Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Yachting Monthly

Most letters are edited for brevity. You can read more correspondence, online, at www.yachtingmonthly.com/letters WIN A BOTTLE OF RUM The letter of the month wins a bottle of Pusser’s Rum, produced to Admiralty specification and served daily to every sailor in the Royal Navy for more than 300 years (UK residents only) www.pussers.com LETTER OF THE MONTH Yachts and pots – a potentially lethal mix We in the Cruising Association were delighted to read Norman Kean’s informative article about the marking (or lack of it) of lobster pots (Feb 17). By coincidence our Association was finalising its contribution to the Scottish government’s consultation on ‘Fishing Gear Conflict’, which touches on some of the same issues. It is high time that all stakeholders, including most importantly fishermen, come together to decide,…

Stepping up to skipper Eager to combine some warm weather sailing with a Day Skipper qualification, Michael Blyth heads to Greece with his good friend Peter I have an ICC (International Cruising Certificate) on the basis of my RYA Competent Crew, Powerboat Level Two and a few hours under the beady eye of an examiner in Poole Harbour. It allows me to charter yachts just about anywhere, as I had done on a couple of occasions. However, I knew that I had the piece of paper but lacked the skill, and decided to go the route of RYA Day Skipper with the hands-on training that came with it. I’d done the RYA boathandling course, and a few years later the Competent Crew. I’d learnt a lot, but never had to…

Bees, desperate for water, send out scouts to fly for miles in search of even just a few drops, because there is so little rain in the desert surrounding the Sea of Cortez. Once they find it, a message is passed back to the nest and all the workers come swarming, hoping to find more. A bead of sweat rolling down the brow of a sailor sweltering in the heat and humidity, or the water dripping from the galley tap, can be enough to bring down a plague of bees on a yacht. The fact that my skin was constantly damp with sweat and humidity was therefore a source of concern to me. My only defence, if the bees did arrive, was to divert the hordes with a bowl of…

▪ Cruising Anglesey and Adjoining Waters, by Ralph Morris. Imray, £32.00 ▪ Irish Sea Pilot, by David Rainsbury. Imray, £32.50 ▪ Fearsome Passages, by David Rainsbury. Imray, £15.95 ▪ Anglesey and North Wales Coast Pilot, by Henry Glazebrook. Revised by Norman Sheldrick. Yachting Monthly 1970. Out of print ▪ A Cruising Guide to Anglesey and the Menai Strait, by Robert Kemp. The James Laver Printing Co Ltd, 1977. Out of print ▪ Chart portfolio SC5609: North West Wales Including Menai Strait, Admiralty Leisure Folio. UKHO, £44.30 (5609.5, 5609.8A&B, 5609.9A,B&C, 5609.10, 5609.11, 5609.12, 5609.13, 5609.15C) ▪ 2700 North and West Wales Chart Atlas: Liverpool to Milford Haven and the East Coast of Ireland. Imray, £45.00 ▪ www.caernarfonharbour.org.uk, The Caernarfon Harbour Trust has a very good website where you can find bar buoyage…

The Riddle By Maldwin Drummond, £25, published by Unicorn Publishing Group Erskine Childers and his brother Henry explored the German Frisian coast, Norderney and the Baltic during the autumn of 1897 and spring of 1898 onboard Vixen, the 30ft converted RNLI lifeboat. His log of that voyage lent much of the authenticity to his espionage classic, The Riddle of the Sands. Although a work of fiction, Childers always maintained it was a literary warning of war from a hostile Germany. Drummond's The Riddle, goes further than any book in unraveling fact from fiction. He sailed the same voyage, took Childers’ late son Robert back to the Frisian Islands and has consulted archive material far and wide. This second edition of a book first published in 1985 features wonderful prints of…

We asked for your views on anchor lights on small craft (Feb 16). A total of 193 of you replied, of whom 162 said that the rules should be reviewed. That is 84% in favour of change. I asked the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for their views. They told me to 'raise this matter and your concerns jointly through the Cruising Association (CA) and the RYA. This will ensure wider representation of the recreational craft sector. MCA personnel are attending a meeting of the CA Regulations and Technical Services (RATS) group.’ This advice sounds familiar. In 2015 the MCA recommended that I raise the subject at its September 2015 UKSON (UK Safety Of Navigation) meeting. I did. The meeting decided that the proposal of a white flashing light (as…

After struggling to see the point of a gilet, Chris Beeson finds himself wearing one whether he's spending time on or off the water in summer I didn’t get the 'gilet' at all. Why make a waterproof top that has two massive holes in it? When the Henri Lloyd Breeze vest arrived in the office it landed on my desk, so I begrudgingly agreed to test it. It’s a plain enough garment: a blue waterproof and windproof shell with a blue mesh lining that improves its breathability and a scalloped hem with a drawstring that covers the small of your back when seated. The zips are all water resistant, their sliders have chunky pull tags and both side pockets are a decent size. There’s a cosy brushed material on the…

WIN The confession of the Standard Horizon handheld VHF radio worth £140 PLUS month wins a floating 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 When the past overtook the future CONFESSION OF THE MONTH By Peter Martin After nine years with our much-loved 40-footer it was time for a change. She was commodious but sailed little better than a block of flats, and my father wanted something more exciting. The new yacht was commissioned and we had some fun weekends on the East Coast before taking our pride and joy home. The difference in sailing ability was fabulous. One could adjust things and see immediate changes to our…

UK coastguard ‘under considerable strain’ Coastguard operations centres around the UK coast are consistently undermanned despite station closures and ongoing recruitment efforts, a whistleblower has claimed. A source within the Coastguard told Yachting Monthly that stations routinely lack adequately trained or experienced staff due to problems with training and retaining personnel. Nine Coastguard stations were closed in 2014-15 and the remaining stations were networked to the new National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) in Fareham, enabling them to ‘zone flex’ and share workload in busy periods. Zone flexing is routinely being used to make up for staff shortages, rather than for coping with exceptional circumstances, it is claimed. The whistleblower said that on 13 January 2017, Dover Coastguard, which oversees one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, had half…

‘I was alone as I manually shifted a 79-ton spritsail sailing barge’ An empty warehouse door slammed in the wind, slings swung solemnly from the hooks of abandoned cranes. Drifting lighters banged and rattled as they ranged, untended, across the dock. It was just a few days before Christmas and Tilbury Dock was deserted. I was alone as I manually shifted a 92ft, 79-ton spritsail sailing barge, half-laden with 150 ton of cattle feed from one end of the Tilbury Dock to the other. All the stevedores had knocked off at lunch-time for their festive break leaving Cambria, the last vessel in northern Europe to trade under sail alone, down by the stern as they had only part loaded her with freight from a cargo ship. My skipper, Bob Roberts…

Two brent geese curled over the sea wall on the back of a chill easterly wind and water-skied to a halt on the pond behind the cottage which is Mike Peyton’s home in the Essex marshlands. I rapped the doorknocker and Jacko, the rescue terrier, started barking. Mike’s wife, Kath, let me in, a mocking smile playing about her lips: ‘Mike, it’s the muckraker,’ she shouted into the house. This jesting nom de plume she had bestowed on me, a few years back, following my research into Mike’s life for his biography. A baleful-looking figure with a shock of white hair, like William grown from schoolboy to granddad, appeared and Mike ushered me through to the ground floor study. The presentation of a Yachting Journalists Association Diamond Jubilee Lifetime Achievement…

There’s always a good read hidden on a sailor’s shelves. Tell us your favourite. EMAIL theo.stocker@timeinc.com ‘People can’t die along the coast except when the tide’s pretty nigh out’ In 1924, Hilaire Belloc sailed alone around the British coast. He wrote about his voyage in The Cruise of the Nona, which has been described as the weirdest possible blend of Mein Kampf and Yachting Monthly. Long misanthropic rants and unbidden paeans to Mussolini are interspersed with short but vivid descriptive episodes as he and his boat wrestle the waves. Somewhere off the coast of Devon, Belloc is moved to fulminate against the scientists who would know the oceans: ‘No man living can understand the tides. And the mystery of the tides is as good a corrective as one could find…

Most sailors use moorings without knowing much about how they're made up. Ben Sutcliffe-Davies explains Most navigable estuaries are lined with swinging moorings and they've filled up many of our traditional anchorages, too. Some skippers view moorings with suspicion, preferring to trust their own anchor or to tie up alongside every night, but most of us use them, either as visitors or as long-term residents. It’s easy to inspect the top part of a mooring when you pick it up and it’s wise to do so, but what about the parts that you can’t see through the murky water? They all look the same at the buoy, but there are many different ways to make up a mooring tackle and many conflicting opinions among experts as to how it should…

What does a yachtsman wear under his oilskins? Theo Stocker reveals all as he goes hightech for sailing We all know what a Scotsman wears under his kilt, but the choice for the yachtsman and his oilskins is less simple. Jeans or cotton trousers are out, once wet they’ll stay that way. It was about time I went high-tech. I was after trousers that were quick-drying, comfortable, ideally warm in winter and cool in summer with lots of pockets. Step forward Musto’s Evolution Performance UV sailing trousers. The quickdrying fabric has some stretch in it, as well as an adjustable waist band and belt loops, so they remained secure. Kevlar wear patches on the bum, knees and hems have so far stood up to some heavy-duty sitting and kneeling. There…

Photographer eileen ramsay dies Eileen Ramsay, the ‘queen of post-War yachting photography’ has died aged 101. Her images documented a boom in smallboat sailing in the 1950s and 60s, from Mirror dinghies to Cowes Week regattas. Windermere Show Sailors in the Lake District can enjoy the free Windermere Boat Show from 12-14 May. Held at the Ferry Nab jetties, new and used will be on display, as well as free watersports taster sessions. First flying yacht A monohull yacht with a ballast keel has ‘flown’ on hydrofoils for the first time. SEAir’s Mini 6.5m (21ft) yacht achieved 15 knots off Lorient in France in January. Tall Ships at Greenwich 40 Tall Ships will visit Greenwich over the Easter weekend from 13-16 April with a parade of sail before leaving for…

How to make a sail crossover chart Use your electronics to build a chart so you know exactly when to change your sailplan. Chris Beeson explains how ‘It does away with the ‘Maybe I should reef?’ grey area’ Most of us will probably confess to having left up too much sail for the conditions on the odd occasion. It could be seen as a fairly minor transgression in the eyes of the sailing gods but the upshot is more stress on the sails, rig and rigging, more weather helm, heel and leeway, and a less comfortable ride generally. What might not be immediately apparent is that bowling along with the rail under may actually be slower, too. This is where a sail crossover chart comes into play. A sail crossover…

WIN CHILGROVE GIN The question of the month wins a bottle of Chilgrove Gin (UK residents only). This super-premium gin, handcrafted by keen sailors in the Sussex Downs, blends the finest botanicals with a neutral grape spirit. www.chilgrovespirits.com QUESTION OF THE MONTH What caused these weird clouds to form? QMy wife and I spend our weekends either cruising in the Solent or down on the beach at Christchurch. I was interested to see in the December issue the photograph of the unusual cloud formations in North Wales. On 10 October 2016 whilst at the beach we witnessed some strange clouds over Christchurch Bay looking towards the Needles. Are these lenticular clouds? There were no hills in sight to create these unusual formations. Mike Buxton A Former Met Office chief forecaster Frank…

‘The sailing life lends itself to making things up as you go along’ A change in circumstances does not mean that you have to give up on sailing. It is inspiring to see those who, in the face of a new situation, have adapted their plans and kept sailing. For some, an expanding family or a radical change of plans hasn’t halted their cruising ambitions. With some alterations, they are already planning their next sailing season. These people, encountered in harbours and anchorages around the world’s oceans, have shaped our own family sailing, which still has no end point in sight. We’re now five and a half years into the ‘quick’ circumnavigation we thought would only last a couple of years. Our crew has grown with the arrival of two…

‘The waters around the island are a hotspot for whales, dolphins and basking sharks’ Some islands have an almost magical air of remoteness. Tucked in at anchor on a dark night, you have the feeling of being a hundred miles from the next living soul, no matter that the mainland may be only a few miles away. Such a place is Inishtrahull. Six miles north-east of Malin Head across a tideswept sound, it is Ireland’s northernmost land. The 83-acre island was inhabited until 1928, and a map dating from 1900 shows fourteen houses, occupied by McLaughlins, McGonagles, Dohertys and Houtons. But those names were seldom used; they were Teeker, Wee Davey, Nellie Rua, Big Barney, Catherine Ned. It was a tough and dangerous existence. A lighthousekeeper wrote in the 1870s:…

It’s bad practice to check a mooring by motoring hard astern – and very bad manners if it belongs to somebody else! That includes visitors’ moorings. If you’re unsure about them, ask the harbourmaster rather than fiddling with them yourself. You can check your own mooring most of the way down to the sinker or ground chain, either from a big dinghy that you don’t mind getting scratched, or from the yacht’s foredeck. Either way, take great care and do it at Low Water Springs. You’ll learn through experience how often the mooring needs to be checked. A good look at the start of the season, before it’s used, is essential. I’ve dealt with claims that arose when a boat was put on a mooring that was due to be…

‘Three huge halls were packed with hundreds of sailing yachts’ If you're nostalgic for the boat shows of 20 years ago, when sailing yachts of all sorts of shapes and sizes towered over and around you, you'll feel at home at Boot Düsseldorf, one of the biggest boat shows in the world. More than 242,000 visitors joined 1,800 exhibitors filling 17 halls around the Messe Düsseldorf site, three of which were dedicated to sailing boats, including an inspiring selection of cruising yachts. As well as the yachts on the following pages, new boats at the show included the Hallberg Rassy 44 (tested March 2017), and Najad 450cc (tested Sept 2016). Both are beautifully built Swedish longdistance cruisers suiting couples who want to sail off around the world in some of…