Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i Sailing Today

Entries have opened for Cowes Week and organisers have created a new class for Club Cruisers, designed to welcome cruising yachts and less experienced racers to the regatta. There will also be the first ever Cowes Week opening party, which will take place on Saturday 31 July, after the first race day. Laurence Mead, Regatta Director, said: “What a year! We have so many sailors desperate to get back on the water and I think this will be a bumper year for boat racing all round. We are working flat out to deliver a great Cowes Week. There won’t be any fireworks this year (at least not up in the sky!) as a Covid-safety decision but there will be great racing for thousands of keen sailors and, in the end,…

“Rather like a baby sucking a dummy, athlete literally never lets go of water bottle” This shot does not show a world class sailor who was sucking so conscientiously on his water bottle that he failed to notice the mark approaching behind the sail of the boat in front. No, this piece of action from the recent Finn Europeans shows the trialling of a new athlete hydration system designed for those competing in the heat of Enoshima Bay this summer. Rather like a baby sucking a dummy, athlete literally never lets go of water bottle, sucking endlessly until whatever substance inside is consumed entirely. Hands are left free to trim, steer and raise flags. Sailors these days are a healthy bunch. DIFFICULTY RATING: 1…

‘Do you sometimes suspect that the word ’maritime’ puts at least 20 per cent on the price?’ How much would you pay for a piece of wood? I’m thinking of a longish piece, but strong, around eight feet, but thin enough to hold in your hand. If you were lucky and a gale brought down a convenient tree, I suppose you’d get it for free. If you had to go to a timber merchant it might cost you a few quid. On the other hand, if you went to chandlery your might have to fork out £99.95, plus postage, and think yourself lucky to get such a bargain. It was this (lame) joke that I exchanged with the chap at the boatyard as he launched me for the season. Once…

Many years ago I spent a couple of summers working as a charter skipper out in Dalmatia. I’d like to tell you that the whole thing was an out of control bacchanal, but I’m afraid I’d be misleading you; I had a nice time but nothing remarkable happened. Nothing? Well, perhaps that’s misleading. At some point in the months I spent out there, I fell in love; not with a person but with the landscape. the beauty of this coast is savage and wild. Life out here in the summer months is like living with the contrast turned all the way up. It’s a world of vivid blues; lambent waters and deep blue mountains reverberating on the mainland; blinding chalk white shores topped by emerald pines crackling in the heat.…

Last week during a Q&A Zoom session organised by MDL Marinas I was asked about what sort of boat to buy. The question was quite specific and I’ll return to it shortly, but it triggered off some general thoughts about how the rest of us choose suitable yachts to ward off the hard knocks of life. My wife and I were once marooned up a muddy creek in America’s deep south. I was recovering from a damaged rib cage left over from a nasty night off Cuba. Funds were tight and the local yard proved a bountiful haven. Spanish Moss festooned the live oaks overhanging the water and to say that the denizens of the river bank were a sparky bunch would be an understatement, but among their number were…

The Neel 43 is a highly innovative yacht that combines weight saving and sleek hull design with clever nacelle layout to provide a yacht that is both fast, fun and comfortable. The looks are individual – as with most multihulls – but the performance is undeniable – not always the case with multihulls. It’s a boat that will doubtless appeal to someone with a very clear idea of what they want from a yacht and someone who dares to be a bit different. As such, I thought it was excellent and a real beath of fresh air. PERFORMANCE: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ LOOKS: ★ ★ ★ COMFORT: ★ ★ ★ ★ THE SPEC Length: 42’7” (12.97m) Width: 24’6” (7.49m) Draught: 4’5” (1.37m) Displacement: 9,000kg (19,800lbs) Sail area: 1096 sq/ft…

Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour is a natural point of departure for yachts headed to northern European destinations such as Oostende, the Baltic or Scandinavia. It’s just 35 miles to the nearest point in France, and the profusion of commercial shipping racing up and down the traffic separation lanes generally ensures there’ll be one or two memorable moments in any crossing. But Ramsgate is equally relevant for sailors rounding the corner of the UK for destinations on either the south coast or east coast, depending on their direction of travel. From Ramsgate you can launch explorations of the River Medway, or travel up the Thames to take a closer look at the Thames Barrier, and even venture right into the heart of the capital itself. There’s also a great opportunity to discover…

It’s not difficult these days to view the past with somewhat rose tinted spectacles and think it was a domain where everything was just better – or at the very least less complicated. This is not, however, something that applies to the world of multihulls. Back in the day, your average cruising multihull had all the visual appeal of a pair of cupboards placed horizontally with a garden shed strapped atop. Quite frequently they sailed to windward with all the prowess of this structure. If you look at some of the somewhat high freeboard monsters out there on the market at the moment you might be tempted to say, well, plus ca change. But the fact is that almost all now sail with some degree of competence upwind and often…

Have you ever stood in the sea and felt the action of the waves on your legs? The surge as the waves push you forward towards the beach and then the sucking action pulling you back out to sea. That is correct: the waves don’t simply ‘go one way’ and the way we steer in waves can have a huge effect on our Velocity Made Good (VMG). This is why we often see bigger speed differences in wavy conditions than in flat water racing. You have probably noticed the wave effect many times before, especially when you are trying to hold a boat by the beach when launching or waiting for your trolley to recover your boat, but have you really thought about the current between waves which at one…

As the sailing world paid tribute to HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, previously unseen images of His Royal Highness sailing as a schoolboy came to light. They were released by his former school Gordonstoun and were taken by the great-uncle of a former student. They show the Duke in happy times in 1937, sailing one of Gordonstoun’s boats, Diligent, helming and washing-up (above centre and right). Diligent was a 14-ton Cornish trading ketch, bought in Plymouth in 1936 by teacher Michael-Noel Varvill. Meanwhile tributes have been paid from across the sailling world to the Duke, who was a keen sailor and did much to support sailing. Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Jamie Sheldon, said: “We owe a substantial debt to our Admiral, who was an active and…

The Southampton Boat Show will run from 10-19 September this year, with a new layout and a host of exhibitors already signed up. Working in partnership with Southampton City Council, organiser British Marine has confirmed additional land has been agreed for use at this year’s show, making the event bigger than ever and creating space for a new entrance and festival area outside Southampton’s Westquay shopping centre. There will be a zone for paddle boards, kite surfers, kayaks and windsurfers, accompanied by a stage, street food and music, while another zone will cater for dinghies and another for classic and wooden boats. Mayflower Park itself will be ‘bigger and better than ever’, says British Marine, with a wide range of exhilarating on-the-water experiences for everyone as the natural arena between…

Happy 100th to Navigators & General! Can you celebrate properly given the circumstances? Thank you! We’ve had to change some of our plans but nonetheless we’ve still been able to mark this milestone. It’s our customers – some of whom have been with us for decades – that have made our centenary possible, and it’s them who we really want to thank at this time. It’s an interesting time to be an insurer. Have you been fielding some unusual requests over the last year? With overseas holidays hampered by travel restrictions, people are thinking of new ways to travel and explore. Boats appeal to what many people want at this time – a sense of freedom and to escape outdoors. We’ve seen spikes in demand for cover at both ends…

‘HOW RELIEVED MUST THE RYA SELECTORS HAVE BEEN TO HAVE MADE SUCH EARLY CALLS ON TOKYO!’ Where would Olympic sailing be without the Portuguese haven of Vilamoura? This resort in the Algarve has been the saviour of international competition for many of the Olympic classes while all else in Europe and most of the rest of the world has been cancelled. The 470 fleets had their Worlds there in March and are back on the same Atlantic waters for their European Championships just six weeks later. The Finns have just had their European Championships there and move to the north of Portugal for the Finn Gold Cup in Porto in early May. How relieved must the RYA selectors have been to have made such early calls on who would be…

In ports, Med mooring is king and once you’re used to doing it, there is no problem with this. For the uninitiated it can be a bit daunting, particularly considering how busy things get in midsummer. The key is to act decisively and assertively plus brief your crew well in advance so everyone knows what they are doing. The basic principle is to drop the anchor about three boat lengths ahead of the space you are going to back into. You need to line things up nicely so you don’t get your anchor crossed with the adjacent boat. If it’s breezy, yuo need to reverse at a decent speed to retain control. The best option is to find a spot with a decent sized boat to windward. That way, once…

The Round the Island Race celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. The first race took place in 1931 with 25 entries. Nine decades later, it is renowned as one of the biggest mass participation events in the world, giving weekend family crews the chance to compete on the same course as the biggest names in the sport. Records have tumbled and eras come and gone, but the heart of the event – a spectacular, challenging day out for ordinary sailors – has not altered. Back in 1930, it was Major Cyril Windeler, a member of the Island Sailing Club, who proposed a handicap race around the Isle of Wight for ‘smaller’ boats, which at the time meant between 5 and 25 tons. In this anniversary year, the Island SC, which…

DRAGONFLY 40 A bit smaller and sportier but with less volume. Danish boatbuilder Dragonfly has been ploughing a similarly individual furrow and this is their biggest offering yet. dragonfly.dk OUTREMER 45 Ok only two hulls not three but this is a catamaran with a similar blend of performance and comfort in a very attractive looking multihull. catamaran-outremer.com RAPIDO 50 A bigger boat and an interesting proposition, claiming to be the world's ‘ultimate folding ocean cruising trimaran’. Hard to argue with that. rapidotrimarans.com…

Perhaps against the expectations of some, the safest holiday you can undertake in the world today is on a yacht. Yes, you still have to contend with the normal perils of life afloat – your G&T may spill as another boat’s wake sends ripples across your anchorage, and you might have to tweak the jib sheet more than once as you pootle round that nearby headland. Who knows, you might even have to reapply some Factor 50 after an afternoon swim off the bathing platform. Of course, in post-Covid world, what you really want to know is that the yacht you will find on your handover day will be clean enough to operate on. I don’t get halfway through this question, when we turn up at Universal Yachting on the…

The criticism thrown at the Excess 12 and 15 was that they were simply repurposed Lagoons. This is certainly not something that can be levelled at the 11 and, to be fair, the boat is all the more coherent as a result. Don’t kid yourself; this is an out an out cruising yacht but the manufacturers have succeeded in adding a bit of extra fun into the mix. There’s nothing earth shatteringly different going on here but this is a small (ish) catamaran that provides and interesting new option for prospective buyers. PERFORMANCE: ★ ★ ★ ★ LOOKS: ★ ★ ★ COMFORT: ★ ★ ★ ★★ THE SPEC Overall length: 11,33 m (37’2’’) Length: 11,06 m (36’3’’) Beam: 6,59 m (21’7’’) Draft: 1,15 m (3’9’’) Light displacement: 9 T (19…

MASCOT 35DS | ORIANA A unique deck saloon yacht with renowned Danish seagoing heritage and build quality. Sleeping six across three cabins she is spacious and very comfortable. The main saloon is superbly light and has fantastic visibility all round thanks to large wrap around windows. With a helm station forward in the main saloon she is a true all weather cruiser that will look after you whatever the conditions. Mascot developed a strong reputation for producing solid, comfortable motorsailers and the 35DS certainly ticks all the right boxes. Sailing performance is good but it is in the comfort levels that this boat really excels. Oriana boasts masses of space with forward and aft separate heads compartments, a light and spacious main saloon with dining table to port…

The RYA has launched an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy, aiming to “chart and cement the sport’s commitment to developing a culture that celebrates diversity and is free from discrimination and prejudice”. The RYA was the first UK national governing body to achieve the Advanced Level of the Sports Councils’ Equality Standard for Sport, in 2016, and it intends the new strategy to build on this. RYA Chief Executive, Sarah Treseder, said: “We joined other voices from the world of sport last summer to speak out against racism, and in doing so we recognised that more needed to be done to ensure that boating was as inclusive and diverse as we would like it to be. “We reaffirmed our commitment to equality of opportunity then, and we have gone on…

With entry open for the 90th anniversary Round the Island Race, the organisers have announced details of the Windeler Cup, a new event for keelboats. The Island Sailing Club will run the new race on the same day as the Round the Island Race, Saturday 3 July, for boats which are ‘too small to safely participate in the annual circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight to join in the excitement of the Round the Island Race weekend’. Boats from the Daring, Dragon, Etchells, Flying Fifteen, Mermaid, Redwing, Sunbeam, Swallow, Sonar, Squib, RS Elite, Victory and XOD classes will compete in a ‘Round the Solent’ race. The race will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes, around 08.30 after the main Round the Island fleet is underway. It will…

The rumours that had been doing the rounds on the Auckland waterfront were confirmed on 19 March when Royal Yacht Squadron Racing was accepted as official Challenger of Record for the 37th America’s Cup. The news broke a few days after the end of the 36th Cup, won by Emirates Team New Zealand against Italian outfit Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. It is not since 1964 that a British team has been official Challenger, when the Royal Thames YC-backed Sovereign, designed by David Boyd, lost to the New York YC-backed Constellation, designed by Olin Stephens. It also means that there will be a British challenge for the Cup in three consecutive editions – Land Rover BAR competed in the 35th Cup in Bermuda, while INEOS Team UK competed in the recent…

In an unprecedented move, the IOC has given World Sailing little more than six weeks to come up with an alternative Olympic class for the Paris 2024 Games. The news that the IOC were less than keen on the new Mixed Double-Handed Offshore class, which had been proposed for Paris 2024, had been feared for some time, but then on 16 April, World Sailing held a virtual press conference announcing that the IOC had decided to continue its review into the class. Meanwhile in a private letter to World Sailing the IOC indicated the class is unlikely to gain approval. It is a blow for the many mixed crews around the world with their sights set on Paris 2024. The new discipline was designed to create opportunities for female sailors…

De Cesari 33 The DeCesari 33 is a modern classic from the drawing board of Italian designer Giovanni Ceccarelli. Despite classic lines above the waterline, this is a thoroughly modern yacht with a square topped mainsail and bulb keel. Designed as a weekender, accommodation is modest but stylish while there has also been emphasis placed on ease of handling and manoeuvring. Construction is laminated mahogany with a teak deck. This wooden construction lends itself to the interior which fairly gleams with beautifully finished woodwork. ceccarelliyachtdesign.com Pogo 40s4 French manufacturer Pogo has proven itself to be a dab hand at putting together both fast cruisers and full blooded racers. The new 40s4 definitely sits in the latter category and is an exciting yacht particularly because she boasts an innovative ‘scow bow’…

‘I DREAD TO THINK WHAT THE ALTERNATIVES WILL BE. MIXED TEAM RACING IN FINNS AND EUROPES? PLEASE……’ The writing seems to be on the wall as far as the chances of there being a Mixed Offshore event at the 2024 Olympics. It is not that any of the IOC’s concerns about the new event are new or have just been raised with World Sailing, working with some of my French colleagues who raised the question last September there were serious rumblings in the world’s hotbed of solo and shorthanded racing that Olympic Mixed Offshore was at best in for a bumpy ride, at worst could by sunk in the early months of this year. Make no mistake recently appointed David Graham, the CEO of World Sailing, is very much in…

Sesula, Solta 43° 23’ 34” N, 16° 12’ 36” E A lovely sheltered cove with a top class restaurant just a few metres away serving delicious Peka. Protection: SE-W Anchoring – Allowed Mooring buoys – available Anchor stern to – unavailable Lines Ashore – recommended Type of seabed: Rock Vlaka, Pakleni Islands 43° 10’ 1” N, 16° 21’ 58” E A good lunchtime stop with and excellent restaurant in the sleepy village of Vlaka. Protection: E-SW Anchoring – allowed Mooring buoys – 15 Type of seabed: Rock Uvala Stonica, Vis 43° 4’ 2” N, 16° 11’ 33” E Extremely well protected anchorage not far from Vis town. Benefitting from good holding and access to a number of beaches. (below) Protection: SW-N Anchoring – allowed Mooring buoys – not available Type…

A local saying in Western Scotland: “If the sun is shining, it’s going to rain.” Few utterances have more truth. Pete and I had been sailing up the west coast of Scotland for three weeks by the time we reached Fort William and had probably endured about 60 squalls – averaging about three per day. Yet testing weather, ferocious tides, big seas and all, I would not hesitate in stating that Western Scotland is the most spectacular place I have ever sailed. It is mythical in its proportions, mysterious in its emptiness and medieval in its scenery It is like sailing through a Tolkienesque fantasy. Our original plan had been to make it all the way to Orkney before sailing back down the east coast but, as is so often…

It’s not often you step aboard a yacht these days and mutter ‘hmm, different’ but I can honestly say that the Neel 43 had that effect on me. On one level, this is far from a surprise because, unlike 95% of the boats I have tested, the Neel 43 features three hulls instead of one or two. Yet there is more to it than that. The La Rochelle based manufacturer started out with a concept that dared to be different when it first started started building cruising yachts and this has led to concept that has evolved in a different way to other boats in ostensibly the same category. This is interesting because the goal is ultimately the same; to produce a well mannered, comfortable easy to handle sailing yacht…

Whether your old instruments are starting to fail you, or you just want to upgrade, the four top marine electronics brands offer unprecedented firepower. The multifunction displays which form the nerve centre of a modern network are more powerful than ever, with dazzling colour screens and sophisticated user interfaces. The digital charts they display have never offered more features, from automatic route planning and user’s pub reviews to the most astonishingly detailed seabed detail – viewable in a kind of Jules Verneesque 3D. Not only that, they can be updated electronically via Wifi, so no more messing about with Notices to Mariners and purple ink. Finally, the instruments that they support are becoming more sophisticated, too. We’ll always need the basics of speed and depth, wind direction and water temperature.…

Chris and Mel Warwick, of Universal Yachting, have teenagers at home and their inspiration for their Pop Up Sailing concept came from family summers spent on Chichester Harbour, as members of Emsworth Sailing Club, where when the sun is out and the tide is in, they are used to dropping everything and escaping out on the water. Melanie Warwick said: “We know that everyone is looking for fun, exciting things to do after lockdown that are safe. As a family we saw how crowded the beaches got last summer. We’ve been running the business from home during lockdown and around the kitchen table with our kids’ input, we came up with ‘Pop Up Sailing’ as way to enjoy a new experience sailing on the sea, away from the crowds.” With…

‘A chief-led society acts as effectively as law-enforcement in most places’ Liveaboard sailing is, in general, actually a pretty safe lifestyle to adopt. If you steer clear of pirate hotspots (so not Somalia) and don’t dip down to the huge seas of the southern ocean (brrrrrr!) you can coast around in a warm, temperate climate of relatively straightforward tropical sailing indefinitely. But what about personal safety and security? Okay, let’s forget about pirates and all their associated swashbuckling, cutlass-wielding caricatures. I’m talking about real situations of potential robbery or violence to crop up and spoil your seemingly endless boating holiday from the ‘real world’. Thefts in the Caribbean are common. They’re almost the aquatic equivalent of schoolboy hijinks, consisting for the most part of opportunistic stealing. A dinghy goes wandering,…