Indholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2017 i Cruising World

He has a way of touching everyone he meets,” Rich and Cyndi West, of the Catalina 38 Legacy, reminisced, wistfully. “Don’t be alarmed if you hear him howl. It’s just his way of letting you know he’s there.” Rich and Cyndi were not the first to insist we stop at Ilot Casy, an amazingly diverse ecosystem on a tiny island in New Caledonia. More than anything, we wanted to meet Ilot Casy’s irresistible 24/7 tour guide, Mouss, the island’s sole caretaker/resident/host — a friendly, fourfooted, tail-wagging dog. Viki Moore, of Astrolabe, filled us in on Mouss’ story: “Once upon a time, there was an island resort, and its caretaker had a puppy named Mouss. About 10 or so years ago, the resort closed down. The caretaker packed up his things…

Slowly gliding up a creek in a launcha (a small, open powerboat), we spotted howler monkeys overhead in the branches of a breadnut tree. Usually, their haunting cries were frightening enough to scare the dead, but that day the howlers were quietly lounging on limbs, snacking on fruit. Farther up the creek, we encountered a father-and-son team skimming silently across the water in a cayuco, or canoe. My husband, Ken, and I were visiting Guatemala’s Rio Dulce, or “sweet river.” It winds through cliffs and thick jungle for 20 miles, from its mouth in the Caribbean to the town of Fronteras, also known as Rio Dulce. It is a busy freshwater highway, and the focal point of life for those who live on its banks. The most common modes of…

It was in the mid-1990s that cruising catamarans truly began to populate the waterfront. It’s not that cats didn’t exist before that; they just weren’t being produced in the significant numbers we’ve seen in the past 20 years. At last fall’s Annapolis boat show, catamarans represented fully half of the new models in Cruising World’s 2017 Boat of the Year event, and at least three builders of those cats launch hundreds of new boats every year. If you’ve been watching this trend, as we have, you’ll recall that the layouts on earlier cruising cats hardly varied at all. Galley up, or galley down? After that choice, most cats followed a familiar pattern: helm to starboard at the coachroof bulkhead, mixed social and working cockpit, interior saloon on the bridgedeck, and…

For the designers and builders of cruising catamarans, the first question is often the most challenging: Where will we put the wheel? Some companies prefer mounting a single helm on a cockpit bulkhead, others choose twin steering stations outboard and well aft. Designer Chris White’s signature move is a forward wheel located right in the main cabin; in recent years, other manufacturers have opted for a raised driver’s platform utilizing a dedicated flybridge. It’s kind of confusing. The rule of thumb? There are no rules. About six years ago, the prolific French builder of cruising cats Lagoon introduced its 450, incorporating one of those flybridges, and it was a resounding success. Thus far, it’s built more than 600 of them. But not everyone loved it. So when it began making…

At the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, last fall, multihulls from South Africa bridged the spectrum from performance to luxury to charter to load-carrying cruising cat, with Royal Cape Catamarans’ Majestic 530 landing squarely in the cruiser category. The Royal Cape yard is located in Durban, where three dozen employees build each catamaran from the keels up. The company has been in business since 2004. The 530 we sailed is hull number 13. The boat is an evolution of a Van de Stadt-designed 45-footer whose molds were acquired and used to build first the Majestic 500 and now its 3-foot-longer sibling. The 530’s hulls, deck, six structural bulkheads and bimini are vacuum-bagged using isophthalic resin. The hulls are solid glass below the waterline and balsa-cored above, as are all…

PRACTICAL SOLUTION Sand TECHNIQUES PROJECTS The original saloon table on my Down East 45 schooner was a single heavy sheet of 4-inch-thick laminated plywood, 27 inches wide by 57 inches long. It was supported on two substantial aluminum pedestals locking into large, round collars into large, round collars There were two annoying problems with this structure: It was permanently mounted on the port side of the saloon,so people sitting on the starboard settee couldn’t reach the table. It was also diffi-cult to squeeze in and out of one end because the chart table bulkhead was in the way. It was a very large but also impractical table, so I decided to build myself a more versatail one that could seat more than just three people. My new design would have…

NEW TECHNOLOGY,REVIEWS and PRODUCTS for the CRUISING SAILOR Irrespective of one’s proclivity for onboard technology, there’s no denying the sea change that smartphones and tablets have brought to marine electronics. Thanks to their built-in GPS receivers, plentiful processing power, touch-screen graphical interfaces and cellular modems, these devices are virtually tailor-made for use as independent navigation systems when loaded with the right cartography app, and provided, of course, that cellular or Wi-Fiservice exists. I clearly remember the first few times that I used a Navionics chart app while sailing, amazed that I could privately explore alternative routings without causing agita at the nav station. But while everyone’s abuzz about their phone and iPad, a new generation of wearable technology has been quietly gathering speed and now offers sailors handsfree access to…

THE AMERICA’S CUP LIFTS OFF This month, the 35th running of the America’s Cup will commence on the waters of Bermuda’s Great Sound. From the spindly foil-borne, wing-sailed catamarans to the compact, stadium-style racecourse to the big-bucks high-end venue, it will be unlike any of the 34 Cups that preceded it. Five challenging teams assembled in Bermuda for the right to sail against Larry Ellison’s defending Oracle Team USA in the Cup finals: Artemis Racing from Sweden, Emirates Team New Zealand, Groupama Team France, Land Rover BAR from Great Britain and Softbank Team Japan. The ultimate challenger will be decided during the Louis Vuitton Qualifiers from May 26 to June 12. Once that spray has settled, the actual America’s Cup racing will be conducted over a best-of-13 race series beginning…

On April 1, the brigantine Matthew Turner — and a lifelong dream of her creator — was launched in San Francisco Bay Applause from an estimated 3,000 onlookers — along with music from the obligatory brass band — filled the balmy spring day as auxiliary vessels transferred Turner to the main Corps of Engineers pier, where she will be fitted out and finished off. She is expected to start sea trials this fall. Sometime after that, she will begin the mission for which she was created: introducing young people to the wonders, and importance, of the oceans. No one was savoring launch day more than Alan Olson, who conceived the idea to build this exact ship almost half a century ago. At 100 feet on deck, Turner is the largest…

Comfort. Performance. Ease-of-use. Good ergonomic flow. Ask several creators of new cruising catamarans what the original design concept was, and you’ll likely hear some repetition of the same short list of familiar themes. Yet when you look at the boats themselves, the results could hardly be more different. With that puzzle in mind, we identified four standout cats from this year’s fleet of new models, including three Boat of the Year winners, and we closely interviewed their creators to find out how each project moved from the germ of an idea through prototype to model launch — and how they arrived at such different boats. THE CATS AND THEIR CREATORS The four cruising catamarans in our group come from three continents. The U.S.-built Maine Cat 38 is conceived, designed, manufactured…

If you are looking at a new or used boat, one of the things you need to consider is the propulsion drive system. As one of Cruising World ’s Boat of the Year judges for the past decade or so, I’ve observed firsthand the proliferation of saildrives both in multihulls and monohulls. Of the 24 new boats we inspected during our 2017 Boat of the Year competition, only three had traditional shaft-drive systems. One had outboard engines, one had an electric-motor drive and the rest were all saildrives. This is all quite understandable from a boatbuilder’s perspective. Once a new hull mold is made or modified, it is much easier for a builder to install a saildrive, reducing labor costs considerably. Additionally, because the entire drive system is supplied by…

In South Africa, where some of the world’s top cruising catamarans are made, boatbuilder Duncan Lethbridge is nothing less than a legend. Lethbridge’s company, St. Francis Marine, began building cats in 1989, and many believe it was his inaugural 43-footer that opened the door for catamaran chartering in the Caribbean and the subsequent international boom in twinhulled cruising boats that followed (see cruisingworld.com/artisan-cats!). Later, in 2006, Lethbridge staked his claim as one of the planet’s best cat producers when his St. Francis 50 took top honors as the Best Cruising Catamaran in CW’s annual Boat of the Year contest. Now, a decade later, the company has resurfaced in the States with last fall’s introduction of an evolutionary design, the St. Francis 50 MK II. The tweaks have been subtle but,…

It doesn’t happen at every go-round, but occasionally, Cruising World ’s Boat of the Year judges are confronted with a sailboat that really can’t be compared to its peers but deserves top accolades nonetheless. At the U.S. Sailboat Show last fall, the Seawind 1190 Sport proved to be just such an entry, and so impressed the panel of experts with its execution and details that it was given the Judges’ Special Recognition Award. Compared to the more plush full-on cruisers being considered in the Catamarans Under 50 Feet category, the 1190 was different by design, which became readily apparent when comparing displacement- to-length ratios. Lighter boats are more easily driven and therefore theoretically more fun to sail. The 1190’s magic number was 136; the competition’s ranged from 171 to 191.…

“THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN.” That idea, from Ecclesiastes, was new just over 2,400 years ago. Woven cloth was new about 25,000 years ago. Polyester was invented in 1941, and since around 1950, woven polyester cross-cut sails have been the reigning technology on cruising sailboats around the world. (Racing sailboats are a different story.) 3Di Nordac technology, introduced this summer by North Sails and created for cruising sailors who truly want to sail, is something new under the sun. The Trouble with Weaving “The big difference between a good cruising main and a bad cruising main,” says North Sails CEO Dan Neri, “is the twist profile, where the top of the sail is the most open place on the sail. Then it’s progressively less open when you go…

When sailing west from Mexico last April, my husband and I left all the comforts of a visible coastline in our wake — no more fish tacos, no more chandleries, no more boatyards a block away. We were on our own. The first 16 days of our voyage across the Pacific to the Marquesas brought the myriad conditions ocean passagemaking is known for: 48-hour batches of 30-knot winds in 4-meter seas, doldrums and rabid squalls as we passed through the intertropical convergence zone, the temperamental region where weather systems from the Northern and Southern hemispheres collide. We spent our days hunkered down below or clearing flying fish from the decks, watching as the sun cooked through the salt-crusted brightwork or bullet-size raindrops gave Helios, our Island Packet 380, a shower.…

Ellen and Seth navigated Celeste through sea ice while approaching the polar ice pack, in search of wildlife. The frozen Arctic Ocean was a surreal experience. It’s not often that you get buzzed by a Coast Guard helicopter wondering what you could possibly be doing so far from civilization. But then, it’s rare to be sailing a wooden cutter toward the U.S.-Russia border in the Bering Sea in the first place. My husband, Seth, and I were a few miles away from the border — an imaginary but important line across the heaving, gray seas — on a cold, overcast day in July when the helicopter appeared. Our American voices blithely responding over the VHF that we were bound to Nome, Alaska, and thence to Barrow, to see the northernmost point of…

There is something about Maupiti, a tiny, little-known atoll in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. Its allure, its spirit, its location, its people, its vibe. Everybody who visits Maupiti loves it, and some even stay. But why? This is hard to explain, and doesn’t become clear, really, until you touch and have been touched by the captivating island yourself. Back in 1989, Bernadette Brennan, then deputy editor of Cruising World, chartered a Privilège 47 catamaran out of Raiatea and, as part of a team, sailed the boat over to remote and rarely visited Maupiti. Not many captains dared to venture into this reefstrewn lagoon, with its tricky unmarked pass. Bernadette might well have been the first person ever to write a sailing article about this mysterious and laid-back gem…

The trampoline on a cruising catamaran takes plenty of abuse from sun, salt and crewmembers’ feet, and over time this wears down the materials used for the trampoline and its attachment points. A regular inspection of the netting and its lashings should reveal any areas that need attention or replacement. If you own an older catamaran or put on lots of miles, especially in the tropics, where UV rays are at their peak, here are the trouble spots to look for. Most trampolines are manufactured with webbing or netting, and the constant UV exposure they are subjected to can cause the materials to age comparatively quickly. It’s often difficult to evaluate the strength and overall condition of a trampoline by age alone. Most will last five to seven years, but…

Let’s begin by saying the X5 catamaran from Xquisite Yachts, with its soaring cockpit arch, sweeping curves in the cabin top and array of windows, is at first glance, well, distinctive. But after spending an hour or so digging through the South African-built bluewater cruiser while it was tied to the dock at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, and another sailing it in a decent breeze on Chesapeake Bay, our team of Boat of the Year judges came up with a better description of the X5: Most Innovative. “It’s just really, really impressive the number of seagoing details built into this boat,” said judge Tim Murphy. His colleague, systems specialist Ed Sherman, was smitten as well. “In terms of systems, I mean, we’ve got one of the best…

MARINEMAX AND NAVIGARE TEAM UP MarineMax Vacations has partnered with Navigare Yachting to manage and operate a global fleet of charter boats for vacation and ownership. As part of the new arrangement, the Navigare fleet of more than 21 sailing catamarans is now managed and operated by the MarineMax Vacations base in Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. With that shift, the BVI fleet expands to more than 60 boats, including the MarineMax Aquila power catamarans. Sailboats include Dufour, Lagoon, Nautitech, Fountaine Pajot, Bavaria, Jeanneau and Beneteau models that range in size from 30 to 56 feet. The new partnership also has an expanded global reach: Navigare Yachting manages the operation and sales of yachts for charter in nine locations, including the Caribbean, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Thailand, Turkey…

AVATAR, 64' EXPEDITION YACHT OFFERED BY BERTHON USA FBP 64’ built by Circa Marine & Industrial NZ. Designed by Steve Dashew, offered at $2,150,000. Avatar is a true expedition yacht, having completed nearly 42,000 miles of blue water cruising, and 22 different countries in less than six years. Her cruising speed is between 9-9.5 knots, averaging 222 miles per day on passage, with a range of up to 6400 nm. The rugged aluminium exterior (i.e. little maintenance) belies the elegant, comfortable interior with master suite, a guest (or crew) cabin, and a single bunk cabin. A magnificent engine room, tons of storage space, and of course, an excellent electronics package at both stations. Contact Berthon USA for full information. PLEASE SEE OUR AD ON PAGE 137 Berthon USA 40 Mary…