Innholdsfortegnelse for Oct-2018 i Yachting World

What a blast! Squally weather at Lendy Cowes Week was matched by fire and brimstone from the Royal Yacht Squadron’s race start cannons. Crowds gather every day to watch the race starts off the RYS line: it took photographer Tom Gruitt five attempts before he captured the spectacular millisecond when the cannon spat fire. Solo round Australia Australian sailor Lisa Blair, who last year became the first person to sail solo round Antarctica, will set off next month to sail single-handed round Australia. Blair plans to leave from Sydney and sail the 6,536 miles non-stop round the continent anticlockwise, a voyage that she estimates will take six weeks. It would make her the first person to complete this circumnavigation. For details visit lisablairsailstheworld.com Stop that drone! With worldwide numbers of…

Big seas, strong currents and winds topping 52 knots – not a description of the Southern Ocean, but highlights of the RORC’s four-yearly Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race in August. The race started from Cowes and followed 1,805 miles round the British Isles, encountering rough weather heading west to Ireland and winds topping 50 knots for many in the 29-strong fleet as they rounded the most northerly point, Muckle Flugga lighthouse in Scotland. The winning crew were Phil Sharp, Julien Pulvé, Pablo Santurdé and Sam Matson on the Class 40 Imerys Clean Energy, who scorched round the course to set a new class record of 8d 4h. “This is definitely the toughest race in the northern hemisphere, harder than a transatlantic,” commented Sharp. “You don’t expect to do a…

Tony Bullimore, one of Britain’s most indomitable and adventurous ocean sailors, died in July from stomach cancer. He was one of the pioneers of offshore multihull racing, raced round the world and sailed across the Atlantic some 30 times, but he became most famous in January 1997 after being rescued from the upturned hull of his yacht in the Southern Ocean. Bullimore had been racing the Open 60 Exide Challenger in the solo Vendée Globe round the world race and was deep in the Southern Indian Ocean when the keel of his yacht broke off and the yacht capsized. Bullimore managed to survive for three days in the upturned hull, sustaining himself with a single chocolate bar after his food supplies were washed away. On the fourth day, he was…

email yachting.world@ti-media.com Letters may be edited as appropriate Designs for the Volvo Race With regard to your article that IMOCA 60s will participate in the 2021 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, it’s worth citing Bob Fisher from his book ‘Faster & Faster’, the story of the 1993/94 Whitbread Round the World Race. ‘The days of the $6 million maxis were numbered. By Cape Horn, it was generally accepted even by the maxi crews that these monoliths had been outclassed in terms of speed and value by the new breed of Whitbread 60s. The Whitbread 60s were conceived through an initiative taken by the English brewery which has sponsored this race from the outset to develop cheaper, more exciting and safer boats to those encouraged under the traditional IOR rule.’…

As the climate and crowding increasingly make some popular destinations less desirable, cruisers from northern Europe are discovering new cruising grounds in places they were previously passing by along the trek to the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. People are still exploring the Med and Caribbean but now they are taking years to get there or returning to explore these interesting territories later on. Think of all the history: Prince Henry the Navigator, Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro, de Gama. If you’re not on a schedule, follow in their wakes and you’ll find some of the most satisfying and easily accessible cruising grounds in Europe. Stopping in to the resort town of La Coruña) in northwest Spain provides a chance to recuperate from a Biscay crossing before rounding Finisterre, the point of land…

Marine electronics have become increasingly sophisticated, driven by advances in networking technology and the intuitive user interfaces we have come to expect from everyday devices. A decade ago, a chartplotter showed charts and was used primarily for navigation; today’s powerful touchscreen multifunction displays (MFDs) provide information that ranges from charts to radar display, cameras, sonar and much more. We are well on the way to the fully connected, fully integrated smart yacht. Improving the experience of using networked systems is a big focus for electronics companies in their next stages of product development, as they seek to make operating a yacht – and monitoring it from afar – much more like the experience already found in luxury cars. Being fully integrated Alan Davis, product line director at B&G, says that…

If you think Najad’s new 39-footer might be a bit small, think again. This is the biggest 39ft yacht you’ll see for some time. To put that into perspective, the Najad 410 – the model the 395 replaces – was longer, but is dwarfed in height by 395, its deck almost a foot lower when they are berthed alongside each other. Yet, surprisingly, this new design doesn’t look out of proportion – two maroon hull stripes disguise the high freeboard well – but it’s something you definitely do notice when climbing on board. On the water the Najad 395 feels commanding. It’s no lightweight, being almost four tonnes heavier than the equivalent sized Bavaria, and feels solid, substantial and regal. We found a good swell on our test, the remains…

‘A RECORD-BREAKER THAT DEMANDS ATTENTION LIKE A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE STAR’ ELAINE BUNTING NOMINATES THE MAXI KETCH MARI-CHA III Fast, shapely, elegant and still formidable on the race course, Mari-Cha III was and still is one of the world’s most impressive yachts. Created to break records, this Philippe Briand design was built in 1997 for American Bob Miller and seized the outright monohull transatlantic record in 1998, the big ketch crossing the finish line at The Lizard on 24 October 1998 in 8d 23h. She claimed a fistful of record passages including, in 1999, the fastest ever from Sydney to Hobart, sailing the 630-mile course in 1d 18h at a then phenomenal average of 14.75 knots, but often hitting 30 knots. Refitted with a 3m taller mast, she now races in…

Sailing has a unique ability to put everyone on a level playing field. No matter how different the sizes and ages of entries at today’s regattas, the masterminds behind the handicap ratings have the means to make superyacht racing fair, competitive and entertaining. And nowhere was there a bigger showcase of the diversity than at Mallorca’s four-day festival of superyacht racing in June. With 16 yachts ranging from the 32m (105ft) sloop Bolero to the 62m (203ft) schooner Athos and an 85-year age gap spanning a fleet with an estimated collective worth of over €500m, it was hard not to wonder how these assorted beauties might possibly square up and rate against each other. and yet the overall winner of the event was decided on the last leg of the…

Ed Fishwick’s SunFast 3600 Redshift Reloaded getting a soaking during Lendy Cowes Week. At this moment, Fishwick’s crew had just rounded West Lepe buoy and were heading back upwind in 25-35 knots of wind against tide and driving rain. Photographer Rick Tomlinson recalls: “The sun came out briefly and I was following her when a couple of big waves hit her, sending a stream of white water over. Shortly after we heard on the VHF that all racing for the black group was being abandoned and we all headed back to Cowes slightly relieved.”…

This year’s Lendy Cowes Week began in heatwave temperatures with light sea breezes, and culminated with squalls touching 40 knots across the Solent. Early days of the regatta saw brilliant sunshine, sea breezes, and a long postponement that left some fleets racing into the early evening. By contrast on the final Friday a series of squally showers was forecast to bring winds topping 25 knots across the Solent. The smaller dayboat classes were set courses in the shelter of Osborne Bay in the morning, while the larger black group boats raced in the western Solent. For the big boats the final Friday turned into an extreme day with squalls merging to bring sudden but sustained wind speeds of 25-38 knots after midday, and racing for most classes abandoned. One sailor…

It was meant to be a day sail from Bristol Docks to Falmouth aboard Tony Bullimore’s new giant catamaran, Team Legato. Tony had re-mortgaged his house to enter The Race, a non-stop drag race around the world for the fastest multihulls on the planet, and was planning the start of the shakedown cruise, a December dash across Biscay, to Barcelona, where race started at midnight on 31 December 2000. With three other journalists, I’d been waiting on standby for a weather window. We finally cast off on 18 December, expecting to be dropped off in Falmouth next morning. Barry Pickthall, Bullimore’s press spokesman, was standing beside me in a bright orange one-piece survival suit. “£35 quid ex-North Sea oil rig rescue gear!” he enthused. His dress sense seemed a bit…

We are a family of three, Steffi, Chris and Leo, who left Stockholm, Sweden in June 2017 to follow our dream of long distance cruising. We are sailing Yemaya, a 1981 Najad 37, south from Scandinavia, then across the Atlantic, and are currently in Grenada. On our way along the Atlantic coast we fell in love with Portugal. Here are our tips of where to go, and what not to miss: ▪ VIANA DO CASTELO Our first stop in Portugal, after a smooth sail, was Viana do Castelo. Lucky us, I realised, as a yacht that came in later had an involuntary gybe while entering the river. Their boom looked like a sad banana. We didn’t have any problems but the wind can gust strongly here, especially in the afternoon,…

It would be easy for a casual observer to assume that yacht (or ‘sailboat’) building in North America has never recovered from the financial crash ten years ago. A number of previously big names are now a shadow of their previous operations, or have vanished completely. However, this masks a healthy and innovative industry, much of it in New England, where a number of renowned designers and boatyards are creating interesting spirit of tradition yachts and daysailers that blend many of the latest advances in design and construction with stunning ‘retro’ styling. LOA 6.94m (22ft 9in) LWL 5.69m (18ft 8in) Beam 2.11m (6ft 10in) Draught 1.06m (3ft 6in) Displacement 1,043kg (2,300lb) ZURN MARBLEHEAD 22 Marblehead-based Doug Zurn designed the prototype of this appealing daysailer a few years ago and is…

Cape Horn sailors and ditch diggers sacrificed all to make the path between the Atlantic and Pacific easier for the rest of us. It is a surreal situation to find yourself floating in a small yacht alongside a giant ship in a box of water 25m above sea level. Entering the canal was thrilling, stressful, and awkward. Descending the last lock was euphoric. The Panama Canal is a gem to treasure. Advance planning Considering the alternative routes, the canal is a blink between oceans. Yet a smooth transit benefits from advance planning. Our research began about three months in advance after we learned how seasonal congestion can increase the waiting time from arrival in Colón to an assigned transit date. Most of the year, four to six days is typical.…

Scorpione is the former Pink Gin V, a 46m (152ft) sloop launched from Baltic Yachts in 2006 and this was the first regatta since her change of ownership last year. We were competing in the Corinthian class against the mighty 51.7m (170ft) Dubois ketch Q and both yachts had a genuinely friendly Corinthian spirit. There were no pros on board and guests and permanent crew were assigned various tasks and roles. “Everyone is pushing their boats to such a high-end at this regatta now, so its no bad thing to bring it back down to a gentleman’s level,” declared skipper Clive Walker. Walker has a good sense of humour and a relaxed, yet experienced air about him, which helped make all aboard feel instantly at ease. He has competed at…

When the world’s superyacht glitterati gathers for this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, it will do so in a subtly altered Port Hercules. The Quai des États Unis has been restructured and a new 240m jetty will berth yachts down the centre of the marina. There will be a similar 120 yachts on display, including 40 world debuts, but this year boasts an enlarged tenders and toys section. The average size of display boats is around 60m LOA, but with most of those being motoryachts, the length of sailing boats is rather smaller. The eight sailing boats at the show average 49m LOA, ranging from the 30.78m Jongert sloop Ocean Star to the stunning 70m Sybaris from Perini Navi. The byword of this year’s show is convenience, with better access to…

NATIONALITY: “I was born in Windsor but left for Wales about four weeks later, so I classify myself as a Welshman.” HOBBIES: “I used to play squash, until I set up the business… I also played football and rugby and enjoy sailing and windsurfing. Photography is also a big interest of mine. INSPIRATIONS: “I think my mother, when the chips were down, saw that there was something there that was a career direction, and she went and enrolled me on the course, because I was off surfing, and enjoying myself, and not really worried about life after A levels. “I think she saw (a) that I was artistic, and creative, and (b) she held a route into it, and understood what the education system could give me. I guess that…

The aggressive chines of Niklas Zennstrøm’s Fast 40+ Ràn are clear in this shot by Paul Wyeth at Lendy Cowes Week. Ràn is a fourth generation Carkeek-designed Fast 40+ and has won every regatta on the circuit since being launched this spring. However, at Cowes it was the well-sailed local boat Girls on Film that led for the first three days, with Ràn just overhauling them on the final day. Class rules limit professional sailors to five per crew. Ràn’s crew is also made up of younger sailors who are learning from some of the best in the business.…

The organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race have confirmed that the next edition of the race will be held in two classes – the IMOCA 60s and the Volvo 65s one-designs. The last two editions of the race have been held in the strictly one-design VO65s, which has frequently seen boats finish just minutes apart and produced the closest ever finale to the event this summer. However, after two editions the boats are dated, certainly compared to the latest generation of foil-assisted IMOCA 60s. Opening the race up to the IMOCA 60 class is clearly intended to expand the possible number of boats competing in the race and to bring in a technological development element. IMOCA 60s will likely be raced with around five sailors. Johan Salén, co-owner of the…

PETER CUMBERLIDGE SAVOURS A PASSAGE SOUTH ALONG THE BISCAY COAST ‘CRUISING AROUND BISCAY CAN BE MOST DELIGHTFUL’ Sailing away to the Mediterranean or across to the Caribbean has always been a dream for yacht owners, and increasing numbers can now manage the time and resources to make this a reality. For me one of the knacks of a successful cruise to the sun is not to turn it into an expedition, but to maximise pleasure and take life gently, seeing plenty of new places on the way. Crossing Biscay is often seen as the first hurdle in a voyage south, yet this can be one of the most delightful parts of the venture if you opt for a relaxed stopping tour around Brittany and down the French coast before jumping…

Can you see a way through?” Perched on the spreaders, binoculars in hand, Magnus shook his head. “It looks like it’s completely blocked with ice,” he replied. Down in the cockpit, we stared tensely at the expanse of white ahead, wincing each time a chunk of ice clunked and scraped against the hull. “So what now? Should we turn around?” “No, we keep going.” Foreshortening, Magnus explained, often makes ice look more closely packed than it actually is. In any case, turning around was out of the question. It had taken a great deal of patience and planning to arrive finally at the entrance to Prince Christian Sound, a towering 66 mile-long channel that connects the east and west coasts of Greenland, north of Cape Farewell. We were determined to…

Named skipper of Visit Seattle at just 24, Nikki Henderson went on to finish 2nd in the round the world race. It is, by any standards, a phenomenal achievement. Henderson started sailing in her early teens. Just a decade later she was responsible for leading a paying crew around the world. Despite the rapid ascent through the ranks of professional sailing, Henderson says her career evolved after being sucked into sailing during a gap year. She was always determined, however. Wendy Tuck recalls the questions Henderson sent her seeking advice before applying for the Clipper role: “I was thinking, jeez I didn’t think of that! There was no way in the world I would have thought she was 23.” After teaching and deliveries, being in the Caribbean when the ARC…

A good brand exudes quality. Seeing a logo on a car or a yacht is a visual pat on the back from the manufacturer, a little thank you from them that you made the right choice. As I stepped on board the Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 42, I spotted the ‘W’ cut out in the stainless steel plates on the coachroof sides and the stainless steel ‘Wauquiez’ on the transom. Are these clues that this yacht might be something special? Yes they are and so she is. You could feel it as we rode down the Med swell at 9 knots, and in the sociable, safe, comfortable cockpit, but it’s down below that this yacht really impresses. The interior makes this boat unique among production boats of this size. She also…

ANDY RICE talks to legendary America’s Cup skipper DEAN BARKER The ability to get your boat in the groove, finding that elusive ‘sweet spot’, is one of the hallmarks of a great helmsman. However, the helmsman is only as good as the trimmers, and it’s the interaction with mainsheet trimmer and headsail trimmer that really enables you to get the boat singing. Then the wind changes, or you have to tack, and you have to get back to that perfect set up all over again… Dean Barker offers five of his best tips for hitting your target boatspeeds more of the time, and more often than your opposition. 1 FIND YOUR BOAT’S TRIGGER Every boat has its vices, things it likes and doesn’t like, and the key is trying to…

NEW CONCEPT 40M EXPLORER YACHT Íñigo Toledo of Barracuda Yacht Design believes the sailing world has been too complacent for too long. “There are fewer sailing yachts being built than in the past,” he says. “The ratio used to be around 20 per cent sail and 80 per cent motor, but now it’s as little as 5 per cent sail and 95 per cent motor. “The motor boat market took notice [of what people wanted] and came out of the recession very strongly, but the sailing world hasn’t changed. we are not properly selling the glamour of sailing to new people coming to the market, and are not listening to their complaints about a lot of things on sailing boats.” This 40m concept yacht is intended as a step to…

HAMMOCRAFT SUP KIT Lie back in your hammock and… go for a leisurely paddle. You can buy the hammock structure alone, which attaches quickly to an existing board, or the whole SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboard) kit. Not the fastest way to get about, but certainly relaxing on calm bays or rivers. $895 for the frame alone/$2,495 for the SUP kit | hammocraft.com SIRENSONG MALABAR SPRINGSUIT Not everyone likes togging up in clammy, black rubber wetsuits. This light, 2.5mm thick, amusingly named ‘Booty cut’ neoprene suit should keep ladies comfortable for warm-water dives. And because the neoprene is limestone-based, from Yamamoto in Japan, it uses fewer petroleum products and is actually lighter, warmer and stretchier than traditional wetsuit material. SirenSong’s ‘signature’ collection is hand-painted or printed with a design of your choice.…

Many will look at this yacht and admire its graceful lines, its presence and elegance on the water. Vijonara is the latest proof that Hoek’s Truly Classic range is the dream for many sailors. But this TC128 is more than just a pretty boat. Vijonara is an intelligent superyacht choice for modern times, a smart, series-built design that uses a clever build process. The result is a dream yacht but one that is efficient, especially in terms of initial cost and potential resale value. When I sailed the dark blue-hulled sistership Atalante, the first TC128, three years ago I was sold on the lines and impressed by how it sailed, but wasn’t sure how popular the notion of a repeatable series design would be at this size. Hoek’s Truly Classic…

“Mountains like the Alps, fjords like Norway, architecture like Venice,” is how Montenegro is described to me. It’s a surprisingly apt description. This little country in the Adriatic, sandwiched between Croatia to the north and Albania to the south, is two-thirds the size of Wales but has barely a fifth of its population, just over 600,000. A fragment of centuries of shifting Balkan hegemony, it has been forging an independent identity since 2006 and is increasingly on the agenda of international travellers. Montenegro sees itself as a perfectly placed hub for superyachts in the central Mediterranean, straddling an ever popular route south to the Greek islands and north to Croatia, Venice and Istria. It now has several marinas to cater for this. Porto Montenegro, south of the Croatian border, is…