Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2026 i Yachting Monthly

The solo sailors competing in home-built 5.8m yachts in Leg 3 of the McIntyre Mini Globe Race have successfully crossed the Indian Ocean to land in Durban, despite a man overboard, violent storms and the treacherous Agulhas current. Sailing from the last stopover in Mauritius to Durban and then on to the Leg 3 finish in Cape Town is by far the most challenging section of the entire circumnavigation, where the south-setting Agulhas current collides head-on with Southern Ocean storms. Pilar Pasanau (Peter Punk / ESP) was the first to land in Durban, taking the lead from Renaud Stitelmann (Capucinette / CH) who had led the fleet for most of the race. Keri Harris (Origami / UK) was third. Solo skipper Eric Marsh (Sunbear / AUS) was swept overboard while…

Yachting Monthly contributor Paul Dale has sadly died unexpectedly of heart failure. He was passionate about many things, but topping the list were sailing and Chichester Harbour, where he moored a succession of boats over a period of 35 years. Paul’s love for the harbour prompted him to volunteer for the Friends of Chichester Harbour Board, which he wrote about in YM November 2025. He also wrote many other articles for YM on surviving Hurricane Ivan and the extensive refitting of his Dufour 41 Classic Alexa. ‘Paul was an entertaining and valued contributor to Yachting Monthly,’ said YM’s deputy editor, Heather Prentice. ‘We are grateful for his lively storytelling and his considerable expertise. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.’ Largely self-taught, Paul’s sailing horizons expanded quickly. Alongside a…

Niels Jeppesen, co-founder and former design director of X-Yachts, has created this 38-footer as his second project with naval architect Ariadna Pons, following the Arcona 50 that launched two years ago. The JP40 is intended as a powerful and timeless design that combines cruising comforts with good performance. There’s an emphasis on ease of handling, but this doesn’t come at the expense of efficient sailing, and the set-up is intended to facilitate accurate sail trim. The design brief was for ‘A 40ft sailing yacht that is easy to handle, enjoyable to sail, and comfortable to live aboard over extended periods of time. It is a yacht conceived for those who truly love sailing –sailors who appreciate trimming, balance, and control, yet also value short-handed cruising, clarity, and long-term enjoyment.’ Generous…

Here in Suffolk, on a frosty new year’s morning, a walk across the common always takes me to the river, its fast tides churning and tugging at the row of boats on stagings beyond high wooden walkways over the mud. Some moorings have lately become very smart and posh, even boasting stern signs about privacy; a few are still rickety. This always reminds me of when we were selling the 32-footer with its pathetically weak little 7hp engine: I showed the first set of buyers over and they asked me to run the engine. I did, and even put it in ahead and astern for a moment: I think they were quite impressed that it made the little rotting wharf shiver alarmingly and the walkway wobble. I did not mention…

‘Climate change’ is a phrase that can brush past our ears without a thought to its implications. Each day media outlets carry the latest Armageddon-style warnings about the weather of recent years, changes that have occurred and what is about to happen in future decades. There is a lot of ‘climate noise’ out there, and for sailors (and just about everyone else) it can cause much confusion. In July 2025, the UK Met Office released it’s ‘State of the Climate 2024’ report which headlined that recent years had ‘continued to bring warmer, wetter and sunnier weather than the 20th Century’. It claims that extreme weather events have become a regular feature of our climate and are impacting communities. But what of the impacts on the sailing community, what does a…

TIMES ROAM SUNGLASSES www.wearetimes.com Times Eyewear takes a different approach to active outdoor sunglasses. The two unisex styles (the Roam and the Seek) uses a hinge-free design with an integrated retaining strap that means they will stay on your face however active you get. Designed in Britain and built in Italy with bio-acetate Mazzucchelli frames and Zeiss polarised lenses, the arms rotate instead of fold so the lenses sit flat. You can then hang the retaining strap around your neck and tuck them under your T-shirt when not in use. And while they don’t float, the fact they won’t fall off means that really doesn’t matter. ACR SEARCHLIGHT UPGRADES www.acrartex.com The RCL-100 and RCL-50 LED searchlights from ACR Electronics have now been equipped with a set of ‘next generation’ controllers and accessories…

You don’t want to arrive at your favourite anchorage only to discover that you’ve run out of water, your holding tank is full and there’s no gas left to cook dinner, or risk running out of fuel at a safety critical point of the navigation. You can carry spare cans and bottles, but it’s better to know where you stand with your tankage before you run dry. Being able to see what is in your tanks is crucial to a successful cruise. Gauges that work reliably, accurately and are easy check are therefore important tools. This is often harder than it sounds, with tanks hidden away in inaccessible spots and electrics having to work reliably in damp environments. So, is there a way to ensure that your gauges are telling…

A grant has been awarded to enhance the marine facilities for yachtsmen at Lochranza on the Isle of Arran, notably to upgrade a walk-ashore pontoon and install eight additional visitor moorings. The scenic Lochranza is a favourite destination for sailors on the Clyde and a good staging post for boats heading up to the Crinan Canal, or down to the Irish Sea. The £129,718 funding will bring the number of visitor moorings to 20 and increase the facilities for many more sailors. The project has been developed by the Lochranza and Catacol Sea Society, a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers who manage Lochranza’s leisure marine facilities. The grant was made by the Scottish Government’s Islands Programme, supported by North Ayrshire Council. Duncan Craig, the Chairperson of Lochranza’s Sea Society said:…

Family-run Dutch yard Saffier has built a reputation as a builder of achingly stylish, extremely fun and very quick daysailer yachts, with the notable recent addition of a 46ft cruiser to the lineup. Instantly recognisable by the sharp lines, low freeboard, and huge cockpit sheltered by a windscreen, these are serious toys and at this end of the scale, while they do have berths to make overnighting possible, they couldn’t be described as cruisers. The new SE28 Leopard is a foot longer than the previous SE27, but has a wider, shallower and lighter hull that has less rocker and more power, making extremely fast sailing highly likely. This is no pure race machine, however, as Saffiers are all about fun, sociable weekend sailing, as evidenced by the large sunpads aft,…

Since 2003 Allures have been building yachts that don’t sit neatly in one category or another. Rugged explorer yachts with aluminium hulls, the deck and superstructure are fibreglass and as such allow the boat to feel much less utilitarian than some of its all-metal counterparts. This fourth generation model seeks to take a fresh look at what a blue-water cruising yachts is. Olivier Racoupeau, Allures’ long-standing architect, explained, ‘We wanted to orient the boat towards the elements – towards the sea – both visually and functionally, while staying true to the fundamental features of a blue-water yacht: safety, particularly through ease of movement on board. With this new concept, the boat becomes a living spaces, a place for observation and sharing.’ At 47ft, it enters a competitive size bracket in…

Civilisation gradually fell away as the road rolled onwards in the car’s headlights; cities gave way to villages, which gave way to forests. Suddenly, snuggly-lit timber cottages appeared, nestled amid modern sheds housing ranks of sleek yachts nested down for the winter. Rosättra Båtvarv is about as far from an industrial centre as you can imagine, but it’s here, at the oldest working boatyard in Sweden, that a select group of craftsmen and women busy themselves with building what they believe to be the most beautiful boats in Sweden. That’s saying something, as Sweden is the birthplace of some of the world’s loveliest yachts. Linjett isn’t well know outside Sweden. Just a dozen or so boats are built here each year, 900 or so since the first GRP Linett was…

Q Father and daughter Richard and Lisa have recently bought a Sigma 33 to be kept on the east coast for North Sea cruising and club racing. In time they’d like to do some offshore racing and Lisa has her eye on a Fastnet campaign. The boat came with four tired lifejackets. They have budgeted to replace them, but they can’t agree on what with. Richard has a knee issue and is not feeling as mobile as he once was. He says that an automatic lifejacket would make him feel safer, and that if they’re going to consider offshore racing they should go for maximum protection with 275N buoyancy. Lisa tried one on and found them heavy and bulky. She’s also worried that, as the person who does most of…

I wonder what proportion of Yachting Monthly readers are boat-owners? And what proportion are dreamers? And how many of the latter spend how many years wondering how to become the former? Do you remember those inspired Glenfiddich advertisements in YM with an alluring picture of a yacht under full sail, surging along beneath majestic Scottish coastal scenery? ‘One day you will’, read the caption. But when would that day come? And wherefrom the necessary capital? Camelot’s ‘It could be you’ had proved forever vacuous, and Ernie only provided pocket money. A marine mortgage? Very high interest. A mortgage on the house? Lower interest, so, after only a moment’s soul-searching, and perhaps minor marital friction, emphatically yea! And now the yacht. The dream had always been of a high-quality one, and…

www.yachtingmonthly.com/books In December 1969 Adrienne Howley and Harry Gilbert were desperate to reach Durban. Their sails were rotten, their food almost gone. They had very little petrol and were uncertain of their position. December 23rd. Rough seas increasing. Overcast. Has the gale petered out? Air cool, sea confused, wind light to moderate. No ground lost, thank goodness. Only a little flour left. Enough food for five days if very careful?? Very depressed, especially when listening to the radio. […] Noon to noon, forty miles. Two hundred miles to go. Christmas Eve. Cold, grey and dull. Wind petered out after the gale and we slopped about all afternoon and night. Nearly drove Harry mad this morning because it kept promising and he kept trying […]. So there we lay, slopping about…

Heather.prentice@futurenet.com Race in vintage style with the Classic Channel Regatta ’26 The 21st year of the Classic Channel Regatta has been announced for 7-15 July 2026, with pre-registration now open for all eligible participants. Previous editions brought together sailors from Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Ireland and further afield to celebrate a shared love of classic sailing. This international event aims to revive the spirit of an earlier racing epoch and is known for its ‘Gentleman’s racing’ style. Participants can choose to race competitively or to cruise along while enjoying the relaxed social atmosphere and a full calendar of events including onshore supper parties, prizegivings, and festive evening parades, as well as the ‘Danse des Classiques’ in optional fancy dress. The regatta will start on 7 July with an evening…

Two yachts sank off the coast of Portugal following interactions with orca this autumn, bringing the total number of yachts sunk to seven since orca interaction reporting began back in 2020. A Sun Odyssey 349 named Oceanview, was struck off Sesimbra at around midday on 13 September. The five crew were safely rescued by a nearby tourist boat, the Mercedes-Benz Oceanic Lounge. Passengers took a video of the yacht sinking. Despite attempts to tow the yacht to safety, it eventually sank. A French family were struck on 11 October near Peniche aboard their 36ft yacht Ti’fare, which later sank. The family, which included three children aged 8, 10 and 12, encountered orca around 45 miles south-west of Peniche. The yacht also began to take on water, and the family took…

This is an evolution of the popular J/112e, with the deck layout, companionway and cockpit updated. It brings the boat into line with the larger J40 and J45 which have been adapted to have a wider appeal to cruisers as powerful, offshore-capable cruiser-racers. The aim was to improve ergonomics when short-handed and make it easier to move around the boat. Fred Bouvier of J Composites says no improvements were needed for the hull shape, sail plan or the keel and rudder profiles of the existing boat, but some aspects of the ergonomics are improved. All lines are led aft to the cockpit, with the mainsheet within reach of the helm, and three pairs of winches for a proper racing setup that works when cruising short-handed. The twin wheels, for example,…

Anyone who has followed the last two editions of the Vendée Globe, or even developments in the Class 40 fleet, will know it’s now well understood that, if sailors have good protection on watch, they’ll perform better as well as be more comfortable. Similar thinking is being applied to cruising yachts, though this can be complicated by a stronger emphasis on aesthetics. Ovni’s latest all-aluminium centreboarder is a Mortain/Mavrikios and CBA design intended to meet what the French yards says is a ‘high demand for a 50ft Ovni with a pilothouse’. Hull shape is similar to the Ovni 430 launched in 2023, with broad forward sections that help create high form stability and increase interior volume. The pilothouse gives excellent shelter for two or three people when on watch, and…

Some years ago, I arrived at a chilly sports centre in the Midlands to give a talk to some yachtsfolk keen enough to turn up on a winter’s night. One old shellback had got there early and watched me roll out my power cable and start linking wires to computer, projector and microphone. ‘We ’ad that Tom Cunliffe up here last time,’ he said. ‘Oh?’ I replied. ‘Yes, and ’ee ’ad none of that kit you’ve got. ’Ee just stood up and said: “What would you like me to talk about?”’ ‘Bet you weren’t disappointed, though?’ I laughed. ‘We wasn’t,’ he said, and shuffled off for a pint. It occurred to me then that experience, I mean profound experience, deep experience is all you need to be authoritative, authentic and…

With life pulled in too many directions we’ve come to the conclusion that any window of opportunity must be buttered up with optimism and grabbed with both hands. It was with this in mind that we slipped our mooring and motored down the Tamar River on a late morning, already hazy in the heat. With plenty of vacant moorings I counted ten cormorants hanging out their wings in a vain attempt at drying out in the humidity. Despite this salient reminder that nature often trumps optimism, we hoped for better luck! We went with our gut after a pit stop in Mayflower Marina for fuel and water, and decided to follow the sun on its daily decent to the west. Clearing Rame Head we disappeared into the clammy bosom of…

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If you want to tell us why you love your boat, get in touch by email yachtingmonthly@futurenet.com OWNER’S PROFILE According to Kevin Chipman’s professional biography, his research ‘relates to mechanistic cellular and genetic toxicology, toxicogenomics and nanotoxicology in relation to both human health and the health of organisms in the aquatic environment.’ He’s clearly a very smart guy, but, like the rest of us, he’s a sucker for a pretty boat and a cute dog. The village of St Just in Roseland is best known for its stunning 13th century church, described by the poet John Betjeman as ‘the most beautiful churchyard on earth’. Set amidst a semi-tropical garden, the churchyard is a slightly anarchic mix of exotic plants and ancient gravestones, including a child’s grave dating from the 1700s…