Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Yachting World

Maintaining the tradition that the America’s Cup is as much about the machinations off the water as the racing on it, Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand and Challenger of Record Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team have been embroiled in an angry exchange over race areas. Following a request by Luna Rossa, an arbitration panel has ruled that two of the most shore-side race areas should be removed from the race schedule. Luna Rossa lodged an objection after discovering that the B and C course areas couldn’t be used for the round robins and semifinals of the Challengers selection series, even though they were designated as the preferred courses for the final match. This, they believed, was in breach of Rule 3.1 of the America’s Cup Protocol, which specifies that all…

A new double-handed round the world race for Class 40s being planned for 2023 has secured over €2m of sponsor funding and also promises a twist — it will demonstrate that competitive race yachts can be recycled. The Race Around will incorporate a Futures Program, with the goal of researching and sharing materials that reduce carbon emissions, and building a yacht to compete and then be recycled at the end of the race. The multi-stage event will start in September 2023 from France and stop in Cape Town, New Zealand, race around Cape Horn to stop in Rio, then return to Europe “hopefully to finish in the UK,” explains co-founder Sam Holliday. A contract has been signed for over 50% of the race budget of €4.2m, he says. The sponsor…

Experienced ocean racer Dee Caffari and 22-year-old James Haradya, a keelboat racer and offshore neophyte, teamed up this year to race the SunFast 3300 Gentoo, going on to win the IRC Two-Handed Nationals by narrowly beating Richard Palmer and Olympian Shirley Robertson. The fleet was packed with talent, being one of the few able to meet social distancing rules, and because a Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat class is under consideration for the Paris Olympics in 2024. “The nice thing about double-handed is you are covering for each other. It’s a real buzz, but it does take you back," said Caffari.…

A race like no other The 2020 Vendée Globe start was the most unusual the race has ever seen: we find out how the 33 skippers fared when they exchanged France in lockdown for the Atlantic in winter On test: Bavaria C42 The first new yacht since Bavaria was rescued from administration, this is a big, bold Cossutti design – the first Bavaria with chines. It’s a lot of boat for the money, but how does it compare and perform, asks Toby Hodges? How to sell your boat Whether you want to upgrade, or a different boat would now suit you better, you need to secure the best price if you sell your yacht. Terysa Vanderloo shares tips and advice to smooth the process The unstoppable ARC Elaine Bunting reports…

Forty days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds: that is the time that will be embedded in the psyche of crews challenging for the Jules Verne trophy this winter. The clock will mercilessly count down 983 hours as they attempt the near-impossible: to beat Francis Joyon’s blistering time set on Idec Sport three years ago; to become the first foiling trimarans to fly around the world; and maybe, just maybe, to break the incredible 40-day barrier. The odds are stacked against them. Thomas Coville, skipper of Sodebo, says the chance of success is “only 20 to 25%”. Charles Caudrelier, co-skipper of rival challenger Gitana 17, ranks his fortunes similarly. “I was surprised, I think the statistics are very optimistic, and in the statistics the boats never break, but it’s…

The North Sea is all right if you like that sort of thing, but what with wind farms, gas rigs and shipping lanes it’s not what it was when a sailor could walk across it on the backs of the herring shoals. In recent years my wife, Ros, and I have taken to cruising Scandinavia, and rather than face the 600-mile trip each way, we’ve been keeping our American cutter Constance in Denmark. As it happens, a lay-up in Augustenborg Yachthavn’s climatecontrolled shed costs less than leaving the boat weeping in the drizzle on a patch of dirty gravel back home. Anders and his men handle her as if she were their own and it’s two easy days to drive to the boat from the south of England with the…

Where we tested: Firth of Clyde, Scotland Conditions: 2-10 knots, flat water Model: threecabin layout with electronics and deck gear upgrades and Ullman Fiberpath sails A few decades ago having a supercar was a real status symbol, a prominent way of shouting ‘look at me!’. Times and trends have changed, as has, arguably, the appetite for such ostentation. So why, I wondered, would a 70-year-old shipyard with a well-regarded product line need to turn to Porsche for the design of its new flagship? Over the years we’ve seen various car manufacturers and designers get involved with yacht design, yet few stand out for their success. However, as I was to find out with this new GT6, the relationship between Elan and Porsche runs deeper than simply exploiting a name for…

LOA 22.00m 72ft 2in • LWL 15.90m 52ft 2in • BEAM 4.80m 15ft 9in • DRAUGHT 3.10m 10ft 2in DISPLACEMENT 23,000kg 50,700lb • PRICE TBA • www.spirityachts.com The latest model in build at Spirit Yachts is breaking new ground for this innovative East Coast UK yard in a number of areas. The boat will be configured to suit the owner’s specific requirements for fast cruising, racing and chartering in the Mediterranean. A key request was for the displacement to be as light as possible, with the result this will be the first Spirit design with carbon used to reinforce the engineered timber/epoxy structure. The laminated sipo mahogany ring frames are reinforced with carbon instead of stainless steel, while the veneered khaya hull planking has a layer of carbon applied on…

NEMESIS DISPLAYS Our expectations of data displays, whether for racing or cruising, are changing rapidly. B&G’s new Nemesis line of displays reflects this and offers flexible, clear readouts that can be used for a multitude of parameters. These can be selected using a ‘drag and drop’ editor that also allows users to adjust the size and colour of each number. The system can be set up to automatically display different data for various points of sail, including upwind, reaching, downwind and pre-start context modes. B&G’s SailSteer display can also be shown, as can the output from IP cameras. An individual display can be controlled either from its touchscreen or from an Apple Watch. Initially 9in and 12in units suitable for mounting in portrait or landscape modes, either at the mast…

Les Voiles de St Tropez hosted one of the only international regattas of 2020 in late September and early October, when 150 yachts and 2,000 sailors gathered for two weeks of mixed conditions off the famous backdrop of the boutique fishing village. Although this is only half the normal fleet, and crew sizes were down to a minimum, at least the 22nd edition of Les Voiles went ahead. And with the 20 Maxis and two schooners separated from the rest of the fleet, the race committee could use a start line off the harbour’s Tour du Portalet, which helped ensure some stunning pictures. Here the bowman of the 51-footer Marga contends with a tricky headsail change. Marga was designed to the 10m Rule in Sweden in 1910 by CO Liljegre,…

While boat shows around the world have been cancelled this summer and autumn, boot Düsseldorf is still on track to go ahead in January with 90% of its usual exhibitors. The world’s largest indoor marine show, and the single biggest gathering of boats, takes place in over 17 huge halls and the sheer scale of this custom-built exhibition centre has been its saviour. The show will run from 23-31 January 2021 and has bookings from 756 exhibitors, including 112 new exhibitors. The case for a safe running of the show was demonstrated in September when the Düsseldorf centre successfully ran a large caravan show attracting 107,000 visitors, and boot Düsseldorf project director Petros Michelidakis has been working hard on a formula that can go ahead as near normally as possible.…

Organisers of The Ocean Race have confirmed the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe is scheduled to start in late spring or early summer of 2021. The new event will see both foiling IMOCA 60s and one-design VO65s race from the North Atlantic coast of Europe into the Mediterranean over a five-leg course, with host cities to be announced. “The Ocean Race Europe, scheduled to run over the month of June, fits well in the racing calendar in 2021 and provides our teams with competitive, meaningful racing next year, adding continuity to their racing programmes,” said Johan Salén, managing director of The Ocean Race. Thomas Ruyant, skipper of the IMOCA 60 LinkedOut said: “I like the idea of having a new, fully-crewed, competitive event to look forward to following…

Spending an entire season without using a changing room has felt like a true return to grass roots sailing. Yet getting changed under a surfer’s poncho in a car park, standing on a blue IKEA carrier bag, isn’t really that bad and it’s amazing how much quicker you get back on the road with no changing room banter or bar talk to distract you. Perhaps it’s the future? The fact is that getting back on the water has meant adapting to the current situation, minimising the risk of infection and thinking about the new normal. In unexpected ways, the crisis has been of benefit to some sailing clubs who’ve seen big returns in the numbers of members who show up for evening or weekend races. There has been some creative…

Every summer, Simon Currin and his wife, Sally, spend six or seven weeks cruising. In 2015, they left Scotland in their Swedish-built CR 480DS and in the summers since they have sailed to the Faeroes, north-east Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. When they hauled their boat out in Canada at the end of last year, they thought they’d be back for a leisurely cruise along the eastern seaboard of the US this summer. It never happened, and they’re not sure when they will next be able to get on board their yacht, let alone make longer sailing plans. “Until the provincial travel restrictions in Nova Scotia are lifted we can’t set foot on our boat,” Currin says. “We are hoping to get back next June, but with a new…

LOA 13.71m 45ft 0in • BEAM 4.01m 13ft 2in • DRAUGHT (keel down) 2.79m 9ft 1in • www.mcmnewport.com Timber and epoxy composite construction is well proven as an excellent option for one-off builds, combining high stiffness with low weight, reasonable cost and appealing finishes. It therefore continues to be an attractive choice, and one that is increasingly combined with carbon to improve material qualities without detracting from aesthetics. This is the route taken for this 45-footer currently under construction in New England for a well known and very experienced owner, who has had yachts built in the past to compete in iconic races such as Marblehead-Halifax, Newport-Bermuda and Key West Race Week. The boat will primarily be used for day sailing, and occasional weekending with two couples, but the brief…

LOA 20.05m 65ft 8in • BEAM 5.51m 18ft 1in • DRAUGHT 2.90-4.40m 9ft 6in-14ft 5in • DISPLACEMENT 17,500kg 38,600lb • SAIL AREA 257m2 2,765ft2 • www.adriasail.it This Harry Miesbauer design is a gorgeous beast of a big racer/cruiser. Launched this year, it was built with careful control to avoid unnecessary weight and clearly provides enormous power, recently ripping along at over 28 knots under a single reef and jib. It’s also proven a successful IRC racer, winning line honours and class on corrected time in her first 200- mile offshore race. On the other hand, a comprehensive system of hydraulics also allows the boat to be easily tamed when sailing with a reduced crew in cruising mode The lifting keel reduces draught from a hefty 4.4m to a more manageable…

SWAN 65 EVRIKA • WHEN TO TURN BACK • MAKE WINNING DECISIONS Practice sailing with a drogue – or a temporary drogue fashioned from a bucket, chain or anchor – to see how much control you have Windvane auxiliary rudders are many skippers’ first line of defence against autopilot or steering failures Steering issues fall firmly into the ‘things you never want to happen’ list, but they are not unknown. Around 5% of the ARC fleet reported steering issues over the 2017-2019 rallies, that’s about ten incidents per year. They also tend to occur with little warning, and can be tricky to fix – as I discovered when we had to make emergency repairs to the steering system mid-Atlantic. In December 2018 I was taking a 43ft monohull across on…

Offshore doubles A new Offshore Doubles Sailing Association was launched in October and saw over 1,000 people sign up in its first two weeks. This non-profit association aims to ensure the Olympic Offshore Mixed Doubles class keeps its place for Paris 2024. Visit www.offshoredoubles.org Swan’s 360° experience Nautor’s Swan held its first ‘Swan Experience’ in Tuscany in October, which included the Swan One Design Worlds regatta. The yard’s complete current range was exhibited at Nautor’s Marina di Scarlino alongside the regatta – described by vice-president Enrico Chieffi as “the full 360° Experience”. First foiling electric powerboat series The world’s first electric powerboat championship, the UIM E1 World Electric Powerboat Series, has been launched featuring futuristic foiling boats. The ‘RaceBirds’ will be driven by single pilots and are capable of speeds…

A 15-year-old schoolboy became the youngest person to sail solo round Britain in October. Tim Long, from Aylesbury, sailed back into the Solent on his Impala 28 Alchemy, two-and-a-half months and 1,600 miles after leaving Hamble. “The idea first came to me two years ago and I was thinking of things that would be an adventure and would push my limits and make me a better sailor,” Long told us. He originally planned the voyage in a Hunter 19 but found it too small and worried that an outboard engine could be unreliable. So he sold the boat and, with the help of mum and dad, bought the larger Impala. “It allowed me to do it more efficiently and a bit quicker; half a knot quicker makes a big difference,”…

It may be one of the world’s most austere course marks, but the Fastnet lighthouse is going to be a busy place next year, as two rival ocean events square up to race around it. Next summer, the Plymouth Lonely Rock Race and Rolex Fastnet Race will run within five weeks of each other – the former on 4 July 2021 and the latter on 8 August. The 500-mile Plymouth Lonely Rock Race is the creation of the Royal Western Yacht Club. Last year, the club responded to the RORC’s decision to take the biennial Fastnet Race finish to France by launching its own two-yearly Lonely Rock Race, starting from Cowes, rounding the Rock and returning to Plymouth. On its first edition this summer, however, it was hit by COVID-19…

More often than not when Pelagic Australis is in Cape Town for her annual refit, we’re docked at right angles to one of the elegant locally-built Southern Wind Shipyard yachts. They share the same pontoon berth for their commissioning. This September it was with the impressive Farr-designed Southern Wind 96. Southern Wind and Pelagic know each other well and I like to refer to this mating of opposites as the ‘beauty and the beast.’ There are no comparisons worth making, but we often like to stare at each other in wonderment. We comment politely on the attributes of these two chalk and cheese yachts; one a belt and braces practical workhorse, the other a cutting edge technological emporium and objet d’art. Always interested in our somewhat unusual features, many of…

We couldn’t have picked a more miserable day to go out for our first sail on Aventura Zero. As we left the marina, grey skies hung low over the bay of La Grande Motte and it felt more like being in the North West Passage than the south of France. But once the sails were up, Aventura, a bespoke version of the Outremer 45, came alive and the magic took over. As I took hold of the wheel, I felt a surge of mixed emotions: excitement, satisfaction, but above all a great relief that my complex and challenging project has become reality. I also felt 30 years younger. Barely a year ago I realised that my active years were soon going to be over, and I ought to do something…

LOA 13.40m 44ft 0in • BEAM 3.80m 12ft 6in • DRAUGHT 2.00m 6ft 6in • DISPLACEMENT 10,700kg 23,500lb • SAIL AREA 100m2 1,072ft2 • www.stephenswaring.com and www.vandamboats.com This Stephens Waring-designed 44-footer may appear to have very classic lines, but these conceal a lightweight and fast underwater profile. Drawn out counter and raked bow apart, what you get is a modern, flat-ish, low wetted surface hull form that has far more in common with a J/70 than with a traditional, heavy wooden yacht. Add very efficient modern keel and rudder shapes to the mix and you get a boat that will surprise many with her speed, especially to windward. Ballast is concentrated in the lower part of the fin and the bulb, leaving the upper section of the fin free to…

What is it? An 8kW plug-and-play hydrogen fuel cell conceived as a range extender for electric propulsion or as a silent stand-alone generator for larger yachts Who’s it for? Early adopters looking to gain the benefits of this innovative carbon-free technology Nearly a decade ago there was plenty of talk about hydrogen power becoming the carbon-free future for the automotive industry, yet we rarely hear about it now. So what happened? There are a number of reasons, including lower initial costs for battery powered vehicles in the early part of the electric vehicle revolution, and the high cost of platinum needed as a catalyst for fuel cells, which put the brakes on their adoption. However, there are currently huge environmental and human costs in mining the cobalt used in lithium…

A track on Pink Floyd’s famous The Division Bell album had the working title Evrika (it was instead called Wearing the Inside Out) From the family archives: Gala Wright, daughter of Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, with Evrika’s resident parrot, Jakob EVRIKA is an S&S Swan 65 with a rock’n’roll past, which has been restored in preparation for the 2023 Ocean Globe Race Evrika got her name from Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician who discovered the basis of water displacement. Legend has it that when Archimedes noticed the level of his bathwater rise as he got in, he realised he had discovered a way of calculating volume. In his excitement, he is said to have run through the streets naked shouting ‘Eureka!’ (pronounced ‘evrika’) literally meaning ‘I’ve found it’. It…

‘When you saw the size of the wing, it was totally amazing’ THOMAS COVILLE NOMINATES USA 17 “I’d have loved to sail on the America’s Cup AC72 cats in San Francisco in 2013, they were so invigorating. Those boats were when Larry Ellison just let free in the America’s Cup and pushed the limits. But perhaps even cooler was the big trimaran challenger, USA 17 [in 2010]. When you saw the size of the wing and the size of Jimmy Spithill steering the boat, and flying on one hull, I think it was totally amazing. “We should give a medal to the generation who was on the America’s Cup in San Francisco for creating so many new ideas and new dynamics, but for me the first step of sailing by…