Simon Jollands

Seasickness – how can you prevent it?

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Seasickness is a common problem at sea and affects both seasoned sailors and novices. What are the causes and symptoms of seasickness? How can you prevent seasickness and what medications can you take?It can take time to acclimatise to a boat moving around beneath you...

Essential yacht tender safety for skippers and crew

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Crewing skills, Preparation

Essential yacht tender safety – the dangers inherent in using a dinghy to get ashore from a moored or anchored yacht are all too easily underestimated. A recent experience caused me to have a serious think about essential yacht tender safety. Recently I faced...

Gybing a sailing boat

by Simon Jollands | Crewing skills

Gybing is the sailing manoeuvre used to change a boat’s direction through a following wind. As with the tacking manoeuvre, gybing a sailing boat calls for the crew to work together as a team and is one of the first sailing skills to learn. When a boat is sailing...

Points of Sailing

by Simon Jollands | Crewing skills

The course on which a boat is sailing can be described by its angle to the wind, not to be confused with its compass heading. The different angles to the wind are known as the points of sailing. A number of sailing terms collectively known as the points of sail are...

Avoiding collisions at sea – how to stay safe on the water

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Crewing skills, Navigation, Preparation

Boats have many blind spots, including the headsails of sailing boats. Always keep a lookout, stay safe and remember that whatever their size or type, all boats have a responsibility to avoid collisions with others at sea. If you are heading out on the water for the...