Tom Cunliffe (born 1947) is a British yachting journalist, author and broadcaster.

Biography

Cunliffe learnt how to sail in a 22 ft gaff

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

as a teenager on the Norfolk Broads. After studying law at university, he chose not to enter the profession and effectively ran away to sea instead. He has worked as mate on a coasting merchant vessel and skippered private yachts as well as having been a delivery and charter skipper. He was a sailing tutor for many years, progressing from running a dinghy sailing school in the south of France to becoming a senior offshore instructor at the British National Sailing Centre in

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

. He has been a qualified

yachtmaster A Yachtmaster qualification is a certificate of competence of the ability to handle either a sailing boat or motor boat (as endorsed) in certain prescribed conditions. Three different titles are specified; Yachtmaster Coastal (previously - and in ...

examiner since 1978. His many cruises in his own yachts span the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

from the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

to the South Atlantic, east to west as far as you can go. He and his wife are keen motorcyclists and have crossed the American continent in both directions, each riding their own machines.

Career as journalist, author and broadcaster

Cunliffe has been a regular contributor to ''Yachting Monthly'', '' Yachting World'', ''Sail'' magazine,''Classic Boat'' and 'Sailing Today' for many years. A professional writer since 1986, Cunliffe has won the Best Book of the Sea award twice, for ''Topsail and Battleaxe'' and ''Hand, Reef and Steer''. He is author of the important ''Shell Channel Pilot'' for the English Channel. In 2010 he presented the award-winning six-part

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

documentary series, '' The Boats that Built Britain''. He also presented the popular 'Boat Yard' series for Discovery TV. In , his YouTube channel, ''Yachts and Yarns'', had subscribers.

Personal life

When not sailing his 44 ft cutter ''Constance'', Cunliffe lives in the New Forest with his wife Ros where he rides a large motorcycle, grows roses, and drives a 1949

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

Selected bibliography

* ''In the Wake of Heroes'', 2015, Adlard Coles Nautical * ''Sailing, Yachts and Yarns'', 2011, John Wiley & Sons * ''The Complete Yachtmaster'' (7th edition), 2010, Adlard Coles Nautical * ''Yachting Monthly 200 Skipper's Tips'', 2010, John Wiley & Sons * ''The Complete Day Skipper'' (3rd edition), 2009, Adlard Coles Nautical * ''Good Vibrations: Coast to Coast by Harley'', 2000, Summersdale * ''Hand, Reef and Steer'', 1992, Thomas Reed Publications * ''Topsail and Battleaxe'', 1988, David & Charles * Celestial Navigation, 1989, Fernhurst Books

References

External links

Official website

Tom Cunliffe's Twitter feed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunliffe, Tom English sailors Maritime writers British male journalists Living people 1947 births