Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2019 i Yachting World

Royals to race at Cowes The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have launched a new event, which will take place on Friday, 9 August (the day before Cowes Week). Racing for the historic King’s Cup trophy, eight teams will race in Fast 40+ class yachts, each supporting one of Their Royal Highnesses’ charitable causes. The Duke and Duchess will themselves go head-to-head racing on opposing yachts, joined by the Fast 40+ owners and regular crew. New guide to sea mammals An excellent new book has been published to aid visual identification of 39 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises and nine species of seals found between Eastern Atlantic from Iceland to Macaronesia. Europe’s Sea Mammals (Princeton University Press, Paperback, £20) is the work of a team of professional tour guides.…

In the southern winter of 1988, Pelagic escaped the icy grip of South Georgia and made course for Cape Town. We’d finished our first Antarctic expedition season and we were heading for the docks to finish building the boat. But that is another story. The island of Tristan da Cunha lies right along that empty passage so it was a given that we would attempt a visit. Lying at 37°S, this volcanic outlier of only 38 square miles sits right on the southern edge of the Atlantic high, 1,300 nautical miles west-south-west from Cape Town. Along with Pitcairn in the Pacific, it is one of those very isolated islands on the edge of a horizon where the sun still rises and sets over what is left of the British Empire.…

BOWMAN 40 A modern classic if ever there was one. A medium to heavy displacement yacht, stiff and easily capable of standing up to her canvas. Pretty, traditional lines and layout below. CAL 40 Well-proven US legacy design dating back to the mid-1960s that once conquered the Transpac Race. Still admired as pretty, with slight spoon bow and overhanging transom. HYLAS 46 Capable medium displacement cruiser, ideal size and good accommodation for couples or family cruising, and much less costly than similar luxury brands. MALO 37 Swedish-built aft cockpit cruiser, smaller than many here but a well-built and finished, super-durable pocket ocean cruiser. TARTAN 3700 Designed as a performance cruiser there are nimbler alternatives now, but this is still an extremely pretty yacht.…

JPK 45 The JPK 45 comes from a French racing stable, combining race-winning design heritage with cruising amenities. What you see is what you get – there are no superfluous headliners or floorboards, but there are plenty of ocean sailing details, like inboard winches for safe trimming. The JPK45 also has a brilliantly designed cockpit with an optional doghouse creating all-weather shelter, twin wheels and superb clutch and rope bin arrangement. POGO 50 For sailors who don’t mind exchanging a few creature comforts for downwind planing performance, the Pogo 50 offers double-digit surfing speeds for exhilarating tradewind sailing. There’s an open transom, tiller steering and no backstay or runners. The Pogo 50 also has a swing keel, to nose into shallow anchorages. SEAWIND 1600 Seawinds are relatively unknown in Europe,…

BENETEAU OCEANIS 473 A popular model that offers beam and height in a functional layout, although, as with many boats of this age (she was launched in 2002), the mainsheet is not within reach of the helmsman. JEANNEAU SUN ODYSSEY 49 The Philippe Briand-designed Sun Odyssey range has a solid reputation as family production cruisers. Like the 473, the SO 49 was popular for charter so there are plenty of four cabin models on the market. NAUTITECH 441 The hull design dates back to 1995, but was relaunched in 2012. Though the saloon interior has dated, the 441 has solid practical features, such as a rainwater run-off collection gutter around the coachroof. ATLANTIC 42 Chris White-designed cats feature a pilothouse and forward waist-high working cockpit with helm position, as well…

Australia has the reputation of being a tough country to enter. In reality, if you prepare yourself and your boat, there is no need to worry. The process is fairly straightforward and all necessary information is easy to find on the government websites. Before arriving in Australia, every crew member needs to have a visa. There are two types. The e-visitor visa which is valid for three months. It is free of charge and can be extended. The other type is valid for one year (multiple entry) and costs AU$140. Both can be applied for online. When you have been in certain countries in the Pacific for more than three months, you will need to have a chest X-ray before you arrive in Australia. Check the online forms carefully for…

What is the decision? For example, on the approach to Portland Bill where should we be positioned relative to the tidal situation? What is our action? What manoeuvres do we need to make – what sail changes, what are our timings, is the crew ready? Have we got all the information? What is wind strength at Portland, for example, what is the tidal window in which we need to be making our approach, where is the rest of our fleet, and what can the boats in front tell us (from the tracker)? How confident are we? If we are slower or faster by an hour what would be the potential outcome? If the wind direction changes what would it need to be to change our positional decision? When is the…

Privilege 510 Hull No 18 of the Serie 5 on display at La Grande Motte was the first Privilege under Hanse’s ownership. Privilege is now reaching the last of these builds before the Les Sables d’Olonne yard starts on the 510, which uses the same hull mould. Its cats are designed for owners wishing to spend long periods aboard so are built in lightweight vinylester and Divinycell; Marc Lombard designed the hulls for plenty of payload capacity for lots of equipment. Quality of finish is the highest I’ve seen on a production multihull. Price ex VAT: €1,035,000 www.yachts.group/gb/privilege Broadblue 346 There are few new cruising cats available under 38ft these days, so families looking for a good value cat would do well to consider British brand Broadblue’s latest model. This…

An America’s Cup challenger from Malta has officially pulled out of the 2021 America’s Cup in New Zealand. Malta Altus had been accepted earlier this year as a late entry by the America’s Cup Arbitration Panel, despite fees of $1 million not yet being paid up. Two others, the US Stars & Stripes and DutchSail challengers, have until a deadline on 1 July to pay up or drop out. The Maltese challenge had the backing of Italian businessman Pasquale Cataldi (pictured above), who has a real estate business, Altus, based in Florence and the challenge was to be under the aegis of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Possible Maltese government funding had also been part of the formula, but with the money not in place the Royal Malta YC are…

A new race round the world for Class 40s has been announced. Devised by Manfred Ramspacher, who organises the Normandy Channel Race, the Globe 40 is to be a two-handed race beginning in France in July 2021, with eight legs dipping the fleet in and out of the Southern Ocean, stopping in New Zealand and rounding Cape Horn, but also coming north to Mauritius and French Polynesia. It is not the first global event for this popular and numerous class. In 2011/2, the Global Ocean Race was run for Class 40s and won by German Boris Herrmann, but many observers felt these yachts were too small for the longer Southern Ocean legs. Ramspacher’s variation on the course hopes to temper the traditional highlights of a southern route with a route…

I hunkered down behind Ecover 2’s coachroof, shielding from the freezing easterly and the driving Biscay spray. Supping tea, I was studying our chart plot and the 70 mile routing to Les Sable d’Olonne, the finish of the 2004/5 Vendée Globe. As I sat there the latest positions arrived and pinged onto the chart, Vincent Riou and PRB were close to finishing with Jean le Cam on Bonduelle not far behind – I was resigned to finishing the Vendée in third place. A few days earlier the three of us arrived to the west of Biscay, tacked together and began the final run to the finish. It was clear Vincent Riou and Cam, positioned more north, had the better leverage – but you never know. Race finishes often throw up…

PRIVILEGE SERIE 5 A true luxury catamaran which, fully fitted out, will top €1m, this deserves to be seen alongside the likes of the Oyster 575, Gunfleet 58 and Hallberg-Rassy 55. It boasts a large cockpit and living area, and a light and spacious saloon with an emphasis on indoor-outdoor living, masses of refrigeration and a big galley. Standout features are finish quality and solid build in a yacht designed to take a high payload, a secure walkaround deck and all-round views from the helm station. The new 510 that will replace this launches in February 2020. GUNFLEET 43 It was with this Tony Castro design that Richard Matthews, founder of Oyster Yachts, launched a brand new rival brand in 2012, the smallest of a range stretching to the flagship…

CATANA 47 A three or four cabin catamaran that’s fleet of foot with high bridgedeck clearance for comfortable motion at sea. With tall daggerboards and carbon construction in some high load areas, Catana cats are light and quick to accelerate. SWEDEN YACHTS 45 An established bluewater design that also features in plenty of offshore races. Some examples are spec’d with carbon rig and retractable bowsprits. All have a self-tacking jib for ease. Expect sweeping areas of teak above decks and a traditionally wooded interior with hanging wet locker. SWAN 51 A vintage performer, first launched in 1981, the 51 was the first Frers designed Swan and marked a new era of iconic cruiser-racers. Some 36 of the 51 were built, many still actively racing and cruising nearly 40 years on.…

I often chat with prospective bluewater cruisers at boat shows and seminars and am frequently asked: “What is the best boat for the trip?” This is an impossible question to answer, since so much depends on the attitudes and ambitions (and budget!) of the person asking. So, how do I reply to this tricky question? Firstly, in my view there are no bad boats these days; builders would go bust if they made bad boats. However, people considering bluewater cruising really do need to understand that not all boats are the same, and that different types are optimised for specific types of sailing. Catamarans for example, have seen a huge growth over recent years. They offer acres of living space, easy access to swim platforms and dinghies, and are ideal…

In September 2004, Bruce Halabisky and Tiffany Loney sailed from Victoria BC bound for Hilo, Hawaii, in their 1952 Atkin-designed 34ft gaff cutter Vixen. Eleven years later they have two daughters as crew and have received the coveted Blue Water Medal of the Cruising Club of America for their circumnavigation. Their website is www.vixensvoyage.com and a visit is a tonic in a world grown cynical for many under the pressures of modern materialism. The boat herself is entirely individual, making the family immediately recognisable in any anchorage, but she does more than that. She is an advertising hoarding for the happiness that grows from keeping life simple. Technically, she is a throwback to an earlier, more innocent age, but lest anyone should imagine she is diminished by this, a read…

What is it? Super stretchy lightweight wetsuit designed for warm weather sailing and watersports Who is it for? Dinghy sailors, but also ideal for windsurfing, standup paddleboarding and any other watersports where you’d like a bit more warmth than a rash vest and shorts £199.95 Nobody enjoys putting on a wetsuit, and not just because it means you’re about to get into cold water. Traditionally donning even a summer weight suit means putting on uncomfortably stiff neoprene that requires double-jointed elbows in order to do up the back zip, and is often unpleasantly restrictive around the neck. The new generation of super-stretchy skiff-style suits has changed all that. Originating from high performance dinghy sailing where ergonomic fit and flexibility were more important than overall insulation, the latest suits are incredibly…

The EAGLE CLASS 53 is a wingmasted cruising catamaran designed to fly on T-foils Not everything that flies is destined to scorch around an America’s Cup course. The future for sailing hydrofoils is surely about more than just racing. At least, that was the view of one owner who, having witnessed the America’s Cup foiling catamarans, saw a big opportunity. “I’ve worked as a skipper for yacht owner Donald Sussman for 16 years,” says Tommy Gonzalez. “When he saw the foiling Cup boats he knew that this was what he wanted to have a go at. “He is not interested in racing himself, he wanted to go cruising, but cruising on foils. He saw what had been created and believed that this had practical potential. Put simply he said: ‘I…

In April I returned from the International Multihull Boat Show at La Grande Motte, near Montpellier in southern France, on a high, thanks to the plethora of exciting new launches for this season. As inviting as these multihulls are, they produce an even larger carbon footprint than monohulls so the eco warrior in me was particularly pleased to discover two new brands that rely on recyclable materials (see overleaf). As well as introducing the latest designs and a feature about preparing for that dream trip across the Pacific, this issue of Multihulls contains invaluable tips for dealing with heavy weather. The techniques that pro helmsman Brian Thompson and South African cat designer Alex Simonis share make for instructive reading for all, and particularly for those yet to build up their…

With a fleet that will be headed by giant Ultime trimarans and one of the largest gatherings of the latest IMOCA 60s, the Rolex Fastnet Race in August is shaping up to be a classic. The biennial race from Cowes to the Fastnet rock and back to Plymouth has over 300 entries this year. It is one of the most popular challenges for pros and amateurs alike. Among the teams taking part is a crew from the Greig City Academy in London, racing the old Admiral’s Cupper Scaramouche. The Academy’s crew of teenaged pupils earned a huge following after their success in the 2017 Fastnet, and Scaramouche is back with a new crew this year. Many others are using the race to raise funds. They include top British solo sailor…

Given the choice which would you prefer? To pit yourself against the best in the world, or to lock horns with those of a similar ability It’s a debate that has always split opinions. For some, lining up against highly decorated sailors is a buzz in itself. You know you’re unlikely to beat them, especially those who have been products of the 10,000-hour theory (the commonly quoted figure for achieving elite performance status), but racing alongside to see how they sail, how fast they are and to occasionally get close – or even beat them – can be a clear indication of how you rank in the big picture. It’s good to know where you stand. On the other hand, knowing you’ll never get anywhere near the silverware can be…

DISCOVERY 55 BRIZO This yacht has already circumnavigated the globe. ‘Prepared for her next adventure,’ says broker Berthon. Price: £535,000 + VAT OYSTER 575 AYESHA ‘Stunning, and perfectly equipped for bluewater cruising,’ says broker Ancasta International. Price £845,000 (tax not paid) OYSTER 575 PEARLS OF NAUTILUS Nearly new and with a high spec she features American white oak joinery and white leather upholstery and has a shoal draught keel. From Oyster Yachts Brokerage. Price: US$1.49m…

NAUTITECH OPEN 46 This was the first Nautitech catamaran to be built under the ownership of Bavaria, designed with an open plan bridgedeck and cockpit for free-flowing living space. But with good pace for eating up bluewater miles, and aft twin helms rather than a flybridge, the Nautitech Open 46 also appeals to monohull sailors who prefer a more direct sailing experience. LEOPARD 45 Made by Robertson and Caine, who produce catamarans under a dual identity as both Leopard and the Sunsail/Moorings charter cats, the Leopard 45 is set to be another big seller. Reflecting its charter DNA, the Leopard 45 is voluminous, with stepped hulls for reduced waterline, and a separate forward cockpit. Built in South Africa, they are robustly tested off the Cape and constructed ruggedly enough to…

Futuna Exploration 54 Another aluminium design with a swinging centreboard and a solid enclosed pilothouse with protected cockpit area. There’s a chunky bowsprit and substantial transom arch to house all manner of electronics and power generation. Previous boats have been spec’d for North West Passage crossings with additional heating and engine power, although there’s a carbon rig option for those that want a touch of the black stuff. The tanks are capacious, with 1,000lt capability for both fresh water and fuel.…

Bente looked at how they could build a boat most efficiently and economically with its first 24, while this 39 has a more lowvolume, semi-custom approach. It is reportedly aiming to build five to ten a year and had sold six at the time of our test. Bente shares a part of the Judel Vrolijk office in Bremerhaven and subcontracts its builds to Yacht Services in Poland, laminating specialists 5km from the German border used by many other brands including Eagle daysailers. And the name? Bente is the wife of one of the design team, who said she wouldn’t go aboard the 24 if there was no heads. So from then on each idea had to pass the ‘Bente’ test.…

Solo night watches are part of cruising life and the experience can be heaven or hell in equal amounts. The responsibility of being in charge at night can be stressful and exhausting, but often countered by moments of exquisite beauty such as experiencing a star-strewn sky, or a wake of phosphorescence. Here are my tips for making the night pass safely and stress-free. • Staying awake. Trying desperately not to fall asleep while every minute seems to last an hour is a feeling most of us will have experienced on night watch. In this state we are of little use on deck – extreme tiredness affects decision making and the ability to focus your vision, among other side-effects, so just pushing yourself through torturous night watches is not good for…

Vaan R4 Vaan is aiming to build a ‘cabriolet’ catamaran with a difference and the Dutch company is taking a principled stance on using recycled and sustainable materials. The hull is built of aluminium – more than half of which used to be drinks cans, road signs and window frames. The decks are in FSC-approved ‘teak look’ cork, and the upholstery is made from a range of bio fabrics (pineapple leaves, for instance) and recycled yarn from old jeans. The yard itself uses renewable energy and offsets third party emissions caused on its behalf. Don’t think for a moment that the design of the boat suffers for this focus, however. She is carefully conceived by founder Igor Kluin (who had some help from J Class supremos Dykstra Naval Architects) to…