Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i Yachting World

At the sharp end The foredeck crew of Sumurun appear to walk on water as they demonstrate the bowsprit balancing skills needed aboard a classic. This great aerial photo was taken during Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta in early October. The beautiful 94ft Fife ketch, built in 1914 as a gaff-rigged yawl, has picked up numerous trophies on both sides of the Atlantic and looks back at her best after she re-launched this summer following an 18-month refit in France.…

France’s most indomitable sailor, Francis Joyon, set off on 19 October on a quest known as the IDEC Asian Tour. The 63-year-old solo sailor, who is legendary for his stoical and hardcore approach, left from Port Louis in Brittany destined for Port Louis Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Sailing his 103ft trimaran IDEC Sport, he began at a scorching pace and quickly punched through the Doldrums. To break his previous reco rd for this 10,300-mile passage, which he set 10 years ago in his previous trimaran IDEC 2, Joyon needs to finish by 14 November. This record attempt is only part of Joyon’s sailing tour. From Mauritius, Joyon will continue with a small crew to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Shenzen and Hong Kong and then attempt to better Giovanni…

Olaf Harken who, together with his elder brother Peter, co-founded the famous marine hardware, winch and rope-handling business bearing their name, died on 21 October, aged 80. Olaf Harken was born of Dutch and Swedish parents in Indonesia at the beginning of World War 2. In 1941 the Japanese attacked Indonesia. During the fighting and nightly bombings, Peter, Olaf, and their Swedish mother, Ulla, managed to escape to Borneo. Their Dutch father, Joe, joined the Dutch army and helped fight the Japanese until his capture. Joe Harken was imprisoned for five years and not liberated until the end of the war. Meanwhile, Peter, Olaf, and their mother lived first in Borneo, were then troop-shipped to New Zealand for a year, to Australia for another year, and finally shipped to San…

TRANSATLANTIC SPECIAL We talk to crews preparing to sail across the Atlantic with a variety of yachts and approaches and ask what we can learn from their plans Giants round the Atlantic A fleet of giant Ultime trimarans will set off from Brest in November in a race that will take them to Cape Town, Brazil and back without stopping, and all raced double-handed. Helen Fretter reports from this epic contest Solo into the Atlantic Journalist Ed Gorman had always wanted to experience a solo voyage. He set out to make a loop into the Atlantic alone, and recounts the experience Is sharing the new owning? A new wave of boat sharing schemes, syndicate packages and time sharing is providing a attractive way of affording a larger yacht, without the…

How do we untie the lines that bind us? Family, jobs, homes, schools, pets, friends… our lives are built on the myriad of small connections and huge decisions that we have made over a lifetime. Appealing though it is to dream of handing in your notice, locking up the house and sailing off into the sunset, the reality is that it can take a daunting amount of planning and organisation to disentangle our land-based routines. There is no ‘right’ time to go – there are cruisers who have enjoyed bluewater adventuring with a newborn baby, others who’ve waited until their 70s and plenty of others who found their life circumstances changed dramatically but their sailing plans could be adapted to carry on. We spoke to those who have made the…

For most bluewater sailors the big trip has been years, if not decades, in the making, a dream of far horizons formed during days and cold night watches spent sailing familiar waters. Not so the Eccles family (Instagram @manofwar655). Formerly a motoryacht owner, Leo Eccles says he and his wife, Kate, had dreamt of cruising around the world, but always envisaged going after they retired and their daughters, currently ten and eight, had left home. However, a few serendipitous events planted a different seed in his mind. When their motoryacht was out of service for six months after a lightning strike, a friend let them use their sailing yacht (with skipper) instead. The family instantly fell in love with sailing and decided to sell the motorboat. Then hearing a talk…

Following the ‘Dogzilla’ giant multihull America’s Cup match of 2010, the event entered a period of rapid change that altered not only the Cup, but offshore sailing – and potentially cruising – forever. After Oracle USA’s wingsailed trimaran won the 33rd Cup, it was announced that the next event would be sailed in wingsail catamarans: the AC72s. But it wasn’t until a grainy photo appeared on an online forum in August 2012 that the potential of those cats was widely realised. Emirates Team New Zealand was foiling. Progress among the other teams was devastatingly quick as they worked to catch up, but the risks were huge. In May 2013 Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson was killed as the Artemis AC72 broke up in a capsize. Elsewhere designers were working to apply foil…

Difficult though it may be to remember life before tablets, the first iPad was only launched in 2010. AIS was added to GMDSS the same year. Those two developments arguably led to the biggest changes to sailing habits for thousands of cruisers and racers. So second nature is touchscreen technology that navigation by tablet or smartphone is now routine, whether as a primary navigation computer, a handy second screen that can be taken on deck, or a back-up device. The Navionics chart plotting app was among the first mobile systems, and many of the big electronics manufacturers swiftly launched apps to connect your table to onboard instruments. Ever-improving functionality means that incorporating data from GRIB files and weather apps, Google Earth and Open CPN is constantly becoming easier. There are…

One of the most innovative superyachts of modern times was lowered into the water in early October. The Spirit 111, the largest single-masted wooden yacht built in the UK since the 1930s, has a sensational interior by Rhoades Young and was designed, built and launched at Spirit’s Ipswich yard. It also embodies the latest thinking on reducing environmental impact. The 111ft (34m) sloop features an electric propulsion system, which uses a 100kW Torqeedo motor to propel the yacht silently for a range of up to 40 miles at eight knots using battery power alone. The propeller shaft rotates when the yacht is under sail to charge the four BMW lithium battery banks. “The yacht will be able to operate for up to four days without having to plug into shore…

This gorgeous new Judel/Vrolijk design is perhaps the most eco-friendly modern composite daysailer afloat. The hull of the Flax 27 is built from natural and recycled materials, such as flax fibres, recycled PET bottles and plant-based epoxy, while cork is used for the decks. Friedrich Deimann, founder of Greenboats, which built the yacht, describes the Flax 27 as a means of showcasing the company’s mission, which is: ‘To accelerate the adoption of natural fibres and core materials as well as organic-based resins for mass-market applications.’…

In January 2010 the Yachting World cover shot was of the giant Alinghi catamaran. Our headline wondered if the America’s Cup Deed of Gift multihulls were ‘The World’s Most Advanced Sailboats?’ At the time they felt like a futuristic experiment. But today that 90ft cat, with its non-foiling daggerboards, straight rudders and soft sail, looks astonishingly retro. When it comes to professional racing events, the years 2010-2019 were undoubtedly the decade of flight. Foiling technology has now filtered beyond inshore multihulls to offshore racers and even luxurious cruising yachts. But most of us do not, nor ever intend to, sail a flying boat. So what of the rest of the sport? There’s no question that sailing faced huge challenges over the past decade – the global downturn post-2008 was a…

One of the most iconic fleets of the past decade was in fact the feted inter-war designs of the J-Class. Hanuman was the first of the new generation Js to be built in 2009. She was swiftly followed by Lionheart (2011), Rainbow (2012), Topaz (2015), and Svea in 2017. Seven lined up in Bermuda in 2017, the largest gathering ever seen in the class’s 88-year history. Fans of the spectacular fleet will be hoping that their current custodians repeat the performance in New Zealand in 2021. If you’d like to join them, the 1934-built Endeavour is for sale, asking price €17,500,00. Rainbow is also listed, at €8,750,000. UNBEATABLE? In 2012 two sailing achievements were set that may be unbeaten for a very long time to come. Ben Ainslie became the…

Alinghi’s win in Auckland in 2003 signalled the end of Team New Zealand’s dominant reign. The Swiss victory in the 31st America’s Cup was the first and only time a challenger has won on its first attempt. The 32nd Cup, as envisioned by Bertarelli and the brains trust at Alinghi, was very different. First, having won on behalf of a club in a country that had no ‘arm of the sea’, Bertarelli put the hosting of the event out to tender. More controversy followed. Confirming the adage that ‘if you win the Cup, you make the rules,’ the show took root in Valencia, Spain. A new, public-friendly model was rolled out across the entire Valencian venue and the circus grew like never before. While high fences and security cameras surrounded…

Back in the early 1990s, a young man called Miles Hordern sailed his 28ft Kim Holman-designed Twister single-handed from the UK to New Zealand. He lived aboard in Auckland for the first winter before moving ashore and becoming progressively divorced from the sea. After five years, however, the call of the Pacific could no longer be denied and he set himself a voyage around the current system of the world’s greatest ocean. Following the streams, he sailed the Twister across the Southern Ocean to Chile, cruised the archipelagos, then headed for Easter Island before following the classic South Seas route back to New Zealand. His book, ‘Sailing the Pacific’ contains a good deal of historical commentary, some profound general observations on life at sea and is so beautifully written that,…

Ocean Signal ATB1 One of the first SOTDMA class B units announced, this has NMEA0183, 2000 and USB interfaces, as well as built-in wifi. It also has a multicolour LED indicator to show the unit’s operational status. Price: £778. www.oceansignal.com B&G V31 00 This black box unit includes NMEA0183 and NMEA2000 interfaces for data output to existing instruments and MFDs. It also has a USB port for connecting to a PC, plus an SD card slot for standalone AIS data logging. Price: £940. www.bandg.com Digital Yacht AIT2500 and AIT5000 Digital Yacht offers two systems. The AIT2500 has an output for direct connection to a VHF antenna, or via a splitter, while the AIT5000 has an integrated zero-loss VHF-AIS antenna splitter that enables the main VHF antenna to be shared between…

2010. She is the replica of legendary ATLANTIC which was commissioned in 1903. Her victorious 1905 Trans atlantic Race made her immortal in yachting history. After owning, restoring, rebuilding or recreating a number of famous yachts such as Thendara, Aile Blanche, Borkumriff, Zaca a te Moana and most recently Eleonora, her owner planned his ultimate masterpiece; with her overall length of 64.5 metres she is the largest classic racing schooner ever to be recreated. Above all, she is again breathtakingly beautiful, turning heads wherever the wind takes her. Her dimensions are simply incredible; overall, she measures a remarkable 64.5 m. Her graceful sheer line and long overhangs accentuate her grace while her waterline length of 42 m and narrow beam are a promise of unmatched speed under sail. Her spars…

Two more America’s Cup teams launched their first AC75 foiling monohull designs in October, illustrating the varying design approaches of each of the four teams. Sir Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK named its new boat Britannia and revealed a design with a distinctive cutaway bow. It was preceded two days earlier by Challenger of Record Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team’s design, which some say shares design thinking with Defender Emirates Team New Zealand. The British challenger represents a colossal expenditure of time and specialist expertise – 90,000 hours of design time and 50,000 hours of build time, according to Ainslie. All four teams – Emirates Team New Zealand, American Magic, Luna Rossa and INEOS Team UK – are now trialling their first AC75s, and rapidly accruing the data and knowledge…

Perini Navi, Dykstra Naval Architects and Magma Structures have announced a new joint venture named Falcon Rig. The three companies were behind the 289ft (88m) Perini Navi Maltese Falcon, which has three radical, unstayed rotating DynaRigs. The yacht was commissioned by the late Tom Perkins in 2003. Following its launch three years later, Maltese Falcon proved to be a breakthrough design, combining reliability with ease of handling. But since then, only the 2016-built 350ft (107m) Black Pearl, which also uses freestanding carbon rigs built by Magma Structures in the UK, has adopted a similar rig. The three companies have now pooled resources in the Falcon Rig enterprise, as they believe this technology could convince superyacht owners to choose sail over power. The combination of complex and highly loaded sheets and…

email yachting.world@ti-media.com Letters may be edited as appropriate Flag fury Harrumph, curses and sweariness! I am vexed, annoyed and intensely irritated. We all know that things are not as good as they used to be and that the whole world is going to the dogs, and nowhere is this more starkly illustrated than in the abysmal standards of flag etiquette currently displayed by far too many yachts. In my 15 years cruising the seven seas it has become so commonplace to witness improper and illogical use of ensigns, burgees and courtesy flags that I had ceased to comment. But like an elephant in trousers that are too tight, something had to snap. This was occasioned recently when I observed a fellow Briton flying the Union flag instead of an ensign.…

Climate change is already impacting on our sailing: there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that rising sea temperatures, sea levels and air temperatures have contributed to an increased frequency of severe hurricanes over the past 10 years. Since records began, 2016-2019 is the longest sequence of years which all featured at least one Category 5 hurricane Hurricanes Irma and Maria decimated cruising grounds and charter fleets in the BVIs, USVIs, and St Maarten, as well as causing thousands of deaths in 2017, and had a significant impact on where cruisers could be insured to over-winter. But other factors are also changing where we sail. Jimmy Cornell has surveyed global patterns in sailing for 30 years. “Figures obtained from 50 locations around the world seem to indicate that the popularity of…

In January 2014 a 24-year-old Breton, Guirec Soudée, set off on a small steel yacht on a circumnavigation. In the Canary Islands he adopted a red hen, Monique, and so began one of sailing’s unlikeliest partnerships. For five years the pair explored the world, including overwintering in Greenland and navigating the North West Passage. In an ironic turn of events, Soudée set off on his adventure with no radio, wanting to be entirely cut off from the world to reconnect with nature. However, he shared his adventures with a friend who posted his updates online. The pair’s adventures captured the pubic imagination, and a social media phenomenon was born. Now back in France, Monique is the star of a book and a film, and the pair have a full schedule…

Bursting through the Cape Cod Canal is like a voyage through Narnia’s wardrobe. Huge lunar forces whisk us along as the rugged granite world of Buzzards Bay fades in our wake. Ahead is a softer world with gentle curves of pristine white sand that glow in the sun. The bewitching beauty of Cape Cod Bay is formed in the protective embrace of an arm with a perfect anchorage in its palm. Protected by the final clasp of a finger we find that nature has gifted Provincetown a magic of its own. Fish jump, seals feed and birds wheel in the crisp Atlantic air, which gently tugs at the anchor. The predominantly gay community makes nightlife a joyous riot of exuberant colour. Provincetown proves to be the perfect staging post for…

There will be times when you get caught out, when the weather doesn’t do exactly as forecast and the sea state becomes worryingly erratic. These are the sort of times when you feel the eyes of the young or less experienced members of the crew turning to you, wanting reassurance you may not be able to give. This can be the unpredictable nature of cruising. At times like this it matters little how many sunpads you may have on deck, what size your flat-screen TV is, or which toys are lurking in the lazarette. You’d trade any of them for a comfortable and forgiving motion, safe passage on deck and a minimum of unnerving noises. You want to be able to set the correct sail to the conditions. You may…

What is it? A new platform that combines AIS, VHF and remote boat monitoring in an effective and intelligent manner. Who is it for? Any vessel that undertakes serious passages. Vesper Marine was an early innovator in AIS and has a reputation for offering some of the best products on the market. However, the New Zealand company’s latest product, expected to launch officially at the Düsseldorf boat show in January, breaks entirely new ground. It’s intended as an expanding flexible platform that reimagines how VHF and AIS should work, as well as offering remote monitoring. The idea was prompted by a recognition that multiple disparate safety systems are hard to operate, which means any advanced capabilities are rarely used. The challenge therefore was to integrate AIS, VHF and DSC calling…

“THE MAINSAIL COVERS THE EQUIVALENT OF FOUR TENNIS COURTS” SHIRLEY ROBERTSON NOMINATES NGONI “Build me a beast. Don’t build me a sheep in wolf’s clothing. This has to be an edgy and innovative weapon, fast and furious.” This owner’s brief is well known in the superyacht world: Ngoni was designer Ed Dubois’s final boat before he died in 2016, and in so many ways pushed him and the builders, Royal Huisman, more than ever before. Ngoni is a 58m (190ft) sloop with a displacement of nearly 400 tonnes and a 17m high mast. Driven by an owner who was used to the performance of racing sailboats and had a keen eye for design, every element of this 58m yacht was meticulously considered; there could be no ‘over-engineering’, no ‘this will…