Sailing Today – February 2025

Summary

Onboard action from the Vendée Globe opens Sailing Today's February 2025 issue as solo skippers pass the halfway mark midway around the world, while Sam Jefferson reports from Grenada on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers' first-ever fatality. The magazine tests the Lagoon 43 cruising catamaran in 6 pages, previews a turbo-charged SailGP season and sends Nic Compton on an odyssey from France to Greece.

The regular columnists — Paul Heiney, Andy Rice, Tom Cunliffe and Jess Lloyd-Mostyn — bookend the features with their usual blend of technical advice and cruising yarns. Bob Shepton contributes an Atlantic adventure to the Cape Verdes. Meg Niblett, the youngest-ever female Sydney-Hobart skipper, talks race preparation on page 84.

The gear section runs a winter maintenance buyer's guide on page 92 and a DAME Awards winners roundup. Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, the Cape Horn veteran, reflects on fear at sea in a 4-page interview that closes the features well. Charter tips from Tom Fletcher and a brokerage boat roundup fill the back half.

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Content Guide

▸ Races / Events

p.14 · Vendée Globe: Going Solo
Action onboard as solo skippers round the midway point. The piece captures life in the Southern Ocean — 40-knot winds, 8-metre seas and the psychological toll of week alone. The sidebar lists the top 5 skippers' daily runs. Check the foil vs daggerboard comparison table before your next offshore boat purchase.

p.44 · Atlantic Rally for Cruisers
Sam Jefferson reports from Grenada after the ARC's first-ever participant fatality. The piece examines safety protocols on mass rallies and interviews the rally organiser on what changed mid-crossing. Emily Penn, one of the organisers, explains how the briefing system works for first-timers.

p.60 · SailGP Season Preview
A turbo-charged look at the 2025 SailGP circuit — new foils, new teams and a revised scoring system. The format change means no more fleet-race discards, so consistency wins the season. Use the team-by-team ratings table to pick your fantasy SailGP squad.

▸ Cruising

p.22 · Down Channel Cruise: Poole to the Isles of Scilly
A 7-day cruise route with harbour-by-harbour notes: anchorages, tides and pub stops. The passage from Portland Bill to Falmouth requires timing the tide gate precisely. Aim for a 0500 departure from Poole to catch the ebb through the Needles Channel.

p.34 · Bob Shepton: Atlantic Adventure to the Cape Verdes
The veteran sailor recounts a Cape Verde passage with a crew of first-time ocean crossers. His rule for watch-keeping — 3 hours on, 6 hours off — kept everyone fresh through the 9-day crossing.

p.38 · France to Greece
Nic Compton's odyssey through French canals, the Italian coast and the Ionian Sea. The canal transit through the Rhône takes 3 days with 12 locks. Pack a long-handled boat hook for the lock walls.

p.84 · Sydney-Hobart: Meg Niblett
The youngest-ever female Sydney-Hobart skipper talks race prep — food planning for 6 days, sail inventory for 20-40 knot ranges and the mental shift required when the breeze dies at 0300. Her tip: pre-cook and freeze all meals to maximise crew rest time.

▸ Boats / Gear

p.50 · Tested: Lagoon 43
A full sea trial of the Lagoon 43 cruising catamaran. The bridgedeck clearance handles choppy harbour entrances well, and the 8-person cockpit seating makes it a charter-friendly layout. The saloon table converts to a 6-person nav station.

p.92 · Buyer's Guide: Winter Maintenance
A 6-page checklist covering engine winterisation, rig inspection and sail repair. The section on anodes alone saves a mooring-fee bill if you check yours before the first frost.

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Editor's Take

Sailing Today's February issue earns its keep through the ARC death coverage, which handles a sensitive subject with more nuance than the sailing press usually manages. The Vendée Globe and Sydney-Hobart pieces give the issue genuine racing currency. The Lagoon 43 test is thorough but reads like a brochure reprint in places. The weakness is the gear section — the DAME Awards roundup is a list of winners with thin commentary, and the winter maintenance guide, while useful, recycles material from previous years. Tom Cunliffe's column is as sharp as ever, but Paul Heiney's piece feels like he phoned it in. This issue suits the cruising sailor who follows offshore racing, not the die-hard performance racer.

Strengths
• ARC fatality report handled with nuance and detail
• Meg Niblett Sydney-Hobart prep interview
• Lagoon 43 test with practical layout assessment

Weaknesses
• DAME Awards section is a press-release rehash
• Paul Heiney column below his usual standard

Verdict: Recommended — Strong racing and cruising content offset by uneven back-of-book filler.