Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Sailing Today

It was getting late in the season and I was working my Vancouver 28 Tethys in stages along the south coast of the Isle of Skye heading east, but ultimately towards the other Inner Hebrides and then homewards to the Clyde. I’d been holed up comfortably on a mooring in Loch Harport for two or three days near the famous Talisker Distillery as a patch of inclement weather clattered through. But now, mid-afternoon on passage, I was looking for an overnight anchorage. And Loch Scavaig – one of those wild craggy indentations along the southern coastline of the Isle of Skye – might just do. Skye, of course, is steeped in myth and legend. It was split over the Jacobite uprising in 1745 with some clans siding with the Hanoverian…

Don’t you just hate headwinds? I’ve had a basket-full this season. I sailed from Southern Denmark up to Stockholm without a good, solid fair wind to my name. It may not be a passage of oceanic proportions, but it’s a long way uphill all the same. Right now, I’m homeward bound, holed up in Karlskrona. This historic naval port is well down the Swedish Baltic coast towards the Danish islands and – guess what – as soon as we headed south and west, the wind demon bared his teeth and it hasn’t shifted from the southwestern quadrant for a month. The 10-day prognosis is no better, so me and my mate Roz are feeling hard done-by. The convivial Germans on the next boat is in a similar frame of mind.…

I am on night watch alone as we sail to Huahine, in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. There is a low-pressure system just south of us creating unsettled conditions. It’s dark but I can tell the clouds are building, obscuring my view. I check our radar and see a significant-looking squall about five miles ahead. I watch its track; it is coming our way. I furl away the genoa, re-set the mainsail and change tack, letting it pass a few miles to port of us. The wind rises to 28kts as the storm blows by, but the clouds soon give way to a clear sky full of stars. I can see Jupiter and Venus shining bright. The full moon rises a little later and reflects off the ocean. Coffee…

55° 52’ 00.30” N 05° 24’ 47.63” W If you are looking for an idyllic spot to moor your boat on the west coast of Scotland either as a permanent base or as visitor, Tarbert Harbour Marina is an excellent choice. Conveniently situated on the sheltered waters of Loch Fyne, this marina is within easy sailing distance to beauty spots and anchorages, and not far from the Crinan Canal, which makes it a good place in which to base your yacht for cruising further afield. When you arrive at Tarbert Harbour Marina you’ll find the pontoons are within an easy strolling distance to the heart of the village. Once moored up it takes no time at all to get ashore where you will find a delightful selection of restaurants, cafes,…

Ocean Globe Race So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past – F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby There is something disturbing about the arc of time and the way it has a habit of tapping you on the shoulder and reminding you that the years are advancing. For many sailors, myself included, the Whitbread Races of the 1980s drew me into the world of sailing. Spectacular footage of boats such as Peter Blake’s Steinlager surfing across the greybeards of the Southern Ocean fired my imagination in a manner that, I must confess, events such as the modern day Ocean Race do not. Sure, I’m amazed by the technology and fascinated by the foiling aspect but there is something missing – that human element…

X4.3 | BABY X Outstanding performance and build from X-Yachts in Denmark, sports version from 2018, she has been lightly used and is offered in excellent condition. Full inventory for both racing and coastal cruising, upgraded carbonfibre mast and boom, North 3Di sails and a selection of spinnakers. Rewarding to sail, fast and easy to handle, Baby X looks and is, very sharp. Year: 2018 LOA: 13.08m (42’11”) Beam: 3.95m (13’) Draft: 2.5m (8’2”) Displacement: 8,850kg Hull construction: Composite Engines: 1 x Yanmar 4JH57 Designer: X-Yachts Design Team Accommodation: 6 berths in 3 cabins Contact: berthoninternational.com craftinsure quote £1,768 HANSE 455 | DREAM MAKER R Dream Maker R is in her second ownership and has been lightly used and features a comprehensive specification. She is a fine example of what…

Solent starts for big global races are back The vintage days of the Solent hosting round the world yacht races are back in 2023, with the Clipper Race starting on 3 September from Gunwharf Quays and the Ocean Globe Race starting from Ocean Village on 10 September. The sailors in the Clipper Race will be making a stop, later in the race, in Oban, Scotland, for the first time in the event’s 27-year history. Clipper Race crew will stop in the western Scottish town in July 2024, the penultimate stop on the 40,000nm race. Meanwhile MDL’s Ocean Village hosts the start of the ‘retro’ Ocean Globe Race, which marks the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Race. See our full preview of the Ocean Globe Race on page 106. SailGP’s…

There comes a time in the life of every Day Skipper when he or she looks at the horizon and thinks ‘... with each dot being a step into the unknown. Not the unknown of a geographical enigma (there are very few of these left on Earth) but the personal unknown. Could I cope?...Would I enjoy?...Would my boat fall to bits if I venture beyond the known weather forecast?’ A paradox: Day Skippers are licenced for daylight sailing. So isn’t a trip into the unknown a contradiction, as night sailing is required to sail beyond the forecast, which is a good three days or so? But what if the voyage is to Iceland at around the time of the summer solstice? There are no nights, and no excuses. Just the…

Top volcanic anchorages Navily is an app that relies on the feedback of its users to determine the finest anchorages and marinas around Europe. Happily, they are pleased to share that data with us to provide a list of the finest anchorages Porto di Ponente Vulcano is a small volcanic island located to the north of Sicily. The volcano’s geothermal activity results in the release of sulphuric gases, creating a distinct sulphuric smell in the air. You will sense it upon your arrival at Porto di Ponente bay. This volcano also has mythological connections. In Roman mythology, its namesake Vulcan (equivalent to the Greek god Hephaestus) was the god of volcanic fire and blacksmithing. Before you go to take an up close look of the volcano you can anchor on…

Boat test – Shogun 42 I’m going to start this article by going back to the future. Hopefully most of you are old enough to remember the DeLorean DK 12. This was a 1980s white elephant of a car that cut quite a dash when it was launched thanks to its radical styling. So much so that it was featured in the film Back to the Future which those with extra long memories will recall involved the car hitting 88mph to travel in time. Anyway, the DeLorean and its rather wild styling was a central part of the plot and frankly it certainly looked the part – I recall as a child being mightily taken with the vehicle. Sadly, fantasy did not live up to reality. In real life the…

Buyer's Guide – Sail selection Racers and cruisers buy sails in a very different way. Where the performance people often have a key sailmaker relationship that they will revisit year after year, cruisers tend to shop around more. And many people start by looking around the marina or the yacht club to see what other sailors are buying. This was the tactic used by Barry Shrier after he recently bought a 2014 edition of the Leopard 44 catamaran in Panama and had it shipped to the UK for a refit. He wound up commissioning Jeckells to produce a new suit of sails. “I went through a fairly straightforward process of talking to friends who were sailors, then shopping around. I ended up speaking to about six sailmakers in the UK…

Charter As summer gently drifts into autumn, now is the time to start making plans for a sailing holiday in the sun. While it may be a bit late in the season for European charters, there’s still plenty of time to grab yourself a last-minute bargain for a sailing holiday in the warm waters of the Med for example but in slightly less intense heat. Most charter holiday companies at this time of year have a few end-of-season special offers so it’s worth checking on-line to see what’s on offer. Southampton International Boat Show (14-24 September) is another good place to see what special deals there are from the large selection of sailing holiday companies exhibiting there including Sailing Holidays, Dream Yacht Worldwide, Helm, Nautilus Yachting, Sail Ionian, Sunsail and…

Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 French manufacturer Jeanneau Yachts scored a big hit with the 33’ Sun Fast 3300, with big fleets springing up across Europe. It is therefore unsurprising that it has followed up with the smaller Sun Fast 30. Unlike the 3300 which was designed by Daniel Andrieu and Guillaume Verdier, the 30 is a VPLP project who has teamed up with Multiplast to produce a strict one design yacht at a competitive price. The new boat features full forward sections married to light (2,700kg) displacement, twin rudders and flat aft sections to provide a boat that planes easily and early. The boat is available in two versions: One Design and Club. ● jeanneau.com CF 580 Ran 8 Ran 8 is one of the latest launches from the drawing…

The Musto Skiff World Championship was an absolute blast. As I mentioned in last month’s column, this was my opportunity to find out if I could still sail, and there is evidence that I can put occasional moments together. Putting a whole race together is another matter altogether of course, but 20th out of 53 entries was a fair reflection of my week. Through all the crazy weather of 2023, it was a blessed relief to enjoy perfect Garda wind for a full series with flat-out trapezing and yee-haa downwind conditions for nearly all the races. Matt Houvenagel, a Frenchman from Australia, chartered a boat for the event and ended up winning the Worlds, a feat that took him by surprise and many others in the fleet. On one of…

Olympics – One year out From 10-20 August next summer, the French city of Marseille has the honour of hosting the sailing events of the 2024 Olympic Games. This mountain-backed Med venue – known at times for its Mistral winds and big waves, and at others for its light winds and unpredictable shifts – will see 330 athletes race across 10 classes. This will be an event packed with firsts – most notably, the first time an equal number of male and female sailors have competed. There will also be a greater number of nations taking part thanks to a drive by the IOC to increase diversity through changes in the country qualification process. New tech features, too, with World Sailing measurement officials introducing 3D scanning equipment to ensure a…

Back in the mists of time – well, 2002, French manufacturer Jeanneau launched a boat that was to set a trend for many years to come. This was the Jeanneau 54 DS. A semi deck saloon luxury cruiser that launched a thousand pale imitations. The new Jeanneau Yachts 55 is the natural successor to this yacht and you might think that sticking to this tradition of innovation is difficult. After all, we live in an age where most boats are all pretty well designed but often just a tad, well, forgettable. This is not a charge I can level at the Jeanneau Yachts 55. OK the hull shape itself is pretty similar to its contemporaries but step on deck and things take a turn towards the most distinctly different. So…

The Famous Project is a Jules Verne challenge like no other… three million Euro annual budget, a handpicked team of world class female sailors including Alexia Barrier and co-skipper Dee Caffari, and several missions to complete. They have also secured the fastest sailing boat around the world – the current Jules Verne record-holder – the 100ft (31.5m) Ultim trimaran Idec Sport in which Francis Joyon broke the world record in 2017 with a time of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. When Barrier (44) launched the 2025 Jules Verne campaign in June this year, with support from the project’s founding partners – CIC and IDEC – the team’s intentions were crystal clear. As well as smashing the Jules Verne record, The Famous Project’s assault on the challenge…

Cowes Week Cowes Week's final day was a nail-biter. A northwesterly breeze of 7-12kts allowed all classes to enjoy a day of fun, tactical racing, yet everything was to play for in what turned out to be a no-discard series, after two days of abandoned racing due to high winds. There was plenty of inter-class rivalry, with results going down to the wire, while the winners of the Black and White Groups had yet to be decided, not to mention Cowes Week’s overall winner, as racing got underway on the last morning. To ramp up the excitement amid the light winds and spring tides, the race committee led by outgoing Race Director Laurence Mead managed to give almost all classes a Royal Yacht Squadron-line finish. Back on shore there was…

1 The show for every sailor The Southampton International Boat Show really stands out among international boat shows as being an event for all sailors. Very few other events worldwide have such a broad range of boats and focus. But that doesn’t make it a jack of all trades and master of none. Whether you are a cruising yachtsman, a serious offshore racer, a passionate club dinghy sailor, an admirer of wooden boats or a paddleboarder, the show really offers a depth of riches. The successful format of having ‘zones’ will be repeated in 2023, with dedicated areas for different interests, so it’s easy to go and see the area of your core interest, before enjoying the ambience of the wider show and wandering round at your…