Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2025 i Sailing Today

Back in the 1970s multihull saillors were generally a pretty esoteric lot. It didn’t help that Donald Crowhurst ushered in the new decade with his tragic exploits in his Teignmouth Electron trimaran. Back then a shaggy beard and pipe were prerequisites of anyone serious about going multihull sailing. Yet times have unquestionably changed and we find ourselves in an era where cruising catamarans continue to take up an increasingly large share of the market. This is not really hugely surprising given the acres of space on a relatively stable platform a multihull offers. New launches continue to come out at a rapid rate and it’s hard to get a handle on the market. In this guide, we are looking predominantly at the 30’ plus cruising catamaran market to help you…

“It was an absolute scrap, requiring every ounce of concentration” Once you’ve won an Olympic gold medal and earned your way through to the big league, why would you ever go back to race against the weekend warriors? If you win, well that’s because you’re a full-time sailor racing against part-timers. A gun to a knife fight. But if you lose... Which is why I have great admiration for those brave enough to put aside their egos and go racing with the rest of us. In July, during the blazing heat of Wimbledon fortnight, I hitched my Musto Skiff onto the back of the Mazda and drove north to the Lake District on a hot Friday afternoon. From sunny Winchester via the parking lot around Birmingham to - just under…

Back to sea. Off to the end of land, away from the pastoral, the pretty order of serene lawns, blackbirds and cottages, farms and ploughed earth. The tide carried us back down the sheltered rivers of the Tamar Valley, a gentle shove – like your brother teaching you to ride a bicycle – and we were out. Back to the westerly winds and Atlantic swell, a sea that demands your full attention, enthusiastic waves rising up in greeting. And what a show. The full palette of blues – navy, indigo, denim, azure – a cloudless sky of lunchtime cobalt scattered on diamond shards of water. Back to the excitement of squawking gulls chasing fishing boats, common dolphins chasing Isean. The sweet smell, like melon wrapped up in salt. My hand…

The second edition of The Ocean Race Europe will start on 10 August from Kiel, Germany. Seven crews sailing their foiling IMOCA60s will embark on a 4,500nm race, linking seven countries in six weeks under the banner of ‘connecting Europe’ and destined for a finale on Montenegro’s beautiful Boka Bay in late September. The race features four exciting stopovers – the first of which is Portsmouth. Anyone who has followed recent editions of The Ocean Race, or indeed, 2021’s inaugural Ocean Race Europe – a spin-off event born from the challenges of the pandemic (see box on facing page) – will know that having this race come to our doorstep means we are in for a treat. Fans are expected in their thousands to Gunwharf Quays, where the boats and…

50° 09’90N, 005°05’02W The vibrant and historic town of Falmouth in Cornwall, which is located within an area of outstanding natural beauty is one of the most desirable places to visit when cruising the west country. Given its popularity there are plenty of sheltered berthing options available including Premier’s Falmouth Marina, which sits conveniently on the south bank up Penryn River. The main Falmouth harbour, as you enter from the Channel – Carrick Roads – is one of the world’s largest natural deep-water harbours and extends northwards as far as the River Fal. In the 18th century it became a bustling hub for packet ships carrying mail, and other commercial goods including timber, iron, coal, and charcoal. It was also an important harbour for the arrival of imported goods such…

Turner for the record books On Monday 30 June, Jazz Turner sailed into Brighton Marina and the record books after four weeks at sea. On 2 June, she had set off on a mission to become the first ever disabled person to sail solo and unassisted around the British Isles. Now, with a 2,070 mile route around Great Britain behind her, she has achieved this dream. After a challenging childhood, growing up in an abusive household, and a recent terminal diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, the 26-year-old demonstrated awe-inspiring determination and grit to complete this endeavour. As a full-time wheelchair user, Turner’s voyage and disability campaigning has not only served as an inspiration for people with disabilities and young girls looking to get into sailing, it has also raised £45,000…

Our speed over ground aboard Polaris reads 16kts. It’s midnight and the black, star-studded sky jigs around overhead. I’m tethered to the helm, watching our instruments like a hawk as I bear away to take pressure off the already reefed sails. We’re over halfway across the Pacific Ocean, on a beam reach heading west. Right now, our destination is unclear. Niue is top of the list but, we’ll let the wind decide. We’ve waited weeks to depart the western atolls of French Polynesia for a perfect weather window that never came and now we’re under pressure. It’s May and we’ve decided to spend cyclone season in New South Wales, Australia approximately 3,200nm away. We need to be there by October to be safe – the clock is ticking if we…

Many years back as a young journalist I was invited to a press conference at a hotel complex where the smooth-talking owner presented an exciting plan to build a series of ‘Eco Pods’ on the land behind the hotel. These looked suspiciously like ugly, prefabricated sheds but, no, they were Eco Pods so everything was alright. “The energy used to heat one of these Eco Pods is the equivalent to that used to boil a kettle” the owner smugly informed us. “Over what time scale?” some stentorian journalist piped up. There was an awkward pause; “I don’t have that information to hand” he replied. This was a fine early example of what has been commonly known as ‘greenwashing’. Often this involves making some symbolic gesture to the environment while ploughing…

Aside from the on the water action at the SailGP, which is always guaranteed to be uber exciting, it was the sight of the mind-boggling 20,000 ticketed fans who attended the two-day event, as well as the thousands more watching from the water and along the coast, that really made this edition – the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth – a British spectacle. Although the home team of Emirates Great Britain SailGP wowed the crowds all weekend with their impressive performance which saw them take the overnight lead going into the final day with a 1,2,3,2 scorline, and a 6pt clear lead over Switzerland, it was the second day where they managed to maintain their consistency that ensured their place within the top three overall going into…

JEANNEAU SUN FAST 3300 | BRAVE ULYSSES The Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 is the brain child of Guillaume Verdier and Daniel Andrieu, whose collaboration guarantees high performance and success under a variety of rating rules. Taking advantage of Jeanneau’s long history of infusion manufacturing, every part of the 3300 is infusion molded, dramatically reducing the all-up weight of the boat while increasing stiffness. Combining the light hull with twin rudders, carbonfibre rig, generous sail plan, and straight keel, the 3300 will excel as an offshore racer. Sailing fully crewed, double, or singlehanded, this Sun Fast is a truly exhilarating boat – she can be raced or used for ‘fast cruising’. Brave Ulysses was launched at the end of 2020 (with a 2021 hull number) and has been used extremely lightly…

One summer’s evening in the days before internet weather forecasting, I was deeply involved in the after-race ‘do’ following a Solent Old Gaffers event. In the 1970s these regattas drew entrants large and small from northern Europe as well as the South Coast of England. The boats were jammed into what was Groves and Gutteridge Marina in West Cowes. G&G had none of the outside protection now enjoyed by its successor, Cowes Yacht Haven, with many boats rafted up on the outside berths. The 1800 shipping forecast threatened northeasterly winds, but assured mariners that these were unlikely to exceed Force 4. West Cowes isn’t much of a berth in a northeasterly even today with the additional offshore breakwater installed in the interim. Back then, it was wide open several miles…

There are many highs to cruising around the Adriatic in high summer and getting paid for the pleasure but somehow it’s the shuddering lows that stick in the mind. Given that it is a very human trait to enjoy tales of suffering rather than stories of deep self satisfaction, I’ll start with one that jumps to my mind; plunging into the slightly oily waters of Stari Grad harbour on the island of Hvar to untangle a prop wrap on my birthday. This had occurred when a zealous guest had cast off the lazy line at the bow then thoughtfully pulled up the slack as he walked back to the cockpit. Inevitably, the prop fouled the tight line and the boat, on tickover ahead, slowly wound in on the line, meaning…

Nestled in the sapphire Ionian Sea, Ithaca is my favourite island in the southern Ionian. Without an international airport, it remains untouched by mass tourism, preserving an authentic atmosphere. Woven into the fabric of Homeric legend is more than just the fabled home of Odysseus – Ithaca is a place where magic and reality are hard to separate. In summer, as the sun blazes overhead and cicadas fill the olive groves, time stands still in the anchorages. As you sail around headlands, bay after bay appears, inviting you to drop anchor and never leave. Rocky hills with trails through pine forests to ancient ruins offer glimpses into a landscape that has inspired poets and adventurers for centuries. Ithaca offers some of the best anchorages and harbours in the Ionian. The…

In Potopaddu harbour, on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia, we were navigating through a narrow and tricky channel, with minimal depths, which then widened into a large, sheltered pool. There were several small fishing boats with nets and lines out to one side of this broad basin and a number of the crew waved at us enthusiastically, helping to guide us in. Once the anchor was down, one of them sculled over, with a beaming smile and a crate of fresh, glistening mullet in his boat. As a courtesy for their help we were happy to buy some which made him grin even wider and made us pleased about having completed a hard passage with a new plan for our next meal. I’m getting fish for dinner. All over the…