Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i Sailing Today

Just eight months after completing her first Vendée Globe, Pip Hare was in central London with the boat she aims to sail in the race’s next edition, in 2024, naming it Medallia. The technology company has backed Hare since coming in as her partner in May 2020. And Medallia’s CEO Leslie Stretch was in London, having flown from his home in San Francisco to help Hare sail the boat up the Thames and to pour the champagne over the bow in front of a phallanx of photographers, a far cry from just a year previously when Hare’s name was unknown to the national press and little known in ocean racing. Hare’s new boat was built as Banque Populaire VIII for Armel Le Cléac’h, who won the 2016-17 Vendée Globe in…

A one-off rally regatta for elderly yachts will run next July from Dartmouth to La Rochelle and back. The Classic Channel Regatta is banding together with the Yacht Club Classique in France to run the once-only, two-week event. ‘Yachts designed before the end of 1968’ are eligible, as well as ‘approved production yachts designed up to the end of 1974 and more recent yachts built in classic and traditional style’. The Classic Channel Regatta is billed rightly as ‘a unique and truly international gathering with its own Westcountry and Breton ambiance’. The fleet often includes crews from Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Ireland and further afield. “Racing is the backbone of the regatta, but the conviviality and parties are its beating heart,” say the organisers. Racing will be under the…

The UK’s largest youth development sail training charity has launched an appeal to raise £1.5m to buy a yacht to take young people to sea. Tall Ships Youth Trust has a fleet of four 72ft Challenger yachts and a 55ft ketch, which enables the charity to take 1,000 young people to sea every year. Its new LifeChanger Appeal, launched in October, aims to raise the money to buy and refit an additional 70-80ft yacht with 10-12 berths, increasing its sea-going capacity by around 250 young people a year. Funds would also cover three-years of running costs and bursaries for 750 young people to go on a voyage. The trust, which works with young people aged 12-25, has a focus on supporting those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Some of the youngsters deal…

Dufour 32 In a world where yachts just keep getting bigger it’s always nice when a manufacturer goes back to its roots and that’s exactly what Dufour is doing with its new 32. This is a pocket-sized cruiser from the pen of their preferred designer, Umberto Felci. It’s definitely the starter boat in their range but features plenty of beam aft (3.31m to be precise) meaning that there is generous volume. The boat has a well-dimensioned rig and bulb keel which, combined with a modest displacement of 4,900kg, suggests this is a yacht that will be a polished performer. dufour-yachts.com Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380 Jeanneau’s Sun Odyssey 380 is the second smallest yacht in their Sun Odyssey range of cruising yachts behind the 349. As such, she is seen as…

‘BOTH NEEDED A DESIGN THAT WOULD TAKE THE NEXT GENERATION OFFSHORE’ It is encouraging to hear plans for the new Class 30, an entry level, fast, fun and simple offshore one design which is quickly gaining traction. It’s thanks to a certain synchronicity between RORC and its French counterpart UNCL, both realising they needed an accessible, equally matched one design that would take the next generation of sailors offshore. My minor concern initially is that there will be a ‘not invented here’ mentality emanating from the production builders who have, they will contend, similar better boats and from nations where the boat is not going to be built. But I am sure that as soon as an international competition circuit can be drawn up, the blue touchpaper will be lit.…

Sunshine, trade winds and top class racing set against a tropical backdrop - it’s the stuff of any racing sailor’s dreams. After Covid caused a hiatus to all but one major regatta last year, news that the Caribbean season is going ahead is being widely welcomed, both by those keen to return to a favourite event and those keen to explore what the sun-kissed circuit has to offer. Across the region, organisers have been working hard in tandem with local authorities to plan covid-secure regattas and embrace the sense of normality that is now returning. The focus across the board will be on delivering excellent on the water competition, to create truly memorable racing for all. The Caribbean Sailing Association's Alison Sly-Adams says: "We know the interest is there from…

In the final days of our circumnavigation on Blue Eye, fate offered up a curious meeting. My school friend James and I had opted to complete our journey around the world through the French canals – we assumed they would offer an ease and serenity that beating up the Portuguese coastline was unlikely to provide. Serene the canals might have been, easy they were not. After three years of travelling by boat, we should have known better. Regardless, Blue Eye rumbled into a marina in Rouen in northern France, the Yamaha engine of our Nicholson 32 wheezing away after a solid month of use in the waterways. It was there in Rouen that we met Matt and Tim, two English sailors younger even than our 27 year old selves. Rouen…

It will probably sneak up on you, the realisation that you need to replace your boat batteries. Perhaps you’ve had a few narrow squeaks cranking the engine, or noticed how the lights on board dim whenever the water pump kicks in. Like most components on a boat, batteries have a natural life. They may eventually fail spectacularly, but until that happens, their performance will increasingly suffer. If you were happy with your previous lead-acid batteries, and they lasted five or more years, then the easiest thing is simply to replace like for like. One of the trickiest elements of installing new batteries can be ensuring they fit into a tight space, and that the existing cables will fit the terminal layout. By using identical batteries, you can be sure of…

B&G Nemesis An ususual and generous present and one that will get you kudos with any sailor who knows their stuff. You can even kickstart a fireside conversation about the fact that B&G has been on every Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Race winner since the round the world event started in 1973. The next edition of The Ocean Race starts in October 2022 in Alicante, finishing in Genoa in June 2023. B&G’s Nemesis screen range, as shown here in a photo by Amory Ross on 11th Hour Racing, is a “new generation of intelligent sailing displays offering unparalleled visibility, with complete customisation or easy to use multi-function templates and automatic dashboards based on your angle of sail”. • bandg.com Robbe & Berking champagne flute You can get your hands on…

Light winds and extremely strong spring tides threatened to disrupt the opening day of the 60th anniversary Endeavour Trophy. Instead, four races took place in difficult, shifty conditions, with 31 top teams racing RS200s over windward-leeward courses. This unique event, hosted by Royal Corinthian YC, is strictly invitation only, with entries being offered to hand-picked national champions of a select number of dinghy classes. Its reputation has stood through six decades as the ultimate ‘champion of champions’ event. So it was little surprise when day one brought a different podium ranking in every race. Thames A Rater national champions – Ben Palmer and Amy Seabright – just emerged as overnight leaders thanks to a consistent set of results, including three seconds, sitting just one point ahead of five-times Endeavour champ…

The RYA Dinghy Show is expanding to feature paddleboards, kayaks and other watersports at its 2022 event, on top of the vast range of dinghies and dinghy kit already on show. The show will now be known as the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show presented by Suzuki, for its first edition at Farnborough International conference centre, Hampshire, over the weekend of 26-27 February. The move is in-line with sailing clubs often now having a fleet of SUPs and other watersports kit, to attract new members from the wider community and to keep existing members active on non-sailing days. The trend has proved popular and successful for many clubs. RYA Director of Sport Development Rob Clark said: “For many of us, our time afloat has been extra valuable over the past…

Voting is open in the RYA and Yachts & Yachting Club of the Year Award, supported by Gallagher. Voting closes on Monday 24 January 2022. The annual award recognises the achievements of sailing clubs across the UK, promoting the hard work and dedication that goes into running a successful club. The RYA Awards Panel has selected the finalists, representing the RYA Regions. You now have the chance to vote for the sailing club you think deserves to be RYA Club of the Year 2022. The 2022 Club of the Year will be announced at the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show 2022. Rob Clark, RYA Director of Sport Development, said: “We’ve learnt over the years that each club is different, and all have their strengths. It’s great to hear the stories…

‘But is a sextant of any use, other than as an ornament, or possibly scrap value given the weight of brass in it?’ Shall I sell my old sextant, or not? It has hardly had a busy life since I brought it back from the Atlantic. It’s now a relic of a great adventure so time for someone else to love and cherish it, swing its mirrors to the sun and squint in frustration at the tiny degree markings engraved in brass. I was thinking of ebay but I find their website infuriating. Everything is predictive and demands you enter something in the box marked ‘size’ with options from S to XL. What do they think it is? A t-shirt? Also, when selling a sextant do not to pause after…

Go sailing in winter? You must be joking! If this is your first reaction then perhaps you should think again. In this article I will highlight some of the many reasons why sailing in the colder months is a good idea, with specific examples based in the Solent and adjacent waters. Won’t it be cold? For sure it is most likely to be colder than in July, but an extra layer or two, a warm hat and good gloves should fix that inconvenience. While most would probably not be too enthusiastic about venturing out into a F7 in the pouring rain, a cold dry day with bright blue skies is hard to beat. Cold air is dry air, and this means that everything will have a clarity and sparkle that…

What better way to reach the Caribbean for a winter of racing than by, well, racing there? Entries are still open for RORC’s Transatlantic Race, set to depart 9 January 2022 from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote. Run in association with the International Maxi Association and the Yacht Club de France, over 20 teams are expected to race the 3,000m course to Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada. Those looking to steal the limelight in the hunt for the race record (set in 2015 by Lloyd Thornburg’s MOD70 Phaedo 3, of 5 days 22 hrs 46 mins 03 secs) include three 70ft trimarans, with the strong possibility of Antoine Rabaste’s 80ft Ultim’Emotion 2 also in action. The smallest yacht entered to date is the 2019 overall winner, Richard Palmer’s JPK 1010…

Ah, remember the days when a 40’ yacht was considered large? If you’re under 30 years old, probably not. The economies of scale have essentially ensured that the sub 40’ cruising yacht has become something of an endangered species in recent years. One large manufacturer I interrogated about this admitted that it simply wasn’t economical to make a boat under 35’. Yet lately it seems that manufacturers have also come to see that if they don’t make boats that are at least vaguely affordable, then they sever the supply line of younger sailors buying yachts and falling in love with sailing. It’s the boatbuilding equivalent of sitting on a branch and sawing it off near the tree trunk I suppose. It is therefore heartening that this year has seen the…

The nearest port - Grandcamp - is 13nM from Carentan. This pleasant fishing port has a 234-berth marina and its entrance is open from two hours before to three hours after HW. Les Isles St Marcouf are to the northwest of the Baie de Vay. These two islands (the Isle du Large has a fine Napoleonic fort) are five miles NE of Utah beach. In good weather there are lovely anchorages to the SE of each of the islands, so you can launch your tender and explore the fortifications. Head on around the peninsula and you reach the port of St Vaast la Hougue. This is a decent sized locked marina which has all facilities; with access limited to two hrs before until three hrs after HW. St Vaast is…

Our crew of three left New Zealand on a three month, 13,000nm mile journey to Hong Kong, with a complement of six frozen chickens, 5kg of steaks, three legs of lamb and 24 pork chops in our freezer and the expectation of needing more provisions while on the passage. We arrived in Hong Kong with four chickens and nearly all the other frozen meat still in the freezer and without further provisioning, such was the success of our fishing exploits on this passage. The primary method I use when sailing is trolling with lures while under sail or motor. Although I use powerful carbon fibre rods twinned with heavy-duty game multipliers it is quite effective to clamp a hefty multiplier directly on the pushpit rail and simply crank in the…

When Dutch boat building brothers Dennis and Dean Hennevanger asked me to test sail the Saffier Se 33 a couple of years ago, I obviously could not refuse. The boat was rather big for a daysailer, but also surprisingly simple to handle. Above all it was a fast machine. Not having sailed that kind of boat before, I was amazed by this take on sailing: no fuss with getting your boat prepped for a weekend away, just untie your lines and take it for a spin. Like you would with a motorbike on a sunny day instead of loading up your caravan for hours. Shortly after testing that boat, the Hennevangers announced the even bigger Se 37 Lounge. I caught myself wondering what was next? Can they go even bigger?…

X-442 | XII BAR BLUES The X-442 was conceived as a cruising yacht to be equipped for comfortable long-distance sailing while providing the outstanding sailing performance for which X-Yachts are justifiably famous. The X range is also notable for the quality of construction and the 442 is no exception. All scantlings, right from the laminate of the hull and decks to the dimensions and choice of materials for the rudder stock, keel bolts and chainplates are controlled and approved by the American Bureau of Shipping XII Bar Blues has cruised successfully in the English Channel, The Iberian Peninsula & Algarve, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. She has a 14-day transatlantic crossing to her credit and is quite capable of 200 miles a day in the right conditions. Apart…

We are delighted to announce BoatLife Live as a sponsor of our British Yachting Awards. BoatLife Live is the new pre-season boat show launching at Birmingham NEC in February 2022. The event will take place 17-20 February, occupying three halls and over 20,000sqm, with sailboats up to 45ft ranging from wooden craft, to dinghies and yachts, as well as RIBS, inland craft and watersports, plus equipment and holiday companies. There will be live talks, demonstrations, bars and restaurants. BoatLife Live sponsors our Young Sailor of the Year category. BoatLife Director Richard Dove said: “We are grateful for the opportunity to sponsor The Young Sailor of the Year award. Supporting the boating community is important to the BoatLife team and seeing the talent of the future generations is inspiring.” The category…

SailGP made good on its promise to introduce female athletes into the series, as double Olympic champion Hannah Mills joined Ben Ainslie and the Great Britain SailGP Team onboard the British F50, at the Cadiz event in early October. And it was an action-packed first event for Mills, who arrived fresh from her historic win at Tokyo 2020. Great Britain were doing well until a dramatic, high speed capsize on the final day put paid to their chances of an event win. Mills’ arrival meant the Great Britain team now boasts the most successful ever male and female Olympic sailors on board. She said: “I’ve been incredibly excited to be racing this weekend, it’s a really great step forward for the female athletes to be in the thick of it,…

The spectacular end to the Med racing season, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, turned into one of the biggest ever and most exciting gatherings of Maxi yachts, with fresh conditions giving the big guns a chance to let rip on the glorious waters of the French village’s famous bay. A fleet of 45 Maxis competed in the regatta, with Comanche, pictured here, taking IRC1 and the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez Trophy. Wallys, J-Class and classic yachts made up the extraordinary Saint-Tropez fleet.…

‘I LOVE LUKE AND STU’S ENTHUSIASM TO COME BACK FROM THE OLYMPICS AND HURL THEMSELVES INTO GRASSROOTS SAILING’ Idon’t know about you, but I think learning the Racing Rules of Sailing is quite boring. Despite the best (and mostly very good efforts) to simplify the rule book over the past couple of decades, for entertainment it’s just not quite up there with Netflix. However, I wish I’d been up on my rules a bit more for the Oxford and Cambridge Generation Game at Farmoor Reservoir near Oxford, a trip back in time to team race in Fireflies. There’s nothing quite like team or match racing to make you actually want to swot up on the Racing Rules. I have scarcely done any team racing since the mid to late Eighties…

Have you ever had ‘that sinking feeling’? Barring one or two lamentable incidents involving small craft I’ve never followed it to its awful conclusion and, God willing, I never shall, but I’ve had some near misses. One of the more spectacular events was many years ago when I was a gash hand on a 90-ton trading ketch. The vessel was far from new and my shipmates and I had recently ballasted her with iron pigs set under a skim of concrete on the ceiling - or floor - of the hold. The surprisingly shallow bilge ran beneath this ceiling. It was mid-winter and we were slugging down the Bay of Biscay in storm-force conditions. The running lamps had blown out and my watchmate and I had just avoided a freighter…

ALLURES 40.9 Larger and therefore more expensive but, as mentioned, there aren’t many yachts available of this type in the sub 40’ bracket. The 40.9 also features an all-aluminium hull and swing keel. allures.com DJANGO 12.7 Another radical French design that offers similar levels of versatility but with a fibreglass hull. This is a somewhat more performance oriented yacht that features the options of either swing, fixed or even twin keels. Mareehaute.fr RUSTLER 37 An different beast but still the sort of boat that sailors with a desire to go blue water adventuring will consider. Renowned build and seamanlike fit-out. rustleryachts.com…

Winter afloat? Elsewhere in this issue we discuss the possibilities of winter sailing in the UK. The conclusions are that it’s eminently possible with care, albeit a bit chilly at times. If you are serious about a spot of winter sailing then the only option is to keep your boat afloat. This has a couple of other clear advantages: it’s generally quite cheap and your boat is also well protected from frost damage as it is somewhat insulated against it. swinging Marina berth mooring or ? The next question is whether you are tough enough for a swinging mooring. These can be obtained for bargain rates in winter but there is definitely something intimidating about rowing out to your boat on even the most beautiful crisp winter day. It is…

The ideal fishing speed is 5-7kts; if you are sailing or motoring faster than that you’re likely to rip the hook out of the fish’s mouth. You’ll find the best success fishing the lure in the second wave following the yacht, however in long ocean swells this can be quite a distance so make sure you have plenty of line on the reel. Fig 1 shows two rods out, but if you’re shorthanded, just beginning, or sailing other than on a run or broad reach, you’ll be better to use one rod only. Once the lure is paid out to the required distance behind the yacht, set the ratchet of the reel to 'on' and the clutch to 'stiff', so that the line will pull off but not too easily.…

Ciguatera poisoning can cause very serious illness in people that have consumed fish that are carrying the toxin. The symptoms of Ciguatera poisoning are vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, sweating, dizziness, loss of consciousness and even death. It is caused by Gamabierdiscus Toxicus, a microscopic marine organism that inhabits some coral reefs at certain times of the year. It can occur on, or around coral reefs, between the latitudes 35° north and 35° south. Reef fish ingest this dinoflagellate and larger fish that feed on the reef fish will take on the toxin. It is retained in the body of the fish or mammal permanently and never passes through. For some mysterious reason, it only affects some reefs in a given area and then again only at some non-forecastable times. The best…

This is me being awkward, and particular. It may seem I am splitting hairs, but I feel that in this case the terms we use are quite important. What am I on about? To quote from my own Addicted to More Adventure, hopefully soon to be published: ‘It always amuses me, or perhaps annoys me a little to be honest, when people sail out of Puerto Williams or Ushuaia, sail round Cape Horn island, go back again and say they have rounded the Horn. They have not, not in the true sense of the word’. Rounding the Horn involves sailing from 50°S on one side of South America to 50°S the other side, which is a very different ball game. They may have sailed around Cape Horn island, which is…

Whether you’re supporting your own club series, travelling to a local open, or aiming for one of the high profile events this winter, the universal hope is that crisp blue skies and blustery winter winds prevail. After the trials of last winter’s lockdowns, sailors and organisers alike have their fingers crossed that covid remains at bay and the elements conspire favourably in order for full race series to be completed. Let’s face it, nothing quite beats knowing you have given it your all in a solid couple of races before heading ashore to warm up and tuck into a Sunday roast. At the very least, winter series racing makes your senses tingle, and at most, lets you hone race skills, teamwork and resilience in a unique way that can really…