Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2019 i Sailing Today

A relay-style sailing adventure around the UK coastline started on 30 August as part of an initiative to improve youth development, social mobility and life expectancy in the heart of the UK. YMCA Newark and Sherwood has joined forces with Tall Ships Youth Trust in a bid to raise money for its £13m Community and Activity Village to be based in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The village is a not-for-profit space designed to support community cohesion, health and happiness in the district, which has been cited as having a life expectancy of 10 years lower than the national average. The voyage will have eight legs of different crews. They will be made up of 80 local community members, such as schoolchildren, scouts, CEOs and individuals not currently in employment, education or training.…

An interesting fact to kick off this article; Dufour Yachts is now the biggest yacht manufacturer in the world – or so I’m told. This is because they were recently acquired by French multihull manufacturer Fountaine Pajot. Between them, this formidable pair have gone from being major manufacturers to being huge manufacturers. The good news for fans of the Dufour marque is that, for now at least, it does not seem to have altered the DNA of the yachts. Dufours have always occupied a rather intriguing middle ground between the giants of the industry (I’m thinking particularly of the Jeanneaus and Beneteaus) and smaller, more quirky manufacturers. To my mind, its boats have always seemed to be slightly apart from the run of the mill while remaining thoroughly conventional and…

Cornwall is not like the rest of England. Once you cross the Tamar you enter a semi-foreign land, familiar and yet different. Perhaps this is because Cornwall has always been a seafaring region, for a long time more easily linked by water with northern France, Spain and beyond than with the beating heart of British power in London. Perhaps it is because of the county’s mild climate, as the warm waters of the North Atlantic Drift flood into every cave and inlet of its jagged 400-mile coastline, staving off the winter frosts and nurturing palm trees and other sub-tropical plants. It may also be the people, whose identity is unmistakably Cornish rather than English. Though their language may have dwindled to a matter of well protected record, now spoken only…

On 21 February 1812, a thick fog descended upon Venice. Commodore Jean-Baptiste Barre was delighted; he had been praying for such an opportunity and he put to sea at once in the brand new Rivoli, a 74-gun ship of the line. While this may seem foolhardy, it was in fact his most sensible option – the Royal Navy was blockading the harbour entrance and he hoped to slip out undetected. However, much to Barre’s frustration, the fog cleared and the British spotted him leaving. A fierce battle ensued, half his crew were killed and the Rivoli became HMS Rivoli. Since then, few sailors have been so thrilled by the prospect of fog – most fear it more than any other extreme phenomenon of our seas. And rightly so; although the…

Cristec HPOWER Battery Chargers The new HPOWER high-quality battery chargers are designed for the toughest conditions and suitable for professional and recreational use. HPOWER replaces the popular CPS3 range and features a five-stage charging profile to ensure that batteries are charged quickly and completely. Fully AC universal equipped and suitable for all types of battery, including Li-Ion, they operate at full power up to 50+°C without derating. advanceyacht.co.uk £927 (from) Certus VesseLINK VesseLINK operates using Iridium Certus broadband services over a network of 66 satellites covering 100 per cent of the globe to provide reliable, mobile and essential voice, text and web communications for fixed sites and mobile users. VesseLINK comes with an intuitive, user-friendly interface and can be quickly integrated into existing vessels. metocean.com £POA Garmin GPSMAP 86 handheld…

The Southampton Boat Show was opened by Olympic rowing gold medallist James Cracknell OBE, and vistors enjoyed blue skies and warm sunshine at a show that must be rated one the most enjoyable of recent years. The theme of the 2019 show was ‘inclusivity’, and the organisers were hoping to attract 15,000 people onto the water with a range of activities across the 10 days of the show. Visitors were able to try a range of watersports, including paddle-boarding, dinghy sailing and even scuba-diving. The event was also notable for the number of new products on offer, with 240 new launches` and 360 boats of all types for visitors to explore. The show notched up an impressive 26 world debuts and 86 UK debuts, including sail and powerboats. Two of…

The British Yachting Awards turn the spotlight on the finest of both the cruising and racing worlds and celebrate all of the incredible events, achievements and innovations that have happened in 2019. It has been an incredible year for sailors and our expert panel has endured an agonising time whittling down the long list of nominees to come up with this shortlist. Now it’s all down to you to decide who deserves to take the ultimate accolade. The winners will be revealed in the February issue of Sailing Today and each will be presented with their British Yachting Award trophy at a prestigious awards ceremony hosted at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in early December. The following nominees are all hugely deserving so take your time and enjoy reading through…

We all imagine that we are alone on our boats. Gently swaying at anchor, with the sun shining down, lulls us into a false sense of having some sort of force field enveloping you. So it can come as a rather rude awakening when all it takes is a loud TAP-TAP-TAP “Hullo, ahoy there!” on the hull to remind us that we are not quite so solitary after all. ‘I stepped up and out into our cockpit, only to be faced with a 200ft wall of windows’ There was one time when we were on the coast of Pacific Mexico and had pulled into a sweet, isolated bay for the night. The evening was still, the night was quiet, and I remember gently rousing the next morning to the chirp…

Not everyone is fortunate to arrive aboard their own yacht and the other option is, of course, to charter a yacht. There are plenty of options available, but there are some definite charter hubs and natural starting places dotted through the Caribbean which allow good access to explore islands in the vicinity. Here is a look at a few: Antigua One of the great yachting hubs of the Caribbean the focal point is Falmouth Harbour with a number of large charter companies operating out of here. It’s the ideal stepping off point to explore islands such as St Kitts and Nevis, Barbuda, Montserrat and Guadeloupe. Grenada Not part of the Grenadines confusingly but close by if you have a fortnight. This is a beautiful island and nearby options include Carriacou,…

Gill Mawgan Trainer The traditional leather deck shoe remains a common sight on the water, but the Gill Mawgan trainer claims to offer extra features and technical performance, so I put a pair to the test during the Round the Island Race, writes Jodie Green. Light airs meant the race wasn’t a slopy-deck kind of day, but doing my best to test the shoe’s low-profile tread pattern, which is combined with channels to help the water flow away, left me with a positive impression of the Gill’s grip. I found the shoe was extremely comfy, and added features such as the heat-moulded toe and heel gave me protection moving around the deck. Yet despite this protected feel, the shoe was light and breathable, making it pleasant in the hot weather.…

MOODY 33 MK II | SHEER PERFECTION The Moody 33 MK II was originally designed by Angus Primrose as a centre cockpit sloop, with spacious accommodation and good sailing qualities. This fin keel version has cruised the West Coast of Scotland. Since her current owner bought her in 2010 she’s had a raft of renovations, including a new Sole 42hp indirect cooled inboard diesel fitted with a new prop (only 175 hours on the engine since 2014), new standing and running rigging in 2018, a new Jeckells mainsail, stack pack and lazy jacks, a smaller wheel helm, and a new 7in touch screen chart plotter fitted to the binnacle this year. The standing rigging was replaced in 2018. In 2011 the sail cover was switched to a stack…

At 77, Jeanne Socrates has become the oldest person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop and unassisted, having returned to her departure port of Victoria, Canada, after 388 days at sea aboard her yacht Nereida. The intrepid British sailor, from Lymington in Hampshire, endured a knockdown and enforced repairs, not to mention dodging cyclones on her single-handed effort. Along the way she had to deal with multiple mainsail repairs, a blown-out genoa, failed electronics and instruments, and losing her solar panels overboard – on top of the usual deprivations and hardships of such a voyage. Her achievement is all the more remarkable, as the voyage began as Jeanne was still recuperating from serious injuries including a broken neck and ribs sustained in a fall while first preparing for the circumnavigation in…

BVI CHARTER YACHT SHOW 7-10 NOVEMBER, NANNY CAY MARINA, BVI An annual gathering of charter yachts and brokers that is held in a beautiful corner of Tortola and kicks off the Caribbean cruising season crewdyachtsbvi.com 50TH ANNIVERSARY RENDEZVOUS 9-16 November, British Virgin Islands The Moorings celebrates its 50th with a seven day group charter – there’s a planned itinerary, exclusive onshore meals, and fun activities for all moorings.com ARC+ AND ARC STARTS 10th and 24th November, Las Palmas Yachts following the tradewinds to the Caribbean set off on the annual Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, with two starts for routes via the Cape Verdes and direct to Saint Lucia. worldcruising.com CREWING SERVICE MEETING 2020 3 October, Cruising Association, London E14 If you want to build hours, enjoy cruising on different boats,…

Gas sniffers that tip us the wink if our cookers are threatening to blow us up are an undisputed must for cruising sailors. Not all noisemaking safety devices are so welcome, however. Whenever I charter a yacht, I play a little game with myself, betting on whether the smoke detector will have any batteries. It’s a racing certainty that some previous incumbent will have ripped them out. Being averse to broiling in my bunk, I usually clip in a couple of AAs, only to be ejected from my sleeping bag the following morning by the panic screech of safety when some bon viveur toasts a slice of yesterday’s loaf to enjoy with his lightly boiled egg. Goodness knows what would have happened in the days when free men still puffed…

Virgin Islands cruising is probably the best in the world. There is enough wind to sail 90% of the time and for the vast majority of that time you are sailing in relatively sheltered waters. There is no beating to windward against a big sea and it is seldom more than two hours sailing between anchorages. The only long sail is if you decide to visit St Croix, the forgotten Virgin. If you sail to St Croix from one of the numerous anchorages in Flanagan’s Passage, it is a 32-mile reach to Christianstad, the most beautifully preserved colonial town in the entire eastern Caribbean. It is the only major town in the entire Caribbean that, because of its shoal harbour and the impossibility of anchoring offshore, cannot be visited by…

‘I wondered whether we should contact the authorities to commit him. Either that or he was a brilliant sailor!’ I recently took part in the Round Mull race, the first time ever racing in 84 years, save for one brief evening in Portland harbour years ago with Chris Smith of OSTAR fame, when I had just returned from our first passage to the Azores. I still managed to thread the sheet the wrong way around the winch even then. It was all very strange. The skipper, an ex-military man, gave the order: “We will leave for the start an hour beforehand.” When I eventually plucked up courage to ask why so early he replied: “When you have novice crew you have to.” So that put me firmly in my place.…

Dufours are not wildly innovative yachts but they do stand out a little from their other mass produced sisters. I can’t place my finger on why, but I guess the styling must be just a tad more individualistic. In common with all of her production sisters, this is a yacht with a sensible layout, both on deck and below, that it is hard to fault or, conversely, heap praise upon for being innovative. When it comes to sailing, you really couldn’t fault her either – she was fast fun and very hard to fluster. To me it is indicative of the top end of the industry now that there is so little to find fault with on a basic level. It comes down to a few individual quirks if you…

This light and airy casual bar and restaurant serves everything from doorstop sandwiches and cockles to steaks and seafood paella. Breakfast is available at the weekends, when doors open at 0900hrs. Large glass windows offer great views over the marina, and there is a large balcony (with canopy) so you can sit and enjoy the fresh air over a coffee or beer. Popular events include a barbecue, a ’70s night and live music. Booking is advised on bank holiday weekends, via +44 (0)1621 785505 Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 1100-2200; Fri 1100-2300; Sat 0900-2300; Sun 0900-2100 Food served: Mon-Fri 1200-1500 and 1800-2100; Sat 0900-1100 and 1200-2100; Sun 0900-1100 and 1200-2000. swallowtailrestaurant.co.uk…

Continued growth in the global charter market has meant some good years for the big operators, such as Sunsail and Dream Yacht Charter. Their ownership schemes not only offer discounts compared to a boat’s list price, thanks to the power of bulk buying, but also an attractive income and the opportunity to ‘time share’ and use a boat in a different location free of charge. If you have the money to buy the boat outright, expect a decent charter income of 6 to 9 per cent and no upkeep costs – these should be covered by the operator. Sell the boat at the end of this period and you bring your costs of ownership right down. Depending on how bullish a valuation you place on a five-year-old boat, estimates here…

It was the end of a long and fairly painful couple of months in the Caribbean. My girlfriend and I had crossed the Atlantic in search of the dream but somehow ended up in Sint Maarten working on a charter yacht for nothing more than food and a bed. Say what you like about Sint Maarten, Simpson Bay ain’t beautiful and we were moored in close proximity to the jail, the brothel and McDonalds. Perfect. It was therefore with some relief that we hitched a lift on Satori, a Swan 45, headed down for a weekend in Barbuda. We did an overnighter and sped across silvery moonlit seas as we made our escape. By dawn, we could see land; a long, white beach that seemed to run onto infinity. In…