Journal

What if your insurance provider worked with the same passion that you feel when you're out on the water? Pantaenius Australia not only offers the most comprehensive coverage on the market, but with a team of like-minded experts and yachting enthusiasts, ensures that boat and yacht owners receive the best possible advice from the first phone call.

The day you wake up and realise it’s time for a new boat. Maybe you want a bigger one or a smaller one or a newer one or a faster one, the reason for your decision does not matter. But before your new boat arrives, you’ll have to sell the old one you have.

What do climate change and a yacht race have in common? Plenty. I am a cruiser, ‘between-boats’ at the moment building a house with my husband Noel. But I am still buried in all things boating, which includes training, writing, publishing, speaking, and now racing! My ‘freedom-fix’ is found by hopping onto friends’ boats. It’s just as exciting as setting sail with my own. But, recently, when I was asked to race I hesitated.

Weather forecasts are never going to be perfect. As mariners, it is our responsibility to interpret, adjust, and prepare.

Pantaenius’ very own Sailor Girl, Nic Douglass, caught up with some of the female skippers from this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race, as they crossed the finish line and tied-up in front of our Plymouth office earlier this summer.

Obviously you cannot do anything about the natural disasters, but you can do a lot about taking responsibility for your craft if it is in named peril areas, by performing proper preparation.

Undoubtedly this is one of the things we all think we do well, but a few aide memoirs and prompts can never go astray. Indeed they can help you to have a great time boating, no matter where you go or what you like to do.

Hectic manoeuvres, onlookers at the jetty and a narrow berth - even experienced sailors can feel hot under the collar in such a situation.

Boat engines require a lot of care in order to keep them going steadily. Particularly older engines are often being neglected for any number of reasons.

Have you ever heard of "Micturition syncope"? This is a fainting spell that can occur during or, more commonly, immediately after urination due to a severe drop in blood pressure.

Whether on the slip ramp or on the road - anyone who is dependent on regularly hauling their boat knows about the many small pitfalls and subtleties involved in dealing with a bulky trailer.

A broken mast… undoubtedly one of the worst fears of any sailor.