Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i Yachting Monthly

Is it the ability to pull off impressive feats of seamanship and come alongside with aplomb that makes the best skippers? Or does it have more to do with navigating the rocky coastline of interpersonal relationships within the narrow confines of a small yacht at the mercy of the weather’s vicissitudes? Many of us sail with friends and family, rather than a disciplined race crew, and how much we enjoy our time spent on board and the degree of harmony between the crew is often a greater mark of success than miles logged or hardships overcome. We talked to three of the world’s best skippers – Pete Goss, Dee Caffari and Conrad Humphreys – about how to skipper a boat in such a way that crews remain motivated and willing…

New guidelines have been issued on how to use water facilities safely on board. Water suppliers and marine experts have contributed to the Industry Best Practice (IBP) Marine Water Facilities – Inland and Coastal document, which provides guidance on safe and environmentally friendly water use. Ideas include using only food-grade hoses for filling up onboard cold water storage tanks, and adding in double check valves. Read it here: www.yachtingmonthly.com/news/best-practice-for-filling-up-your-yacht-with-water-71081…

BRIAN BLACK Brian has survived nine Arctic seasons, has a wide range of knowledge in cruising and seamanship and often finds himself getting out of tricky situations at sea. HARRY DEKKERS Harry is an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and has sailed solo around the UK. He was the Commanding Officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy’s sail training vessel. TIM HEALEY Tim Healey is the head of one-design at North Sails and provides both sail making and training for North Sails customers GORDON BONNEY Gordon Bonney set up Performance Rigging based in Hamble and has many years of rigging expertise…

Toby Heppell is the Sailing Editor for Yachting Monthly. He has been sailing all his life and has been writing about it for more than 15 years. Good leadership sounds like something required of the Navy, or a perhaps a committed race team and not something necessarily required for a day’s sail with friends and family. In reality, although we might not all think about our skippering skills in leadership terms, good leadership is often the difference between a skipper people like sailing with and a bad one, or an enjoyable day on the water with a happy crew or a long sail with arguments. ACCEPT MISTAKES WILL HAPPEN In a perfect world no one would ever make any mistakes and we could all go about our lives in a…

Toby Heppell is the Sailing Editor for Yachting Monthly. He has been sailing all his life and has been writing about it for more than 15 years. Finding yourself in a man overboard (MOB) situation probably ranks near the top of every sailor’s list of biggest fears. Even close to shore this can be a potentially fatal situation, which is why MOB manoeuvres are included in many training courses and exam situations. Though many examiners for Yachtmaster have their own areas they like to focus on in an exam – the syllabus being too wide ranging to cover everything in a single exam setting – MOB always features. It's also a good demonstration of boat-handling ability as well as a key safety manoeuvre. Many of the suggested steps to get…

‘Great Andaman where Inhabitants are said to be Cannibals’. These ominous words hang in the air, which is thick with the smell of old paper, ink and dust as we gingerly leaf through piles of ‘blueback’ charts in the basement of Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson Ltd. Yachting Monthly is being given a tour of the nautical publisher’s HQ in Wych House in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. We are poring over some of the company’s oldest charts including this one from 1784 of Andaman and the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean. The chart is marked in black and red ink, with everything in red highlighting an amendment. It also includes remarks from one Captain Phineas Hunt, detailing the Nicobar Islands’ channels and harbours as well as where there is an…

MARA BUOY 10:75S EASY MOORING BUOY Mara EFS has added an affordable 10-tonne buoy to its range of deck-level mooring systems. It is aimed at small to medium-sized boats and has been re-engineered to make it more affordable for the average leisure buyer. The new buoy has a 10-tonne breaking load, and nominally sits 75cm above the water. maraefs.com FUSION AND APPLE AIRPLAY STREAM MUSIC ONBOARD Marine audio specialist Fusion has added Apple AirPlay 2 functionality to the new Apollo Series marine audio systems. This new feature is available with a free software update. With Apple AirPlay 2, users can stream audio from an app on compatible Apple devices to the Apollo Series stereos. In addition, they will be able to stream the same audio to multiple Apollo Series stereos…

When we went looking for our first yacht, many boats never made our short list. The reason? They smelt damp, mouldy, unloved and uncared for. We certainly did not want our boat to end up like that, particularly as we like to sail outside the summer months. A moist boat has any number of root causes. Clearly it will always be operating in a wet environment, but there are many other causes of moisture beyond just that of the sea and spray. Firstly, the air that surrounds us has moisture in it. From the table (next page) we can see that at 80% humidity at 20°C, then 1m³ of air will contain 13.8g of water and for now we will simply take 1g water as 1ml. The table shows the…

1 PICK A LANDMARK Find a landmark at least three miles distant. Close to slack water, motor round slowly in a circle, checking the bearing of the object on a hand bearing compass. If it remains the same, you are free from interference and can proceed with checking your deviation. Don’t worry about the bearing changing. One degree over one mile is roughly 30m. At three miles you have 90m either side of your starting point before the compass will move one degree. If you are six miles distant, you’ll have 180m either side to play with. As you’re working between two magnetic compasses, you don’t need to worry about magnetic variation. 2 SLOW CIRCLES Motor in a slow circle again. Every 30° of course change, check the bearing of…

ON HAPPY CREW-PAGE 36 PETE GOSS ‘Sailing hard can put your family off sailing. Go easy and agree what would make a good cruise.’ DEE CAFFARI ‘Eating and sleeping are two key points that result in tension. We’ve all been in that ‘hangry’ state. It’s the worst.’ CONRAD HUMPHREYS ‘Everyone brings something to the table, so focus on what people can do rather than what they can’t. Give people a particular job.’…

19 UK marine products were nominated for prestigious DAME Design Award 2019, a third of all nominations +200 More than 200 yachts, ranging from 34ft-117ft, are expected to take part in ARC 2019, sailing from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 24 November bound for St Lucia 11 Veteran solo circumnavigator Jon Sanders has left Australia for his 11th circumnavigation of the world. He will be collecting daily water samples to help further research into microplastics Transat woes A collision with an unknown object ended HUGO BOSS’ debut race in the Transat Jacques Vabre. Alex Thomson and Neal McDonald were forced to detach the IMOCA 60’s 4.5m long keel before sailing 800 miles to the Cape Verde Islands…

It should go without saying that safety-critical kit for a MOB situation should be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Checking this should be a part of your leaving harbour checks. Throughout the course of the day there were a few things we noticed that were snagging points. Some dan buoys – offshore variants – have an extending pole. These are often the twist-to-lock type. Are you familiar with your dan buoy? We certainly threw ours over several times during the day without extending the pole or failing to lock it off once extended. Also, the dan buoy flag should be rolled around itself (above) and not around its pole, otherwise it will not unfurl once in the water, reducing its use as a visual aid. Boat hooks go…

Jeff Wrinch, 57, owned a Southerly 135 before buying the Privilege 435 catamaran, Rock ‘n’ no Roll which he cruises with his wife Melanie and dog, Woody My attention was diverted away from the helm as I noticed something flopping about in the water 100 yards ahead. A fin? Two fins? No, they were wing tips attached to graceful and gliding manta rays. I called my wife Melanie and we turned off the engines to try and avoid frightening them off. We drifted slowly towards them to discover that our Privilege 435 catamaran, Rock ‘n’ no Roll, was surrounded by a family of them, eight in all. Incredibly they seemed not the least bit bothered by us, cruising around gently in circles, just doing their thing. Now stationary, I stripped…

MAID MATELOT Lady Rozelle Raynes First published 1971 by the Nautical Publishing Company. Most recent edition Castweasel 2004 (currently out of print) In December 1943, 18-year-old Wren Stoker Rozelle Pierrepont and her friends had been sent to HMS Abatos, the Southampton HQ of Force Pluto (the pipeline intended to supply fuel to the Allies after D-Day). Soon after their arrival, the engines of the Commander’s yacht refused to start. In desperation, their coxswain instructed them to remove all the spark plugs and touch-up their points with lead pencil. ‘We carefully replaced them, pressed the self-starters and the engines burst into life; two seconds later one of them burst into flames!’ Off Netley there was an ominous gurgling noise under the after deck-boards. I bent down and gingerly levered up one…

The Men’s North Hill Jacket and the Women’s Whitesand Jacket are Gill’s first foray into creating insulated pieces in its Active range and offer consumers outer layers that are multifunctional and wearable both on and off the water. The jacket is a down-style outer-layer, with a synthetic equivalent of down insulation that offers the same properties, but with the key advantage that it can be easily washed in a standard washing machine. There is no doubt this is a warm, waterproof jacket. I’ve worn it on several occasions and have put it through the washing machine once. There has been little in the way of loss of waterproofing so far and it feels just as well insulated as it did out of the bag. Though sold as an outer-layer there…

Duncan Kent, yacht tester for 25 years, checks out the used boat market Erik and Diani both did a little dinghy sailing with their family in their early teens but neither has sailed out of sight of land. Inspired by a recent visit to the Southampton Boat Show they’ve decided they’d like to get back on the water again, but this time to go coastal cruising with thoughts of maybe venturing further afield when they become more experienced. Friends of theirs keep a Westerly Pageant on the east coast, which they’ve enjoyed sailing a couple of times. They loved being out on the sea but believe they’ll need something a little bigger to cope with their three-year-old son and their second child, currently on the way. Their budget is tight…

WIN A FLOATING HANDHELD VHF UK residents only The Confession of the Month wins a Standard Horizon HX210E water-proof VHF radio worth £134.95. It boasts a water activated strobe, 6W transmission, largest-in-class screen, an FM radio and more. www.standardhorizon.co.uk Newton’s third law of motion Christopher Hill cj.jail@btinternet.com On our first family flotilla we had a gentle first day sail from Skiathos to raft up stern-to a rocky breakwater. The instructions were simple – drop the main anchor and reverse to within about 5m of the rocks, then take out the kedge in the dinghy and drop it in the rocks before tightening everything up. We were the last boat in with a decent audience and sent Edward, our 10-year-old, to anchor with the kedge. As he stood up and started…

The International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS) has launched a campaign to set up an international database of known yacht faults. It is also calling on the industry to do more to highlight latent defects, rather than waiting on boat owners to report them. The IIMS’s CEO Mike Schwarz, together with vice president Geoff Waddington, has written an open letter to the industry urging manufactures to act responsibly. They said that while some manufacturers act correctly, providing repair teams to rectify problems, others take a ‘damage limitation attitude and approach’ which ‘is not good enough when the safety of life is potentially being put at risk.’ The IIMS also believes a database of vessel faults would help the surveying profession and is asking surveyors to submit their findings. It stressed…

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) wants all yacht manufacturers to provide mandatory guidance on the inspection and maintenance of keels. Currently International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) standards recommend guidance on keels be given, but it is not a requirement. The MAIB’s recommendations follow the capsize of the Comar Comet 45 Sport yacht, Tyger of London off Tenerife on 7 December 2017. A passing yacht, St Barbara V, rescued all five crew and there were no serious injuries. During its investigation the MAIB discovered that the UK registered charter yacht lost its keel because it hadn’t been manufactured in accordance with the yacht’s design intent. Specifically, the stainless steel keel rods forming the frame and their interconnecting plates had been only partially welded to the underside of the top plate,…

WIN The letter of the month wins a bottle of Pusser’s Rum, produced to Admiralty specification and served daily to every sailor in the Royal Navy for more than 300 years (UK residents only) www.pussersrum.com Learning the rules of the road We had departed Dunstaffnage and sailed through Oban Bay, down the Kerrera Sound. The boat was ‘in the groove’ sailing across the bay. A fishing boat started her course across the natural line a yacht would take to enter The Sound of Insh, forcing us to change course to pass behind her with little room to spare. The fishing boat was not fishing; there were no inverted cones to be seen and on this dark morning, no lights. What I did see was the fishing boat skipper, arms outstretched…

James Stevens, author of the Yachtmaster Handbook, spent 10 of his 23 years at the RYA as chief examiner In a crowded anchorage, would you re-anchor? Q Tom is skipper of Binnacle, a Contessa 32 which he has been cruising with three friends. They have just completed a 90-mile overnight trip and are arriving in a sheltered bay in late afternoon. The plan is to anchor, go ashore in the dinghy for victuals and dinner at a local café, then back to the yacht for a well-needed early night. It’s a popular bay for anchoring so Tom is delighted to find a spot close to the beach where there is plenty of shelter but deep enough to stay over low water. There is about half a knot of tidal stream…

We learned a lot in those few hours. The most important being to use more anchor chain, now we use as much as possible, even if it’s well over the recommended amount. Mishaps happen when you’re least expecting it, anyone would have put their money on something going wrong in Ramsey Sound, not the placid shallow pool of Solva. Tiredness and fatigue will get you before any big wave will. We often look back and wonder, ‘why on earth did we close the fuel and raw water sea-cock every time we switched off the engine?’ By buying a boat and learning to sail on that boat, we were bound to find ourselves in these easily preventable situations. Since this occasion we have made silly mistakes, but they are becoming fewer…

James Stevens, former RYA chief examiner, says… ‘It is a good plan to stop the boat as soon as possible by tacking or gybing into the heave to position upwind of the casualty. A gybe is quick for yachts going upwind but more dangerous if there is any crew left on board. Use the engine to drift accurately down to the MOB. If that fails throw over the yellow stuff and go into the quick stop or reach-tack-reach. If you can see the MOB, don’t go below, sail back keeping eye contact. If you can’t see the MOB, press the red button on the ship’s radio and select the MOB function. If your DSC radio is connected to a GPS the CG will know your yacht MMSI, its position and…

Pippin ascended a particularly big wave, like an elevator to the 30th floor, and somewhere around the 15th my breakfast porridge ejected across the cockpit. This wasn’t sea sickness; I felt fine before and after, but it continued at regular intervals as I fought Pippin west through the gathering darkness. It’s hard tacking into strong winds and seas alone, but even harder when you are vomiting everything you’ve got. No one ever said the Jester Baltimore Challenge would be easy. Hours earlier my 1997 Frances 34 Pilothouse, Pippin had crossed the start line at Plymouth. Technically Pippin is 34ft, 4ft over the maximum allowed, but organiser Ewen Southby-Tailyour said it was OK and no-one objected. I had sailed Plymouth to Baltimore before, albeit disastrously; this time I just had to…

Sheila Bransfield, Frontline Books Edward Bransfield was kidnapped by a Royal Navy press gang from Ballinacurra, County Cork in 1803. Sheila Bransfield has researched the logs and muster rolls of every ship in which he subsequently served. Bransfield went from the lower decks to become an expert navigator and ship’s master. In December 1819 he was sent from Valparaiso in a merchant brig to investigate reports of a southern continent. He and his companions named landmarks and proved the existence of Antarctica – though few took much notice. Bransfield’s achievement was all in a day’s work, which makes it even more impressive. FANTASTIC FEMALE ADVENTURERS Lily Dhu (illustrated by Chellie Carroll), Shrine Bell Lily Dhu ‘the girl who hated sports at school’ introduces 13 female adventurers ranging from celebrities, such…

Anchor design is always evolving and Ultra Marine claim its new design is the best yet. Theo Stocker tested the 12kg model, with the Ultra Flip Swivel, on his Sadler 29. At first glance the anchor is similar to a Spade anchor, but with curves on three planes. The upper surface curves strongly downwards towards the tip, so that it catches and digs in even on hard, flat surfaces. The fluke is concave side to side to prevent ploughing, and the undersides of the fluke arc downwards with side plates at the back to force the tip down. The tip is filled with lead to maximise tip loading, while a hollow shank creates a stronger shape than plate metal and lowers the centre of gravity. This weight distribution, supplemented by…

Coming back from Devon this summer, I needed to steer an easterly course to clear the Portland Race, but as the sun emerged from behind the clouds, I realised I could barely see my compass card. The domes of both of my steering compasses (our boat was fitted with two) where crazed and hazy from UV damage and one of them had sprung a leak so the card moved jerkily rather than smoothly. It was, I resolved, time to give my aging Plastimo Contest 100 steering compasses some much needed love and attention. RESTORING AN OLD COMPASS There are a few things you can do to bring an old and tired compass back to life. Firstly, the plastic flange around the dome, and the markings for angle of heel, can…

PRICE £12,500-£17,500 YEAR 1981-1986 The first of Moody’s long list of Bill Dixon designs, the Moody 27 was launched in 1981 and became an instant hit among young families wanting a stable and comfortable cruising yacht that wasn’t too expensive to berth and maintain. She was considered a sprightly performer in her time and easily out-sailed Moody’s earlier Primrose designs. Her 44% ballast ratio makes her a stiff boat, well able to stand up to her sail area, which at 38m²/412sq ft is reasonably generous. High topsides increased volume and headroom below, and in turn added buoyancy when heeled. Below the waterline she is quite shallow, which gives her good downwind speed. She came with either a fin keel for passage making or deep bilge keels for creek crawling and…