Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i Sailing Today

The organisers of the Eddystone Charity Sailing Pursuit are calling skippers to enter the annual event to help raise funds for charities. The Pursuit is one of the sailing community’s biggest charity events and in the past has attracted up to eighty yachts to sail the 26-mile course from Plymouth Sound around the Eddystone Lighthouse. This year, after a cancellation last year, the Pursuit takes place on Saturday 24 July. In its 19-year history, the Pursuit has raised almost £820,000 for charities and, by making a concerted effort to attract entries this year, the organisers are hoping to pass the £1 million mark in 2021. Yacht skippers pick their own charity to support and more than 130 local and national causes have benefited from previous Pursuits. The only requirement is…

The South Coast Boat Show guided by Raymarine was deemed a ‘great success’ by both organisers and exhibitors, with nearly 700 appointments booked by 500 serious buyers over the three-day show. More than 50 sail and power brands were on display in the water at MDL’s Ocean Village Marina at the May event, with a land-based exhibition area too. The appointment-only show was one of the first boat shows to take place in a physical format since the start of the pandemic. Ancasta International Boat Sales’ marketing director Will Blair said: “It was great to be able to get customers physically back onto boats again after so many months with no boat shows. “The process to ensure visitors and staff were kept safe worked well and overall it was a…

Excuse the brown smears down the page but those mud-coloured streaks were once my own rich red life’s blood. I have been having a go at sewing, hence ruddy drips from punctured finger ends. Apparently, sewing is the new baking when it comes to top rating television. What they get up to with a bit of cloth and a needle leaves me in awe. I mean, they can actually sew in a straight line! You should see mine; like a dog piddling in the snow was how someone described them. ‘What they get up to with cloth and a needle leaves me in awe. They can actually sew in a straight line!’ I don’t ask a lot of my sewing. All I want is a canvas flap, with a window…

When it became clear that the first lockdown in 2020 was going to end on or about the 4 July I hit the phones. With the uncertainty around Covid, restrictions and a possible 2nd lockdown we had decided that we would stay in The Solent and take two separate weeks as holiday, one going East, the other West. On the 11th July we set sail from our home port of Lymington for Haslar Marina, Portsmouth on the incoming tide and a light westerly. Five hours later Samphire, our Beneteau 31 arrived and Alfie our Border collie jumped off ready for a walk in the large park behind the marina. We had booked a table at The Lightship restaurant by leaving messages and I wasn’t quite sure if they had been…

Cast your mind back to 2014 if you dare. Yes, I know it seems like a halcyon time when it wasn’t illegal to go abroad for example but there it is. It was in this year that Jeanneau launched their flagship yacht, the 64. I tested one and, although impressed by many features of the yacht, I was left wondering if the company hadn’t perhaps lost the plot just a little bit. I just wondered who on earth wanted a 64’ production yacht. 72 yachts later and the answer is quite a few people did and the 64 is lauded as one of the big successes of the company in recent times. It led to the rest of the big production boatbuilders (Hanse, Bavaria, Beneteau, Dufour) following suit and the…

Every year over 300 cruising boats race across the Atlantic under the auspices of the World Cruising Club’s ARC event. Most of them are cruisers undertaking their first serious bluewater passage in a ‘normal’ sailing boat, although there are some race boats too. They have all had to wrestle with the issue of preparing themselves and their craft for the 2,700-mile crossing, weighing up comfort, safety and the budget. So who better to ask for advice on the key gear than the WCC itself? Comms director Jeremy Wyatt gave us his list of the 10 most important gear decisions to make, and not surprisingly, safety was at the top. “A liferaft and EPIRB – these are the key items on the ARC safety equipment list and should definitely be on…

I’d been provided a berth number ahead of our test of the new Discovery 58C, but arriving at Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour up the Beaulieu river I really didn’t need anyone to point me in the right direction. All Time High’s mast towered over every other boat on the pontoons and swinging moorings, looking for all the world a beacon of calm in the blustery, crisp, autumn morning air. It is clear from the off, the 58C is a big boat. A very big boat. At just shy of 60ft that might not come as a surprise, but up close, her high topsides, wide stern and deck saloon all point to a yacht with a great deal going on below, and she practically towers over the pontoon as a result.…

One of the enduring fascinations of owning a yacht is, for me, transformation. The same living space can be transported to an entirely different part of the world and, in the process, remain both familiar and also entirely alien. Never was this more true than during lockdown, which I rashly opted to spend on my boat, Black Joke, a 28’ Morecambe Bay Prawner, in Sete in the south of France. My boat was transformed into a very small floating prison. When lockdown lifted, I promptly rented a flat and anchored my boat within sight of the apartment. There she lay, very pretty and gently plucking at her anchor cable – inviting me to go off on another adventure. With restrictions lifted my friend Tom, in a bout of post lockdown…

The Round the Island Race has long been one of the UK’s stand-out sporting events and is likely to be one of the biggest mass participation events since the first lockdown in March 2020. This year competitors will join an estimated 500,000 sailors and 70,000 boats that have competed in the race over the past 90 years. It’s a fantastic spectacle that’s amazing to be part of. Despite Covid, this year promises to be no exception. How can you get the most out of your time on the water? The answers to this question are much the same whether you’re a semi-professional team aiming to lift the event’s main prize, the Gold Roman Bowl, or a family crew competing for the first time in a modest cruising boat. The race…

Basic understanding of weather is so important whether you are a weekend warrior or an Olympic campaigner. So first we need to understand some basic terminology: Stability is about thermal mixing, whether the wind is going up and down. This is not the same as a shifty wind. The wind can be very stable (no vertical mixing) and change direction a lot or can be very unstable (lots of vertical mixing) and come from the same direction all day. More on this later. Pressure is about an area on the water where there is more or less wind, for example behind a large building there may always be less wind because the wind rises to go over the building or goes around it (Fig 1). The is why you never…

Traditionally you should have one swallow tattoo for every 5,000 sea miles under your belt, an anchor tattoo signifying that you’ve crossed the Atlantic and a compass rose to show that you will always find your way home. Gone are the times when the only people with tattoos were sailors and convicts and it’s far more commonplace to mark the crossing of the equator by offering a tot of rum to King Neptune rather than getting a shellback turtle emblazoned onto your skin. ‘Gone are the times when the only people with tattoos were sailors and convicts’ However, there is still one place where every year cruisers who would never normally consider getting body ink done decide to take the plunge and walk away with a permanent souvenir of an…

Tributes have poured in from across the marine industry after the former editor of Sailing Today, John Goode, died on 15 May, aged 71, following a short illness. John was editor for much of Sailing Today’s first decade, from 2001 to 2007, the magazine having been founded in 1997, and from the outset he imbued the title with his energy and knowledge. He had gone to sea aged 14 with the merchant navy and was possessed of a level of seamanship matched by few in the sailing world. More than that, he was first-class educator and he took genuine enjoyment in helping people become better sailors. His step-by-step articles in the Sailing Todays of his era became widely known for their practical, real-world advice. Thousands of people still use the…

Ben Ainslie’s Great Britain SailGP Team won the opening event of SailGP season two, in Bermuda. In a dramatic day that saw overtakes, crashes and a capsize, the day was decided in a winner-takes-all final that saw Ainslie beat Tom Slingsby’s Australia team. Reigning champions Australia had been the dominant team for the event, winning four of the five races. But with crew Luke Parkinson, Iain Jensen, Matt Gotrel, Neil Hunter and Richard Mason, Ainslie sailed past the Aussies to win by four seconds. Ainslie said: “It was a cracking race. It’s what we want to do it for; go against the top sailors in the world in conditions like this – it was perfect. It was a huge credit to the team, we really struggled yesterday, but we analysed…

Some of the biggest names in offshore racing were set to start The Ocean Race Europe on 29 May. The new three-week event runs from Lorient in France, in stages, to Genova, Italy. Teams will compete in two classes: a one-designVO65 fleet; and a no-limits IMOCA class. Female sailors must feature on every crew in the race. Seven national teams were expected in the VO65 class and all are seeing this as the first stop on the road to the 2022-23 edition of The Ocean Race, which will be the 50th anniversary of the round-the-world event. There will be at least five entries in the IMOCA fleet, representing France, Germany and the USA, with two possible teams still to confirm as we went to press. “We’re really looking forward to…

The new UK Double-Handed Offshore Series started on 1 May, organised by Henry Bomby with other double-handed sailing enthusiasts. At least 29 competitive race teams will act as a fleet within a fleet in five of RORC’s offshore events, running through to the Rolex Fastnet Race on 8 August, and including the Island Sailing Club’s Round the Island Race on 3 July. Bomby, who sails with Shirley Robertson (both pictured) in the series, said: “We were looking at the double-handed season ahead and it looked like everyone we were sailing against was planning to do different races. It was just about bringing together some of the great races that we have here in the UK for for shorthanded racing, creating one season-long series.” He is joined by Kate Cope, Ellie…

One of the questions we should all be asking ourselves is which of the things we’ve had to change during the pandemic are things we’ll want to keep once we get back to a ‘new normal’? A year ago, our resident pro-sailor in the Musto Skiff fleet, Pete Greenhalgh, instigated the Corona Cup events. Like an open meeting, except the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions are little more than a hundred words on a shared WhatsApp group, £20 paid online to Pete, with two ribs manned by willing volunteers, one crew operating as committee boat and the other as rescue boat. ‘PETE ROUNDED THE TOP MARK IN FIRST PLACE, HOISTED THE KITE, NOSEDIVED AND CAPSIZED’ We had our first Corona Cup of 2021 on the Solent in mid May,…

I’m always tickled by the amount of muddled thinking that goes on about ‘safety’. Safety to me is more about staying out of trouble and less about what to do when my efforts have come to nothing. Take the car, for instance. If I had to choose, I’d rather it has well-maintained brakes and that I look ahead for trouble than pay extra for an air bag then proceed to drive like Jehu the son of Nimshi who, as any Old Testament scholar will tell you, ‘driveth furiously’. The sea is no different. The primary requirement is to steer clear of lee shores. We don’t need special gear for that other than an engine that works, a suit of sails that reefs properly and some serious ground tackle. The next…

Jeanneau has produced a striking looking boat that, thanks to the huge amount of customisation available, can be all things to all sailors. Ok well perhaps not entirely – dyed in the wool blue water cruisers will always turn their nose up at wide aft sections and twin rudders with no skeg. Yet these yachts are all about compromise and spreading the appeal of the boat as far as possible. In this, Jeanneau has succeeded as this is a lively performer and great Med cruiser while also being able to take an ocean crossing in its stride. Jeanneau has paid high attention to detail and the result is a highly accomplished performer. PERFORMANCE LOOKS COMFORT THE SPEC Length overall: 18.28 m (59’12”) Beam: 5.2 m (17’1”) Displacement: 20170 kg (44,467lbs)…

“If you need to strengthen the structure of the boat, you bought the wrong boat,” says Eddie. “You need a good platform to start with.” • A stout rig and the good sails – easily field repairable. • Well engineered, reliable steering - if you can’t steer, you’re just flotsam. • Easy to maintain winches and deck hardware. e.g. Most Lewmar winches can be serviced without tools. • Plenty of stowage space • Good ground tackle handling gear. • A workshop space • A well found, ergonomic galley - food has a massive influence on morale • High quality correctly swung compass! • Good quality instrumentation and navigation system, including radar and AIS with a world-wide dealer network • Communications: VHF, SSB (yes, still very useful), satcoms. • Lithium ion…

It is a very straightforward approach to Brixham Marina across the deep Tor Bay. Look for the half-mile-long Victoria breakwater, which protects the harbour. Its end is marked at night by a red light (Oc R 15s). Once you round the end of the breakwater the view into the harbour and the marina will open up. There is a buoyed main fairway that runs for about four cables from just inside the breakwater to the marina entrance. There are small boat moorings to either side and the old walled fishing ahead harbour to starboard. Pass through a first pair of red and green fairway buoys (Fl R or Fl G) and through a second pair (LFl R and L Fl G). The wave screen that protects the boats inside the…

To come full circle, if I won the lottery tomorrow would I buy a 58C? Frankly, no. But not through any failing of the boat, merely that this boat represents something I do not want from my sailing. If I were this owner, looking for a beautifully built boat to carry me to Caribbean quickly, in comfort and with a smile on my face and then provide me a stunning base from which to spend a season island hopping then there is little to criticise here. The only faults I could find below were those few things which I would not find ideal but were there by request, as a semi-custom yacht, but she was immaculate otherwise. I’d like to have a little more time working her up, in terms…

Harvre de Morgiret 43° 16’ 57” N, 5° 18’ 11” E Probably the most comfortable night we had. The sand bottom made for good holding (pictured above). Protection: N through E to S Anchoring – Allowed Lines Ashore – recommended Type of seabed: Sand Calanque de Sormiou 43° 12’ 31” N, 5° 25’ 30” E Spectacular calanque with small port at head. Very deep though. We rolled our deadeyes out here though with only a minor swell (pictured below). Protection: W through SW through N to E Anchoring – Allowed Lines Ashore – Not required Type of seabed: Sand and weed Calanque de Marseilleveyre 43° 12’ 33” N, 5° 22’ 19” E Quite an open calanque but good in settled weather with a nice bar (pictured below). Protection: W through…

The ethos of a ‘Race for All’ is extended this year with the inaugural Windeler Cup. This is a race for smaller keelboats that will set sail after the main fleet departs from Cowes. The idea is it enables boats including the Daring, Dragon, Etchells, Flying Fifteen, Mermaid, Redwing, Sunbeam, Swallow, Sonar, Squib, RS Elite, Victory and XOD classes to join in the fun with an exciting long-distance Solent Race. Many years ago some of these classes competed in the Round the Island Race itself, but progressively tighter safety regulation expectations, many of which are determined at an international level, mean they have gradually been excluded. The Windeler Cup race will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line around 0830, before following a course towards Hurst Narrows and around west…

JEANNEAU SUN ODYSSEY 42 | FLEHOA The ever popular Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42i was an instant hit when launched and the blend of sporty looks and good internal volume ensured the boat was a strong seller with private owners and charter companies alike. The 42i is both fun to sail, easy to handle and has a very practical interior. With three comfortable double cabins and two heads ‘Flehoa’ has been well looked after and is ready to go for the coming season. A perfect family yacht for cruising and entertaining guests alike. The boat has been well maintained throughout her life and benefits from an excellent specification. Length: 42’1” (12.85m) Beam: 13’5” (4.13m) Draft: 6’9” (2.13m) Displacement: 18,541kg (19,044lb) Engine: Yanmar 54HP Cabins:3 Year: 2010 Lying: Inverkip Michaelschmidt.co.uk…

The French government has announced a process to allow entry to cruising yachts at any French port, in a significant step forward for sailors post-Brexit. The rules after the UK left the EU had been that sailing yachts would have to check in at specific ports of arrival, vastly hampering cruising freedom and coming with a possible safety risk as well. But now the Cruising Association has announced: “Now, as a direct result of the Cruising Association’s efforts, the French government has announced a process to allow entry at any French port. “A form is now available from web sites which can be downloaded, completed and submitted by email to the local administrative Port of Entry prior to arrival. “Providing all is acceptable, boats may then enter another port. This…

Vendée Globe sailor Clarisse Crémer has said she hopes to inspire other female sailors to follow in her wake. Crémer, one of Musto’s ‘ambassadors’ in the race, also said she had forgotten about Ellen MacArthur’s round the world record until her team reminded her a few days before the finish. The Frenchwoman, 31, broke MacArthur’s 20-year-old record for the fastest time by a woman sailing solo and non-stop around the world in a monohull, when she finished the Vendée Globe in 87 days on 3 February. MacArthur’s time was 94 days, on Kingfisher in the 2000/2001 edition of the race. Crémer was one of six women to do the 2020/21 edition and finished 12th overall on her boat Banque Populaire X. Reflecting on the race, with the benefit of three…

Carkeek F70 The new F 70 is an ultra-fast and lightweight, foil-assisted carbon composite day sailer that has taken a lot of the technology developed by the recent crop of America’s Cup racers and translated it to a more accessible platform. The 70 is designed to deliver unprecedented performance with style and comfort. THe lines were penned by Carkeek and the goal was to deliver an innovative concept for owner drivers: a stylish, simple, strong, safe and highly competitive foiling yacht, offering a seamless transition between day sailing and racing sailing modes. The F 70 is easily driven and fast in all conditions and angles, whether day sailing or racing. The yacht features advanced performance control systems allowing the owner and crew to sail safely and reliably at high speed.…

It seems like a relatively slow take off for the 52 Super Series, quite like other fully international circuits that have private owners involved. The good news is that there is a solid groundswell of enthusiasm among the owners to get back on the race courses again, but it really does look like it will be 2022 before the circuit returns to full strength, whatever that turns out to be. What is good news is seeing owners returning to the class like Austin and Gwen Fragomen, the couple from the New York YC who are now on to their fifth TP52 since they started racing more seriously in 2007. Austin had something of a health scare which put their programme on ice despite having just built a new boat for…

Following the challenges and canned events of the Covid-19 pandemic, many regattas are looking forward to welcoming visitors again this summer and gearing up for a bumper staycation season. With ever-changing guidance, remember to keep an eye on regatta websites for any latest updates, including if one of your favourite regattas is not listed here as usual, since organisers may still be working through the needs of their club/s, volunteers and any local restrictions. Overall, however, there is lots of optimism that 2021 will see a successful return to the sociable race weeks we all know and love. With stunning locations and regattas ranging from family-friendly fun to world class competition, whatever your boat or budget, there will be an event for you! NORTH BASS WEEK 31 July-8 August, Bassenthwaite…

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama” is one of the most famous palindromes. A random fact, but one that struck a chord as the new Atlantic Bridge, that stretches across the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal, came into view. We were about to transit the Panama Canal and start a new adventure in the Pacific Ocean. Instead of using an agent to organise our crossing, after considerable research, we decided to save money and do it ourselves. While it involved plenty of paperwork and phone calls, it was a surprisingly easy process. We completed the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) online forms and arranged a date for their admeasurer to inspect our boat and clear us for transit. To meet the admeasurer, we headed into Shelter Bay Marina, just…

As phone calls need to be made to the ACP, we purchased a local SIM card on arrival at Shelter Bay Marina, which cost $10 for unlimited calls and data for a week. Arranging The Admeasurer • Download Procedures For Securing A Handline Transit Of The Panama Canal (Form 4352) and Handline Inspection (Form 4405) from pancanal.com. The latter is an easy-to-complete document to be emailed to: ntot-ara@pancanal.com. • After emailing Form 4405, phone the Pancanal Cristobal office (507) 443 2293 to arrange a visit from the admeasurer. Re-confirm 24-hours beforehand. • While the admeasurer will visit a boat at anchor, for ease we opted to be in Shelter Bay Marina. Our appointment involved measuring the boat’s length from bow spit to stern, including all overhangs; and checking that our…

HANSE 588 Been around for a few years now but the Hanse 588 has proven to be a big hit in this competitive field and is a proven performer. Featuring aggressive lines from designers Judel/Vrolijk this beast of a boat is easily handled thanks to a self tacking jib. Inspirationmarine.co.uk BENETEAU OCEANIS YACHT 62 The flagship of the Beneteau range and a striking looking boat with that distinctive stripe amidships. This is a well appointed and forward looking yacht that has rightly won plaudits for its clever design. beneteau.com BAVARIA C57 A yacht that allegedly pushed the German manufacturing giants to the brink financially, this flagship of the range boasts striking looks and many thoughtful and innovative touches commensurate with the amount of money ploughed in to the development of…

Brixham in south Devon is the quintessential English fishing port. Once home to a fleet of 300 wooden trawlers, it is still an active fishing harbour, with more than 100 fishing boats landing £25m of fish each year and trading their catch at the fish market on the quayside. Six gaff-rigged trawlers, built in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, have been restored and, berthed at the town pontoon, give the feeling of having gone back in town. With its cascade of multicoloured houses, Brixham is pretty when viewed from the sea. Up close, there is a warren of atmospheric narrow streets and alleys – perfect for conjuring up images of the pirates and smugglers who once operated in the area. The town’s heritage is evident in its businesses today,…

Brixham is a natural stop-off for boats on their way from east to west (or vice versa), coming from Weymouth and going across the wide curve of Lyme Bay to Dartmouth. It’s about 40nM from Portland Bill. The River Dart offers some of the best of West Country cruising. The entrance, about 8nM from Brixham, is deep and wide, and flanked by castles, but it can see tides of 3kts at springs. Depending on your draught, and timing it with the tide, you could make it the 8nM upriver to Totnes. Be aware that you must pay dues to use the river – so anchoring is not free (85p per metre per day) and comes with conditions (the skipper must be aboard during the turn of the tide). There are…

If upwind had initially been a little less stellar than I had hoped, crack the sheets a touch and the 58C felt much better behaved. There was not huge turn of pace as you’d expect from a reasonably large heavy boat, just the sort of unfussy slight acceleration that comes from footing a little. We’d elected not to take the chute out of its bag in wind that was, by now, regularly hitting 25knots in the gusts so heading further downwind was a case of unfurling the big genoa, and poling it out to windward. Running with full main and full poled out genoa the 58C lit up. Until now, I had enjoyed the sail and could see the appeal of the boat as a whole, but couldn’t say I…

Tristan Gooley is on the path to becoming a national treasure. What started as a somewhat offbeat idea to harness his passion for using nature itself to help you to navigate has snowballed into a strong following and ensured that books such as How to Read Water and The Natural Navigator were big hits. Now Tristan is back with a new book; The Secret World of Weather. As you might imagine, it’s a book that chimes strongly for all sailors and it is therefore no surprise that Tristan is himself as keen sailor and this helped shape his course from adventurer and wanderer to successful author. “There was a moment of enlightenment in my childhood when we went to Bembridge for a holiday and my mum enrolled me in a…

Allen Pro Ratchet 50 Allens new X2 pawl system incorporates two pawls to ensures that the load is evenly shared, this means that the block will withstand higher working loads, increasing both the reliability and longevity. It also features the patented swivel head lock system which can be fixed in position, allowing for more setup options. The blocks can easily be switched on or off, even under load. • £43 • allenbrothers.co.uk Harken T2 Soft-Attach Ratchamatic Carbo A long name for a clever range of blocks. Ratchamatic is Harken’s newest block to feature their T2 line of styling and soft-attachment system. The weight of this high-strength block is only a few ounces. Use for mainsheet and spinnaker systems on beachcats, dinghies, and sportboats. • £67 (40mm) - £81 (57mm) •…