Innholdsfortegnelse for Sep-2018 i Yachting Monthly

02 Premier Marinas has installed two seabins at its Port Solent and Gosport marinas 01 The first time British Marine has appointed a female CEO. Lesley Robinson took up her position on 16 July 8,428 The boat lift at Fambridge Yacht Haven in Essex has been retired and replaced with a 40-tonne hoist after doing its fair share of lifts, or 8,428 to be precise. IMOCA 60s for Volvo Ocean Race It has been confirmed that the 2021 Volvo Ocean Race will be raced in IMOCA 60 class yachts, currently sailed in the solo Vendée Globe Race, following the signing of a partnership agreement between the two bodies in The Hague…

Sat in our woods with Cornwall at its best, the sun lights up the steam of my morning coffee and eases the night along its way. The birdsong, something we’ve missed, is a riot of love, alarm and hunger amid the relentless growth of spring. This verdant world is the perfect place to reflect on the last seven months of blue that the good ship Pearl has forged, all 7,600 miles of it double-handed. To get here, we have taken the long way around the world on that modern vessel known as a jumbo jet. Andy, my youngest brother, was married in Sydney and it was poignant, as it has taken 50 years for the planets to align and reveal the love of his life. It’s amazing that the first…

To enter visit yachtingmonthly.com/ andark’ About the prize Scuba diving is the gateway to a whole new world of adventure from your yacht. Whether you are chartering in the Caribbean or sailing in the Scottish islands, there is a wealth of beautiful marine life to discover under the waves, from seals and starfish to corals and clownfish. Take your own gear or hire it when you get there. Either way, learning to dive is easier than you think. Get your scuba diving certification with the PADI Open Water Course at Andark. Virtually anyone who is in good health, reasonably fit and comfortable in the water can earn a PADI Open Water Diver certification. The four-day course results in a lifetime certification recognised all over the world. As an open-water diver,…

Q George and Jill keep their Contessa 26, Martingale, at Largs on the Clyde Estuary. She’s a tough little boat – long keeled, over 40 years old, well looked after and well kitted out. Unfortunately, their intentions to venture further afield beyond the Clyde are frequently thwarted by lack of time and the weather. This year, they plan to go to Northern Ireland and visit friends at Ballycastle. The distance from the Mull of Kintyre to Northern Ireland is only about 11 miles but in between is the North Channel where the tidal stream, on the day they have chosen, runs at a maximum of 4 knots. This can create a rough sea, especially wind against tide, and there can be some nasty overfalls south of the Mull of Kintyre.…

Weather forecasts can seem mysterious. As a meteorologist I sometimes feel like Severus Snape – the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry – casting a spell to create a prediction as to what the weather is going to do. So what actually goes into making a weather forecast for sailing, and how can you as a sailor in UK waters make the most of them? Whilst this topic can seem hugely confusing, an amount of knowledge and some practical application can help you improve your own forecasting skills and interpret the data from weather apps. CONSIDER EACH ELEMENT For starters I thought we’d look at what actually goes into making a weather forecast. Many of us are so used to glancing at weather apps on our…

From £720 WHAT IS IT? Boat hook in hand, neatly coiled line at the ready, you’re all set up on a perfect approach. Yet with a slimy rope in the water and a cumbersome boat hook over the pulpit, you still don’t manage to nail the pickup. What should be a simple exercise can turn into a disaster. Scottish engineer George Smith decided the humble mooring buoy needed a rethink. The result is two products: the Mara Buoy Static (£720) and the Mara Buoy Dynamic (£1,080). Unlike conventional mooring buoys, Mara Buoys include a central galvanised column that extends vertically above the waterline up to deck level. Inside this, the bottom of the mooring line is shackled directly to the riser chain and the other end is fed through the…

THE TEST SEE OVERLEAF Anyone who’s spent the day squelching around in soggy leather deck shoes knows the unpleasantness of that slimy-footed feeling. Whether walking the sidedeck or alighting the dinghy, it takes just a little water to get into your shoes and blight your day. If it’s not water getting in, in hot weather you’ll find out how much your feet sweat and getting the moisture out becomes an issue, especially if you opt to go without socks. Where the traditional boat shoe will hold water and take an age to dry, deck trainers are designed to let water out and be fast-drying. If you’ve tried deck trainers you’ll rarely convert back. The use of modern materials make the shoes lighter, especially when wet, and the increased number of…

RACUNDRA’S THIRD CRUISE £14.99 Arthur Ransome (ed. Brian Hammett), Fernhurst A reissue of Brian Hammett’s carefully researched compilation of diary notes, photographs and unpublished narrative by Arthur Ransome, which tell the next chapters in the story of Racundra after her first cruise in the autumn of 1922. Her 1923 cruise to the Finnish archipelago (included here) was curtailed to a few scattered weeks by bad weather and the demands of journalism. In the summer of 1924, Ransome was less ambitious. Racundra meanders along the rivers of Latvia while her owner fails to catch pike and bangs out articles on ‘money reform’ – until his newly wed wife discovers a mouse on board… Hammett’s scrupulous editorial approach means that most stories are heard twice but they’re none the worse for that.…

Taking the plunge Barbara Molin CONFESSION OF THE MONTH After anchoring overnight in crowded Lefkas harbour in Greece, I decided to Med-moor Eidos, my 32ft East Orient, to the town quay nearby. After starting the engine, I hauled the chain hand over hand into the chain locker and as soon as the CQR slid on to the bow roller, I walked quickly aft to steer Eidos’ bow towards the quay. I then let go of the stern anchor, let out the chain and rode, and when the bow was near the concrete quay, I put the engine in neutral, walked forward and grabbed one of the bowlines. There was no one nearby to help, so I climbed over the bow rail and then stepped on the CQR, which I use…

What do a German multimillionaire yacht designer and an Essex barge skipper have in common? Answer: as enemies, they both learned how to sail in a World War II bomber’s disposable fuel tank. Christoph Rassy, 84, was born in Bavaria and, as a schoolboy, collected the jettisoned drop tanks of the USAF P-51 Mustang bomber to construct his first boat, and taught himself to sail on the Starnberger See. Jimmy Lawrence, 84, was born in Colchester, Essex an, as a schoolboy, used the jettisoned drop tanks, possibly of a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88, to construct his first boat on the River Colne. Christoph went on to run one of the most successful boatbuilding companies in Europe, Hallberg-Rassy. Jimmy went on to found one of the most successful sail lofts in…

Would you swim under your boat? Some might think nothing of giving their boat a quick scrub before a passage to check the anchor or the anodes, or even to free the propeller if it gets fouled. For others, nothing on earth would persuade them to get in the water. Whichever camp you fall into, being able to look at the parts of your yachts that are underwater can be an enormously useful and potentially enjoyable skill to have. Quite apart from checking your boat, being able to swim, snorkel or scuba dive from your boat can be a hugely rewarding experience. Done right, it can open up a whole new world when you reach your anchorage and huge stretches of our coastline are rarely, if ever, dived or snorkeled…

SAFETY CHECKS ON BOARD • Watch on deck ready • Buddy ready to enter water if needed • Knife (rope cutter or round-tipped knife) • Flag A to signal diver under the boat • Keep lookout for other vessels • Isolate engine and bow thruster. Remove key from ignition, place sign over ignition • Leave engine in neutral so propeller can be turned • Put heads out of use and a sign on door • Bathing ladder, dinghy or exit point ready • Have a line ready for the swimmer SWIMMER CHECKS SWIMMER CHECKS • Kit all in order, checked by buddy • Remove snagging hazards (watch, ring) • Line attached • Weights if necessary • Knife or other tools • Signals agreed • Safety checks on board complete •…

EYE MARINE ELASTOMER 150 £469 This buoy stays buoyant even if the outer is damaged. Providing a recess for the mooring line to rest in, you can keep the line out of the water. Soft bodied, the chain runs securely though the buoy. www.mooringequipment.co.uk ANCHOR MARINE ROD BUOY 73CM £295 Designed to be ultra tough, this simple construction incorporates a heavily galvanised forged swivel with plastic bushes top and bottom. A simple design with little to go wrong. www.anchor-marine.com POLYFORM MB250L NON-INFLATABLE BUOY £599 Filled with polystyrene foam and very hard wearing, Polyform MB buoys have a galvanised rod to aid pickup. However, mooring itself must be from the secure attachment at the waterline. The polyform incorporates a built-in swivel. www.polyform.no…

Feedback on plans for 41 new Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) is being reviewed by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The public consultation on the proposed sites, which include Studland Bay, Yarmouth to Cowes, the Helford and Dart estuaries, and Goodwin Sands, ended in July. If they all get approved, it will mean 40% of English seas having protected status. Some boat owners have raised concerns about no anchoring zones in places like Studland, where boaters and conservationists have clashed over protecting a seahorse colony.…

THE TEST VERDICT For a 40ft yacht she costs a lot. Now, that’s not to say she’s expensive; you get a well-specced, beautifully crafted yacht for your money and I struggled to find anywhere onboard where I could see quality had been compromised in favour of cost. Not even her displacement has been compromised – at 11,750kg, she’s 100kg heavier than the substantial Sirius 40DS, no lightweight herself, and 0.75 tonnes heavier than the centre cockpit Hallberg-Rassy 40MKII – compare that to 8,200kg of an equivalent size Bavaria and it’s easy to see she’s been built to be a comfortable home-from-home without compromise. Her displacement gives her a wonderfully solid feel on the water, with no creaks or groans as she marches on. She looks in proportion and purposeful –…

MINI SCUBA SETUP For staying near the surface, you can buy a yachtsman’s set which is just a regulator, gauge and tank with backstraps – enough to work down to two or three metres but not for going deep. MINI-B KIT The next step up is a Mini-B set which is like one backpack with a buoyancy compensator device (BCD) inside. While this looks neat, it can’t be taken apart in the same way a full set can, so is harder to store and clean. FULL SCUBA KIT A full-sized set will have an air tank with a regulator and a pressure gauge, a spare regulator for your buddy and a BCD that fits more like a lifejacket. You’ll also have a weight belt. While this sounds like a lot,…

1 TWO TO TANGO There are two parties involved in a rescue at sea: the rescued and the rescuers. When you are being rescued, you tend to let the rescuers take the initiative and know what to do. This might be fine when it is an experienced lifeboat crew doing the rescue but out at sea, it will probably be the first time for both the rescued and rescuer. So have a long discussion about how the rescue will take place because you both have an equal say in this matter and possibly different viewpoints. 2 CHOOSE YOUR RESCUE SHIP CAREFULLY… IF YOU CAN! A 40ft climb up a ship’s side is a big challenge and may be beyond the capabilities of a tired crew. Ours was an American ship…

The crossing is infamously unpredictable, so I was under no impression that this would just be a casual Sunday jaunt. Nevertheless, I often picture myself taking the less commercial route across the Irish Sea to work. With the intention of mixing business with pleasure, I set sail in my 1980s Van Dam Nordia 51, Crofton Loch, from Port Bannatyne, the gateway to the Kyles of Bute to Dún Laoghaire just outside Dublin. As Crofton Loch was a new purchase, this journey was also my first real test of the 60ft 32-tonne ketch, although she has cut her teeth in significantly more temperate waters, having previously made several long voyages with the author Andrew Rayner at the helm. Sailing under her previous name, Nereus, her voyages around the Pacific Islands were…

THE SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY Marine conservation and the challenges facing the world’s oceans will be the focus of the 2018 Southampton Boat Show as it celebrates its 50th year. Organiser British Marine is pledging to cut the amount of onsite plastics at the 10-day event. Apart from water bottles and cups, there will be no single use plastic available from any of the catering concessions or bars. All fish served on site will be sustainable. There will also be talks from scientific and wildlife experts and on and off the water attractions from the Southampton-based National Oceanography Centre. The layout of the show has changed for 2018 due to an 8% decrease in space at Solent Park, although the number of brands exhibiting has increased. There will be…

First published by London, Seeley, Service & Co in 1926 In the early summer of 1925, Adlard Coles saw Arthur Ransome’s Racundra advertised for sale in Yachting Monthly. He bought her, collected her from Riga and spent August and much of September sailing her home to England with his young wife, Mamie. It had been a condition of purchase that Racundra’s name be changed so here she is disguised as Annette II. It was 30 years before anyone made the connection. Not a hint of light could differentiate sky from sea Sejrö, as shown by the chart, is but a few miles long and very narrow, but inhabited, as is the case of every little islet in Denmark. There is a harbour on the west side but it is of…

After a worrying medical scare Graham, 54, and his wife of 30 years, Dilly, have decided it’s time to pass on their dentistry business to their son and make the most of their time together. Neither want to sit at home getting bored and fat, and both love being on the water, preferably somewhere warmer and bluer than the English Channel. Although they have chartered before in the Caribbean, they’ve never ventured further afield and long to head to the Southern Hemisphere, South Pacific and Australia. They currently sail their ageing Moody 38 out of Gosport, regularly visiting the south-west coast, Channel Islands and northern France, but are now looking for something much newer, around the 40ft mark, with a seakindly hull and comfortable interior for themselves and the occasional…