Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Sailing Today

It’s been a busy summer for SailGP, which despite no racing has seen several major developments, including the announcement of Plymouth as the new UK venue. It was held in Cowes last year. Following the season opener in San Francisco in April 2021 and New York in June, the championship will visit Plymouth on 17-18 July. Among the competitors will be a new team from New Zealand, with Pete Burling at the helm, and Sir Ben Ainslie with his INEOS team mates. Ainslie said: “There is an element of nostalgia for me personally, having grown up and learned to sail in the West Country and now all these years later coming back to race on the international stage. Plymouth is a fantastic sailing venue with a natural amphitheatre for the…

Yarning with the editor about suitable material for columns, he said folks might be interested if I were to dig deep into my memory banks for some early experience under sail that, despite everything, I’d never forgotten. Looking back on a varied career, I seemed spoilt for choice. Even as long ago as the 1980s, the choice included classic schooners, house-high seas and nights racing down-Channel with the RORC fleet, to say nothing of hand-lining for cod on the banks of Nova Scotia. All good stuff, but not individually life-changing. Then I recalled a long-ago day in 1961. It wouldn’t merit a mention for most of us, yet it topped the lot. Me and my pal from round the corner in Stockport were 14 when my dad drove us to…

‘THE ENSUING CHAOS WAS HEAVEN FOR SOME AND HELL FOR OTHERS... I DROPPED FROM TOP-10 TO MID-30s’ It’s funny how, when you haven’t raced for so long, that the next club race takes on all the importance of a world championship. With the cancellation of our formal open meeting circuit in the Musto Skiff class, Peter Greenhalgh took it upon himself to organise some racing in the Solent. With a RIB for the committee boat, a laid mark for the pin end, one of the navigation buoys for a windward mark, and a £20 entry fee, we’ve had up to 20 boats competing for five back-to-back heats. Pretty much as soon as the last boat finishes it’s time for the three-minute whistle for the next start sequence. No rest for…

Q: Did I really need to deploy the JSD? A: The seas were bigger and breaking more than I’ve experienced in a Force 8 before, but the wind had a huge fetch for the sea to build, originating from Galicia as the Portuguese trades often do. My windex showed a steady 45kts and this alone shouldn’t have made for a dangerous sea. Perhaps the effect of Madeira changed the wave period or steepness. I could have run off before the wind and waves and been most likely safe with the ripped main, no engine and the thought of losing a lot of ground, I decided to use the JSD and I stand by that decision in hindsight. Q: Would I use it again? A: I felt very safe riding under…

It’s been not-so-smooth sailing for Alex Thomson since he was forced to retire from the Transat Jacques Vabre last November – one year out from the start of the upcoming Vendée Globe. Back then, the 4,350nm doublehanded race from France to Brazil saw Thomson’s foiling IMOCA 60 – the latest Hugo Boss – debut in competition, but just days in, a collision with a submerged object left the 4.5m keel dangling, attached only by the hydraulic ram. In trouble, Thomson and his co-skipper, Neal McDonald, had no option but to cut the keel away and limp 800nm to Cape Verde where they were met by their shore team. The incident had a major impact, as Thomson recalls: “Physically, Neal and I were both quite bruised and battered. We were very…

Lea Heather and his partner Bing keep a 40ft steel ketch Papillon at Newhaven, having been based there for around six years. “I went to see Eastbourne first, and it was very nice but not really what I was looking for,” he says. “I like it here because it’s nice and peaceful and there’s a real community atmosphere. It’s a real mix of people, with cruising sailors, day sailors and commercial users and fishermen. Everyone is generally sociable, whereas I’ve asked friends in another marina what the people are like, and they say ‘don’t know, we never speak to anyone’… “Here in the summer there’ll often be BBQs on the pontoons, and we’re also on first name terms with the staff, who are all very friendly and amenable. “It’s also…

Sometimes I have been asked, ‘Which was your best adventure?’ Apart from a flippant reply, ‘The day I married my wife’, it is almost impossible to select one as the best; I have been privileged to enjoy so many, both climbing and sailing. As I said at the Banff Mountain Festival in Canada one year, ‘God has given me a wonderful life’. Not sure what they made of that; and I am not sure what you will make of these either…. So apart from the thrill of pioneering new previously unclimbed rock climbs at Portland and on the Ormes of Llandudno, what about the sailing adventures? We must leave aside unwittingly burning the boat through the ice when wintering alone in the boat in Greenland – that was too disastrous…

Due to a combination of great weather, and an increase in people who might otherwise have travelled overseas instead enjoying boating in the UK, this summer has proved to be one of the busiest ever for the UK’s coastguard and rescue services. In response, the RNLI and RYA have recently launched a series of 'how to' safety videos, available online. On top of this increase in numbers has come further concern about how to operate safely in a new world in which an invisible menace constantly threatens to further undermine activities, both afloat and ashore. Despite the challenges, more people than ever before have spent more time on the water than in previous summers. Yacht brokers across the country have been doing a brisk trade and, with many marinas requiring…

CONTEST 46 | BOUZY The Contest 46 is one of those highly regarded blue water cruisers from the skilled shipwrights of Holland. This Dick Zaal designed yacht commands respect from those who know. Bouzy is being offered for sale by her second owner, an experienced yachtsman of many years and craft. She has been maintained in a seamanlike manner concentrating on the efficiency and well being of systems and equipment. She sports an OEM aluminium hard ‘sprayhood’ with handholds and windows providing a snug refuge from the elements whilst on passage. Essentially this is a tried and tested passage maker with a fine blend of good looks, performance and ocean going pedigree. ● michaelschmidt.co.uk LOA: 46ft 3in (14.14m) Beam: 13ft 9in (4.2m) Draught: 5ft 6in (1.7m) Cabins: 3…

The 2020 Wetsuit Outlet Moth Nationals saw 70 International Moths compete at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, in a pared down version of the event that had originally been been scheduled as a world championship. An early call by organisers enabled things to proceed under the necessary Covid restrictions, with glamour conditions prevailing on four of the five days of racing. Amateur and professional sailors alike enjoyed some fantastic foilborne competition, which showcased the depth of talent in the UK fleet. A clean sweep once again by defending champion Dylan Fletcher left USA’s Brad Funk and home-town competitor Alex Adams to take the two remaining podium spots, with just one point separating them.…

Planning for Cowes Week 2021 is “well advanced” and regatta director Laurence Mead said “it is our intention to run boat racing if we possibly can, even if we are living in a Covid-affected world at the time”. The exact format of the regatta, which had to be cancelled this year for the first time since World War II, will remain flexible until nearer the time but planning is going ahead based on the full Cowes Week experience being able to take place. Mead said: “We didn’t get a chance to see how our new Performance Cruiser Division and our new Club Cruiser Division would work on the water, but we remain convinced that this is the way to go. “We may also run separate results (at least in the…

MDL loyalty scheme MDL Marinas has launched a loyalty programme, called Otium, allowing customers to collect points when they purchase products such as fuel, yard services and berthing. They can redeem points against additional services, or against their berthing costs. The intention is that customers will be able to collect and redeem points with many of MDL’s onsite tenants as the programme develops. The programme also allows non-MDL berthholders to accrue points at a lower rate. Portsmouth 2021 for Racing Forum The 2020 Yacht Racing Forum, due to be held in Portsmouth, will be held virtually on 24 November, and the physical event has been postponed for a year, to be held in Portsmouth in 2021. Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting is media partner. Tidal energy The RYA has…

Go round for Ellen’s trust The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust invited supporters to take part in the Round Britain Your Way challenge, encouraging people to sail, run, swim, walk, cycle or create their own challenge to collectively travel 4,800 miles around the British coastline. Ellen said: “The Trust has sailed round Britain twice before in 2009 and 2017, each time sailing 2,400 miles with crews of young people in recovery from cancer. This time we’re going Round Britain Your Way. Young people are going to need us more than ever after COVID-19.” ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org Sailing’s top job World Sailing members are voting for a new president and vice-presidents this autumn, with three candidates going up against current president Kim Andersen, who is standing for re-election. Nomination for PlainSailing Manchester-based PlainSailing.com has…

‘If I ever see anyone worthy of the waterman’s name, I’ll do an unboxing video and you can judge for yourself’ How was it for you? I mean the season just past, the season that very nearly wasn’t which turned out to be the blink-and-you’ll-miss it season? Having got the boat ready and launched by mid-March and overflowing with ambition, it goes without saying that when the lockdown came before the antifouling was hardly dry, my disappointment eclipsed even that of a young hopeful just kicked off Strictly. In the end I got as far as Falmouth. Worse places to be, I know. But it wasn’t the usual relaxing spot that I have so often enjoyed, and neither were many of the West Country harbours. Too much anxiety in the…

‘IT WAS A LESSON FOR MANY GOOD SAILORS WHO PERHAPS GET OVERAWED BY WHO THEY ARE RACING AGAINST’ If for some reason you need a reminder how cruel offshore racing can be, rewind to Leg 3 of the recent La Solitaire du Figaro and relive the fate of Sam Goodchild, skipper of Leyton Sailing Team. His unfortunate demise - from being a definite overall podium contender to finishing 17th overall - befell him in the last 40 miles of the leg from Dunkirk to St Nazaire. Your meteo gurus look will look at the high September daily temperatures along this coast and tell you there is often the fight between the land breeze and the sea breeze, creating a wide corridor of calm in the late morning or early afternoon.…

Everyone has a different idea of what makes the perfect blue water cruising yacht but there are a few basic premises that are absolutely necessary. First up, a blue water cruising yacht needs to sail well and it needs to make you feel safe in heavy weather. Can we all agree on that? Good. I think I can confidently say that this is the basic ethos that Contest Yachts has stuck to for a good long time now – with an emphasis on quality and tailoring boats to customers' specific needs into the mix. All in all, it has made for a very successful formula over the years. Without in any way being about racing yachts, Contest has created it’s own special blend. For those not au fait with this…

Lockdown trends of self-organised races, small fleets, and unusual starts look set to continue a while longer. As I have found from sailing at my own club this summer, one of the most common adaptations is a reaching start line. Let’s see how last month’s self-coaching principles can be applied here... The reaching start The problem: How do I start at the windward end of the line, without being pinned out by right of way boats to leeward? The knowledge: Two key pieces of understanding needed here are transits and rules: everything else can be learned on the water. The transit (if there is one) helps in two ways. Firstly, if you are not near an end, the transit is a guide to how close to the line you are,…

For sailors with a love of channel-hopping, Newhaven is as good a place to start as any. It’s roughly 75 miles to Dieppe, with the Channel Islands and Brittany beckoning further to the west, or you can head up through the Dover Straits towards Holland and onwards for the North Sea and Scandinavian or Baltic ports. Alternatively you might fancy a bit of East Coast sight-seeing here in the UK, leap-frogging your way around the Channel ports, and then off to Lowestoft or Great Yarmouth via Burnham-on-Crouch or Maldon. Closer to home, you have the buzzy fashionable resorts of Brighton and Eastbourne close at hand, both of which are ports that Newhaven berth-holders get to enjoy as ‘destinations’. Beyond Brighton you can make for the Solent too, of course, which…

Coronavirus has played havoc with every aspect of our lives this year, including our ability to get out on the water. Though we had access to our boats from mid-June, it wasn’t until the first weeks of July that cruising could start again as restrictions on overnight stays were relaxed. Not surprisingly, marinas have reported “exceptionally high use” for berth holders desperate to get back on the water and make the most of their boats. But despite the fine weather midsummer, it is still a drastically curtailed sailing season. So rather than getting the boat hauled out in October, many sailors are reportedly looking to extend their boating activities. Marinas have been quick to spot the trend, and many are offering discounts and promotions to those who keep their boats…

Serious blue water cruising has very little to do with logic. A rational human being would look at the pros and cons and stay at home. Yet adventure cruising is about far more than common sense, as anyone with the vaguest yearning for liberty understands. It does, however, mean that it is very easy to confound such as an adventurer. I discovered this when I posed the question to Jimmy Cornell as to why, at the age of 80, he was sinking hundreds of thousands of pounds into purpose building a catamaran with pioneering electric propulsion and setting sail around the world in the wake of Ferdinand Magellan. Anyone who has met Jimmy will know he is rarely lost for words, yet after I posed the question, there is a…

Oulton Week was hosted by the Waveney & Oulton Broad Yacht Club. With Covid restrictions, the week was re-organised to four days of racing, although this was hampered by Storm Francis. River Cruiser entries were down to seven, but the keelboat fleet was strong with 15 Broads One Designs, five Yare & Bures, 12 Waveneys and eight Squibs. The Land Union September Regatta was a major event in September, with racing and shoreside activities organised by the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Class winners were: Glyn Locke’s Toucan (HP30); Dave Bartholomew’s Tokoloshe 3 (IRC 1); Howell & Newell’s Arcus (IRC 3); Graham Nixon’s Magic (Club Class); Jonnie Goodwin’s RYS Team (J/70); Gary Rossall’s Little X (XOD). Prizes from sponsors Land Union, Antigua Sailing Week and North Sails included flights to Berlin…

Jeanneau 60 After a comparatively long pause in new launches, French manufacturer Jeanneau is back with a bang, following the unveiling of plans for an all-new 60ft yacht. The new boat will replace the Jeanneau 57 and sits between the 64 and 54 in their luxury Jeanneau Yachts range. Designed by Philippe Briand, the latest model is offered as a semi custom yacht, which suggests the French brand is moving upmarket and arguably treading on the toes of sister company CNB Yachts. Styling is aggressive, with a dreadnought bow, while the interior, designed by Andrew Winch, promises to be luxurious. jeanneau.com Outremer 55 French multihull manufacturer Outremer has become the go-to manufacturer for fans of fast multihull cruising. The new 55 plugs a gap between the 51 and the 5X,…

‘Ninigo Islands’ chilli was something we took a shine to and stocked up on’ When the only thing that changes about your home is the location you anchor it in you cannot help but draw comparisons. And the single thing that tends to occupy our minds in such appraisals is the food. We eat well on board - better than we ever did in our land life - and are largely dependent on the quality and proximity of local fresh produce markets. So that means that the trendy buzzwords of eating ‘locally and seasonally’ are lost on us as that’s all that you can do when you’re long term sailing the world. It also results in times of plenty and times of shortage - never of anything that one needs…

Dublin wasn’t always a dominant capital city and major port. Its bay was shallow, exposed and prone to silting up. Shipwrecks were common. Cue the skill of the lighthouse-builders, and the ingenuity of inventors and civil engineers. It was controversial and difficult but in time they devised new ways to build the lights and walls that now welcome ships to a safe deep-water port. In this online article, Port Heritage director Lar Joye and Irish Lights CEO Yvonne Shields O’Connor describe how Dublin became the jewel in Ireland’s crown: bit.ly/12ports-Dublin…

HALLBERG RASSY 57 A while back the blend between sportiness and cruising practicality was weighted much more toward the latter with Hallberg Rassy. Now though the 57 steps firmly on Contest’s toes with this surprisingly sprightly German Frers design. hallberg-rassy.com DISCOVERY 54 Designed by Ed Dubois and originally conceived as a Southerly, this design has been given a new life by Discovery Yachts and beautifully fitted out for blue water cruising while also offering the extra versatility of a swing keel if an owner wishes. discoveryshipyard.com AMEL 50 A bit smaller and a lot quirkier but similarly aimed at the discerning cruising sailor who is looking for a boat that is a little bit different. This is a beautifully fitted out yacht crammed with clever touches. amel.fr…

EAST SUSSEX 50° 46’.20N., 00° 03’.70E Only the boldest of estate agents would describe Newhaven as one of the more desirable residential towns in East Sussex, in spite of its location at the mouth of the River Ouse which meanders out to sea from the lovely Sussex Downs. There have been traces of civilisation found locally dating back to the stone age, and a stroll through the town centre might suggest not a lot has changed. Seaford - across the other side of the Ouse flood plain - has a more genteel feel, but Newhaven centre is still suffering from the postindustrial malaise that has afflicted many seaside towns since the latter half of the 20th Century. Its situation was not helped by a stroke of 1970s planning genius that…

As a working channel port used by ‘ro-ro’ ferries and capable of accommodating vessels up to 145m with 8m draft in almost any weather, leisure yachts should have little difficulty coping with Newhaven unless the wind is strong and blowing onshore. The biggest issue – literally – is avoiding the aforementioned commercial traffic, but a straightforward system of lights at both the harbour and the marina entrances should keep you out of trouble. The harbour has a triple stacked light array, showing red, white or green lights. Three solid reds mean no entry, while three flashing reds signifies an emergency, Two greens with a white beneath signal two-way small craft traffic, while greens top and bottom with a white in the middle means a vessel may proceed only under specific…

Classic scene This image by the Detroit Photographic Company shows the gaff schooner Emerald from 1894. It is part of a series of four similar images offered by Mind the Gap, printed on lithographic paper and available framed. ● £198 ● mindtheg.com Vintage-style sextant “Navigation has changed a lot over the years,” the Australian company behind this vintage-look sextant tells us. “The maps on your phone might be convenient, but they sure do take some of the fun out of it.” This handmade brass/alloy sextant is apparently “fully functional” and comes with a heavy, felt-lined wooden case. ● Price $129.99 (approx £72) ● yellowoctopus.com.au All at Sea clothing This is a new marine-inspired brand of clothing, with designs influenced by the founders’ experiences serving at sea. All products are made…

“The key behind me getting a multihull was that I needed a boat that could maintain sufficient speed to efficiently charge the batteries on an ocean crossing,” says Jimmy. “A multihull also had the added advantage of being able to present a large surface area of solar panels to the sun. Outremer was a natural choice because this is a cruising catamaran with an emphasis on performance. The boat is an Outremer 45 but with certain features such as the rotating mast and hi-tech Hydranet sails. “Of course, the key is to be carbon zero – completely. The yard here suggested I pack a back up diesel generator but, to me, that defeats the object. “Instead, I’ve gone for ‘Jimmy’s belt and braces approach’ – three different independent circuits. The…

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