Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Yachting Monthly

A yacht carrying suspected illegal immigrants was detained in April after running aground on the Suffolk coast. The 28ft yacht, thought to be a UKregistered Comet 910, was rescued by the RNLI on 30 April after she ran into difficulty at the mouth of the River Ore. She was then towed to Orford Quay where seven Ukrainians were detained by the UK Border Force and were then taken into Police custody. An RNLI spokesman said: ‘On arrival at the scene, the inshore lifeboat crew discovered that the yacht inside the river mouth. Communication was difficult due to language barriers, but a tow was eventually secured and it was taken to Orford Quay. The yacht was handed into the care of HM Coastguard, in addition to the Border Agency.’ A spokeswoman…

British sailors can expect to see a new aircraft over the south coast. Bristow Helicopters, which runs the Coastguard's helicopter search and rescue service, is replacing its existing Augusta Westland AW139 aircraft with the more capable ‘Leonardo’ AW189, which has greater range and endurance than the AW139, and more space for passengers and casualities. The first AW189 to be commissioned is based at Lee-On-Solent helicopter base, which Bristow has just taken over from its previous civilian operator. In the coming months, Bristow will begin operating the AW189 from Prestwick, St Athan, Lydd and Inverness. Stornoway and Sumburgh bases are also due to come under Bristow management later this year. Larger Sikorsky S92 helicopters continue to operate from the remaining bases. The new aircraft, which cost £20 million each, are owned…

EMAIL yachtingmonthly@timeinc.com POST Yachting Monthly, Time Inc. (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF Please send us your questions in less than 200 words 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 A modern mini cruiser on a budget? QMy boyfriend and I are saving up to buy a yacht. I used to race dinghies, and we’ve both done charter holidays and Day Skipper courses but we would love to own our own boat. The issue is, which boat? Given our limited budget of under £10,000 (ideally to include any necessary remedial work), and…

In the late 1980s I built a steel yacht in the Shetland Isles with the intention of doing a solo non-stop circumnavigation. It didn’t happen. Instead my brother Terry and I set off on a fiveyear trip round the world on the trade wind route. The desire to do the long solo trip never left me and in 2006 events conspired to make it happen. My yacht was a Tahitiana, a doubleended steel cutter 9.6m long, called Elsi Arrub. I had huge confidence in Elsi as a superb sea boat but she was overweight and undercanvassed by today’s standards and I expected to be at sea for about a year. At the end of 2005 I left my job after eight years as skipper on a local sail training vessel,…

In our frantic age of medals, awards and intense competition, it’s a treat to join a highly sociable yacht regatta founded in true amateur spirit. Cricket was once like this, the Olympics too, so the ‘gentlemen’s racing’ ethos of the Classic Channel Regatta is both pleasingly nostalgic and a breath of fresh air. The 2017 races from Dartmouth to Guernsey and Paimpol run from Saturday 8 to Friday 14 July. Brittany enthusiasts will spot that the finale in Paimpol on Bastille Day promises lively celebrations in the best traditions of Entente Cordiale. This regatta feels like a mini Voiles de St Tropez series but in more interesting waters. Its amiable 'Franglais' atmosphere is familiar hereabouts because many West Country owners look naturally to Brittany for summer cruising, while Breton yachts…

It is thought that wandering Irish monks first settled the Faroes Islands around 600AD and the account attributed to St Brendan suggests the islands were regarded as a stepping stone on the route to North America. Perhaps around 1000 the Vikings arrived, then Norwegian influence prevailed until 1814, when Denmark took full control. The islanders established a special relationship with England during the Second World War when they ran the gauntlet of German U-boats and aircraft to carry fish to Aberdeen. At the height of the conflict in 1941 they were responsible for 75 per cent of the fish landed at British ports. This was at great cost to the islanders, and according to Kenneth Williamson in his book The Atlantic Islands, the Faroese lost more men per head of…

Sailing downwind can be exhilarating but fighting an untamed sail, while trying to get it down, puts most of us off flying spinnakers in anything more than a gentle breeze. Elvstrøm UK’s Jeremy White wanted a sail configuration he could use with his wife and family, should the opportunity arise to do an Atlantic crossing. The sail had to be easy to hoist, control and reef while still giving the thrill of surfing ocean swells and making good speed, safely. The obvious solution was a twin headsail rig with a second genoa, identical in size to the primary one. But what purpose would the second sail serve after an ocean crossing? His idea stayed as rough sketches until the owners of Enigma, a Hallberg-Rassy 40, were looking for a similar…

Readers’ Cruising Stories Yachting Monthly’s founder Herbert Reiach wrote in the first issue in 1906: ‘We shall be glad to receive the best logs and cruising stories offered to us from all parts of the world’ 111 years later, nothing’s changed! We’re still publishing your cruising stories PLEASE SEND YOUR STORIES TO yachtingmonthly@timeinc.com Having grown up on a boat, JoJo Pickering wanted to share a similar experience with her own family and set off across the Bay of Biscay. Excitement was growing as we got closer and closer to home. Then, on 7 July 2016 at about 0600, we sighted Bishop Rock lighthouse and land – the Isles of Scilly. We had travelled more than 9,000 miles and visited countless wonderful places since leaving in August 2014. It was fantastic…

The dikes separating the Markermeer and the IJsselmeer, and the IJsselmeer and the Waddenzee each have a lock at either end. All four locks work on a similar routine; a gentle approach is made, mooring up to waiting pontoons if necessary until the traffic light system turns green. There is no queuing etiquette – first in first served is the rule with no attention paid to the arrival order. Enter the lock and pass a slip line round a handy bollard. Do not cleat it off; though the drop or rise is modest you would look silly hanging from the walls. When the red exit lights turn green after the lock gates open leave as appropriate. If one of the road bridges needs to be raised don’t hang about –…

There aren’t many 29-footers that can sleep seven crew at a pinch and have 6ft of standing headroom throughout. While she’s no performance cruiser Westerly’s popular Konsort had much to offer the leisure sailor when she was introduced in 1979, as she does for the cruising yachtsman of today. The topsides of Rafiki, a Mk II bilgekeeled Westerly Konsort, loomed over the pontoon, as her owner, Rob Pike, invited me aboard with the cheerful comment: ‘Welcome to my floating caravan.’ I had to keep reminding myself that this cavernous sloop was only 29ft in length, in fact a tad under that. She sleeps six, or seven at a push; you could carry enough stock in her lockers to run a decent-sized chandlery; and Rob, who cruises with his wife, two…

What’s she like to sail? On large yachts it can feel like someone has stolen all the fun and manoeuvrability from the helm, but this wasn’t the case on the C57. While the helm felt a bit heavy (perhaps because this was the prototype hull), she responded to my command nicely. She’s no lightweight but I enjoyed sailing her, especially as the breeze increased to double figures. She’s not nimble, she’s 55ft long after all, but sailing her with the self-tacking jib was simple. With the helms set well outboard, her wide beam gives good visibility forward. All sheets and control lines are led back to the helms; with the optional electric winches, sailing her was as effortless as sailing can be. When not on the helm, the crew can…

A report on two deaths in the 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has recommended that the amateur crews would have benefited from more professional oversight. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), published its final report in April, after an investigation into two fatal accidents on the yacht CV21 IchorCoal, the first fatalities in the event's history. In September 2015, shortly after the start of the race, Andrew Shipman, 49, a watch leader who was supervising reefing the mainsail while sailing downwind, was hit by the mainsheet when the boat gybed accidentally and the boom preventer snapped. He received ‘a high impact neck injury that is believed to have killed him instantly.’ The investigation found that he had stepped into the recognised danger zone, in which it was possible…

Lobster pots petition scuppered The petition launched by the Cruising Association and YM, asking the government to tackle poorly-marked fishing gear, has had to be put on hold. It gathered more than 6,300 signatures in just three weeks, but the peition website was closed due to pre-election purdah. A new petition will start in June, but signatures from the old one will not be counted. Antifouling video British Coatings Federation has launched a video offering practical advice on using antifouling paint safely. See www.safeantifouling.com. Surfer survives 32 hours in the sea A surfer was rescued in April after 32 hours in the water. Matthew Bryce, 23, was surfing near Campbeltown when strong winds swept him away. He was closer to Northern Ireland than Scotland when a Coastguard helicopter found him.…

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has appointed its first female head of maritime operations. Julie-Anne Wood takes charge of the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham and the 10 Coastguard Operations Centres around the country, which together coordinate all search and rescue operations around the United Kingdom's coast. It is one of the most senior positions within Her Majesty’s Coastguard, and has always been held by a man to date. Julie Anne-Wood began her Coastguard career as a watch assistant in Milford Haven in 1999. She then progressed through the ranks to Rescue Coordination Centre manager in 2008 and head of technical training and standards in 2013.…

Significant changes are being made to shipping lanes off the Dutch coast this summer. From 1 June, shipping lanes from the Maas to the Westerschelde are being revised and extended to guide shipping around two new wind farms. The alterations, which cover 40 miles of the southernmost part of the the Netherlands’ coast, are expected to impact navigation for small yachts in the area, as well as for commercial shipping, according to the Cruising Association (CA). Yachts can cross the shipping lanes as normal but may not sail through the wind farms. Visitors to the area are encouraged to update or replace their charts. Imray and Admiralty have issued new charts. Peter Gibbs, regional editor for the CA Almanac, explained: ‘The revised layout results from the establishment of two very…

More than 200 Dutch yachts will sail to Chatham on 8 June to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the worst day in the history of the Royal Navy when their ancestors set the River Medway alight. Dutch fire ships attacked the English fleet causing two of them to explode before towing the flagship Royal Charles away as a prize, thereby ending the Anglo-Dutch Wars fought over colonies and trade. As the hundreds of Dutch yachtsmen and women converge on the Thames Estuary to celebrate their forefathers’ fireships, they will pass the drunken, barnacleencrusted masts of another ship which is still monitored to this day by the MCA, at a cost of £40,000 a year, due to its potential to explode. They are the masts and derricks of the SS Richard…

Use cable ties for less washing-up If all your mugs are the same and you’re bored with always having to wash them up between brews, a simple bag of multicoloured cable ties could be handy. Attach a different coloured tie on to the handle of each cup and nominate a colour for each member of the crew. If you want to be super organised you can have a chart by the galley so no one has to remember the on-watch’s tea/ coffee/milk/sugar requirements. Avoid wear on the boom end by rigging a quiet preventer Most booms have an end fitting suitable for rigging a preventer. If you are inclined to use a snap shackle, try using a small loop of rope attached to the end fitting. This way it won’t…

Former RYA Cruising Instructor and Reeds Almanac editor Andy Du Port sails with his wife Kate on their HR34 Most of us are coastal sailors who share busy waterways with commercial traffic. If you are based in the Solent, you will be well aware of the frequent large ship movements to and from Southampton and Portsmouth. It is much the same in the Thames Estuary, the Bristol Channel, the approaches to Harwich, the Forth and the Mersey. These areas, and others, are all covered by their respective Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) which are designed, in the words of the MCA’s Merchant Shipping Notice 1796, ‘…to improve the safety and efficiency of vessel traffic and…respond to traffic situations developing in the VTS area.’ A Colregs requirement Rule 5 of the Colregs…

Every so often, like it or not, we have go under the boat, whether for a quick scrub, to check underwater fittings, or to clear a fouled propeller. Holding your breath makes it hard to stay under water and you can’t do much useful work. The Salvare Second Breath addresses this problem, without the cost, bulk and complexity of scuba diving equipment. Derived from emergency breathing equipment for helicopter pilots and America’s Cup sailors, it is a miniaturised air tank. Interlinked air chambers in a solid piece of aluminium allow flat rather than cylindrical air tanks. Salvare offers two models. One is about a foot square, for wearing on the chest or back, while the other is the size and shape of a small hip flask that is strapped to…

Charted depths and tidal data are all based on LAT (Lowest Astronomical Tide). Remember that persistent strong winds, especially from the west, can raise sea level by several metres in extreme cases. Conversely, southerly and easterly winds can reduce the depth, as can high pressure. This can be troublesome with shallow channels whose location and depth can constantly change. There may be tidal reference to ‘NAP’ – a bronze marker on a pole in Amsterdam known as ‘Normaal Amsterdam Peil’ (Normal Amsterdam Level), though we were able to avoid this confusion by sticking to LAT.…

What’s she like to sail? The Westerly Konsort seems to be a bigger boat than she really is. At a fraction under 29ft in length, her appearance is deceptive because of her generous volume. It's not until you take the helm that you realise you are not really sailing a 34 footer, even though it may look like it! She is light on the helm, super responsive but by the same token she's not directionally stable. She has a superbly secure cockpit for offshore sailing: easy to use solo, yet with buckets of room for a full crew. She may be a little under-canvassed but her hull, which has little wetted surface, is easily driven in light airs. When the wind pipes up, reefing is not necessary until winds reach…

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, Time Inc. (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF EMAIL yachtingmonthly@timeinc.com Please send us your confessions in less than 200 words Backward about going forward Confession of the Month By Peter Ash Flushed with the excitement of a new boat, our maiden cruise from Portsmouth to Cardiff saw us stop off in Swansea Marina overnight to pick up our newly engaged daughter and her fiancé. We were the first boat to enter the marina lock the next morning with a gusty following wind. As we came alongside, our soon to be son-in-law, keen to impress, leapt ashore with the…

Tracey Edwards’ yacht Maiden, in which she skippered the first ever all-female Whitbread Round The World Race crew, has returned to the UK. The boat was languishing in a Seychelles marina, but has been rescued and is set to be used for The Maiden Factor, a campaign that promotes access to education for girls around the world. Edwards set records in 1990 when she not only led the all-women crew, but also won two legs of the race and finished second overall, a result not bettered since. Maiden was already 10 years old at the time. 27 years later, Edwards has brought Maiden back to the UK for a full restoration. The boat, which was in very poor condition, was shipped back to Southampton in April where she will now…

EMAIL yachtingmonthly@timeinc.com OST The Editor, Yachting Monthly, Time Inc. (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF Please send us your letters in less than 200 words 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 Tender to yacht? Take off your backpack Thanks to Chris Beeson for his views on boarding from a tender to a cruising boat (Jun 17). I would make an additional plea: remember to remove your rucksack or backpack before attempting to cross the void. With wine and provisions from the supermarket, you will head straight for the bottom, unless…

RYA Coastal Skipper Graham Snook has been sailing for nearly 40 years. He sails his Sadler 32, often solo, from Gosport Everyone has done something to their boat to improve life on board, to make her more comfortable, safer or easier to sail. Pinching ideas from someone who’s done the brainwork for you is an easy way to find solutions and improve life afloat. While the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) starts from Gran Canaria and sails to St Lucia, it’s clear from speaking to all of the crews that it’s a journey of two parts. The first part is getting the boat, skipper and crew to Las Palmas, the second is crossing the Atlantic. For many, their first experience of ocean sailing, hundreds miles from the nearest land, is…

Into the Southern Ocean By Andrew Halcrow, published by The Shetland Times, at £15.99 This Shetlander has the sea in his blood and a dream in his head: to sail solo and non-stop around the world on the clipper route. After building Elsi, a steel double-ended sloop, he spent five years sailing the world with his brother Terry to build experience, returning to Burra in 1993. In 2005, his wife Alyson was diagnosed with MS and suggested that, if he was to live this dream, it had better be soon. He set off in 2006 and made it as far as Cape Leeuwin before his attempt ended in near-death. With wonderful sweeps of humility, fortitude, triumph and disaster, this book and its dramatic photography recounts how he refused to let…

In the Isles of Scilly there is a narrow channel between the two north-west islands of Bryher and Tresco, and here you can find a good anchorage. This can make a good stopping off place for those on passage to or from Ireland or for those who are cruising the islands. Navigation in these rock-strewn waters can be a challenge and if you stopped off at Hugh town in St Mary's, the main harbour in the islands, your direct route to this anchorage will take you through a challenging, rock-strewn path in the southern part of the channel to get to the anchorage that lies in the northern section. This southern end, which is used by the ferries and tourist boats, almost dries out at Low Water Springs and you…

From the clifftop the headlands of the Faroe Islands stretched far into the distance, each superimposed on the next until they disappeared into the summer haze. The breeze was light, blowing offshore and giving the returning puffins a chance to use their wings as brakes before crash landing onto their nests. Curious creatures, they waddled up to me almost close enough to touch. Far below, gannets pierced the ocean in search of food then rose to join thousands of others where their colony turned the rock face white. This was summer and a high pressure system had settled over the islands, giving days of warmth and blue skies. Soon the weather would break, as it always does in the Faroes, but then as if by magic the light would return…

Three-mode active coolbox Whether you’re taking frozen provisions to the boat, or haven’t got around to upgrading your yacht’s coolbox, the Powerbox Plus 28L from Campingaz offers a solution for those who want fridge-like cooling but don't have deep pockets. The Powerbox can hold eight 1.5 litre bottles and can be powered by either 12v or 230V. Increased insulation around the top and base (both lose 30% of the internal temperature) help maintain an internal temperature up to 18°C lower than the ambient temperature. The locking lid seals with a click, so there’s less chance of leaking chilled air, or its contents. It has three modes: Eco, Max and Night. Eco mode uses the least power; Max keeps the internal temperature as cold as possible; Night mode reduces fan noise.…

Ihad long wanted to sail the protected Dutch waters of the old Zuiderzee so when the Penguin Cruising Club proposed a chartered cruise to the area Carol and I were swift to enrol. I had sampled some of the environs by land but knew that the area’s maritime history made a waterborne approach compelling. Thus, at the behest of our club commodore James Raby, thirteen eager ‘Penguins’ gathered at Andijk Yacht Charter on the west coast of the IJsselmeer intent on exploring the waters of what used to be known as the Zuiderzee, stretching from the Markermeer to the West Frisian Islands with all in between; a mixture of inland fresh water and the salty channelled shifting sands outside the sea dikes. Our August visit coincided with the hottest week…