Innehållsförteckning för June 2016 från Sailing Today

We are once again delighted to announce that we will be marking the best that the marine industry and cruising world have to offer in the Sailing Today Awards 2016. We will be giving you the chance to vote for your favourite yachts, kit, gear, locations and sailing personalities across 15 categories. In addition, the winners in three further categories will be chosen by Sailing Today’s expert panel. Voting will be held online between 21 June and 31 August and we will announce the winners at the Southampton Boat Show (16-25 September). To kick off the awards we are seeking your nominations in three categories: Cruising Sailor, Yacht Club and Cruise of the Year. We will reveal all of the shortlisted entries in the August issue, ahead of public voting…

Since relaunching our yacht Fandancer from Syros in early May after overwintering there, our plan was to sail southeast to the Little Cyclades, cross east to the Dodecanese, and sail as far north as we could before the onset of the strong northerly Meltemi winds which start to blow hard by the end of June. We had an excellent shake-down trip from Syros to Paros, 24 miles south. With a Force 4 wind on the beam, and achieving 7 knots for most of the trip, Fandancer performed brilliantly, as if she was glad to be back in the water. Being liveaboards, we were not held to strict timetables or deadlines, and could proceed at our own pace and set our own destinations. But our chosen route depended very heavily on…

‘IT IS A PARADISE – WE TOOK IT FOR GRANTED THAT THIS WAS ENOUGH’ Do you remember that 1980s Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams? In it, Costner played Ray Kinsella, a man who was told by the ghost of 1919 baseball star ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, “If you build it, they will come.” Ray took that to mean if he built a baseball diamond in a field in the middle of his Iowan cornfield, his personal and financial woes would be over, as customers would soon be flocking through the gates. In true corny Hollywood ending style, the dream proved to be a premonition and Ray lived happily ever after. This might seem apropros of nothing, but humour me a little while I stretch the following metaphor to breaking point.…

“CAN WE DO THE RTIR?” I SAID YES BEFORE UNDERSTANDING THE CONSEQUENCES The world’s most popular cruiser race is coming up on 2 July, but there’s still time to enter. As we went to press, 700 boats had signed up, well on the way towards the usual 1,200-plus entry list. We caught up with two entrants – a newbie and a veteran family crew – to find out what makes the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race such a draw. How to enter • Sign up online at roundtheisland.org.uk • Enter before 18 June for £99 • Late entry by 29 June costs £300 Most cruisers’ boats don’t have an official IRC rating, but RTIR entrants can get an Island Sailing Club rating for the race by providing…

In 1877, budding yacht designer Nathanael Herreshoff decided to campaign his latest yacht, a catamaran named Amaryllis , against the cream of the New York Yacht Club’s fleet. His yacht saw off allcomers and was duly banned; the development of multihulls was set back many decades in the process. It says an awful lot about the hidebound nature of yachting that it would take almost a century for the true potential of catamarans to be fully rediscovered. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the multihull as a concept – certainly for racing – was once again gaining credence. What is amazing was that the potential for cruising multihulls continued to go largely untapped. Perhaps that’s because the early efforts looked boxy and sailed poorly. All that is now long…

Coming from the south, pass through Donaghadee Sound between the mainland and Copeland Island. Ballymacormick Point is marked by the red port-hand mark South Briggs – keep offshore of this. As you round St Luke’s Point you will be able to see the outer-most north breakwater, which is made of concrete. It is lit at night (Iso R 12s 9m 10M). If coming out from Belfast, there is a clearly-marked channel heading northeast. Once you have passed between buoys eight and nine you can peel off, eastwards, towards Bangor. There is enough water to get close in to shore but watch out for the odd hazard around the 5m contour line, including an outfall pipe, the outer end of which is marked with a yellow buoy. From either direction of…

INFLATABLE KAYAKS are some of the most portabe watercraft in existence, hence their immense popularity. But it’s a competitive and confusing market, with huge variations in price, quality and performance on the water. How does one choose? For a long time we were unsure ourselves, and chose not to add inflatable kayaks to our specialist range of portable boats because most of them aren’t much good to paddle. But when we saw and tested the new Aquaglide Chelans, they stood out from the crowd. Two key features make a massive difference: - High pressure drop-stitch floors for unmatched stiffness and paddling performance.They can be in›lated up to 12psi, rather than the 2psi (or less) of cheaper kayaks. That makes them much, much more rigid, so they don’t get a “saggy…

Heaving to is laying a sailing yacht on the wind with its sails reefed and trimmed, and helm adjusted, so that as it comes up to the wind it will fall off again on the same tack and therefore make no headway. It is a technique you might want to use in order to take a rest, make a meal, put in a reef, attend to an emergency or ride out a storm. Properly hove to and stopped in the water, a boat will look after itself. Where you might have been pounding into a head sea before, hove to, all is calm. Being able to get your boat to heave to is an incredibly useful skill that gives you a moment’s breathing space. THE THEORY Tack the boat without…

WIND GENERATOR This is a tried and tested way of generating large amounts of power on passage. Marine units are usually rated 300-400W, but they will only pump this out at the sort of wind speeds you’d rather not be sailing in. They work just as well at anchor or in the marina, but they can make a racket, so choose carefully and pick a good regulator that can trickle charge as well as pump in the power. Eclectic Energy D400, Rutland, Leading Edge and the Air Breeze are all good sellers. duogen.co. uk marlec.co.uk leturbines.com ecopowershop.com OUTBOARD In some cruising grounds it is already illegal to use a petrol outboard – they must be electric. With the right charging regime, electric outboards like Torqeedo can be very efficient.…

Beneteau First 345 Cloud Walker is moored below a former cod liver oil factory, now a museum, in the tiny restored fishing village of Nusfjord, Flakstadøy, Lofoten in northwest Norway. Owners Judy and David Lomax spent three months cruising the country, fitting out in Tromsø and heading south in what sadly proved to be David’s last ever cruise but, Judy says, “the best ever”. “Nusfjord is lovely,” she adds. “The restoration has been beautifully done, without losing the original fishing village feeling. The old rorbu (fishing shacks used in the winter cod fishing season) are now holiday accommodation.” The third edition of Judy Lomax’s RCCPF Norway pilot, published by Imray, will be released in July.…

Adventure 55 £810,000 When it comes to aluminium ‘go anywhere’ bluewater cruisers, it’s easy to think that the French have it all their own way. Boréal, Ovni, Allures - all the big hitters are French. The Adventure 55 slots nicely into this – aluminium, chined shallow hull – and yet she’s Swedish. And we all know what the Swedes are capable of when it comes to yacht design. She also differs from many of her French cousins in that she features a hydraulic lift keel (not a ‘swing’ keel). This pushes up the price of manufacturing, but should make for a stiffer vessel with superior upwind performance. en.adventureyachts.se Delphia 46DS £256,000 The Polish-built Delphia 46DS is the replacement for the Delphia 46CC, a yacht that always sounded more like an…

Bangor Marina is situated on the south shore of Belfast Lough (pronounced like ‘loch’), close to the Irish Sea cruising routes. It has been awarded five gold anchors under the Yacht Harbour Association scheme. It is accessible at all states of tide and has 530 berths, and all have at least 2.2m depth. Heights of tide are indicated by the tide board on the face of the pier by the fuel pontoon. Electricity is available at all berths, together with water, except on Pier A and the south side of Pier B. A battery charging service is available from the repair yard. The marina office is open 24 hours a day and maintains a continuous listening watch for Bangor Harbour on VHF Ch 11. All boats are asked to call…

Bangor is 130 miles across the Irish Sea from Liverpool or 100nM from Conwy – think of it as a longer version of crossing the Channel. Belfast recently featured as one of Sailing Today’s must-visit UK harbours, chosen in part for its proximity to the Titanic Museum. It is only an hour or two’s trip from Bangor. No sail to Northern Ireland would be complete without a cruise around Strangford Lough (see forthcoming August issue for more). Less than 7nM as the crow flies from Bangor, it is a morning or afternoon’s sail of about 30nM south and up into the entrance of the lough through Strangford Narrows. Once inside, this is a body of almost landlocked water sheltered from the rough weather in the Irish Sea, and measures 12nM…

NORTHERN BOAT SHOW 3-5 JUNE, ALBERT AND SALTHOUSE DOCK, LIVERPOOL Returning for the second year, as part of the International Mersey River Festival. Bavaria, Beneteau, Dufour, Hanse and Jeanneau will be on display. Tickets from £6. northernboatshow. com SPETSES CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA 30 JUNE-3 JULY, SPETSES, GREECE Held off the small island of Spetses in the Saronic Gulf, a chance to watch 75 classics, schooners and lateens compete over four days. spetsesclassicregatta.com FALMOUTH INTERNATIONAL SEA SHANTY FESTIVAL 17-19 JUNE, FALMOUTH Maritime music festival with shanty performances plus a gala concert on Saturday night, with proceeds going to the RNLI. Includes the Falmouth Classics racing. falmouthseashanty.co.uk SECRETS OF THE REEF EXHIBITION THROUGHOUT JUNE, SEA LIFE BRIGHTON A Maldives reef is recreated in Brighton with 400 new fish from 31…

We are here in Marbella, in the Costa del Sol region, relaxing in our favourite café, sipping on almond lattes and humming along with the beautiful collection of music. We are also blessed with this beautiful Mediterranean Spanish backdrop to top it off. In just five weeks we have explored the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal, travelling from Baiona in the north to Gibraltar and into the Med, with a pause here in Marbella. We will be setting sail again soon, heading further up the Mediterranean coast, but for now, we are soaking up all we can of this wonderfully diverse pit-stop. We have eaten ‘pintxos’, run along the Golden Mile, cycled up in between the trees, and had a wonderful evening visit to Puerto Banus where we were…

DESIGNER ED DUBOIS DIES Yacht designer Ed Dubois has died, aged 64. He designed many cruising and racing yachts, with a range of Westerlys including the Griffon and Fulmar, Centurions from 36ft-59ft (11m-18m), the Southerly 535 and 57RS, and the Wauquiez Centurions and Pilot Saloons 43 and 48. Larger yachts included the Oyster 125 Twilight – the longest Oyster ever built. Ed started his career working for naval architect Alan Buchanan in Jersey, and even worked as a journalist for a time on Yachts & Yachting, before joining Sparkman and Stephens in America. Back in the UK, his first model for Westerly, the Griffon, was launched in 1978 and more than 1,000 variations of the boat were sold. That started a long career with Westerly, drawing 17 different yachts. Other…

‘Jutland’ propeller cufflinks Royal British Legion offers style with meaning The Battle of Jutland, the largest sea-based conflict of the First World War, in which 250 ships engaged in battle on the North Sea, saw more than 8,500 men lose their lives and 25 ships sink. To commemorate the centenary of the battle, on 31 May and 1 June, the Royal British Legion has released some Jutland-themed products. Included in the range is this set of stylish nautical propeller cufflinks. Rhodium-coated, the cufflinks feature a swivel clasp and a detailed propeller representation that the RBL says will “add a dash of ‘style with meaning’ to any shirt”. All proceeds of sales through the charity’s shop will go directly to the Royal British Legion. • £13 • poppyshop.org.uk Kelsey’s…

‘GRACKLES SAT BRAZENLY ON THE RADAR, AS IF COMMANDING THE BOAT’S OPERATIONS SOMEHOW’ A life on board presents you with many chance encounters with animals. Stumbling across a pod of dolphins or catching sight of a whale are magical moments, which we find ourselves recounting to friends at the next port. But the more constant visitors to our guard rails, providing the soundtrack to our travels, disturbing a lazy life at anchor or hitching a lift across the sea, are the feathered friends we’ve met along the way. We heard the seagulls squawk at the start of our adventures, as we prepped our yacht in Cornwall nearly five years ago. Cormorants called from the sea wall when we made landfall in Spain. Tiny plovers skittered about us at low tide…

BALLYMACORMICK POINT Keep offshore of the red South Briggs port hand mark TRAFFIC LIGHTS A light system on the end of the outer breakwater and central pier tells you whether to enter/exit. Call VHF Ch 80 or 11 PICKIE BREAKWATER Two dolphins off its end, followed by a pile light (Fl G 3s) NORTH BREAKWATER Made of concrete and also called Eisenhower Pier. Lit (Iso R 12s 9m 10M) DONAGHADEE SOUND Coming from the south, pass between Copeland Island and the mainland The County Down town of Bangor – not to be confused with the university town in Wales – is just a few miles from Belfast and the Irish Sea. The town is believed to take its name from the curved shape of the bay – ‘curved horns’ in…

The best advice comes from experience, so for the second year, we have surveyed the participants in Jimmy Cornell’s various transatlantic sailing rallies. There were three rallies this year, running from the Canaries to the Caribbean – one via the Cape Verde islands – and 41 boats responded to our survey. It was a faster year than 2015, with fewer days of calm and quicker passage times. Some boats reported a difficult cross-swell which kept their motion lively, but the vast majority enjoyed the experience. Comments ranged from celebrating the fish caught – “we caught 17 fish”, boasted Aces 4; Tartan 3700 Jocale laid claim to a more modest “three dorado” – to delight at mid-Atlantic bathing and the range of fauna they saw. One boat, Jeanneau 53 New Horizon,…

Helly Hansen HH 5.5M Just missing last month’s test deadline, this is a technical shoe designed to look good on shore. It comes in two versions – one built to keep the water out; the other to let the water out via drainage holes. Both feature quick-dry mesh upper, comfort sockliner and siped sole for grip. • from £85 • hellyhansen.com Pelagic MWB-4G Designed for larger vessels with multiple users, this white box turns your boat into a Wi-Fi hot spot. It can switch between a shore-based Wi-Fi link and fast 4G mobile network, depending on bandwidth, or according to user preference. It is pricey compared to some on the market, but has unique features, like the front-loading sim card slot for easy switching across borders, and all…

BAVARIA 49 | SIR HUGH Sir Hugh is a three-cabin version of a Bavaria 49 that has spent most of her time sailing in UK waters, with occasional hops across the Channel. Sir Hugh, based in Chichester, has only ever been used privately and is in good condition. She has Selden in-mast furling and a furling genoa, both controlled from the cockpit. The genoa tack, head and UV strip have recently been replaced. There is a 78hp overhauled Volvo Penta engine and Raymarine autopilot and radar, plus Vesper Marine AIS system and bow thruster with upgraded propellers. Below, the master cabin forward has its own port shower and starboard head, all of which can be closed off from the main saloon for added owner privacy. The two rear…

Oyster, Discovery, Gunfleet, Bavaria and Spirit Yachts will be bringing their boats to the heart of the capital for the London On-Water Yacht and Boat Show. The event, from 4-7 May, returns to see St Katharine Docks transformed for a four-day showcase of top brands. The British-built Discovery 58 will be making her UK debut at the show. The yacht is a serious luxury bluewater cruiser designed for short-handed, comfortable offshore cruising. Ron Holland, a long-term collaborator with the Southampton-based firm, has drawn the hull and the interior was designed by Ken Freivokh to have a bright and open feel. British-based classic boat builder Spirit Yachts will be bringing Soufrière, the Spirit 54 that featured in the film Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig and Eva Green, on display – and…