Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2016 i Sailing Today

A SAILOR AND A SURFER have invented a floating rubbish bin that sucks debris and even oil out of the sea. Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski have built a prototype of the Seabin, which is designed to be used in marinas, harbours and yacht clubs. A water pump onshore creates a sucking effect, which pulls in all rubbish within a 75m radius. Oil can be taken out via a separator and clean water put back into the sea. The inventors are trialling the Seabin in Palma de Mallorca and have launched a crowdfunding campaign to get it off the ground. They say: “If the Seabin is full it still works. The flow of the water pulls surrounding debris against the bin and keeps it there.” See seabinproject.com for a video…

The UK’s first maritime literary festival is to be held in the spring. Weymouth Leviathan will be held in the town on 12 and 13 March with the theme, ‘fear and courage’. More than a dozen nautical authors including Dr James Davey, curator of Naval history at the National Maritime Museum, BBC presenter Philip Hoare, Tom Cunliffe and ST’s own Emma Bamford will give talks. Festival director James Farquharson said: “Leviathan, our sea monster and the name of the festival, embodies fear and courage. We’ve asked our authors to weave that theme into their talks and we’re looking forward to hearing the ripping yarns they’ll present.” There will also be music events, literary awards and a screening of the 1956 classic Moby Dick. Tickets go on sale on 1 December…

In 2013, Trinity House announced that the UK was speeding up the rollout of a system called eLoran, which is descended from the old Loran-C, based on longwave radio signals, and independent from and complementary to GPS. It can provide digital fixes within a radius of 10 metres. The move was made because GPS signals are vulnerable to both deliberate and accidental jamming. Concern is increasing about GPS jammers – available online for as little as £30 – which are capable of causing complete outages across all receivers currently on the market. A powerful but still portable device installed at the top of London’s Shard building, for example, could wipe out coverage from Reading to Southend. In 2012, South Korea was the victim of a 16-day GPS jamming attack by…

1 BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS This is the quintessential Caribbean cruising ground, loved for its sheltered waters and steady trade winds. The islands are relatively small and close together, so passagemaking is easy, with the exception of Anegada, 20nM upwind. This is no deserted paradise, and you’ll cross plenty of other yachts here. But there are lots of anchorages, many of which are little known by the charter fleets (see ST224 for Don Street’s pick of the best). You’re never far away from a great restaurant or a characterful beach bar. Each island offers different treats. Virgin Gorda’s splendid Baths are awe-inspiring – especially if you can get there before the day-trippers. Gorda Sound and neighbouring Eustatia have bags of yachting razzmatazz, but also excellent snorkelling and kitesurfing potential. Jost van…

Getting out on the water and sailing is a pursuit that most people have to save for their time off. It represents a respite from their other life of being defined by their weekday job and makes every weekend, every summer break and each public holiday a chance to play with the wind and the sea, as if reuniting with old friends. For those of us who have chosen to live on the water, whether it be for just a short while or indefinitely, this pattern changes. We have the luxury that the separation of weekday from weekend becomes somewhat blurred, that days are punctuated by tides, sunrises and sunsets, and that ‘time off’ is more about lingering in a particularly lovely anchorage for a few more days than we…

When you consider the important jobs your ropes do on your boat, it makes sense to look after them. Whipping is a key skill here and if you’re doing any significant cruising miles, you’ll find that it’s hugely useful to be able to do this yourself – on the hoof. I also find a sense of pride and joy in seeing a rope finished properly. There are lots of different types of whipping that can be used, ranging from the simple – common whipping – to the long-lasting sailmaker’s whipping known as the palm and needle whipping. There are also the more decorative styles of West Country and French whipping. To make a common, a West Country and a French whipping all you need is some thin twine. I’d recommend…

All of us at ST approached this boat with a healthy dose of scepticism. But in the end, her undoubted bluewater credentials and the degree to which her design was shaped by decades of ambitious sailing made her too tantalising to ignore. Besides which, when sailors grow too old to winch, they still want to get out on the water, don’t they? Function over form The Functional Power Boat (FPB) series (64ft-115ft/19.5m-35m) was designed by Steve and Linda Dashew, who have been sailing together for 40 years and covered 200,000 miles across some of the world’s remotest corners. When they met they sailed small racing catamarans and then moved on to a 50ft (15.2m) sailing monohull that took them on a six-year circumnavigation. During this voyage, they raised a family…

For the peak month of August, the stunning and volcanic Aeolian islands north of Sicily are flooded with Italian holidaymakers keen to swim through the mercurial bubbles in the sea off Panarea, hike to the top of spurting volcano Stromboli and chill with an icy granita in the shade of the jasmine bushes of Salina. Like clockwork, come 1 September, the tourists vanish and visiting yachties have this incredible sailing ground all to themselves once again. Taking full advantage of this, Bella Luna (bellaluna. biz), a Hallberg-Rassy 43 exploring the Mediterranean, dropped her anchor off the west coast of laid-back Lipari in early September and enjoyed a peaceful sunset.…

A fleet of 64 boats set off in this year’s ARC+ from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, to St Lucia. At the pre-departure skippers’ briefing, ARC weatherman Chris Tibbs described the forecast for the start as “near perfect”. Crews spent their last few days protecting boats from chafe and provisioning. The boats will head for São Vicente in the Cape Verdes and then on to the Caribbean, arriving in December. This year is the 30th ARC. The 202 boats in the ARC fleet were due to depart on 22 November, headed directly for St Lucia.…

Friendship Surfari 44 Price : c£1.2m ($1.7m) Ever heard of Jimmy Buffett? All right, ST hadn’t either until one of us attended his gig in St Barts two years ago. His hit song ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ is about as good as… well, a cheeseburger. But never mind that, he’s hot stuff in the USA and Friendship Yachts is clearly delighted he has ordered hull No.1 of its new 44ft (13.4m) model. The yacht boasts some intriguing features. Being an American design, she is big on comfort, and is tailored for the kind of laid-back Caribbean cruising that Buffett specialises in. A fascinating feature is that the manufacturers want her to be fast not only under sail but also under power. To this end, she boasts twin 75hp motors which would…

One or two hardy morning drinkers are sipping pints in the upper bar at the recently revamped Royal Southern Yacht Club, but I opt for a snazzy coffee. There’s a fine view out over the lower reaches of the River Hamble to the unspoilt shore above Warsash. Being a grey October morning with more than a hint of rain, it’s just the most dedicated sailing school pupils plying the waters in their fluorescent-hooded foulies. But it’s not hard to imagine the club as it would be on a summer weekend. A long balcony runs the length of the river frontage where, as Commodore Chris Mansfield explains, those in the know pick the corner spot where they can bask in the sun throughout the day. Below that are the brand-new pontoons…

Best known for its giant oil refineries, Milford Haven is in fact a deep and peaceful estuary. It is both a commercial port (mainly oil and gas, but also fishing) and a centre for sailing. As a refuge it is superb, being all-weather and all-tide accessible. The nearest similar boltholes are Holyhead, Cork and Newlyn. Landfall is simple, as its refinery towers can usually be seen from 20 miles, and more at night. Excellent, simple buoyage leads into the main fairway using two big ship entrance channels (East and West) with safe side margins for leisure craft. The most frequent visitor is the Irish Ferries’ Isle of Inishmore making twice daily visits to and from Pembroke Port (Pembroke Dock) and Rosslare. Recently the Irish Ferries senior master kindly invited a…

LILLA BOMMEN MARINA In the city centre, 5nM upriver. The entrance is just before the square-rigged ship, Viking ÄLVSBORGSBRON BRIDGE The bridge, which is 2.5nM up the Gothia River, or Göta älv, can be seen from the sea. Clearance is 45m APPROACHES There are marked north and south channels from the Skagerrak through the archipelago west of Gothenburg GKSS LÅNGEDRAG MARINA Is at the mouth of the Gothia River, on the south bank, opposite the conspicuous Knippelholmen tower Gothenburg, with its Nordic vibe, offers a rich experience to sailors. By Emma Bamford Pretty sailing grounds and a host of marinas just a few minutes from the heart of a thriving city with excellent food and a ‘cool’ reputation. What more could you want from a sailing destination? Gothenburg, or Göteborg,…

Göteborg Port Authority +46 31 731 2000 portgot.se VHF Ch 16, 12, 13 VTS Göteborg +46 31 125 433 VHF Ch 16, 09, 13, 69 Tide info gothenburg. waterforecast.com Lilla Bommen Marina +46 31 154 005 (VHF not monitored) info@goteborgsgasthamn.se boatmanager.se/goteborgsgasthamn/in-english/ Tourist information +46 31 368 4200 GKSS Långedrag Marina +46 31 291 145 VHF Ch 68 gkss.se hamnvakten@gkss.se Diesel: river fuel barge or Wahlborgs Marine Petrol: river fuel barge Gas: river fuel barge or GKSS Pump-out (discharge forbidden in all Swedish waters): Wahlborgs Marine or GKSS Chandlery: Lilla Bommen, Wahlborgs Travel lift and yacht engineers: GKSS Långedrag Electronic or radio repairs +46 31 695 100 Sail repairs +46 31 695 100 Cityokutan hospital +46 31 101010 Sahlgrenska hospital +46 31 342 1000 VISITOR BERTHING CHARGES LILLA BOMMEN (per…

Gill Inshore Lite jacket Full two-layer waterproof and breathable protection matched with contemporary sports styling. With roll-away hood, storm-guard zipper and mesh lining - available in men’s and women’s sizes and colours. • £135 • gillmarine.com Nub A cunning idea to cut the cost and weight of your running rigging. Instead of stacking blocks to gain purchase, use a Nub instead. It weighs just 16g and can hold 4.7t of static weight. • c£32 (€40) for two • nub-connectics.com Ultra anchor ring Dual function chain weight that can also help retrieve stuck anchors. Hanging on the anchor catenary, it permits a shorter scope, or let it slide down over the anchor shank to provide purchase as a tripping line. From 8kg (17lb) to 14kg (31lb), suitable…

SOUTHERLY 420 | BLUE DOLPHIN A ‘go anywhere’ bluewater cruiser that can easily be handled by a couple, Blue Dolphin was designed by Southerly and Rob Humphreys and built by Northshore Yachts in Chichester Harbour. She has a tall fractional rig with a self-tacking furling jib and a large main with single-line reefing. All lines are controlled from the centre cockpit, making her safe at sea. She has a lifting keel which extends to 8ft 11in for kindly passagemaking and lifts to less than 3ft (91cm) for exploring shallow areas. A substantial centreline skeg protects her propeller and rudders when dried out. The main cabin is aft, with a centre-line double berth and seating on both sides, and there’s another good double in the forepeak. She’s bluewater-ready, with…

Glazed octopus Cephalopod bone china design from Cornish duo Tuck into a polpo salad and as you clear your plate of grilled octopus... a plate of octopus becomes clear. Rebecca Heane and Allison Hughes are behind this octopus dinner service from Cream Cornwall, a brand they produce that draws on the landscape and legacy of the county – think cliffs, coastline, cottages and clotted cream. Octopus, a blue-and-white design made from bone china, is available as a 20cm side plate or a 26cm dinner plate and there is other chinaware and table linen to match, plus other designs with fish and shells. • From £17 • creamcornwall.co.uk Home beside the Hamble Share-of-freehold two-bedroom flat with Southampton Water views On the outskirts of Hamble-le-Rice village, on Westfield Common, Hamble…

Not so many years ago, I was beating up the coast of Grenada in a charter boat, when I observed with some amusement a large catamaran chartered from the same company and ostensibly headed in the same direction. Only she wasn’t. While my own monohull was butting gamely into the trades, the cat was basically reaching to and fro. I observed that if that cat had a character it was definitely Bagpuss. The next day, we were both becalmed in the same anchorage sheltering from the ‘liquid sunshine’, as the locals term it. We observed the crew of the catamaran sashaying around their fully covered and capacious cockpit, while someone inside pottered about preparing cocktails and nibbles. My own yacht was a jumble of damp clothes, smelling like the dank…

We all have Wi-Fi in our homes, so why not on our boats too? There’s an increasing array of products out there designed to connect you to a shore station and turn your boat into a Wi-Fi hotspot for your various devices. Putting aside the argument that we go sailing precisely to escape from the endless electronic twittering of phones and tablets, I can certainly see the attraction of such a system – if it works. Say you wanted to Skype home late at night from a Caribbean anchorage or urgently needed to download the instructions for a malfunctioning piece of kit. SO WHAT DO YOU NEED? Most laptops, smartphones and tablets have a built-in Wi-Fi aerial. The problem is that they are small, low-powered and so effective only at…

Fein WP 14-15E Fein believes that the WP 14-15E has the ideal speed range for professional work on boats. Fein can also supply a special marine accessories kit optimised for polishing GRP. The Fein also features ‘convenient’ speed adjustment and is set up for right or left-handed operation. • fein-uk.co.uk • £314 Milwaukee AP12E This 15mm 1200w is another comparatively compact, light polisher. The Milwaukee boasts a 6m cable as standard plus thermal overload protection – and a special gear for high spindle torque and ideal polishing speed. • milwaukeepowertools.co.uk • £185 Makita 9237 Ergonomically designed polisher featuring a loop handle with rubberised soft grip. Elastomer bumpers on the gear housing prevent scratching of the surface being polished. It also features constant speed control, a soft…

With more than 400 boats ranging in price from £300 to £4.5m, there is plenty to see. There are expected to be cruising boats from Bavaria, Jeanneau, Beneteau, Hanse and Marlow Legend. This year’s attractions include a Sixties revival, harking back to a decade of great innovation in British sailing, including the launch of the Mirror dinghy and Sir Francis Chichester’s epic circumnavigation. The giant pool is back, but in the guise of the Mediterranean Bay, complete with quayside cafés and ice-cream parlours. Here you can watch demonstrations of boat handling techniques and capsize drills, or suit up for a kayak test. One lucky visitor will even be able to try out the Seabob water sled. Lectures and seminars on topics from bluewater cruising to engine maintenance will be staged…

WOMEN AT SEA 1-31 JANUARY, NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM CORNWALL, FALMOUTH From Mary Lang, who joined the crew on merchant sailing ships to journey from South Australia to Cornwall in the 1930s, to Dame Ellen MacArthur, this exhibition tells the compelling stories of women who have challenged the establishment and made their mark in a male-dominated world. The exhibition, which is supported by the Hypatia Trust, brings these stories to life through objects, film and photography. Runs until 21 February. Museum entry £12. nmmc.co.uk RYA SOUTHWEST CRUISING COMPANY 16 JANUARY, SOUTH DEVON COLLEGE, PAIGNTON This one-day conference for cruising sailors will offer a packed agenda of talks and workshops. Speakers include Robin Elsey (Artemis Figaro and offshore racing sailor) and Vaughan Marsh (RYA chief cruising instructor) and there are workshops on…

Our aim was to find a cruising area which had not been over-developed and we decided that it had to be Albania. The plan was to sail up the 150nM coast to Montenegro. Rosemary and I checked in at Sarande, tied stern to the quay, and found basic facilities. The town is being developed and has inexpensive restaurants and supermarkets. The stay was marred only when a US yacht departed at 6am, casting our mooring line adrift and our electric cable into the sea! We sailed north to anchor at Kakomea Bay, which was bleak, so we continued to Porto Palermo, which had been heavily fortified by the paranoid Communist dictator Enver Hoxha. We anchored in 6m of clear water but the holding was poor and late in the day…