2006 Channel Islands report

Beaten by the weather
The cruise ends but later on the MBM Team comes to the rescue...

2006 Normandy report

A sunny afternoon in St Vaast
The fleet move to beautiful harbour of St Vaast

2006 West country report

Magic Moments
MBM fleet go dolphin and shark watching on passage to Fowey

2006 Holland report

A Change of Plan
On a rainy day in Brouwershaven, the fleet gets some news

2005 West Country reports

West Country cruise enjoys perfect start
Light easterly winds and a west-going afternoon tide made for a particularly easy passage

MBM West Country cruise in company reaches Scilly Islands
Idyllic weather has enabled 26 motorboats to reach St Mary's Harbour,

Motor Boats Monthly West Country cruise returns
A total of 32 motorboats ranging in size from 6m-18.6m returned to home ports on Friday and Saturday after a two-week exploration that ranged as far west as the Scillies.

2005 Holland Reports

MBM Cruising Club fleet reaches Antwerp
The magazine's last cruise in company of the season has scored three maiden visits this week by visiting Brugge, Gent and Antwerp

Belgium and Netherlands cruise in company fleet home
A total of 22 motor cruisers taking part in the last Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company of the season have all reached UK ports in good weather.

Amsterdam cruise 2004

Racing the storm
The Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company to the Netherlands has successfully stayed ahead of unseasonable bad weather to reach Ijmuiden on the North Sea coast and the relative sanctity of the inland waters beyond (19 August 2004).

MBM cruise reaches Dordrecht
The 28 boats of the Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company to the Netherlands have reached the attractive city of Dordrecht at the crossroads of some of Europe's busiest waterways (22 August 2004).

Motor Boats Monthly cruise packed into Goes
The 28 boats of the MBM cruise in company to the Netherlands are filling to capacity the town basin of the Delta port of Goes (25 August 2004).

Split ends for MBM Netherlands cruise
The closing acts of the Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company season have provided a graphic illustration of the way in which modern, fast motor cruisers can exploit weather windows (30 August 2004).

Normandy D-Day cruise 2004

MBM Fleet Celebrate D-Day 60th Anniversary Caen
Emotional scenes were witnessed as veterans returned to Caen, many for the first time since the events of 1944 (7 June 2004).

MBM Fleet Back in the Solent
The historic town of St Valery en Caux was to be the last port of call of call (15 June 2004).

Channel Islands cruise 2004

MBM Cruising Club season underway
The first of this year's four Motor Boats Monthly cruises in company, a one-week exploration of the Channel Islands and France, has commenced on schedule (2 May 2004).

MBM Cruising Club motorboat fleet sheltering in Jersey
A deep low passing across the United Kingdom is throwing 30-40 knots of wind at the Channel Island of Jersey and keeping the 22 participant boats of the Motor Boats Monthly Cruising Club in their berths (4 May 2004).

MBM fleet reaches St Peter Port
The 21 boats of the Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company to the Channel Islands and France found a weather window to make a bumpy but safe 25nm passage from Jersey to Guernsey (8 May 2004).

MBM Cruising Club fleet returns to the Solent
A total of 20 boats taking part in the Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company to the Channel Islands and France completed the cross-Channel leg from St Peter Port, Guernsey to home ports (10 May 2004).

Zeeland cruise 2003

MBM fleet reaches Netherlands
A total of 28 boats are taking part in Motor Boats Monthly's cruise in company to the Zeeland region over the next two weeks (14 August 2003).

Lazy days in the Netherlands
The 27 boats of the Motor Boats Monthly cruise to Zeeland have been exploring the islands and varied havens of the Grevelingenmeer (21 August 2003).

Willemstad diversion
The 27-strong MBM fleet took a diversion on Wednesday this week from Zeeland waters to the attractive walled town on the Holland Deep (21 August 2003).

A welcome delay for MBM fleet
Westerly winds of up to 20 knots off the Belgian coast today have provided a useful excuse for the Motor Boats Monthly Zeeland Cruise fleet to stay one more night in Goes (22 August 2003).

MBM Zeeland fleet completes its journey
All boats on the Motor Boats Monthly Zeeland cruise in company intending to reach UK waters have done so today (24 August 2003).

Channel Island cruise 2003

Weather delays play for MBM Channel Island cruise
A total of 26 boats are heading for Cherbourg, Jersey and Guernsey this week but freshening winds delayed the start today (8 June 2003).

MBM fleet in Cherbourg
The 26 boats of the MBM Channel Islands cruise in company are now safely assembled in France after a comfortable Channel crossing yesterday (10 June 2003).

MBM fleet reaches Jersey
Light winds and a swell time was the fare of the 26 boats that took the passage from Cherbourg to St Helier yesterday (12 June 2003).

MBM fleet in Guernsey
The 25 boats of the Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company took the morning tide from St Helier to St Peter Port yesterday (14 June 2003).

MBM fleet back to the UK
A total of 23 craft in the MBM Channel Islands cruise in company fleet returned safely to the UK in near idyllic conditions yesterday (16 June 2003).

Zeeland cruise 2001

MBM Zeeland cruise hits perfect weather
A fleet of 26 motorboats ranging in size from 26ft-52ft and in cruising speed from 6-25 knots have made a successful start to the Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company to the Zeeland lakes of the Netherlands (29 July 2001).

MBM Zeeland fleet enters the Veersemeer
A light southwesterly breeze tickled the transoms of 26 motorboats from the MBM Cruising Club as they departed from Nieuwpoort in Belgium heading north along a haze-shrouded coast yesterday (30 July 2001).

Lazy days in Kortgene for MBM Dutch fleet
Yesterday (31 July 2001) provided a welcome break for the 26 boats of the MBM Club cruise in company to the Zeeland lakes of the Netherlands at Delta Marina, Kortgene (1 August 2001).

MBM Zeeland boats arrive in Herkingen
After the scorching and benign start to the cruise, this morning's livelier breeze called for a few moments of consideration before crossing the tidal Oosterschelde from the Veersemeer to the Grevelingenmeer (2 August 2001).

Breezes whistle for the MBM Zeeland cruise
A busy pattern of low pressure systems has been throwing quite a breeze over the Grevelingenmeer, but the 26 motorboats of the MBM Club cruising fleet are on schedule and now located in the modern Port Zelande marina and holiday complex (4 August 2001).

Short hop and no police stop for MBM fleet
There is not a shorter leg anywhere on a Motor Boats Monthly Cruising Club itinerary than the micro hop from the modern marina facilities at Port Zelande to the traditional town basin at Brouwershaven (6 August 2001).

MBM Zeeland cruise Day 12: weather dominates
After a schedule change that saw the 26 craft of the Motor Boats Monthly Cruising Club fleet take an extra day in Brouwershaven to avoid torrential rain, all are now safe in Tholen despite F7 SW winds (8 August 2001).

MBM Zeeland cruise Day 13: strange tales of lock rage and sticking gearboxes on the way to Goes
The wind dropped and seemingly every boat on holiday in the Netherlands dropped lines and moved, the Motor Boats Monthly Cruising Club fleet amongst them (10 August 2001).

MBM Zeeland cruise day 15: the wind arrives early and the fleet seek refuge in four separate ports
The promised squeeze between a ridge of high pressure and lows to the immediate north have arrived earlier than expected; a 20 knot south-westerly and local gale warnings have lead to necessary diversion tactics (11 August 2001).

MBM Zeeland cruise day 17: ducking and dodging F7 winds
Some crews on the homeward leg of the Motor Boats Monthly Club cruise to the Netherlands have taken to ferries and watched from a lofty height the effects of a 30-knot wind promoted by a low versus high squeeze; others are hedging bets for a return on own bottoms via various routes (13 August 2001).

MBM Zeeland cruise day 18: the great escape (pt 1)
The weather is a drama queen, that's for sure. From blowing old boots, the sudden transition to carpet slippers and a white veil was mostly welcome for the expectant boats of the Motor Boats Monthly Cruising Club fleet (15 August 2001).

MBM Zeeland cruise day: an update from the Dover Strait
The scriptural statement that the first shall be last could have been written for displacement cruiser owners, but those on the MBM fleet have at least been blessed with calm seas and blue skies for their Channel crossing (15 August 2001).

Normandy cruise 2001

MBM Normandy cruise day 1: weather stops play
The ongoing march of lows across Britain may possibly have saved the English cricket team but this fit of depressions has left the 26 craft on the MBM Cruising Club fleet stumped, at least temporarily, in its bid for French waters (20 August 2001).

MBM Normandy cruise day 2 & 3: on a high and nearly on schedule
Two elements of the Motor Boats Monthly Club cruise in company to Normandy have today (Tuesday 21 August) performed something of a pincer movement to link up with an advanced scout at Dives-sur-Mer, making a fleet of 22 craft out of the original 26 due to take part (21 August 2001).

MBM Normandy cruise day 4: hopping from Dives to Deauville
The 22 cruisers of the Motor Boats Monthly fleet enjoyed a relaxing morning at Dives-Sur-Mer before hopping along the coast just a few miles eastward to neighbouring Deauville today (22 August).

MBM Normandy cruise: days 5-7 full report
In a cruise of contrasts, the participant boats of the Motor Boats Monthly Club Normandy fleet have enjoyed a short coastal hop to Le Havre, a long river run to Rouen and a day off, all in scorching temperatures (26 August 2001).

MBM Normandy cruise: days 8-11 full report
The Motor Boats Monthly Normandy Cruising Club fleet have now achieved all intended harbours on the itinerary, albeit in slightly different order, and are currently lying in the picturesque Normandy town of St Valery-en-Caux, much to the great interest of local residents (31 August 2001).

MBM Normandy cruise day 12-14: full report on the homecoming
All participant boats on the Motor Boats Monthly cruise in company to Normandy are safely home in UK ports after enjoying a two-night stay in the secret haven of St Valery-en-Caux (3 September 2001).