Why tell us your sailing story? Why not air your views on a forum or in a 'blog' instead? Forums are great for instant feedback and Blogs are your own place on the web but yours will be just one in the multitude vying for attention. Sailtales offers an alternative and invites you to publish your sailing questions, tales and observations in a considered and complete document along with any helpful pictures and diagrams. Reader's comments are invited but are not published until they have been checked for relevance. Related subjects are grouped together and parts of your text may be linked to other relevant Sailtales articles or other web pages. You don't even have to put it all together, just send us your story and pictures and we'll arrange them into a published article. Everything is handled by people who are keen but, amateur sailors. So, go on ... Tell us your story

Before Puffin Beautifully written and illustrated account of a family's sailing experiences on the Norfolk Broads and in the Solent. Written by Jocelyn M Greenway, Illustrated by her husband Robert and edited by their daughter Cathy, this free to download digital book is guaranteed to whet your appetite for 'Puffin's Log' by the same author chronicalling the family's later adventures in their 22-ft Hillyard yacht, Puffin.

Dumb & Dumber go foreign - Somewhere in the Amazonian basin a parrot farted and a chain of events was launched that messed up my weekend. Read more ... TWO WEEKS IN GREECE ABOARD THE YACHT 'CECILY' JUNE 2008 - This was to be my first stern to mooring in Cecily Click for full size picture (in fact my first mooring in her full stop). This was quite daunting manoeuvring a friends 52ft pride and joy into a small space. Cecily is also a long keel and certainly doesn't go astern very well (a definite understatement!) It went ok 'ish but certainly room for improvement. Read more ... Hartlepool to Amble 2008 - We then scoured the immediate area looking for locals similar in looks to Bill (He was stationed with the RAF here for quite a while, and by all accounts had a few romantic entanglements). However, they all seem pretty normal looking, so we'll probably look in the town later on for some little Billy's. Read more ... Hartlepool to Gibraltar 2007 in a Bavaria 37 - There had been a safety notice over the radio warning that there were six very large cargo hold lids floating in our area coloured green. Fat chance of spotting them in the dark, just hope we don’t happen to find them with our bow! Read more ... THE ORKNEY ISLANDS ADVENTURE - 'I always seem to attract this type, you know the ones that come over and put their arms around you and talk to you as if you've been their best mate for years! The wind was really howling making the moorings look quite uncomfortable from the pub window, so another couple of pints were called for to take our minds off it, and my new drunken best mates!' ... No! I'm not talking about Mike! That's from his latest log which is a damn good read so, make yourself a big mug of tea, pull up a chair and Read more ... Wanted: young Coastguards. Dedication essential because you wouldn't be in it for the money - 'After almost a year of training and hours of professional exams the junior grade of coastguard earns £5.46 an hour' ... Read more ... The Challenge of Three originally sail powered, designed and built especially to haul tulip bulbs and potatoes on the canals and rivers of the Netherlands. It is our new project and within the next year we will transform this definite Pig's Ear into a finely tuned comfortable floating home and a SilkPurse ... A cautionary tale from over the North Sea Anyway, they board, make small talk ask about passports and if we have anything to declare. We oblige with papers and volunteer the contents of our drinks cabinet. The conversation moves around to the subject of our diesel ... A Simple Delivery Cruise Rocyn gets his new yacht Gwylan from Portishead to her new berth in Terneruzen and has a little adventure along the way. As always he copes when ′stuff′ happens but he pulls no punches if the stops along the way are not up to scratch and quite right too! ... The Sydney Hobart Experience It's amazing what can happen to you if you know what you're doing in a force 8 and are mad enough to go out on one! They're gonna put me in the movies ... More Mal de Debarquement Syndrome How one sufferer found relief Delivering a Kiss Excelent account of a yacht delivery that was a good trip in the same way that any landing you walk away from is a good landing! Tora's Story. Buying a boat is a big decision but, have you ever thought of it as more like adopting a child? In some cases that's exactly what it is like ... Someone to Watch Over Her More from Lee Woods. A thought-provoking, brief encounter. The Trouble Not Being With the Sea Engaging short story by Lee Woods which, will strike a chord with all of us whose demons come out to play when we are at sea. Harwich to Den Helder Engaging account of a North Sea crossing in a Jeaneau Sun Odyssey 32. Marina Mates Sailing tales, tips and jokes from Hartlepool marina 2 Old Gits in a boat. You've just got to take a look. Circum-navigations Read about past and present circumnavigations Ostend weekend The intrepid Team Nimrod make a Mad March Dash to Ostend for the Easter weekend. You know, you can get Belgian chocolate in the supermarkets over here lads! UK Circumnavigation Read the story as it unfolds. Follow Rocyn Williams' UK circumnavigation in Achilles 24 'Mouette Solitaire' Sailing stories with pictures by James Calore Well written acounts of various "Most Excellent" adventures. Sailtales.co.uk accept no responsibility for the content of other web sites Endeavour Voyage "I don't think you'd DIE if you fell from the ""futtock"" because the lower part of the shroud would keep you from hitting the deck 75-feet below. What would probably happen is that you'd roll down the lower shroud and FALL INTO THE OCEAN ... then you'd die." Sailtales.co.uk accept no responsibility for the content of other web sites A Life on the Ocean Wave Ever had that feeling that the room is still gently rocking after you have been on a boat? For some unfortunate travellers it never goes away. Find out about the rare, but dibilitating "Mal de Debarquement Syndrome". How to cross the Channel the hard way! Weird lights under the sea and unidentified marks moving accross your path! The Channel can be a strange place after dark. A Date To Remember. Can you make a cup of tea for the whole crew in a near gale? Try doing it on your first ever sailing trip! Delivery trips, mile building and booze cruises. Delivery trips as an alternative to mile building cruises can be very worthwhile. One of the 1999 adventures of 'KES' No hands sailing! A very entertaining account of what must have been a very worrying experience at the time. The end of my circumnavigation High drama at the end of a 2,297 mile circumnavigation in a 28ft steel cutter. Follow the leader Spontaneous changes of passage plan should be carefully thought through! First time skipper You've got the qualifications but what about experience? Making your first charter as skipper can be a "chicken and egg" situation. "Stern to" Mooring It can be daunting but "Stern-to" or "Mediterranean" mooring has it's good points too. Sailing Superstitions Are you a superstitious sailor? Seasickness. Don't let it put you off your sailing. Follow our links to some good advice on the WEB. There's nothing quite like it. The story of a competent crew course. October 2001 Easy cardinal identification. Cardinal colours, shapes and lighting characteristics made easy Vicarious Voyage Around Britain 2004 Come on! Who's going to kick off our 2004 virtual cruise around Britain? Sail 8 Bob Geldof mobilises an army of privately owned boats in the fight against poverty