Ready for a season of open water swimming? Swimming outdoors for fitness has rocketed in popularity in the UK, and a Sport England survey reveals that over four million of…
Watersports
Kayak SUP – Isle hybrid paddleboard and kayak
American company, Isle, a stand up paddle board manufacturer based out of San Diego has unveiled what they are referring to as a hybrid watercraft that doubles as both kayak…
Best cold water swimming gear: 6 essential items for a winter dip
Choosing the best cold water swimming gear can be an overwhelming experience. With so many options on the market, it’s hard to know what’s essential and what’s overkill. Here at…
Best waterproof bag: 8 drybags tested
Once a novelty, then a go-to item for dinghy sailors, a drybag is now a must have for all sailors and watersports enthusiasts. After all, why would you not keep…
The best sea kayaks: for touring and exploring coastlines, islands and inlets
They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and styles, but the best sea kayaks will let you set off on many an aquatic adventure, touring and exploring along coastlines,…
Best kayak brands: Your essential guide to the best makes of kayak
Whether you’re looking for a touring sea kayak, a fibreglass surfski, a plastic sit-on-top, a foldable or inflatable craft, a whitewater creek boat or a versatile river runner, there is…
Best sailing tender: get a buzz from your boat or boot
While we all crave as much helming pleasure as possible from our cruising yachts, the reality is that after making realistic space, volume and budget compromises, they may not always…
Kawasaki SX-R review: Stand-up Jet Ski delivers extreme performance
Being a 52-year-old bloke, I’m not usually one for paying much attention to instruction manuals but having never attempted to ride a stand-up jet ski before, I thought it might…
Is this foiling jetski the future of personal watercraft?
Foiling has been the latest buzzword in the sailing and motorboat world for the last decade or so. Of course the history of hyrofoiling is far longer than that with…
Dinghy sailing: why it’s great for beginners and keelboat sailors
Dinghy sailing – whether racing or as a leisure activity – is one of the best ways to improve your skill level whether you’ve no experience of sailing, race 50ft…
Learn to sail: What to expect from the RYA Dinghy Level 1 Start Sailing course
There can be few more forgiving places to learn to sail than Horseshoe Lake Activity Centre in Berkshire. This inland watersports centre is home to paddleboards, kayaks, wild swimming and…
Diving from a boat – advice from the experts
As cruisers, we can find ourselves in some of the most beautiful places this world has to offer. But more often than not, the real magic lies just below the…
We pushed this budget paddleboard right up to its weight limit: Bestway SUP review
I recently wanted to try an inflatable stand up paddleboard (SUP) for use as a tender to get to my boat when she’s out on the mooring. I’ve done this…
What to wear paddle boarding in any weather
What to wear paddle boarding? It might sound like a silly question – but the answer isn’t necessarily as straightforward as you might expect. From those with no watersports experience,…
Into the deep: Diving with sharks in French Polynesia
We sailed to the atoll of Fakarava for one reason: diving! This distant enclave is a sleepy little island that has Polynesian traditions as deep as the sea. Whether you’re…
7 of the best open water swimming shoes and booties
If you’re getting into open water swimming for fitness or fancy a spot of wild swimming in your local river, you don’t need much kit to get started – but…
6 of the best swim gloves for outdoor swimmers
If you’re getting into open water swimming for short fitness sessions, or in warm weather conditions, you don’t need to invest in much kit. But if you want to swim…
Best paddle board pump: Manual and electric options
Inflatable paddle boards now make up the vast majority of recreational SUPs around the world. And of course inflatables need blowing up, hence the sound of pumping punctuates many a…
Best paddle board accessories: the best paddleboard gear
Stand-up paddleboarding is a pleasingly simple activity: essentially all you need is a board and a paddle. But of course there is a little bit more to it, so getting…
Best Inflatable Paddle board: 8 of the best iSUPs
It might come as a surprise to discover that the vast majority of the stand-up paddle board (SUP) market is inflatable. In fact, in most conditions good quality pump-up boards…