Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Yachting Monthly

It was now blowing Force 10 and I was up a mast which appeared to be planted in the ocean As a November gale raged overhead I sat disconsolately below staring at a sodden sock. I couldn’t be bothered to pick it up; there was nowhere to dry it out anyway. Everything was wet. As Black Pearl, a 52ft brigantine rolled to leeward water spread in skins over the cabin sole, as she rolled to windward the skins ran back again, as she pitched forward, water spurted through the deckhead, as her stern dropped, water dripped through the lazarette. The bunks were wet, the settee cushions were wet, all the crew’s spare clothing in waterproof bags was wet. When I joined the US-registered Black Pearl, at Swanwick marina on the…

Northwestern Europe has some of the highest tidal ranges in the world and, as a result, some of the fastest tidal streams. This can present potentially deadly challenges, but also huge advantages if we know how to use them correctly. My boat Dorothy Lee has 21,000 miles on the clock but she has probably done at least 30,000 over the ground, because we always use the tide. Timing is key: arrive at the top of the Alderney Race at HW Dover and you will be swept down it for five hours – at springs that’s 45 free miles all the way down the Race and into St. Helier. Arrive four hours before this and you will meet a tide on the nose of 5.8 knots at neaps and 9.7 knots…

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 QUESTION OF THE MONTH How do I get a float in North Africa? QI am a US diplomat serving in Tunisia and I’m going to be there for a while. It’s a long time to be away from my home port and since the country has an extensive Mediterranean coast, I am really keen to get on the water while I’m here.…

‘This boat must NOT go to sea in its present state,’ the survey pronounced. Scanning through the report, the problems were manifold. In brief, the forward bulkhead had rotted due to weeping deck glands, the king post supporting the main-mast had rusted to nothing at its base, the engine was a nightmare, the gearbox was leaking oil and the steering quadrant was iffy. This was where the problems of buying at a distance made themselves felt. On our home turf in Ireland we knew trusted shipwrights and first class engineers who could get the job done. In Devon, we knew nobody and the projected costs began to mount alarmingly. But they knew we wanted to buy. Our persistence from such a distance was evidence enough, and we knew they had…

‘I used to compare Gossip to a horse with a tender mouth’ When a governess had been persuaded to replace Nanny and look after the three of us, my parents made their first cruise in Gossip. They sailed across the Channel to Calais and were pleased with her performance in a heavy sea. From Calais they sailed to Gravelines and had to tack up the narrow canal for two miles before they reached the basin. This was a great test of her windward powers and she passed with flying colours. I went on my first cruise when I was eight years old. Dambom was a gentle master. He seldom shouted or swore at us, which is why we are still happy to crew for him after fifty years together. Sailing…

In the February issue, sailing editor Chris Beeson described how he became a huge fan of the Rías Baixas of Galicia, which lie south of Cape Finisterre and extend almost to the Portuguese border. The Ría de Arosa is the largest of them, and offers the greatest variety of anchorages and harbours. At its western entrance lies a jumble of granite rocks and islands, sheltering three useful short cuts into the Ría. Chris described heading through ‘a morass of fearsome rocks and certain annihilation ... a veritable valley of death’. Calm yourself, dear reader, it’s not that bad. The RCC pilot is commendably cautious about the channels, but they are straightforward in daylight, moderate weather and reasonable visibility. Local boats use them all the time. For the first-time visitor, GPS…

▪ General: The 110-berth marina at La Restinga on the south coast is a good place to visit for diving and exploring the marine reserve ▪ Approach: VHF Ch 09 ▪ Facilities: Cold showers in little cabins. WC. New showers and toilets have been built but are yet to open ▪ Fuel: The Cofradía may sell diesel if asked (mornings only) ▪ Electricity/water: Blue three-pin EU-socket (type B). 20mm inside water connection. Water on the island is very good and is potable. Some comes from desalination ▪ Security: The entrance is usually locked. You will get a key from the harbour master. Security guards patrol 24/7 ▪ Internet: No. Some bars on the waterfront have WiFior you can use the internet at the harbour-master's ▪ Eat & drink: La Vieja…

Jeanneau 440 Let’s start with the basics. Jeanneau’s new 440 has the option of two, three or four double cabins down below with a double forward and aft, a double forward and twin aft cabins or twin double cabins forward and aft. All layouts have twin heads and a G-shaped galley to port opposite C-shaped seating to starboard. All layouts have a decent sized chart table. It’s on deck, however, where things get interesting – more specifically the side decks. Outboard of the cockpit seating, where usually the side deck is level with the toerail, the 440 side deck starts at cockpit sole level and rises up until, just forward of the coachroof, it becomes a conventional deck. The walkway makes getting on to the deck an easy stroll, rather…

UK sailors and businesses are pulling together to support the Caribbean islands hit by recent hurricanes. Sailors, charities and companies from across the UK are pitching in to help victims of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean islands, following the devastation caused by September’s storms. The Caribbean has long been a favourite destination among blue water cruisers, racing sailors and holiday charterers, but many beloved harbours and anchorages have been seen wide-spread destruction. Hurricane Irma brought sustained wind speeds of 160 knots (185mph), making it the second most powerful hurricane on record and was followed quickly by Hurricane Maria. It is estimated that the 2017 hurricane season has so far caused over 250 deaths and nearly $200bn of damage. Islands hit twice Hurricane Irma made landfall among the Caribbean…

EMAIL yachtingmonthly@timeinc.com POST 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 LETTER OF THE MONTH Don’t burden us with unnecessary tech! The more I read articles like How distress alerts are changing (Sum 17), the more I despair. The makers of pyrotechnics, manufacturers of EPIRBs and PLBs are pushing their kit onto bureaucrats who have never set foot on a yacht. I have no problem with ocean travellers having that…

What is a gem but a stone yet to be polished? When Sirena Marine produced its first Azuree model, a 40-footer designed by Giovanni Ceccarelli, it looked exciting and different. It resembled a Class 40 in shape but with a cruising friendly interior, though it proved a little quirky and rough around the edges. Built by a big yard and workforce with industrial production experience, the potential was there to see, but the first Azuree needed refinement to take on the competition properly. Nine years later, after a great deal of hard graft, the brand has moved on and its latest offering is a jewel worthy of admiration – not perfect, but one that has a definite sparkle. Sirena Marine’s learning curve has been a steep one engineered by improvements…

For her second summer cruise, Hettie, 45, has decided to sail 77 miles across the Irish Sea, from her home port of Arklow to Aberdovey, to explore the Welsh coast. At 0800 on a Friday morning in late July, excitement is building in her crew, son Finn, 17, and daughter Niamh, 15, who are capable and enthusiastic on board, at least most of the time. Neither has any RYA qualifications but both are mad-keen dinghy sailers, and they’re hoping to take part in a regatta at Dovey Yacht Club on the Saturday. They get their enthusiasm for dinghy racing from their mother, who raced dinghies to a national level as a youth. Life intervened but two years ago she discovered a love for cruising under sail, passed her Coastal Skipper…

Metals in boats By Vyv Cox, published by Crowood Press at £22.50 If the subject seems a little esoteric, think for a moment about the metals in your boat and the important roles they play. Anchors and chains, spars and rigging, keels and keel bolts, rudder stocks and tubes, seacocks and through-hulls, to name but a few. Failure in any of these could wreck your boat so understanding a little more about these vital components, and how you can maintain and protect them, seems like time – and money – well spent. The author is well known in this parish for his rigorous analysis and widely respected as an expert in the field of metallurgy. This book is crammed with examples of failures and examines what happened, why, and how…

There are few more exhilarating feelings than listening to the sound of the hull swooshing through the water and watching night settle over the sea as the wind pushes you towards your destination. This year’s adventure in our Southerly 135, Moondance, was to start in Guernsey from where we would head south to France and Spain. We hopped on a ferry from Poole for a three-hour trip to St Peter Port with little Woody, our King Charles spaniel — the latest addition to the family — in his travel box on the car deck. Our plan was to sail to the nearby island of Herm in the afternoon for a lobster dinner and head to the north coast of Brittany the following day. With sailing, however, flexibility is essential. It…

The name Beaulieu is said to be a shortened version, via French, of the phrase Bellus Locus Regis –beautiful place of the King – possibly referring to King John. The river is still beautiful and one of the great joys is that it gets more beautiful the further up you go, all the way to Timbrell’s Quay at Beaulieu village. Moreover, given a spring-ish high water, there is a good 2m depth in the channel almost that far. The wooded banks are lined with a variety of enviable houses on the eastern side, mostly with accompanying private jetties. All these houses are served by a road from the village called Dock Lane. The leading marks at the river entrance are No2 post and Lepe House. There is only 1m over…

Webasto Freeline 115 Elegance Webasto’s new front-opening fridge is clever. Not only does it have an 83-litre capacity in the refrigerator compartment and 32-litre capacity in the freezer space, it also stores refrigeration energy. The benefit of this is that when there’s an excess of power available, the Freeline 115 Elegance will store that energy for when it’s needed. This, along with the highquality insulation, claims its energy requirements are 35% lower than existing products on the market. Deciding whether you want the hinges on the left or right is made easier thanks to the central handle. There's also interior LED lighting. Price £799 Contact Webasto Tel 01302 322 232 Web www.webasto.com Garmin VHF 210i and GHS 11i Judging by the number of radio checks to the coastguard during a…

What’s she like to sail? The Jeanneau Sunfast 42 is an exhilarating sailing machine, a design where performance comes before all else. With her huge rig and 140 per cent genoa she requires a full crew to get the best out of her, but, handled seriously, she will give you some very fast passages, even when sailed short-handed. The boats do not come with retractable bowsprits, but they can be retrofitted. This will ensure there is no dirty wind spilling from the genoa into the spinnaker and can also help alleviate any unwanted weather helm. Furling sails will make her more managable. She can be sailed solo as the sheet winches are not too far from the wheel, but taking this boat offshore alone would not be for the faint-hearted.…

French scrubbing-off Plouër-sur-Rance in Brittany now has a communityowned scrubbing-off grid, on which yachts can dry out and remove fouling between tides. Run off is collected in a sump, which is pumped up into a quayside holding tank. The grid prevents pollution while spare owners the cost of lifting out. Length of Britain record smashed Four young British sailors covered the 876 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats in two days, 14 hours and 6 minutes, taking nearly 22 hours off Phil Sharp’s existing record. The crew were sailing for Vendee2020Vision. Barts Bash Bart’s Bash, the global club sailing event, saw sailors getting afloat at 599 venues in 80 countries around the world. The event raised money to help hurricane victims in the Caribbean. Next year’s event will take…

What’s she like to sail? The 41 is a fun boat to sail, responsive and light on the wheel. She has a relatively narrow waterline beam and high ballast ratio and the result is a stiff and stable ride. She is the definition of a modern performance cruiser. The diameter of the wheels could be a few inches wider, however, both to prevent your knuckles catching on the pedestal and to allow you to sit out properly. The wide side decks mean it’s too far to sit comfortably against the rail and still hold the wheel as it is. The best helming position I found was to straddle the wheel, which allows you to steer and trim. Unfortunately, the traveller setup on this boat was, to put it bluntly, terrible…

The Junk Rig ‘I wanted a sail that I could reef and furl and unreef again entirely from the steering position without having to crawl around the deck,’ explained Hasler. ‘The focal point of Jester’s design is the rig. It consists of a single sail of 240 sq ft, which has a yard at its head, a light boom at its foot and five full length ash battens. It is a pure foreand- aft sail, not a squaresail, trimmed and handled on all points, including when tacking and gybing, just as if it were a single Bermudan or Gaff sail. It can claim to be the world’s most easily reefed sail: taking down or shaking out a reef is done quickly and simply by adjusting the four lines led to…

We visited some splendid medieval cities and seemed to be the only cruising boat Our smiling faces evaporated in an instant: clouds of smoke were coming from the saloon and in a few moments the engine was dead. We had left Scube over winter up the creek at Monfalcone, between Venice and Trieste. By early May, with the bottom freshly antifouled, we set off down the shallow creek shortly before high tide. Mediterranean tides are usually considered insignificant, with a range of 10-20cm, but this varies widely. The tide funnels up the Adriatic and at Monfalcone is over 100cm. Hurrah for the open sea again, we thought, but windless and now motorless, we had no option but to tie alongside one of the channel marker poles. We grounded while waiting…

Lifeventure dry bags Lightweight dry bags have a surprising number of uses on board, as Theo Stocker discovers A dry bag is useful for pretty much any trip afloat, from separating clothing in a big holdall so you know where to find your clean underwear to keeping your electronics secure and dry in a damp locker. Good news then, that travel company Lifeventure have released a set of three super lightweight, watertight, airtight dry bags. Weighing no more than 60g for the largest, the three bags have capacities of 5, 10 and 25 litres. Made of Ripstop Cordura fabric with a siliconised finish on the outside and PU coating on the inside, we found them to be totally waterproof. Just make sure you’ve rolled the top down three times to…