Journalism

My first article was written in 1987 when I was away cruising. It was accepted by a small paper. I then had the courage to offer a piece to ‘Yachting Monthly’. They liked it, bought it and the rest, as they say, is history.  I’ve also written for most of the yachting magazines in the UK and have also appeared in France, Germany, Holland, America and Australia.

Monthly columns:

Yachting World My column here has been running for over 15 years. It’s called ‘Great Seamanship’ and in it I introduce an extract from nautical literature. I’ve covered most of the famous names, but I’ve also found treasures from sailors that many folks have never heard of.  My book ‘In the Wake of Heroes’ is a compilation of just 40 of my favourites.

After 30 years or more, I no longer have a column with Yachting Monthly. The editors were great, but the ‘suits’ made it impossible for me to work for them. I now write monthly for Classic Boat and Sailing Today.

I have two regular slots in Classic Boat and in each of them I’m lucky enough to be joined by a talented artist. Claudia Myatt‘s delightful watercolours bring life to my yarns while Martyn Mackrill‘s sketches illustrate perfectly the technicalities of ‘The Bosun’s Bag’ – regular tips for traditional craft.

Sailing Today gives me the opportunity to recount some incident that’s happened to me at sea and offer helpful advice about the solution.

I also have a monthly column in SAIL (USA) with sailing tips.

Other magazines I’ve written for over the years have included Marine Quarterly, Wooden Boat, Yachts and Yachting, Sailing SA, RYA magazine (UK), Le Chasse-Maree, High Life, Business Life, Queste, Segel (Germany),The Scotsman, The Independent, etc.

A sideline to the journalism is writing brochures for firms, such as Fairlie Restorations.

I also offer video promotion for firms.

Occasionally, foreign companies will ask me to have a look at the English version of their brochure and if necessary to make it more readable.

If I can help at all, please contact me via the form.