspect from Antigua. This guy had evidently escaped from the custody of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (much embarrassment there I think, some one will be demoted) after he was arrested in his own yacht and a very large amount of cocaine. The perpetrator was an experienced sailor and held a UK RYA Yachtmaster Certificate with a background in yacht crewing and yacht charter. Given the winds were at about 75 knots and huge seas running, and searches have shown no sign of the stolen yacht, it looks like the boat thief has gone to Davey Jones locker. You couldn’t write about this stuff, what irony stealing a yacht called Secret Plans. All great boating Blog news.
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