Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Yachting Monthly

The fact that I am here, writing to you, is thanks to being successfully rescued from the water, having fallen overboard at the end of last year. While it was all planned and carefully managed, I was still very much dependent on my ‘crew’ to get me out of the water (p30). Having often wondered if my wife and I could actually recover each other from the water should either of us fall overboard, especially if we were incapacitated in any way, we decided that we needed to find out the answer. Rachael Sprot came along to test a whole slew of equipment and techniques, from throwing lines to rescue pods. I was surprised by what we found. The vast majority of equipment normally carried by yachts works fine for…

Discovery Shipyard has gone into voluntary liquidation. The COVID-19 pandemic, declining orders and supply chain issues are being blamed for the closure of the Southampton boatyard. All 77 staff have been made redundant. Managing director, John Burnie, financial director, David Winduss, and director, George Gill, have all resigned. Werner Schnaebele, who owns Binti Marine Holdings, the holding company of the reformed Discovery Shipyard, remains the only active director. He was one of 401 people who invested £2.2 million in the firm after a fundraising campaign via Crowdcube. He became the sole owner in December 2019. Neil Gostelow and Steve Absolom from Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint liquidators of Discovery Shipyard. In a statement, Interpath Advisory said despite new orders coming in during 2021, Discovery was ‘restricted in its ability…

The Environment Agency has increased its boat registration fees by 4% this year, with boat owners facing further rises of 4% in 2023. The agency is the navigation authority for the Upper Medway, between Leigh Flood Storage Area to Allington Lock, the River Thames, Rye Harbour in East Sussex, Lydney Harbour on the River Severn and Anglian Waterways, which includes the Great Ouse river and the Stour, from Sudbury to Cattawade. The change in registration fees follows an eight-week consultation, and was the biggest review the agency had carried out of its boat registration charges for more than a decade. Originally, it wanted registration fees for powered and unpowered enclosed boats to be based on vessel area rather than length, to make it uniform across all three waterways. This would…

The warmer days will come. Fittingout and early ventures downriver beckon: gotta test that new bow-thruster! It’s going to be like a synchronised swimming display or a twerking lapdance. Come see the fun as we weave experimentally to and fro! But this is the season when we learn just how cold we can bear to be. And, consequently, what barriers against it to equip the boat. We have, as a nation, become, for the most part, an overheated, disgracefully nesh, shiverily susceptible people. Living under the east wind by the Suffolk coast we keep our house, by most standards, chilly. I am not too proud to wear a hat and scarf indoors while working at the kitchen table. But we are not the norm: when someone is coming round for…

Life-slings and throwing lines require your casualty to be conscious. With an unconscious casualty you need to be able to bring them alongside the boat another way. Reaching for the boat hook is a natural instinct when retrieving things from the water, but would it work on an unconscious casualty? I made an approach to find out. Once our BOB dummy was within reach a fundamental problem arose: the lifejacket’s lifting strop (a short length of webbing with sewn loop) was impossible to use. While easily found on the front of the lifejacket bladder, it was too short and naturally sat in a closed position. There was no way I could hook the closed loop, not even with BOB in my bathtub and a month of Sundays to practice. The…

There’s only one thing more stressful than being the person left on board (PLOB?!), and that’s being the MOB. With your lifejacket inflated, mobility, peripheral vision and hearing are all compromised and, despite the buoyancy of the lifejacket, your head is only just above the water. After half an hour of testing in the water, Theo was cold, even in a drysuit and in relatively warm water (16°C). Don’t overestimate a conscious casualty’s ability to help themselves. One point of note is that almost all lifejackets attach the strong point and lifting becket to the front and centre of the lifejacket, which is convenient for clipping on, but when being pulled by this point in the water, is extremely uncomfortable, forcing you onto your front or dragging you sideways through…

Eight years ago, in 2013, my wife Ruth and I sailed Alandia, our Midget 31 yacht from Greenock on the Clyde to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. We intended to stay for the winter before sailing home. When we had been there for a few weeks, we realised that keeping Alandia in the Canaries made a lot of sense and we have yet to sail her back to Scotland. Usually we are fortunate to be able to make frequent visits to our boat but even so, one issue we have encountered is reduction of battery charge while we are away. Keeping batteries charged is a challenge. We have two maintenance-free, sealed lead acid batteries, a 105A house and an 80A starter. Occasionally on our return after a spell away we…

FEIS ILE Running for just over a week, the Islay Festival of Music and Malt involves all eight of the island’s whisky distilleries, as well as the distillery from neighbouring Jura to host open days. Expect whisky tasting, music and merriment. Runs 25 May-2 June 2022. www.feisile.co.uk LIVERPOOL GIN FESTIVAL If gin is your spirit of choice then head to St George’s Hall in the heart of Liverpool for the city’s annual gin festival. It features hundreds of handpicked craft gins from around the world, as well as live entertainment. 1-2 April 2022 & 3-4 June 2022. www.theliverpoolginfestival.com CONWY REAL ALE TRAIL What is better than a beer festival where you don’t have to worry about driving home! The Conwy Real Ale Trail buses customers to some of the best…

www.yachtingmonthly.com/books The foghorn sounds. Its abrupt and terrific interjection comes from two rectangular black mouths, a colossal metallic holler that is stupefyingly loud. It floods my ears and shakes my guts. I am overwhelmed. I freeze. Tiny hairs rise on my covered arms. Its moaning blast ends in a gruff grunt that jolts me from my stupor. One eternal second of absolute and total silence follows, and the crowd around me erupts in the type of giddy laughter reserved for moments of awe. It is true aural obliteration. In June of 2013 I drove from London to the north-east with friends to see Foghorn Requiem, a vast open-air performance that assembled three brass bands with a total of 65 players on the cliffs at Souter Point lighthouse in South Shields.…

A 70-foot dayboat, you say? It’s a notion that didn’t exist until recently, but Eagle Yachts of the Netherlands wants to build one. In order to qualify the yacht for its ‘dayboat’ badge, the designers at Eagle have been fastidious about making the rig usable by just one person. Electric winches, boom-furling main and electric jib furlers can all be activated from the helm at the touch of a button. Now, most of us would draw the line well before 70ft, even if we could afford the marina berth for it. But these principles of push-button sailing can be applied to yachts of all sizes. Indeed, Eagle’s range starts at 38ft and there are plenty of other 30-50-footers that make good use of push buttons, from the Tofinou to Amel.…

Positioned on the west side of Plymouth Sound is this delightful bay. Whether you drop the hook here just as a pleasant lunchtime stop or for the night, this is a classic anchorage. Cawsand and Kingsand are at their most relaxing mid-week at either end of the season as they are very popular with local boats. The approach is straightforward; it’s perfectly sheltered with any west in the wind and makes a good stopover when on a West Country cruise if you don’t want to go into a marina. To the east, you can watch all sorts of vessels negotiating the channel around Plymouth’s historic breakwater, fishing boats, naval ships, Brittany Ferries and scores of yachts. Approaching up Channel from Falmouth or Fowey, Rame Head is a distinctive mark with…

Boat owners no longer have to pay a second amount of UK VAT if their vessels have been outside the UK for more than three years. The removal of the three-year condition for Returned Goods Relief only applies to boats that have been based in the UK under their current ownership, have not been substantially modified during their absence, and to vessels which are the personal property of a UK resident and are being returned to the UK for personal use by the owner that originally exported the vessel. Boats that have been bought and kept in the EU and have never been in the UK under current ownership will still face paying VAT on the value of the boat on entry to the UK. The waiving of the Returned…

It took seven-and-a-half years but Dustin Reynolds has become the first dual amputee to circumnavigate the globe solo, via the Panama Canal. The 43-year-old lost his left arm and part of his leg after he was hit by a drunk driver in 2008. Medical expenses left him $500,000 in debt and his carpet cleaning and fishing businesses suffered due to his absence. Reynolds said he was faced with ‘no real prospects’ until he came across the Joshua Slocum Society while surfing the internet. Having looked through the list of circumnavigators he realised there were no records for any double amputees and decided he would sail solo around the world. Not being able to sail didn’t deter him, and he bought a $12,000 1968 Alberg 35 sloop. His first time sailing…

Many sailors are haunted by the disturbing tale of Donald Crowhurst, and rightly so. It is more than just a sea story, touching as it does on vanity, courage, and frailty. It is Shakespearean in its universality and explains why two films and at least three books have covered the tragedy. Recently I stumbled across an unheralded and virtually unknown seafaring yarn which has eerie parallels to the Crowhurst epic. It came about while talking to legendary U.S. yachtswoman Lin Pardey. Lin was publicising the Annapolis Boat Show launched documentary, The Real Deal about her late husband, Larry and the 200,000 miles of ocean sailing, two circumnavigations, and 53 years of sailing that they’ve completed together. Dubbed ‘cruising royalty’ by their peers, the Pardeys were, for decades, America’s most famous…

WATCH THE VIDEO www.yachtingmonthly.com/Dufour32 SPECIFICATIONS MAKE/MODEL Dufour 32 PRICE FROM £99,960, inc VAT DESIGNER Umberto Felci BUILDER Dufour Yachts LOGBOOK TESTED by: Rupert Holmes Location: La Rochelle, France Wind: SSE-SSW 3-7 knots Sea state: Flat When October 2021D Dufour is one of the few yards that has maintained a constant presence at the smaller end of the new yacht market and with the launch of the Dufour 32 is making an effort to stand out from the competition. This model is aimed at a more active and younger audience, as can be seen from promotional images that show a wing-foiling board stowed on the guardrails. The hull and deck are those of the 30ft 8in Dufour 310 from 2014, with minor restyling at the bow. There are, however, changes that…

Q This year we registered our boat with the Cook Islands and received an MMSI number. We are planning to change our flag registration from Cook Islands to Cayman Islands or similar. Does that mean our MMSI number will change as well? Erwin Hocks A Response from the Cruising Association’s Regulations and Technical Services group (RATS): Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) numbers are country specific, and the list of country codes can be found at either the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) at www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/mid.aspx or Vessel Tracking Explorer at www.vtexplorer.com/mmsi-mid-codes-en From this data, it can be seen that the Cook Islands start with 518 and the Cayman Islands start with 319. To comply with the legal requirements of MMSI, the MMSI will need to be changed if the boat is re-registered. It…

For a fully conscious MOB, climbing back on board seems like a natural solution. We trialled two boarding ladders and Theo also pulled himself onto the bathing platform using the swimming ladder. The swimming ladder was by far the easier route but even in a slight sea state the transom was moving up and down by a foot or so. Offshore it would probably be too dangerous to attempt. We fixed the boarding ladders amidships and both were of the collapsible, webbing variety. Any ladder which isn’t rigid is difficult to use, even swimming, and it required considerable effort for Theo to get out this way. It wouldn’t have worked if he’d been partially incapacitated by cold or lots of sodden clothing. There’s also evidence that strenuous exertion from the casualty…

Get everyone on board to practise how to use a throwing line and make sure it’s in the cockpit at all times. Find out how the lifting strop works on your lifejacket. Once a year, it’s worth jumping in or going to a swimming pool to get familiar with your lifejacket, before servicing it. Fit Lifesavers to your lifejackets. They aren’t complicated if you wanted to make your own, but for a pretty cheap price, having one that definitely works is worth the money. Invest in a sturdy boat hook and stow it somewhere accessible. Carry a life-sling or lifting strop to be kinder on the casualty and in case they aren’t wearing a lifejacket when they go in. Design, practise and refine a retrieval process that works for your…

Homo sapiens have survived to become the dominant species on earth not by spotting the similarities in a landscape, but by taking note of the differences. Early man would not have survived on the plains of Africa had he not been able to spot a leopard camouflaged in the grass. One afternoon during our 2017 sailing season in Greece, we anchored in a beautiful cove near Russian Bay on the island of Poros. As we sat looking out over the landscape, my eyes were drawn to all the rubbish caught in the rocks. I was bothered that our view was spoiled and that such a beautiful cove was marred by human carelessness and indifference. I had spotted my ‘leopard’ and a journey began that I had never expected to take.…

Sailing volunteers get royal seal of approval Long-standing volunteers, families, committed youngsters and those who have made an impact on their local sailing community have all been honoured during the RYA Volunteer Awards. Nigel Austin, a committee member at Cransley Sailing Club for 30 years, received a Lifetime Commitment Award for raising funds to upgrade the club facilities and increasing membership through paddleboarding. Ross Johnston was presented with a Young Volunteer Award for mentoring staff to deliver powerboat courses at Ballyholme Yacht Club. Gerry Campbell, founding trustee of able2sail, was recognised with the 2021 Francis Elkin Award, honouring his significant contribution towards enabling people with disabilities to become involved in sailing. The RYA Honor Preston Award was presented to Carla, Lady Stanley of Alderley, for running an active junior section…

James Wharram, considered by many as the father of modern multihull cruising, has died, aged 93. The free-spirited sailor and designer specialised in double-canoe style sailing catamarans, inspired by the Polynesian double canoe. Born in Manchester in 1928, Wharram designed his first offshore cruising catamaran, Tangaroa, in 1953 having read about Frenchman Éric de Bisschop’s 1937-1939 voyage from Hawaii to France in his double canoe. Determined to prove the seagoing qualities of the double canoe, Wharram, accompanied by Ruth Merseburger, who later became Ruth Wharram, and Jutta Schultze-Rohnhof, sailed his 23ft 6 inch multihull from Falmouth to Trinidad in 1956. Three years later, having built the 40ft Rongo on a beach in Trinidad with the help of French sailor Bernard Moitessier, Wharram, Ruth and Jutta sailed to New York before…

Mark Sinclair has left Adelaide, Australia, bound for Les Sables d’Olonne in France to complete his 2018 Golden Globe Race voyage. The 63-year-old solo skipper was one of the first to sign up for the race, but ended up cruising rather than racing, hugging the coast of South Africa and making nine roundings of the Cape of Good Hope in his 1980 Lello 34, Coconut. A diminishing water supply and barnacle growth on the hull meant he headed to his home port of Adelaide. Sinclair resumed his 2018 race on 5 December 2021 – to sail to the start of the 2022 race. Under the 2018 GGR Notice of Race he can continue in the Chichester Class, and aims to be the sixth finisher of the 2018 race. www.yachtingmonthly.com/goldengloberace…

Our Airbnb offers a wonderful view as a clutch of intrepid surfers ride the December waves off Bigbury on Sea. It’s funny to think that I have sailed the oceans of the world and yet haven’t explored the stunning River Avon which is within a few hours sail of home. I’ve always wanted to but never had a shallow enough draft and the thought of what Oddity will offer us next year is profoundly exciting. Pictures of the entrance have been taken at low tide and from now on I shall carry a handheld compass to take helpful bearings whenever we stumble across a shallow harbour. It will be so exciting to roll her out of the shed, stand back and see her for what she is It’s quiet here…

James Stevens, author of the Yachtmaster Handbook, spent 10 of his 23 years at the RYA as chief examiner Paul has purchased his first yacht, a 10m production cruising boat. He has a berth in the local marina, next to a yacht club. The club has a blue ensign on its flagstaff, and the same flag is worn by some of its members on their yachts. Paul likes the look of this flag and reckons it would enhance the appearance of his boat. However, he is confused. He knows that wearing a blue ensign comes with rules. Looking around the marina, a couple of yachts fly their club burgees from the masthead and the club itself has the burgee at the top of its mast outside the clubhouse. Most owners…

Many charter yachts and sailing school boats are equipped with floating lifeslings on the transom, but I have to admit I’ve sailed around with them for years and never tried to use one. A life-sling is a buoyant strop on the end of a long, floating line. The concept is brilliantly simple: make sure it is attached (some of them are tied inside the bag), throw it into the water, drive a tight circle around the casualty and eventually the line will come within their reach. They get into the sling and you pull them in. This worked far better in practice than I expected, and Theo reported feeling secure and comfortable once inside. Once you’ve pulled them alongside the vessel you can then tie the line to a halyard…

Back in 2018 I managed a solo Biscay crossing, then the 2019 Jester Baltimore Challenge; now for the 2021 Jester Azores Challenge. My preparations always include revisiting other solo sailors’ exploits, like Patrick Laine in his 40ft Bavaria; he a dashing ex fighter pilot, me a plain ex-soldier. Or the indomitable minimalist and brilliant wordsmith, Roger Taylor, who makes the tedious process of going up one wave and down another colourfully entertaining. Or ex Royal Marine and Reverend Bob Shepton, who wrote: ‘On mountain and sea, if ye cana look after yourself, there you should not be,’ words that haunted me as I prepared in my usual chaotic way. My passage plans are simple, honed by the weather gods, and I decided to pass 80 miles west of Ushant then…

OLAS N2K MOB TRACKER £240 www.exposure-use.com Light specialist Exposure has expanded its award-winning OLAS man overboard system with the new N2K unit. Like previous OLAS systems, it works by detecting when someone wearing its Bluetooth tag goes out of range, then raising the alarm. The N2K brings added functionality when an MOB event is detected, thanks to its NMEA connectivity. It will sound an alert via the ship’s speakers, flash a light and trigger the MOB function of the chart plotter. It can even stop the engine if it is fitted with a kill switch function – something usually only seen on outboards. Available later this year, the system is suitable for boats up to 100ft. ICOM M804 LONG-RANGE RADIO £3,720 www.icomuk.co.uk Japanese radio specialist Icom has just launched its…

MORGAN GILES 30 The Morgan Giles 30 came from the chief designer at Morgan Giles yachts, Kenneth Collyer, and was initially designed for his personal use. Francis Morgan Giles, who was still alive at the time, is reported to have said that ‘God made man so he could float on a piece of wood’. So, the first boat was built out of timber but with the inevitable transition to GRP, it was used as plug for the moulds. First built in Teignmouth, when the Morgan Giles yard closed in 1969 Somerset Plastics bought the moulds. It produced 70 hulls between 1969 and 1996. The lines are gorgeous, with a gentle sheer and classy counter stern. The MG30 has good seakeeping abilities and handles heavy weather well. Proportionally she’s got quite…