Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Yachting World

There’s a curious inversion that often happens with bluewater cruising: the further and more remote sailors go, the fewer people they tend to take with them. So couples who loaded their yachts to the gunwales with crew and all their accoutrements before crossing the Atlantic on the ARC frequently cheerfully report back about how they’re since covered thousands of miles across the Pacific double-handed, or tackled challenging off-grid cruising in southeast Asia between just the two of them. There are a multitude of reasons why that happens of course, from reduced shipping traffic to increased knowledge and confidence. But it also reflects that what many couples fear or dread before going sailing – being alone with only their partner for company – turns out, in fact, to be not just…

British kiteboarder Jake Scrace has set a new Guinness World Record for the highest kitesurf tow-up, soaring 1,587ft above the Needles, Isle of Wight. Scrace was pulled skyward by paramotor pilot Chey Anich before cutting loose at altitude and gliding back down to the sea. The stunt was months in the making and carried out with a 30-strong crew including safety divers and film specialists. “It was the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on,” Scrace said. “Up there, it was about trusting the team, the conditions, and just going for it. The sense of freedom was incredible and I’m buzzing that we got the record on the first attempt. “I’m already thinking about what the next stunt could be and where we can go with it.” World is their Oyster…

The Newport Bermuda Race, organised by the Cruising Club of America with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, has upgraded its safety requirements to include a mandatory keel and rudder inspection. An ‘appropriately qualified person’ must complete both an internal (in-water is acceptable) and external (out-of-water) structural inspection, including keel attachment points, steering systems, external indicators such as stress cracks, and checking of lifting/swing keels. A thorough report into the loss of two boats during the 2024 race highlighted steering system failure as a contributing factor to the abandonment of Alliance (pictured above).…

Rules for a reason Editor’s note: Our report on the Rolex Fastnet Race (October issue) touched on a port-starboard incident between two boats in IRC 1: Celeste and Bedouin. Bedouin was disqualified following a protest after the finish (Celeste gaining one place). The tactician and navigator on board Celeste has added his account of the incident with the following details: In very simple terms, Bedouin had made a better start than us and it took us the length of the western Solent to catch her. We had three close port and starboard crossings as we travelled west from inshore near Yarmouth. On the first we waived Bedouin through on port across our bows; the second was just past the Narrows and Bedouin responded to our starboard hail and tacked under…

For many cruising couples the liveaboard life is a shared ambition worked and saved towards for years, before setting off together, alone. For others, the decision to sail two-up is an evolution, borne of an increase in skill and knowledge, and the desire to reclaim peace and privacy on board after sailing with crew. But expectation and reality do not always align, so how do you ensure the experience matches the vision you both held? We canvassed dozens of cruisers on how to run a happy ship for two. Many knew couples whose relationship did not survive living aboard. All had strategies to avoid the same pitfalls, and generously shared their advice. WHO KNOWS MORE? Few of our cruising couples had similar levels of sailing experience as each other initially.…

When ocean sailors are quizzed about their voyages, the most common question they are asked is: “Were you ever scared?” Harry Anderson insists he was not, but when he had to crawl forward and fix a broken genoa furling line alone in the Drake Passage amid storm force winds and seas, he realised he was chillingly vulnerable. “Going south had been easy, but going north was a disaster,” he recalls. “There was a lot of fog. A huge storm came between Cape Horn and 60°S so I put in a bit of westing and heaved to, to wait out the storm. But I lost out the westing and I just had to start to cross. “It was the most challenging time, trying to fix the broken line and furl the…

Neo 620 Roma (& 460 Competizione) LOA 18.59m 61ft 0in • Beam 5.30m 17ft 5in • Draught 4.50m 14ft 9in • Displacement 13,500kg 29,762lb • 620 Roma €2.1m ex VAT • 460 Competizione €750,000 ex VAT • neoyachts.com The red bandit. This rocketship is the second Carkeek design for Italian carbon cognoscenti Neo Yachts. The Neo 620 is its new flagship, which will muscle into the competitive mini-maxi arena. It’s an evolution of the 570 we featured a couple of years ago (check out the video tour), and continues to sport Carkeek’s distinctive chamfered topsides, which run into a reverse sheerline, a stealth bomber-style shape first seen on racing machines such as Ràn. The 620 has various layout options, primarily adding a third heads compartment compared to its smaller sister,…

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A brutal opening stage with more tough conditions to follow for the 32 solo sailors who were racing three 600-mile-plus offshore legs in this year’s La Solitaire du Figaro. As we went to press Alexis Loison was confirmed as the overall winner – his first victory after 19 attempts in this notoriously hard to win event. This follows Loison’s win in the Rolex Fastnet Race earlier this year. Photo by Thomas Capion A rapid retreat for the bowman aboard Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s ClubSwan 80 as My Song jousts its way through the Sardinian swell. Racing was spirited at this year’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo with Mistral winds, two world titles on offer, elite level competition and some testing conditions.…

Paul Cayard – America’s Cup and Whitbread Round the World Race veteran, and all-round US sailing legend – has won his second Star World Championships, 37 years after his first. Cayard, 66, won the 2025 World Championships in Split, Croatia, with crew Frithjof Kleen (GER), beating a 101-boat fleet in a high-tension finish that saw them fight from 14th to 11th place in the final race, finally claiming the title by 3 points. “Big emotions for sure,” said a visibly moved Paul Cayard at the dock. “You know, it’s really hard to believe. We made it very difficult on ourselves, and of course that’s kind of the way I do things. But we stuck together through the tough times. “It’s surreal to win 37 years after my first title. With…

It doesn’t take much to trigger a reaction in the America’s Cup and change is a very efficient catalyst for stirring up a response. Be that modifying the nationality rules, or moving from human generated power to electro/hydraulic grunt, or perhaps the suggestion that AI will be used for sail trim and foil control – some will love it, others will hate it. My experience of the public debate is that neither side will hold back. So when a key deadline was missed for the 38th Cup cycle as a crucial agreement failed to attract the appropriate signatures by 9 September, the criticism that followed was inevitable. Aside from the detail, the core concern is that the nature of the Cup is being changed fundamentally. But then in 174 years…

Seen one Caribbean island, seen them all? Not at all: the region offers amazing diversity, from incredible habitats to vibrant cultures. For many cruisers the Caribbean is an extended stopover destination – a delightful cruising ground for one season, often en route from Europe to the Pacific, or as the highlight of the Atlantic Circuit. But if you look closer, there are many opportunities to stay longer. The hurricane season from June to December effectively cuts the Caribbean cruising year in two, between blissful sailing in winter and spring, and the need to store your yacht in a safe place for six months. This is when many cruisers either fly home or travel inland to memorable places within reach, for instance Central or South America. The six safe cruising months…

Where: Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands Wind: 8-12 knots, flat water Model tested: Hull No2 Vaan is an emerging Dutch brand creating a new generation of markedly different catamarans. Travel 20 miles from the historic city centre of Rotterdam, on through Europe’s largest commercial port, and you’ll reach the peaceful little town of Hellevoetsluis where Vaan is based. Founded in 2018 by Igor Kluin and Nienke Van Klooster, the company is located on the banks of the Haringvliet, an inland basin separated from the North Sea by a lock. The site offers ideal enclosed waters for testing, but above all a space for long-term development – Vaan has already reserved a large part of the technical area of the marina, and a brand-new building is ready to accommodate up to three boats under…

It wasn’t long ago that even ambitious cruising yachts had only the bare minimum in electrical systems. Navigation lights, a VHF radio, perhaps an electric windlass and a single GPS plotter were about as sophisticated as things got. Power demands were modest, and we managed with a decent-sized battery bank, topped up now and then by the engine alternator. Modern cruisers are a different story. Today’s yachts are expected to run fridges, freezers, laptops, and autopilots as standard. These place a heavy drain on the house battery bank. Add in watermakers, air conditioning, or even induction hobs, and you’re into the realm of AC power demands as well. This is where a generator can become essential. Not only can it keep your batteries charged without prolonged engine use, it also…

Lithium batteries are game-changing technology, but are they so sophisticated that they need special treatment? A recent guidance note issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency outlines key safety points for the installation of lithium batteries on yachts. Resilient to heavy loads, longer lasting, smarter and, some would argue, cheaper over the long term; lithium battery technology is now becoming more mainstream on yachts. Used not only for house batteries, lithium also powers propulsion on some new models. Many cruisers now have capacity to live aboard a yacht in a similar way to a house, with far less power restriction. The MCA recently issued a guidance note on lithium battery installation (MGN 550 – available online) to give a framework for best practice. While the advice leans towards commercially coded…

Can you really ‘futureproof’ a yacht? Refit decisions made today could shape not just your next season, but the next decade, or more, on board. Time in a boatyard rarely goes exactly to plan. Investigate beyond where you usually look and you’ll almost always uncover work that wasn’t expected. The trick is to turn that disruption into long-term value — tackling hidden jobs head-on and using time out of the water as an investment. The old rule of thumb still applies: buy well but only buy once. With a clear game plan and good guidance futureproofing can be one of the smartest refit strategies there is. OLD, BUT FAR FROM OUT To futureproof thoroughly, you need a good sounding board of expertise, like David Gabriel, the refit manager for Rustler…

Skipper Alexia Barrier and the all-female crew of the Famous Project have announced their plans to bid for a Jules Verne Trophy challenge this winter. The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded for the fastest non-stop, crewed, around the world voyage, and no all-female team has ever completed an attempt. Barrier’s team includes her second in command, British ocean racer Dee Caffari who has sailed around the world six times. They are joined by Volvo Ocean Race and IMOCA sailor Annemieke Bes (NED); multiple Olympic and world champion Tamara Echegoyen (ESP); ocean racer Rebecca Gmeur (SUI); up-and-coming British sailor Deborah Blair; and boat captain Molly Lapointe (USA/ITA). Barrier is a graduate of many French ocean racing classes, including the Mini 6.50, Figaro and Class40, and completed the 2020/21 Vendée Globe. “Before…

Guidance on inclusive language issued by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), the UK governing body for sailing, made headlines in September. Right-leaning British media outlets including The Telegraph newspaper and GB News picked up on the advice, with headlines proclaiming that the RYA had deemed ‘Man overboard an offensive term’, and decreed that ‘person in the water’ should be used instead. The advisory document, which was actually released in 2023, also suggested alternative terms for words including seamanship, sportsmanship, helmsman and ‘mother duties’. Critics of the guidance included MP Sir John Heyes, who declared it “brainless nonsense”. “This is at odds with the common sense of most seafarers over time, and many old sorts would be turning in their grave if they saw such balderdash,” he was quoted by The…

A bold new Boreal A true go-anywhere yacht: we sail Boreal’s new full-nosed 56-footer during some spicy autumnal conditions. Toby Hodges reports on how this scow-influenced aluminium exploration yacht performs. Dream sailing holidays: charter special Yacht charter has come a long way since the Greek flotilla, with more varied and interesting options than ever. We catch up on changes in the market, and where your dream sailing holiday could be. The curious ‘turtle’ boat One of the most eye-catching launches for years, the Tortue 147 cruising catamaran really breaks the mould. François Tregouet gets aboard to find out why it’s so radical. Maverick Mediterranean The latest Ocean Race Europe sent IMOCA skippers more used to battling the Southern Ocean on (relatively) short hops around Europe. Should be a breeze, right?…

Most people agree: skippers are responsible for the safety of the crew and the boat. But the job far exceeds keeping everyone alive and afloat. A good skipper also has to deliver an experience. One that aligns, at least partly, with the expectations of the crew. In my view, that’s the most overlooked and arguably the hardest part of skippering. For commercial skippers ‘experience provider’ is literally on the job description. Crew sign up to a defined trip, often with a detailed itinerary, and they pay for their place on board. The task is to keep a group of strangers safe, meet their expectations and finish on time. Sounds tough? It is. But it isn’t just a commercial skipper’s problem. Every crew, even friends and family, come aboard with expectations.…

‘We steered to Korea with a stiff wind on our nose’ The sea around us was filled with orange and yellow buoys, causing my imagination to go wild with visions of fouled propellers and angry aqua farmers. The markers rose and fell with the swell like a coloured carpet that glowed in the grey, rain-filtered light. Ahead of us, Jehoon Yee beckoned us to follow the route he was taking aboard his small yacht, Frog. “I hope he’s sure about this route. Look, that ferry is taking a different route through the farms,” I called to Fiona, who was standing on the bow for better visibility. I followed Frog’s stern as closely as I thought was safe, matching Jehoon’s every twist and turn as he led us through the gauntlet…

Ragtime is an iconic ocean racing yacht, and the original ‘ULDB’ or ultra-light displacement boat The restoration of an iconic racer, one that was so ground-breaking it helped create a whole genre of yachts, is no small undertaking. But that’s exactly what inadvertent owner Tina Roberts ploughed into headfirst with the two-year refit of Ragtime, the original ultra-light displacement boat from the land of the long white cloud. Designed and built single-handedly by New Zealander John Spencer for industrialist and racing driver Sir Tom Clark in 1963/64, Ragtime was launched as Infidel and was reputedly the largest hard chine plywood keelboat in the world. Infidel immediately upset the racing establishment, beating the Tercel brothers’ 60-footer Ranger, which had won nearly every race it sailed over three decades. So comprehensive were…

‘You’re screaming along, water pouring down the deck’ WILL OXLEY NOMINATES KINGFISHER/SKANDIA Asking WIll Oxley to pick the coolest yacht he’s ever sailed is a tough choice, as his list incudes Comanche, Sodebo Ultim, and the foil-assisted superyacht Raven. “It was quite a difficult decision,” he recalls, “but I thought back to all the sailing I’ve done, and some of the most fun I ever had was in 2005 with Brian Thompson in the Transat Jacques Vabre on board Skandia – which was, of course, more famous as Kingfisher.” Skandia was an Open 60 (now IMOCA) design by Owen Clarke built for Ellen MacArthur’s 2000 Vendée Globe campaign, in which she finished 2nd. The boat was later campaigned as Skandia by Nick Moloney, as well as Thompson and Oxley. The…