Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2015 i Yachting Monthly

Early summer involved our major housemove. To a smaller house without a basement or attic. Nor a big shed, nor deep cupboards. If you want a rule for life, it is to resist all temptation ever to own any of the above, unless you are determined to die there and leave the problem to your heirs. Especially if you have already done the heir-thing yourself, and taken in your late parents’ books, pictures, gewgaws and sentimental ornaments. And if on top of all that you have had children of your own, who like living light and carefree and regard your house as free storage, heaven help you. We feel your pain. We got through two whole skips, drove local charity shops to the edge of a breakdown, attempted eBay –…

Tom Cunliffe is a Yachtmaster examiner. He has sailed tens of thousands of miles around the world Back in February the Royal Institute of Navigation ran an evening lecture and discussion on the navigational significance of the loss of Team Vestas Wind, the Volvo boat that piled up on the Cargados Carajos in the Indian Ocean. As I listened to the commentary of Wouter Verbraak, the yacht’s navigator, I began to feel a strong sense of déja vu. Disappearing reefs Seven years ago, I was an expert in litigation over an incident involving the loss of a cruising yacht. This one was in a different ocean, but the mistakes made were eerily similar. The skipper had planned his passage using vector charts of the sort loaded into the plotters on…

One Wild Song By Paul Heiney, published by Bloomsbury at £16.99 To take on an 18,000-mile round trip to Cape Horn, much of it sailed solo in the Victoria 38 cutter Wild Song, is quite an adventure. To do so in the hope of coming to terms with the loss of your 23 year old son is something else entirely. Did it bring solace? Paul Heiney writes openly of the ups and downs of the voyage and his own emotional journey. It’s a marathon of trials and ordeals, and, by breaking the voyage several times to return home to work, Paul seems never to attain ‘oneness’ with boat or ocean. There are times of great contentment, but also of near animosity; almost as though he’s fighting the environment as understanding…

Practical adivice for all aailors Tom Cunliffe has sailed tens of thousands of miles all over the world and has been a Yachtmaster Examiner since 1978 Fun with the compass How long is it since you swung your compass? If you’re like me, this important job is sometimes sidelined. Here’s a way of checking the compass on the current heading next time you’re out there at dawn or sunset. Reeds Almanac gives true bearings for the sun from anywhere in the world just as it rises or sets. The tables are easy to operate and are found near the end of the ‘Navigation’ section at the front. They are entered with latitude to the nearest degree (we know that already), and the sun’s declination, which is found in a simple…

Looking at a chart of northern Holland and Germany it may not occur to some that the long chain of Frisian Islands once formed the northern coasts of these countries, or that many centuries ago the sea eroded the sandy land behind them forming the shallow waters of the Waddenzee (Wattenmeer in German) and creating the islands we see today. These sandy, partially wooded islands are protected from the battering seas by shoals, which can extend as far as five miles out – fortunate for the islands but not so good for yachtsmen coming in through the seegat channels. I have enjoyed cruising the drying channels behind the Frisian Islands for many years and have visited all but one of the 12 inhabited islands. Admittedly there is much more motor-sailing…

What’s she like to sail? Like most traditional long-keel boats, the Vancouver 34C is one of modest speed but powerful demeanour. She’s not going to impress club racer types and neither is she ideal for short-tacking up narrow rivers, but when challenged with a Channel crossing in a southwesterly gale, she’ll romp home safe and sound. Her steering is light and positive, though it gets heavier when she’s over-canvassed, and she tracks well thanks to her long keel. Tacking is slow – partly because of the need to haul the yankee around the inner forestay and partly due to the substantial area of her keel – but her heavy displacement means she keep way on and soon picks up speed again on the new course. She’s easy enough to sail,…

Instability in the Middle East and northern Africa is fuelling immigration to Europe and the routes used often cross popular sailing grounds, including the Mediterranean – and even the English Channel. According to a report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of refugees and migrants crossing the Med has nearly doubled compared to 2014, with 137,000 migrants entering Europe by sea since the start of 2015 and 43,460 in June alone. Most migrants arrive in Italy, Greece or Spain. Sailors have reported more encounters with migrants as a result. How cruisers respond when meeting these vessels may put them on the wrong side of the law or even endanger their vessels and crew. YM contributor and Med cruiser Vyv Cox reported that friends Andy and Steph…

World’s largest sailing event Entries have opened for Bart’s Bash, the global sailing event in aid of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation. The event, to be held on 20 September 2015, is open to cruisers as well as racers and aims to get sailors and novices across the world afloat all at the same time. The 2014 event was officially recognized as the largest sailing race in the world. recognised Beach-cleaners wanted The Marine Conservation Society is looking for volunteers to collect litter washed up on beaches around the country, in response to a 20% increase in marine litter in the last decade. The event will cover over 300 beaches on 18-21 September. Finesse Rally planned Owners of Finesse yachts, which are 21-28ft wooden clinkerbuilt boats, are invited to join…

Here’s a bit of useful advice. If you’re planning on hitting rocks, choose a boat with a long keel or, at least, one with encapsulated ballast. Then, when you feel that horrible bang, you do at least have a chance of avoiding an immediate haulout to check that your keel isn’t on its way to Kingdom Come. I mention this because I’m going to talk about how unwise it can be to heed the reassurances of local ‘experts’ when you’re anxious to stay out of trouble. An uninformed passer-by might suppose that Yachtmaster examiners like me aren’t subject to human frailty, but anyone who goes to sea for long enough to amass the experience for so lofty a status must have had a few scrapes on the way. One of…

A raster chart conforms to International Hydrographic Organisation specifications and is produced by digitally scanning paper charts. To all intents and purposes an ARCS chart is identical to the paper chart of which it is an electronic facsimile. It looks the same, has the same boundaries, is drawn to the same projection and uses the same survey data and corrections, all of which can be readily inspected. Even the notes that come with the paper chart are there. In fact, what you see is, literally, what you get. The vector charts in our electronic devices are generated from data supplied from surveys by the world’s charting authorities. The data are basically similar to those used to draw paper charts. The US authorities state that the most accurate way to build…

In this case, the bathwater is the paper chart, dividers, pencils and protractors that kept us safe for generations. The baby is the philosophy that went with them. Probably the most important single safety valve in traditional navigation has always been to seek data from as many sources as are available. Taking a compass-bearing fix, we all know to go for three position lines, not just two, because if we only have two and one is adrift, there is no way of spotting an error, much less of quantifying it. A sound navigator also makes a point of noting the depth reading. After plotting the fix, he can then check it against the depth. If that very different source concurs, he can be reasonably confident of his position. Navigating with…

WIN A BOTTLE OF TALISKER The question of the month wins a bottle of Talisker 10-year-old single malt Scotch whisky (UK residents only). Talisker is an official supporter of the RNLI and the only single malt made by the sea on the shores of the Isle of Skye. www.malts.com QUESTION OF THE MONTH Are GRP fuel tanks a problem? Q I am interested in buying a Bowman 46 yawl from 1976. The boat has GRP tanks for both fuel and water built into the hull. I know that osmosis can be a problem on older yachts, but what about in integral tanks? Do GRP tanks have a special coating inside, and is diesel any more likely to cause osmosis? Johan Bergqvist A Adrian Jones, director of Rustler Yachts (owner of Bowman),…

Normally, I am fairly alert on board because I’m painfully aware of how little I know. I first stepped on a yacht in 2013 but after sailing from Southampton to Spain, I was beginning to rest on my marina berthing laurels. There was one tiny incident in La Coruña. The skipper was going a little too fast and I jumped onto the pontoon and used my entire 45kg to stop the seven-ton yacht. Did it work? No. Otherwise, our marina berthing has been fawless. Different ball game I am the queen of jumping from boat to pontoon, Usain Bolt when dashing to a cleat. I am quick to tie, fast to slide along a fender and excellent at throwing and catching a coiled rope. I am also deluded, because it’s…

Think about the space you actually use on board. If there are two of you on a 35ft boat, the chances are you’ve got a cabin or two behind a bulkhead, lying redundant. It seems a waste, doesn’t it? That space you’ve paid for; out of sight and out of mind. Wouldn’t it be better if you could remove the bulkhead and at least see the space? Maybe until you have visitors, then the lack of privacy might leave you embarrassed. The good news is that Beneteau’s latest yacht in its everpopular Océanis range has a removable forward bulkhead. It also comes in three different versions: the basic Day Sailer, the Week Ender (sic) and the Cruiser, which has the usual cruising spec you’d expect to fnd on a 34-footer.…

Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/yachtingmonthly Like us on Facebook facebook.com/yachtingmonthlymag Sailors in Greece may escape the ongoing financial crisis largely unscathed, according to experts. At the time of writing, Greece had missed its IMF debt repayments and the banks had been closed. Greek nationals were unable to withdraw more than €60 a day and some ATMs (cash machines) were not being replenished. The RYA is not advising against travel to Greece, but, ‘sailors should take plenty of cash, as it may not be easy to obtain cash in some places,’ said RYA cruising manager, Stuart Carruthers. Despite the recent Greek vote against a bailout deal, it is unlikely that any Greek exit from the euro would have a tangible impact on cruisers. Laura Parsons at currency broker TorFX explained that…

Most letters are edited for brevity. You can read more correspondence, online, at www.yachtingmonthly.com/letters LETTER OF THE MONTH ‘No YM for you, there’s a war on’ Whilst archiving my father’s papers, I came across this letter from your subscription department, dated August 1945, which might amuse you. I am glad that things have improved in the last 70 years! My father was subsequently admitted and I’m pleased to say enjoyed 45 uninterrupted years of Yachting Monthly readership and went on to become president of the Cruising Association in 1972. It was somewhat ironic in that while most, if not all, cruising activity had ceased during the Second World War, my father had, in his words, ‘spent the last 21 months cruising the Aegean and Dodecanese Islands at the expense of…

It was the first sail of the season and my crew, Robin Whistler, was hankering after a trip down memory lane. In his youth he’d worked as a trainee shipwright in the boatyard at the mysteriously named Hollowshore on the Swale in Kent. Everything at the start was in our favour. A stiff northwester sent my 26ft gaff cutter Wendy May rolling across a sunsparkled Thames Estuary straight for our destination. By the time we were due to make a course change of 90° the wind veered 90° as well and sent us easily over the ebb tide. Even the monstrous black clouds boiling up astern with ragged rain showers angling down from the heavens, passed by on each side of us. We anchored off Faversham Spit and took the…

‘No time to think, action is required’ I am sure you know about the domino effect. One thing leads to another – and another and another. The day had started well. Brilliant sunshine, moderate wind, sparkling sea. A reach downriver with the spring ebb under them, a close fetch along the coast to their favourite anchorage, a leisurely lunch and the prospect of a fast broad reach home. But just after they weighed anchor the dominos started to tumble. ‘It was clear that this was going to be a very long day’ Towering black clouds moved in from seaward. The wind dropped to nothing, it started to pour with rain and the wind returned, very strong, dead on the nose. They immediately pulled down two slabs in the main and…

Colm Cleary is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor (sail and power) who regularly works with Sunsail and Pure Latitude Leaving an alongside berth with the wind blowing the yacht on usually requires the use of a bow or stern spring. The same applies if room to manoeuvre is limited by a fairly tight berth. The stern spring tends to be the preferred method in most situations. It allows you to leave going ahead so that steerage is almost immediate as you engage forward and the propwash hits the rudder. However, to do this, the bow must be forced up to windward sufficiently to clear the boat, or boats, moored ahead, which may not be possible using a stern spring. Motoring astern against a stern spring will certainly push the bow off…

■ We’re pretty well versed in calm conditions, but never again will we underestimate the wind when berthing (or any other activity!). The only thing that’s good for is the audience. ■ Be ready to adjust your power. While it takes a bit of oomph to berth into the wind, it will take a lot less – even a hefty bit of astern – when berthing downwind. ■ Have the confdence to override marina staff. They may want to fll berths in a neat order but it’s your boat’s safety that’s on the line. If you don’t think you can make it into a berth, don’t risk it. ■ Have spring lines ready to go, not just bow and stern. This may seem obvious but it’s important, even if you…

When Ben Ainslie Racing chose Spice Island for its £7million headquarters, Portsmouth knew it had won the glamour of the America’s Cup. However, the city’s often-overlooked neighbour, Gosport, is not lagging behind in the prestige stakes. In Gosport’s Premier Marina you will fnd 75-year-old sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnson with his Open 60, Grey Power. Next door in Haslar Marina is Alex Thomson and his IMOCA 60, Hugo Boss. There is also another surprise hidden within Haslar’s 600 anonymous boats. On Old Possum, a 1989 Nauticat 33, you’ll fnd London-born skipper Maurice Owens, who shines just as bright. This is because Maurice, at the age of 92, could well be Britain’s oldest solo sailor. By chance, I’d heard Maurice on a radio phone-in programme, discussing the subject of living alone…

Regatta race timer The new Gill Regatta Race Timer has a large, easy-toread, 26.5mm-high display and boasts all the usual timing and start countdown features required for racing, loud alerts and key lock. A tough acrylic face makes the Regatta Race Timer extremely durable, plus it is water resistant to a depth of 50m. As standard it comes with the option to attach directly to the boat using the bracket supplied, or you can strap it to your wrist. It’s available in yellow, red or black. Price £70 Contact Gill Marine Tel 0115 946 0844 Web www.gillmarine.com Stylish shoes Made for getting wet, Zhik’s ZKG shoes are not only colourful and fun, but their ZK non-marking soft sole is also designed to instantly expel water and achieve high levels of…

Some charge controllers can accept inputs from more than one energy source. Silentwind’s Hybrid 1000, for example, can take up to 40A from both wind and solar generators, with a single output to the battery bank. This sounds excellent, but it’s no good if you want the full benefits of a highoutput Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) solar controller, which won’t be able to cope with the rapid output fluctuations of a wind generator. (Like all multiinput controllers, the Hybrid 1000 is a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) device.) To allow for the output from both devices peaking simultaneously, you need a controller whose minimum specification meets their total output, even though it’s likely to be handling only a quarter of that current most of the time. Alternatively, you can fit…

The UK’s most comprehensive yacht tests The Vancouver 34 Classic isn’t just a classic in name. She’s also a classic design, as 120 owners will testify. Built at Northshore’s yard on the shores of Chichester Harbour, in West Sussex, the Vancouver range ran from from 27-38ft, with pilothouse versions of the 34 and 38. Initially introduced as a 32-footer in 1979 (by Pheon Yachts), she was stretched to 34ft in 1991 to increase the waterline and cockpit length, and to enable wheel steering to be fitted. The interior changed little from 1983 until Northshore closed in 2012. The owners Retired opticians Mike and Janet Jones have had Aquila from new, and they still love everything about her (except her dubious close-quarters handling). Prior to buying her in 1995, they owned…

What’s she like to sail? For a yacht so responsive to the helm – thanks in part to her twin rudders – it was a shame the steering system was robbing it of any feeling. Even with the autopilot physically disconnected, it felt like steering through treacle. There was no play in the system, and I was left wondering if the whole system was over-tightened. I went out on her over two days and what a difference a few knots of breeze make! In 15 knots of apparent wind her performance was alright, but nothing to shout about. Increase that to 17 or 18 knots and she changes gear, accelerating nicely: still not a racer, but much more rewarding to sail. The helm is comfortable and well laid-out, especially if…

In June 2014 the 97m dredger Shoreway collided with the 9.7m Moody S31 Orca in the approaches to Harwich. Orca sank very rapidly, the skipper managed to get clear and was rescued but his wife was trapped on board and drowned. In May 2015 the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) published a report of their enquiry into this tragic accident, together with a safety flyer addressed to the ‘Leisure Industry’. What happened? At the time of the accident, 1331 on a clear fine day, Shoreway was outward bound from Harwich to dump silt in an offshore spoil ground. Orca was on a day sail from Levington marina on the River Orwell and had just turned to take the flood tide back into the river. The collision happened about a mile…

WIN The confession of the month wins a floating Standard Horizon handheld VHF radio worth £140 PLUS an original Bill Caldwell cartoon POST Confessions, Yachting Monthly, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU EMAIL yachtingmonthly@timeinc.com Please send us your confessions in less than 200 words Cats in the sails CONFESSION OF THE MONTH By Craig Hardy My wife Lesley and I have been sailing our yacht, Shirley Valentine in the eastern Mediterranean for the last five years. I was paranoid about rats and cats coming aboard. We were told how cats love to sleep in the folds of the mainsail and we had heard a story about a yacht raising the sail after leaving a harbor only to have a cat fall on deck. I was just falling asleep…