Whether you want to take the family away during the school holidays, have a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, or just want to sail away with friends – there’re so many interesting places to visit from Sunsail’s base in the UK, Port Solent.

Due to its closeness to Port Solent, the Isle of Wight is probably the first destination most sailors head for and some might have seen Dippy the penguin. Dippy ordinarily lives at Seaview Wildlife Encounter and his adventures see him travel through time and space to different locations on the Isle of Wight.

Elvstrøm Sails technology team has invented the world’s first fully wind ‘reactive membrane’, creating sails that never require reefing. The revolutionary APR-1 Film contains a honeycomb weave of micro-pores, which automatically open up when wind pressure increases, exhausting excess wind through the sail. This depowers the sail, and causes acceleration and lift on the leeward side. APR-1 can be integrated into all Elvstrøm’s sail fabrics and non-delaminating membranes.

www.elvstromsails.com

Cowes Week Limited has welcomed Laithwaite’s Wine to join its family of sponsors as the Official Wine and Champagne Sponsor of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, for an initial two year term.

Laithwaite’s Wine has been discovering and sharing great wines since the 1960s when Tony Laithwaite started shipping wines back from Bordeaux. As part of the sponsorship deal, Laithwaite’s will establish a Wine Corner enabling those connected with the regatta to enjoy great wine deals throughout the year.  During the event itself, Laithwaite’s will create a wine garden in Cowes Yacht Haven for visitors and competitors to relax with a glass (or bottle) of wine or Champagne after a day’s racing, they will also have a wine ‘hub’ on The Parade where visitors can sample wine and take part in tutored tastings. A range of Laithwaite’s wine, sparkling wine, and Champagne products will be available during the regatta, which takes place 2-9 August.

A great pair of shoes will not only carry you from season to season but each time they will make a statement. It is the details and the attention to quality that make the mark and Chatham have this mastered. With 20 years in the business, they know what they are doing and prove it season after season. This new pair of brogues, that are part of their spring-summer collection are the pinnacle of this ethos. Taking bright bursts of colour and injecting them into the soles and laces gives an instant spring uplift.

Price: £59
www.chatham.co.uk

Dee Caffari (GBR), Sara Hastreiter (USA) and Elodie-Jane Mettraux (SUI) will all be joining Team SCA, the only all-female team, in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15.

Caffari is no stranger to ocean racing having competed in the Vendée Globe Race, Global Challenge, Barcelona World Race and four transatlantic races.  She is the only woman to have sailed solo around the world in both directions (east-about and west-about), as well as being the only female to have sailed around the world non-stop three times. She also holds the female crewed monohull Round Britain and Ireland speed record, a record she established in June 2009, with Team SCA crew mate Sam Davies.