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

Biography

Cunliffe learnt how to sail in a 22 ft gaff sloop as a teenager on the

Norfolk Broads Norfolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and east, Cambridgeshire to the west, a ...

. 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 England, English port, 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 b ...

. He has been a qualified yachtmaster 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 oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

from the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

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 ''Yachting World'' is a monthly English language magazine published since 1894. Owned by Future plc, it features articles on sailing and yachting Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collec ...

'', ''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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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 The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

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 vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

Selected bibliography

* ''In the Wake of Heroes'', 2015,

Adlard Coles Nautical Adlard Coles Nautical is a nautical publisher, with over 300 books in print. The company publishes books on topics of interest to sailors and motorboaters and also ‘landlubbers’ with an interest in the sea. Their list includes almanacs, crui ...

* ''Sailing, Yachts and Yarns'', 2011, John Wiley & Sons * ''The Complete Yachtmaster'' (7th edition), 2010,

* ''Yachting Monthly 200 Skipper's Tips'', 2010, John Wiley & Sons * ''The Complete Day Skipper'' (3rd edition), 2009,

* ''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