Welcome to the Yacht Guide February issue  -  Well, it isn’t surely all doom and gloom! If you are reading this on a BVI shore then you can afford to leave your worries behind for a bit. Naturally it is said that recessions often separate the men from the boys. But that’s all talk and what we are concentrating on this issue and forward is the positive aspects of our yachting ...
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Changes in Latitude  -  The Christmas winds died down, the New Year's Eve hangovers receded and the Territory's sailors came out Saturday for the first races of the year organised by the Royal BVI Yacht Club, the Halyard Challenge sponsored by Latitude 18. Dave West's high-tech Melges 32 Jurakan, flying an enormous red spinnaker, crossed the finish line of both races comforta...
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It was last day of the year - a time of reflection and serious thought. A time to look back on the past 364 days that have led up to this one and ask yourself the fundamental question… do you really have enough ice? A quick check in the galley reveals that, in our case, we have sufficient to resurface the Rockefeller rink. We are ready to roll.

What better way to see out the year than a sun-...
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I’m on a mission to find the stereotypical yacht owner—the snotty yachtie. The crested-blazer and ascot-wearing, cigar-smoking, martini-sipping, zip-code-dropping, sockless gent who these days probably sports a spray-on tan and bleached teeth. The easiest way to differentiate him from his land-based, country club counterpart is his white captain’s hat. He’s mocked in movies...
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Yacht Buyers Wait Whilst Salesmen Beckon  -  As world economies turn a different shade of green than usual, and as the full measure of the financial tsunami has yet to be calculated, those lucky few yacht buyers still in the game are being chased by salesmen brandishing seductive offers. One buyer, Richard Stokes of Florida, told BVIYG that a catamaran he had shown interest in at the Ann...
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“No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail;” said Doctor Johnson, “for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.” Not being content with that, he added, “A man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company.”

Far be it from me to joust with the good Dr. J. The man has a point. In f...
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Spotting  -  We were dodging our way around the Dogs when the helmswoman said “There's a boat coming towards us.”  “What sort of boat?” the crew enquired.  “Sailboat,” she said, “with the sails all wonky.” The skipper cast his eye in the appropriate direction to see a large catamaran wobbling its way downwind sailing wing and ...
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