Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Sailing Today

AT THE MULTIHULL SHOW Outremer 52 Outremer Catamarans is one of the most recognisable brands on the bluewater catamaran circuit and its fast, high quality cats have set a benchmark which many others have aspired to. Its new 52 picks up where the hugely popular 51 left off. The boat is designed with fast cruising in mind and the capable team at VPLP design has drawn up a boat that the company hopes will cruise at an average of 10-12kts. As such, they have worked with sister company Gunboat to keep weight down by extensive use of carbonfibre in the structure. The aim has also been to improve sight lines for general handling. In common with other Outremer’s, the 52 is available with both wheel and tiller steering. ● Catamaran-outremer.com…

Have you ever stopped to consider some of the things on our modern yachts that we take for granted? Items that simply work when we want them to. Moving parts that don’t let us down. What about engines, for example? With one hand firmly gripping the largest piece of wood availabe, I can state honestly that I’ve only been disappointed by engines twice in the last 10 years, yet it’s not so long since that starting an auxiliary was a heart-in-mouth lottery. Those days are gone, thank heaven. And what about ropes? When did you last have a rope snap under load? Never? I suspected as much. Since the revolution in cordage led us away from natural products, rope technology has moved so far ahead that there is now literally…

Boat test – Catana Ocean Class These days multihulls are such an integral part of the sailing landscape that it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t so many years ago that they were viewed as, well, somewhat esoteric. Yet you only have to take a look at yachts such as Donald Crowhurst’s doomed Teignmouth Electron to see why they were seen as, um, a bit different. The transition to the current state of affairs whereby fast cruising multihulls are taking up an increasingly large sector of the market owes an awful lot to one manufacturer, Catana, who was there in the early days of the multihull boom and, by sticking to a belief that cruising multihulls could be both fast, comfortable and stylish, helped pave the way for other manufacturers…

Charter Guide – Croatia The charter holiday season in Croatia typically runs from May to early October and with so much going for it, including easy access from the UK, and conditions to suit all abilities, it has become a new favourite as far as sailing holiday destinations go. Its location in the Adriatic Sea opposite the eastern coastline of Italy and its border countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania), offers a short haul flight of approximately two and a half hours from Gatwick to the popular city of Split, so for those travelling with young children and/or older family members, this is a location worth considering. Also because of its northern Mediterranean location, the temperature is generally less intense early in the…

Regatta Guide NORTH BASS WEEK 5-13 August, Bassenthwaite SC, Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria OVERVIEW: Nine days of racing in the beautiful Lake District, with a great family environment in a setting of unrivalled natural beauty. Camping available on site and full social programme for all ages. A mix of fleet and handicap racing, with some races run as a series while others are one-offs. Excellent value summer race week and one of the most popular open events in the north of England. WEBSITE: bassweek.org.uk FILEY REGATTA 20-21 May, Filey SC, Arndale Way, Filey, North Yorkshire OVERVIEW: Sailing in beautiful Filey Bay. A total of six races, open to all dinghies PY1250 and below, with trapezoid courses for Fast, Medium and Slow handicap fleets run by national race officers. Saturday night social…

‘For us, our general round of sprucing up the boat is much like a spring clean in a house or flat’ Everyone I know who owns a boat tends to think of her as their pride and joy. They reel off various statistics on her as proudly as parents boasting of their kids’ performance in exams: “she loves it upwind”, “I can get 7kts out of her under spinnaker alone”, “mine was solid as a rock in that sea”. And much like the doting classic car owner, relishing the opportunity to cover his beauty in suds and wax, we boaters take similar care in maintaining our vessels, as a matter of critical safety as well as one of cosmetic charm. So, whether it’s every week, once a month, a seasonal…

Lymington wins Club of the Year Lymington Town Sailing Club was announced as the 2023 winner of the RYA and Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting Club of the Year, supported by Gallagher. The trophy was presented by British Sailing Team ILCA 7 sailor, Micky Beckett at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show on 25 February. The award recognises the outstanding achievements of UK sailing clubs and their members across the UK. Lymington Town SC, located in Hampshire in the RYA South region, was one of 12 finalists selected by the RYA Awards Panel. The winner is decided by public vote. The club was awarded for its “outstanding effort and accomplishment for the creation of a holistic vibrant model for a modern sailing club that can be reviewed and used…

Pacific Crossing When we looked at the logistics of sailing Two Drifters, our Lagoon 440 catamaran, 4,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean, the decision to do it doublehanded wasn’t made lightly. My husband, Fergus, is an RYA-Yachtmaster and nothing much fazes him when sailing. I, on the other hand, am not as confident a sailor, but I have a good instinct, so we thought we could handle the expected month-long passage from Panama to French Polynesia; which would be the longest sail we’d ever done together, by a long shot. Getting the boat ready in the Panama City anchorage of La Playita seemed far less stressful than when we prepared for our first ocean passage, across the Atlantic Ocean, three years ago. Maybe because we had a clearer idea…

What is the point of the Olympic Games? Does it exist to find who is the supreme athlete in their chosen discipline, for example? Or does the Olympic Games exist to provide entertainment for a mass global audience? You could argue that the Games should be both, that there is inherent drama and entertainment in watching the world’s best battle it out. The 100 metres sprint final certainly delivers both. Ten seconds of do-or-die action, and first past the post wins the Olympic gold. Simple. Easy to understand. Olympic sailing has never been quite so straightforward or particularly well suited to TV drama for the masses. “...a solid week of race wins in the qualifying counted for nothing in the three-board final” In place of a straight series of races,…

The Swellies (Pwll Ceris), lying within Nelson’s gaze between the Britannia and Menai Suspension Bridges, is a choke point where strong tides of 5-8kts run, making it a significant navigational obstacle, particularly in the days of sail. This rock-strewn reach, eight cables long, was formed by fault line activity, glaciation and rising sea levels, which, about 5,000 years ago, finally inundated the strait, separating Anglesey from mainland Wales. In 1693, Captain Grenvile Collins wrote in his Coasting Pilot “...the rocks at the Swilly are dangerous, the passage narrow, and the tydes very strong; and be sure to pass the Swilly at a slack tyde.” Building the Telford’s Menai Suspension Bridge and Stephenson’s Britannia Bridge across the strait replaced the passenger ferry, the fording of cattle across the strait and provided…

Working in the office over the winter is a blessing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the boatyard on a sunny day; maintaining the charter fleet is great. But even at Sail Ionian, when it’s cold and raining, I’ll take the office, and its endless cups of tea, any day. I really enjoy dealing with potential guests’ enquiries, it’s really all just boat chat, isn’t it? And everyone is in a good mood because they’re sitting at work too, it’s raining outside, but they’re booking a summer holiday! So, here is my lowdown on how to get the best possible deal out of a charter company, including all the extras you could be missing out on – if you don’t ask. Firstly, take your time. Unless you are booking last…

The RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show, presented by Suzuki, was a big success in its second year at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre, as thousands of sailors flocked to the venue over the weekend of 25-26 February. There was a buzz in the hall as soon as the doors opened and the event was busy through to Sunday evening, with exhibitors showcasing dinghies ranging from a Thames A-rater to a Topper. The show now encompasses windsurfing, wingsurfing and foiling, as well as paddleboarding. It also brings together clubs, training centres, class associations, equipment manufacturers and retailers from across the small boat sailing and boardsports community. This year the show welcomed 8,500 visitors, 160 exhibitors and hundreds of boats and boards with some 74 expert talks and presentations taking place across the…

When I was just 20, I had my first ever experience on a sailing yacht. It was on a crewed maxi racing yacht, and I stayed onboard with a group of backpackers as mere guests for two nights in the Whitsunday Islands. Blissfully ignorant about the seasonality of sailing, my cabin for the weekend was suspiciously cheap. It was January and cyclone season. I left the boat two days later resolute about one thing: I would never sail or stay on a boat for an extended period again in my life. Sixteen years later, I’m sitting with in the cockpit of our catamaran in French Polynesia. We are anchored at the island of Moorea in its lagoon fringed by coral reef under the backdrop of the island’s green mountainous peaks.…

RORC 600 The RORC Caribbean 600 is known for high calibre offshore racing in Champagne conditions, attracting a variety of entrants across IRC, multihull and Class 40 divisions. And the 14th edition proved no different, this year drawing 70 boats with nearly 600 sailors from 30 nations to the startline under the dramatic backdrop of Antigua’s Towers of Hercules. As the gun went, spectators looked down from the clifftop onto a stunning showcase of boat-on-boat action in 18kts of breeze and rolling swell. You’d be forgiven then for thinking that the scene at the finish line – some 30 hrs, 55 mins and 45 secs later – seemed something of an anti-climax, as the leading boat, Erik Marais’ MOD70 Zoulou (FRA), crossed in near-slow motion to take multihull line honours.…

Haslar Marina, in Gosport is one of 11 boatfolk marinas based around the UK and a popular choice on the south coast thanks not only to its convenient location on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, but also the fact it’s accessible at all states of the tide. As with all boatfolk marinas, Haslar is open 24/7 and offers extensive facilities although it’s worth noting there is no fuel berth, which means you’ll need to make plans to re-fuel at nearby Gosport Marina. Haslar, however, has recently been upgraded and extended with berthing now possible for up to 650 yachts. Berth holders who choose to become an annual resident can expect a high-end boatfolk package which, as well as well-maintained berth in the sheltered waters of Portsmouth Harbour, also includes…

JEANNEAU SUN ODYSSEY 410 | HULL IN ONE The Sun Odyssey 410 was voted Cruiser of the Year at the British Yachting Awards in December 2019, and it is easy to see why. Clarke and Carter tell us everywhere you look on Hull in One are innovative design features from the ‘stepless’ side deck access and inverted bow to increase waterline length, to the radical new layout below decks, with a superb owner’s forecabin and large forward galley and an aft storage cabin/workshop. Hull in One is a good option for shorthanded sailing because as well as copious amounts of space below, her systems are well sorted, and she has a retractable bow thruster, upgraded engine size, heating, and bimini. This fin-keel boat was originally a display model for a…