Innehållsförteckning för July 2022 från Sailing Today

“Sexist comments need to be ‘called out’ by other sailors on board” The creation of an all-female racing team by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke has drawn widespread applause from the competitive sailing world. The Live Ocean Racing Team (see page 10) will compete in one of a rash of new professional foiling circuits, with the idea of creating a pool of female talent with the skills to take on the America’s Cup or SailGP. It’s a great initiative, particularly so because it’s come from two of the most famous sailors in the world, both double America’s Cup winners. What’s also great is that it’s not as uncommon an initiative as it would have been a few years ago. Competitive sailing is changing fast to create more opportunities for female…

‘Harbours have two faces; the one they present from the sea - and the other is the motorist’s view’ Everyone has a favourite harbour, the ones we long for and lust over on long winter nights. We imagine ourselves edging through the harbour mouth, returning to our spiritual home, feeling the swell disappear as we drift into sheltered waters. In our dreams there’s always a spare mooring, and our favourite stool by the bar in waiting for us, the fish and chips are as we remember them. That’s what sailing into a harbour should feel like. But let me give you a word of warning. If, for some reason, you aren’t able to get there by boat, don’t even think of doing it by car. Harbours have two faces; the…

Jeanneau proved in 2015 that a 60’ plus yacht could be a hit with the public and the 65 looks set to pick up where her predecessor left off. The manufacturer has not gone for a wholesale root and branch change with this boat but the minor tweaks have ensured that the product has been refined and improved without doing any harm to the original concept. The boat is easier to handle than my own 28’ yacht and bow and stern thrusters ensure that mooring couldn’t be much easier. wind on the day of my test to fully enjoy her.…

The entries have been flooding in for the Round the Island Race on 25 June and preparations are in full swing at the Island Sailing Club. This year there are new race partners and a new race village, with Cowes Yacht Haven open to all, competitors and spectators, for race briefings and entertainment. Race Director David Atkinson says: “For the first time since the pandemic started we are delighted to be able to offer a terrific onshore hospitality programme at both the Race Village and the Island Sailing Club in Cowes. It’s also fantastic to see entries returning from abroad this year, plus we’ve also got the highest percentage of first-time participants that we’ve ever experienced. I think there are a lots of new owners keen to challenge their boats…

When David Raison won the Mini Transat race in his radical scow-bow prototype TeamWork Evolution he demonstrated the potential speed and seaworthiness of this hull shape. At the same time, many sailors from a cruising background wondered what such a shape could do for accommodation volume. The Mojito 6.50 is the answer – it’s a fast cruising boat based on a development of Raison’s original hull shape, tweaked to produce IDB Marine’s Maxi 650. This design took an impressive five of the top nine places in the series division of last year’s Mini Transat. The Mojito is a capable fast mini cruiser or weekender that’s easy to look after, while offering loads of fun and a lot more accommodation that other boats of its length. As well as the scow…

The Covid 19 pandemic has been a journey for all of us and one that has actually involved travelling a good deal less. Nowhere was this more evident than in the charter industry, where previously popular destinations simply fell off the map. Pacific islands became all but untouchable while Australia and New Zealand were seemingly perpetually out of bounds. Thankfully, there is a sea change and borders and barriers are currently tumbling at a rate of knots. Laura Bowtell, Head of Sales UK at Sunsail and The Moorings, explains the current situation: “Many of our more exotic locations were slow coming out of the pandemic restrictions and it wasn’t until recently that a lot of Covid mandates were lifted. “As an example, Thailand was really tough but in recent weeks…

‘Our ocean nights have shown me more stars than my eyes could comprehend’ I love sailing at night. There can be few things in life that I honestly find as thrilling and sense-tinglingly wild as cutting along through the water under sail with the cloak of nighttime all around you. We’ve sailed some long passages since living aboard and crossed two oceans so we’ve had our fair share of nights at sea and they all have a distinctly different flavour from their daytime counterparts. On our first ocean crossing, the Atlantic, we sailed with two friends and it was long before we had any kids. With four on board the watch system was a luxurious 2 hours on, 6 hours off schedule, which meant we were all well-rested. We’d gently…

SailGP set for Plymouth return SailGP returns to Plymouth on July 30-31 July and tickets are now on sale. It will be the third event in the global championship’s 2022/23 calendar and follows a hugely successful SailGP event in the Devon city in 2021, which drew an estimated 27,500 spectators around the Sound and on the water. Tickets for the 2022 ‘grand prix’, held once again in partnership with Plymouth City Council, will include options to watch from the Hoe, from official spectator boats and from your own boat. There are also team base tours being offered, giving the chance to see the ‘pit lane garages’ where the athletes and shore teams prepare the foiling F50 boats. As ever with SailGP, there will be a huge array of concurrent local…

Excess 14 Excess Catamarans is an offshoot of Lagoon, the best selling cruising multihull manufacturer of all time. The aim of Excess was to draw in a younger audience essentially. The first few models used existing Lagoon hulls and spruced them up but the project has now evolved and an entirely separate range is being developed. The new boat is 44’ on the waterline and features the now-trademark twin helms aft. The boat features a relatively low freeboard compared to Lagoon and, although daggerboards have been eschewed, the keels are somewhat deeper – pointing to the line being trod between speed and comfort. sea-ventures.co.uk GT 325 British boatbuilder GT Yachts hit the headlines some years ago by unveiling an exciting range of pure blooded cruisers. Their first model off the…

Having previously planned weekends in the Solent based around neaps (ST October 2021) and springs (ST May 2022), this article is based on a trip roughly mid-way between springs and neaps. The idea is that someone with a berth up the River Hamble arrives at their home berth on Friday afternoon, and needs to be back there by Sunday afternoon. With relatively minor variations it should also work for those with berths anywhere within the Solent area. Time for a change? While the previous weekends have aimed to exploit the opportunities provided by reduced (neaps), and enhanced (springs) ranges in tidal height, this weekend is all about the timing of the change in direction of the tidal streams. The timings of high and low water at springs and neaps are…

“It begs the question, how much data should you be allowed while racing?” According to one sailor who’s stood on that hallowed podium, there are three ‘non-negotiables’ that you must achieve if you’re to win an Olympic medal. Or any other major fleet racing regatta for that matter. After winning Olympic silver in the 470 at the Barcelona Games in 1992, American sailor Morgan Reeser has gone on to win numerous world titles in a variety of classes, both as a sailor and a coach. It was some years ago that Morgan happened across a simple formula that he believes is the key to victory on the race course. Now, the gospel according to Morgan goes like this. In order to win an Olympic medal you must: 1. Achieve an…

HANSE 675 Hanse Yachts issued a powerful statement of intent with the launch of the 675 in 2016. Just like Jeanneau, they aimed to offer superyacht style and luxury at production yacht prices. inspirationmarine.co.uk DUFOUR 61 Dufour’s take on the mini superyacht concept is a tad smaller than the 65 but also works on the concept of marrying the best of production yachts with a hint of superyacht style. This Umberto Felci design certainly cuts a dash on the water and features acres of space and a lot of luxury down below. universalyachting.com BENETEAU OCEANIS YACHT 60 The Oceanis Yacht has been out for a while now and has proven to be a big hit. Featuring a high level of luxury and distinctive styling this is a boat that shares…

It wasn’t that long ago that race results would take a couple of days to be posted, typically scribbled in pencil, recalls Stuart Lawrence, Race Captain of Junior Offshore Group – the keelboat racing club better known to many as JOG. While he says there was nothing unusual about the way the club was operating in a sport that is entrenched in tradition, the potential to transform a club on the brink of decline was tantalising. Stuart talks animatedly as he goes on to explain how, after a term volunteering on the JOG committee, he felt compelled to initiate real change. He knew the potential that technology has to accelerate change from his professional expertise as founder and director of Serversys, a business systems provider specialising in digital transformations. With…

For more than 150 years the coastal resort of Barneville-Carteret has been a magnet to tourists. In its heyday the beau monde of Paris and the discerning members of Edwardian British society flocked to its endless white sand beaches and clear blue sea warmed by the gulf stream. Today Barneville-Carteret is popular with visitors from Europe and the UK and an especially favoured stopover for yachtsmen both French and British. Barneville-Carteret’s position directly opposite the Channel Islands gives it a unique flavour among French ports, decidedly French, but closer to the British Isles even than Dover. The area’s close connection with the Channel Isles spans many centuries, regardless of wars, foreign occupation or dare we say it, more recently Brexit. There is even a common language between the two, the…

“Wanderlust is a force that always pulls but as long as I satisfy that from time to time it’s not overpowering” Stephen Ladd reflects. This is a man who has seen more adventure than most, yet when I chat to him he sounds settled and his life almost mundane. In the background the babble of everyday life goes on. This is a man with two kids and a wife; it is morning with him in Duluth, Minnesota and the sounds of kids being prepared for school and breakfast being served are a comforting burble in the background. It’s hard to equate this scenario with the man who recounts a life less ordinary in his book The Five Year Voyage. “It’s a case of managing your wanderlust and satisfying that need…

HANSE 388 | MANZANO Manzano is one of the highest specification Hanse 388s delivered to the UK and, with only 12 months and 99 hours on the clock, is a remarkable opportunity to beat the two year waiting list for a brand new boat. The 388 is a Judel/Vrolijk design that is noted for its blend of lively performance and easy handling. Manzano is well fitted out with bow thruster, electric winches, upgraded Navigation suite - in fact it is probably easier to list the specification upgrades she doesn’t have! All in all, a brilliant opportunity to get hold of a lovely Hanse 388 for the 2022 season. Year: 2021 LOA: 37’4” (11.4m) Beam: 12’8” (3.9m) Draft: 6’7” (2.06m ) Engine: Yanmar | 29HP Accommodation: 6 berths in…

Here I was again in the Caribbean. Antigua. We had delivered the Lagoon Catamaran 45 Boogie Woogie from Grand Canaria in November last year. Now we were taking her back to Europe. Getting into the mood, I went to the Skullduggery Pub and had a rum punch whilst waiting for Tomaz, Boogie Woogie’s owner, and his kids, who had crossed the Atlantic with us last November; they had been in Antigua chartering their boat since I left them in Grenada last year. Boogie Woogie was anchored, waiting for us to take her back to Greece. I was escorted straight to my old cabin. Then, hungry as hell, we climbed back aboard the dinghy and went back to Skullduggery for hamburgers, fish and chips and another rum. The next day, after…

Let me introduce myself: I am an intruder. I am a small entrant in a big game. I’ve just being granted a wild card to participate double handed in the Round Britain & Ireland race - my boat, at 25’, being smaller than the minimum length allowed. Not only she is small, perhaps the smallest boat ever to enter the race, but she is for sure the oldest. She is a Laurent Giles Vertue, built by Cheoy Lee in Hong Kong in 1959, teak planks on ipol frames. Her name is Mea, meaning 'Beauty and Grace' in Chinese. Mea has already put quite a few miles below her keel: she has sailed from Hong Kong to the UK, then to the Baltic, then to the Caribbeans and back, but she…

Back in 2015 I stepped aboard the all new Jeanneau 64 and took it for a spin. The review I subsequently wrote up made it clear that, although I was impressed with many aspects of the boat, I also thought the French manufacturer had gone off its rocker in producing a yacht sitting just below the superyacht bracket. I argued that Jeanneau Yachts itself as a mass producer was the very antithesis of the exclusivity they seemed to be chasing with the 64. Many hulls sold later and I am obliged to take a hearty meal of my own words. It turns out that a 64 footer was exactly what the world needed and other manufacturers such as Hanse, Bavaria and Dufour found themselves scrambling to keep up with the…

The sea generates literary art like nothing else on the planet. Love runs it a close second and war features well too, but for an endless source of great reading, sailing’s top of the bill. Prodigal antiquarian book-buying has long been a diversion enjoyed by my wife, who is a well-known figure prowling the dusty corners of coastal bookstores. Her on-line presence haunts their websites, while our home shelves groan under the weight of beautifully written works in which the west winds blow, the trades hum, grass skirts sway under moonlit palms and desperate men battle against ice and gale to save not only their ships, but their immortal souls as well. It’s not all romance either. An encyclopaedia of seamanship is waiting to be found in the experience of…

Distant shores and balmy waters are the stuff of bluewater dreams. Many of us have idly thought about escaping the rat race to explore. Perhaps fewer have actually managed to do it. But from our three case studies, one thing is clear: preparation is absolutely key. All three of those we interviewed had spent at least two years readying the boat. In the case of Hugh Mullens’ Oyster 565, the options were chosen with the yard and built in from the outset. At the other end of the scale, Elisa and Guillaume Guerrhit did much of the work on their Dufour 425 themselves in the years before setting off. Top of everyone’s list, after sails, seems to be onboard power – or tackling a shortfall thereof. There are three classic…

At the age of 24, James’ rise to fame has been meteoric. He admits as much himself as he tells how a speculative email to offshore legend, Dee Caffari MBE, ahead of an RYA training weekend in early 2020, paved the way for the two to become sailing partners. “It was an open training weekend, and I had heard that Dee was going to be there. So I sent her an email to introduce myself, and said I would like the chance to learn from her. She agreed to give it a go. I remember when she replied, I took a photo of the email and sent it to my friends, thinking, ‘this is going to be the coolest thing ever!’ “At the time, neither of us thought it was…

As a navigator, what are your top priorities during racing? I have a plan built out in advance, but it needs to constantly evolve as the race unfolds, as the forecast changes and develops, and depending on the tides, and currents, as well as the surrounding boats. Look at various weather models, satellite imagery, and the sky above you; also the other boats, race tracking, and AIS data as well as your own boat’s performance relative to the polar. You need to weigh all of this up in order to make good decisions and effectively manage risk. Many decisions won’t win you the race but you could lose it due to a strategic mistake at an early point in time. It is often better to be patient and hang in…

“Returning to sailing has been a steep learning curve; as I left my 49er campaign for rowing they had just about put foils on Moths! When I came back to grind on the F50 (for SailGP) we all knew the learning curve would be steep. It was a great time to be involved with the British team, everyone was really committed but there wasn’t the expectation to be the finished article straight away. “This America’s Cup cycle feels very different. I know the team a lot better. The rules are slightly different this time, so you may see cyclors on board, as the power generation can come from anywhere. So that’s a big difference – but the training mentality is still the same. “I’ve always enjoyed being part of a…