Dear readers,
If you’re reading this, I’ll be on holiday. With the firm intention of leaving work behind. Many of you will know that it’s not as easy as it sounds.
As we all know, sailing helps you switch off like hardly anything else. A peaceful evening by a skerry, moored to a rock or at anchor. Long hours of daylight instead of appointments, the buzzing of mosquitoes and the rustling of the undergrowth instead of noise. Perhaps a night-time sail. Perhaps simply the wonderful feeling of not having to be anywhere else but right there.
But when you’re an editor at *Yacht* magazine and go sailing, work always tags along a bit, like a little creaking keel pig. As a self-confessed North Sea enthusiast, I’m heading out to new waters on someone else’s boat. For a change, I’m not setting sail with the tide this time, but after breakfast. That promises relaxation and a break from the daily grind.
But what it also promises are new boats, sailing areas, people, beautiful approaches and pictures – all potential stories. That’s only to be expected when your hobby is also your job, and it’s not a bad thing at all when you have one of the best jobs in the world. That’s probably why I won’t be able to completely shake off my old habits. I’ll probably reach for my camera or notepad. Perhaps I’ll be sitting in some Swedish bay one evening with a glass of wine, thinking: That would actually make a good lead. The Kielschwein just grunts sometimes.
If you, too, are out on the water over the coming weeks: I wish you peaceful watches at anchor, good times and the ability to really switch off.
Ursula Meer
YACHT editor
Editor’s reading recommendations
Malizia 4
First the damage to the foil, now the mainsail has torn
First the damage to the foil, then broken hull reinforcements, and now a tear in the mainsail. Two new videos show how Team Malizia is repairing and further developing the IMOCA ahead of the Route du Rhum.
Silting up of the Elbe
Small ports are fighting for every metre of water depth
The Lower Elbe is silting up, time windows are shrinking and ports are becoming difficult to reach. With flat-bottomed boats and homemade dredgers, sailors are fighting to preserve their fishing grounds.
Propulsion
Max Bianchi variable-pitch propeller, which adjusts its pitch whilst the aircraft is in flight
A variable-pitch propeller that automatically adjusts its pitch whilst in flight: this is what Max Prop’s Max Bianchi model is designed to achieve in powered flight and motor-sailing.
Interview
What is it like to work on board the ‘Thor Heyerdahl’?
The ‘Thor Heyerdahl’ has been sailing the world’s oceans for more than 40 years. YACHT editor Fabian Boerger explains why this historic vessel remains relevant.
Hurricanes 2026
Dramatic rescue off the coast of California – El Niño shapes the storm season
A lifeguard rescues a sailor from a partially flooded yacht off the coast of California. Why the 2026 hurricane season is turning out so differently between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Blue-water yachts
These five are heading to the ends of the earth
Five blue-water yachts, five designs: the Boréal 56, Kraken 58, Pure 49, Stem 50 and Breehorn 55 demonstrate their strengths and weaknesses on a long-distance voyage.
Record low water level in Lake Zurich
Sailing yacht flown by helicopter to its winter storage facility
Water levels in Lake Zurich are below the previous record low. Because his sailing yacht was stuck in the shallow water and in danger of capsizing, a 65-year-old owner had his boat airlifted out by helicopter. The operation cost around 2,000 francs and highlights just how much the exceptionally low water level is now affecting navigation.
Series of thefts continues
Thieves make off with two 300 PS outboard motors from Wieltsee
Thieves have struck again at Wieltsee: they have stolen two boats and removed heavy outboard motors. This is already the fourth such incident in three months.
Second-hand boat of the week
Arietta 31 – the dawn of an era
A narrow waist, mahogany hull and elegant overhangs: the Arietta 31, designed by Olle Enderlein, prioritises balanced lines and seaworthiness over maximum living space. As a forerunner of later Scandinavian cruising yachts, it is now an interesting classic for sailors seeking a traditional, compact cruising yacht.
Breehorn 55 review
Is it the ideal home at sea?
A pilothouse, teak fittings and an unusually accessible service tunnel: this is how the Breehorn 55 works below deck, and these compromises remain.
Newsletter: YACHT-Woche
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