Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i Yachting Monthly

Fatalism, fear or focus. The current global pandemic continues to provide ample opportunity for parallels to sailing. Perhaps our pastime requires more than most hobbies by way of enduring discomfort and overcoming both physical and mental challenges. We have a choice about how we respond to these maritime afflictions. The fatalist, and we’ve all sailed with one, acknowledges how little control they have over Mother Nature and how insignificant they are on the face of the ocean. ‘If I am sunk in a storm or fall overboard, then at least I’ll have gone doing what I love.’ They shun the strictures of safety impedimenta in order to fully embrace their fate. The fearful – we’ve all been there – watch anxiously as the wind speed climbs and the waves build…

Which sailor in the last 10 years has had the greatest positive impact on the sport? Following the decision not to award the Yachtsman of the Year, Young Sailor of the Year or Young Blogger of the Year in 2020, both the Yachting Journalists’ Association (YJA) and MS Amlin have decided to launch the new International Sailor of the Decade award. Nominations are open until 23 October via the YJA website: www.yja. world with the presentation of the award being held during the Yacht Racing Forum in November.…

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.pussers.com What would you do? Berthed on a finger pontoon at Lymington Town Quay I was woken by a group of youths clambering over my decks at 0100. Half asleep but buoyed by adrenaline I burst out of the saloon as they discussed what they could steal from the cockpit. Startled, they lost their collective nerve and knocked into me in their haste to get ashore. They talked about ‘coming back to get me’ and one threw a heavy object at my yacht. Feeling threatened and vulnerable I rang the police who dispatched a patrol car,…

THIS MONTH’S EXPERTS DARIA BLACKWELL Daria is Vice Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club. She sails a Bowman 57 ketch with her husband, Alex. Daria lives on the west coast of Ireland. TONY CURPHEY Tony started offshore sailing in 1993. He has circumnavigated the world four times, including non-stop and unassisted in his Nicholson 32. JULIAN AND PATRICIA MORGAN Julian and Patricia left the UK in September 2017 to sail around the world in their Allures 45.9. They are now in New Zealand. BEN SUTCLIFFE-DAVIES Ben is a Chartered Surveyor and regular contributor to Yachting Monthly. He has been working in the marine industry for many years. GRAHAM SNOOK Graham is a marine photographer and journalist who has been involved in testing yachts for over 20 years. He cruises a…

The atmosphere is a pretty turbulent place and this turbulence occurs on several levels of scale. On a global scale there are the major high and low pressure areas with the wind circulating round them. Then there can be the more local areas of turbulence, which we know and love as the high and low pressure areas that are typically noted on the weather forecast. Gusts On a very local scale there are gusts of wind that may only exist over an area of perhaps a few hundred metres and whilst these gusts may not be particularly significant in the greater scheme of things, gusts can present a challenging situation for yachts because they can upset the equilibrium of a nice day’s sailing. As a rule of thumb, the wind…

When it comes to a major event such as a lightning strike on your boat, it all boils down to how good your insurance broker and insurer are. In August 2019, whilst our Beneteau 393, Blue Mistress, was moored at her home berth, at St Helier Marina in Jersey, she sustained a direct lightning strike. Luckily, we were not on board, due to a very timely invite to our daughter-in-law’s birthday celebrations. It took a while to realise that something major had happened. When we arrived at our boat and opened up, we were greeted by a very strong smell that I can liken to burning Bakelite. Initially we did not think too much of it, opened the boat and re-flushed the heads, as you do. Our shore power had…

Lu Heikell gained a love of sailing from her father, Peter. She met her husband Rod when she was crew on a trip from the Azores to Gibraltar in 1999. She and Rod have lived, loved and worked together for 20 years and live on the Isle of Wight. DO YOU ONLY HAVE A WEEK TO SPARE? For those of us who are time poor but who want to seize the moment, either on our own boat or on a charter, it is reassuring to know that there are plenty of cruising hubs from where we can enjoy some of the best of the region in only a few days. A Week Afloat, commissioned by Yachting Monthly and Imray, visits some ideal destinations and suggests a one week itinerary. Each…

Bethan Griffiths is a designer and consultant of cast and forged ironwork, an artist blacksmith, and owner of The Ironwork Studio I don’t remember the precise moment when the idea of taking our boat to Holland for the summer became more than a ‘what if’. I’m an inexperienced sailor to say the least, and with two young kids in tow, Isabel (five) and Beatrix (18 months), I felt very daunted. However, on seeing the same fire and excitement in my husband’s eyes as when we first bought the boat there was only ever going to be one answer, ‘Yes of course darling,’ followed by my inward panic! Our boat, Blackthorn, is a beautiful 44ft Thames sailing barge built in steel by Owen Emerson at his River Medway yard and finished…

If you want to tell us why you love your boat, get in touch by email yachtingmonthly@futurenet.com or by post Yachting Monthly, Future Plc, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF Duncan Kent has been testing boats for more than 25 years, and is a technical feature writer and editor for numerous nautical magazines and digital publications worldwide Stephen Jones drew up the first of Sadler International’s Starlights, the 38 in 1988, which soon after became the 39. He followed this in 1991 with the equally popular Starlight 35. The company was rescued from the recession in 1993 by Rival Bowman Yachts, which continued to build the range, launching an improved MkII model with a slightly larger rig. Sadly, it too went under in 1998 and the…

SAIL GP FOR PLYMOUTH SailGP’s Season 2 European debut will take place in Plymouth on 17-18 July 2021 NEW PONTOONS AT DUVER Bembridge Harbour Authority has invested in 36 additional finger pontoons at Duver Marina COASTGUARD OF THE YEAR Alan Stewart (pictured left) has been named Coastguard of the Year METS TO GO VIRTUAL The world’s biggest marine trade show METSTRADE, due to be held on 17-19 November in Amsterdam, has been cancelled. Organisers are working on holding a virtual show WIN FOR PIP Vendée Globe entrant Pip Hare and her crew, Paul Larsen and Mike Ferguson, took line honours in the inaugural Lonely Rock Race aboard her recently relaunched IMOCA 60 Medallia NEW PUMP OUT FOR CHICHESTER Chichester Harbour Conservancy has installed a new free pump-out station at its…

33 A record sized fleet will compete in the 2020 Vendée Globe, with 33 competitors registered to be on the start line offLes Sables d’Olonne on 8 November 41 The 41st Swanwick Used Boat Show will be held at Premier Swanwick from 10-18 October, featuring sailing and power boats Scotland’s Boat Show postponed Scotland’s Boat Show, held annually in October, has been postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Organisers have confirmed that next year’s event at Kip Marina will take place on 8-10 October 2021, and will include the River of Light display and a shoreside festival of Scottish food and drink. boatshow@kipmarina.co.uk…

When I bought my Bavaria 42, it was obvious that the previous owner kept it in tip-top condition and thought had clearly gone into the maintenance. There was no mention, however, of rigging checks or replacement. The boat is now coming up to 20 years old. It’s been recommended, and I have read, that I should get a professional rigging inspection carried out for insurance purposes. Having asked around, it seems that these rigging surveyors just give it an eyeball inspection. As an ex-marine engineer, I was wondering if there was any benefit in carrying out a liquid dye crack detection test. I used to use this method of testing all the time professionally, including on piston crowns and lifting wires. Would this work for mast wire rigging? Isn’t it…

Julian Wolfram is a physicist, of ocean engineering at Heriot Watt in Edinburgh and a Yachtmaster Offshore who has cruised and raced for 45 years. naval architect, former professor There are many desirable attributes sailors want in their cruising yacht. Stability is obviously a crucial factor, but there are other important factors that should be considered when judging a sailing yacht and the balance of these will depend on the type of cruising envisaged and whether there may be some club racing involved. Comfort, or seakindliness, is high on many people’s list and a boat that bounces around or slams in a choppy sea is generally shunned by all except hardened racers who will put up with any discomfort in the pursuit of speed. However, most sailors likes to sail…

We were lucky not to be aboard at the time of the lightning strike. After experiencing the damage sustained to Blue Mistress, we now have a healthy respect for thunder storms and will do all we can to avoid being at sea during one. 1 QUICKLY SEEK SAFETY In the past, we have watched thunder storms on the horizon, now we would seek out safe water or better still, home. This would include areas where we could drop anchor. Although we could have still sailed, our motor was disabled. 2 ISOLATE COMMS As well as the more obvious tasks, such as turning offelectronic devices, we would make sure to isolate as many means of communication as possible, including handheld radios and EPIRBs. Our EPIRB, strapped to the mast support in…

SEASONS Mid-May to late September, although May can still be unsettled. In high season temperatures can get into the 30s, but in the islands there is less humidity than in the harbours in Sicily. WEATHER The prevailing summer wind on the north coast of Sicily is from the northwest. It gets up in the morning and blows Force 3-4 before dying down again at night. At times there will be southwesterlies, and towards Messina it can blow from the northeast. A weak current sets eastward (usually less than a knot) but is easily reversed by strong winds from a contrary direction. With strong winds from the north a heavy swell descends on the coast, although less so towards the eastern end. EXPERIENCE Navigation between the islands is straightforward, with most…

When the coronavirus pandemic scuppered my plans for a summer cruise to Portugal, I decided to look closer to home and explore the Isles of Scilly. A hop across to northern France also seemed possible – and from there I could easily nip home. My girlfriend Sally was nervous of travel during COVID-19, my children have youngsters and it was impossible to ask other friends or family and maintain social distancing on a 37ft boat. So I resolved to go singlehanded which I have done before – from the Azores to Portugal twice and also round Britain. My insurance company was amenable as long as I kept each passage to less than 100 miles in daylight. I worked out that Scilly to L’Aberwrac’h, Brittany was 100 miles as was Baie…

Pete Goss first experienced the might of the Southern Ocean when taking part in the 1992 British Steel Challenge as skipper of Hofbräu Lager. Halfway between Cape Horn and Tasmania a loud bang shook the boat as the forestay parted. Goss and Mark Steadman, the rigger, went forward to fix it… Conditions were not brilliant. Hofbräu, despite being such a big heavy bruiser, was rolling along at a cracking pace under the merest scrap of sail. At 42 tons it took a lot to push her along but, thanks to an army of greybeards, we were amazed to see consistent speeds of 15 knots on the log as the waves rolled beneath her stern and gave her an effortless shunt. I set to work on the forestay fitting. I was…

£300 Two-way satellite communications can be expensive. A handful of products aim to fill this gap, and the Spot X Bluetooth is Globalstar’s latest offering. Using Globalstar’s own network of 24 low earth orbit satellites, it has nearglobal coverage and for the vast majority of sailors this is more than sufficient. Spot X is a rugged handheld unit that is IP67 waterproof with a battery life of up to 10 days in 10-minute tracking mode, though this can be set to track from every 2.5 minutes to once an hour, allowing contacts, websites and social media accounts to see where you are. Preset check-in messages can be sent at the push of a button, and direct SMS messages or emails can be typed on the inbuilt QWERTY keyboard. You can…

ESTRELA (1998) Hull no. 35/084 Chris and Marilyn King have owned two Sadler Starlight 35s. The first, Startrekker, was purchased from Sadler International in 1991 and was the third 35 built by them. ‘We kept her for five years but in the end sold her to the Combined Services Yacht Club in Gosport.’ His current MkII 35, Estrela, was constructed by Bowman Yachts in November 1998 and he purchased her in December 2018. ‘At the age of 75, after owning a number of other yachts, I wanted to return to the one I found the most rewarding in all aspects with the greatest satisfaction,’ said Chris. Chris started sailing in 1967 as crew in an Enterprise dinghy; in 1974 he purchased a Fireball dinghy kit from Moores, which he raced…

CONSUMPTION AUDIT Before planning a total electrical upgrade, carry out an in-depth evaluation of your electrical needs. Modern appliances consume less power than older models, so you might want to consider using some of your repowering budget in the updating of your kit. Compressordriven fridges, for example, can consume less than a third of the budget of thermo-electric cool boxes. As battery capacity is nearly always quoted in Amp-hours (Ah) it’s often easier to do your calculations in Ah, rather than Watts and Watthours. Firstly, decide on a period (commonly 24h) between charges. Then, so long as you know what current a device draws, you simply multiply the time it will be in use over that period to get the number of Ah consumed over that period. BATTERY CAPACITY Having…

Reports of orcas ramming yachts offthe Spanish coast have left the scientific community ‘shocked’. Since mid July, the cetaceans have hit over six boats, causing damage to rudders and steering. Some crew had to be towed to safety by the rescue services. Initially incidents were reported in the Strait of Gibraltar, where there is an orca pod; other reports are from the Galicia region. Orcas are known to interact and play with boats. Lucy Babey, the head of science and conservation at ORCA, a charity dedicated to studying and protecting cetaceans in UK and European waters, said orcas will hold onto a rudder with their mouth and be pulled along. She said ramming behaviour had never been recorded before, although highlighted that the Strait of Gibraltar pod has been previously…

The discharging of toilet waste from boats is the focus of a new campaign to help keep harbour waters clean. The community group Litter Free Coast and Sea is collaborating with Natural England on the Love Your Harbour project. Many harbours in the UK have byelaws in place which make it illegal for cruisers to discharge any waste within the harbour authority’s jurisdiction. Instead, sailors are encouraged to use on-shore toilets when a boat is berthed. Holding tanks or a chemical toilet should be installed onboard, which must be emptied at pumping stations. For those who can’t, the acceptable practice is to flush at least three miles offshore. Since 2006, the EU’s Recreational Craft Directive has required all new vessels with toilets to have provision for a holding tank. Offshore…

James Stevens, author of the Yachtmaster Handbook, spent 10 of his 23 years at the RYA as chief examiner John and Mary own Mollie, a Twister, which is a longkeeled sturdy 8.5m yacht. Mollie manoeuvres ahead under power without too much trouble, but being long-keeled John and Mary reckon she always goes astern towards the nearest hazard. Their intention is to moor on a pontoon up the river where they can walk ashore to a favourite pub for an evening meal. When they arrive there are already eight yachts on the pontoon in two rafts of four each. It is clearly a club rally as they are all flying the same burgee and their crews must already be in the pub as there does not appear to be anyone on…

Toby Heppell grew up sailing an Essex smack before racing yachts and dinghies. He now cruises the UK’s south and east coasts Ask any sailor to explain the differing characteristics of hull shapes and they will be full of opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of one boat or another. But these views are usually clouded by past experience and bias. To a degree the vast array of opinions on offer about any given design choice support the need for such a variety of hull shapes, keel choices, rudder types and so on. Every yacht ever designed is right for someone out there in the world. Given these deeply held biases, it can be difficult to get accurate representations of what the compromises and benefits that come from certain designs…

The biggest surprise was how similar the data from three different designs were. The gulf between the boats lay rather in the way they needed to be handled to achieve similar results. With each of the skippers familiar with their boats’ quirks, the same tasks could be completed, but knowing how much to sheet in, put the helm over or push the throttle was the key. The Rustler clearly had the best pace upwind and only needed to foot offa little compared to the more closely winded Contessa, but this pointing difference felt significant onboard. The Jeanneau lacked pace in light airs, but this should improve as the wind builds. We had hoped to measure heel and pitch, but in light airs and flat water, this wasn’t possible. How the…

How many 13mm spanners does a girl need? Well, at least four it turns out. We were a halfway across the Atlantic bound for St Lucia on our Clipper 60, Bluejay, when the flexiabout coupling on the generator failed. The crew consisted of me and a professional first mate and eight amateur sailors of mixed ability. Engineering fell to me, and in this instance, I needed two 13mm spanners. Lucky I set offwith three then isn’t it? The unfortunate thing luck is that it runs out. The first one had disappeared over the side early on in the voyage. When the second one clattered into the bilge of doom I was left with my third and final spanner and the dreaded adjustable wrench – and so a 10-minute job became…

Send your sailing gossip, diary dates, cruising news and club or owners’ association updates to Laura Hodgetts laura.hodgetts@futurenet.com THE EVEN KEEL MDL Marinas has launched a new online boating forum – The Even Keel – and redesigned its website. CHRISTCHURCH BAY RACE Island Sailing Club’s Christchurch Bay Race will run on Saturday, 26 September 2020 from Cowes, IOW, through the Needles into Christchurch Bay and back. VIRTUAL CONFERENCE The RYA’s Affiliated Clubs Conference will be held online this year, on Saturday, 21 November, 1000-1330, hosted by Shirley Robertson. Timothy Long, the 15-year-old seeking to become the youngest round-Britain solo sailor, has passed his halfway mark. He reached the Caledonian Canal, aboard his Hunter Impala 28 yacht Alchemy, on 16 August, exactly one month after setting off from Hamble Point. Timothy…

A SCOTSMAN’S ODYSSEY £9.99 Ian G Macpherson, Conrad Press Ian Macpherson’s love of water began in the Perth swimming baths and developed through the Tay Canoe Club. He joined the RNVR, qualified as a teacher, married, built and sailed dinghies then spent 30 years as a cruising yachtsman. He explored the Scottish islands on charter yachts and gave years of service to the Ocean Youth Club. In 1996 Macpherson took early retirement as a headteacher to join OYC John Laing on the Great Barrier Reef leg of their world voyage. He oversaw the commissioning of the training ship Alba Venturer. Three charter cruises to Croatia with friends conclude this chronicle of quiet competence. I felt in safe hands and would certainly choose Macpherson as skipper over Odysseus. CHURCHILL’S ADMIRAL £25…

GARMIN INREACH MINI £300 The Mini is a palm-sized device offering basic messaging, navigation and weather forecast functions, or connects to your phone for more comprehensive range of tools, including two-way messaging and device signalling. www.garmin.com GARMIN GPSMAP 86I £519 With the same functionality as the InReach Explorer, this model also includes marine charting and navigation functions, as well as interacting with the full suite of Garmin products, allowing you to use this as a handheld chartplotter, autopilot control or even Fusion stereo remote. www.garmin.com IRIDIUM 9555 SATELLITE PHONE £762 By comparison, a full satellite phone through which you can run voice calls, email and data is rather more expensive, but offers a whole range of useful features. Monthly plans start at £125, but rental options are available unless you…

CHARGING LITHIUM BATTERIES AC battery chargers Lithium-based batteries are usually charged at constant current of between 0.5C-1.0C (C = capacity in Ah) until the current drops to 0.03C, at which point charging must cease so as not to overcharge the cells. These figures may differ depending on the type of cell and the instructions. Some recommend you stop charging at 0.1C to reduce stress on the cells and help extend their lifespan. The State of Charge (SoC) cannot be determined by battery voltage, as this reaches its peak when the battery is only half-charged. Furthermore, a fully charged 12.8V Lithium-ion battery has a rested voltage of between 13.3V-13.4V, way above the 12.6-12.7V of a lead-acid battery. At 20% SoC it will still read 13.0V, whereas the LA will be at…

Email yachtingmonthly@futurenet.com Post Confessions, Yachting Monthly, Future PLC, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF Send us your stories in less than 200 words WIN A FLOATING HANDHELD VHF UK residents only The confession of the month wins a Standard Horizon HX210E waterproof VHF radio worth £134.95. It boasts a wateractivated strobe, 6W transmission, largest-in-class screen, an FM radio and more. www.standardhorizon.co.uk Rude awakening Philip Cave We had moored our First 29, a fin-keeler, in the Bosham Channel for years, so decided to have a night on the quay to avoid dinghying out. Mooring up on the late afternoon high tide, we laid some heavy objects such as anchors and water containers along the deck against the quayside. We tied the main halyard to a fixing…