Innehållsförteckning för March 2024 från Sailing Today

Orca safe A lot of sensational stuff has been written recently in the mainstream media about orcas attacking yachts. However, beyond the hyperbole, there are genuine reasons to be concerned about this worrying new phenomena whereby killer whales seem to zone in on small yachts and attack them – generally targeting the rudder. So far four yachts have sunk due to orca interactions. Perhaps this situation affects your plans or trips to Spain and Portugal too? Each skipper is responsible for their boat and crew and must balance the risks and pleasures of a trip. In case of the orcas, this has been made especially confusing by different authorities, giving opposing advice. On the one hand, The Atlantic Orca Working Group, or GTOA, advises sailors to slow down and stop…

Where would we be without the French? I mean, where would offshore sailing have got to over the past half-century without the relentlessly pioneering spirit of the French? When you think it’s not much past 50 years since Sir Robin Knox-Johnston won the first around-the-world sailing race, the Sunday Times Golden Globe in 1968/69, and now we are witnessing six 100ft foiling maxi trimarans charging around the planet at unfathomably fast speeds. All six boats are French. Where Sir Robin took 312 days to navigate the 32ft wooden ketch Suhaili successfully around the world, the winner of the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest is predicted to take around 40 days. “Sir Robin took 312 days to navigate the 32ft wooden ketch Suhaili successfully around the world” The Jules Verne Trophy was…

Tom Cunliffe I was shocked to read recently that 9.5 million tons of food are thrown away every year in the UK alone. My answer to this is along the lines of WS Gilbert’s Mikado, making the punishment fit the crime. While the Emperor of Japan planned to have those convicted of cheating at billiards play for evermore ‘on a cloth untrue with a twisted cue’, I am determined to send food wasters to sea in small yachts with no refrigeration. Food’s a bit like water on a long passage. Unless you have a water maker or are an expert fisherman whose luck is permanently in, once it’s gone, it’s gone. So, waste not, want not. Those who live on the sea, even for short periods, soon become experts at…

The 10 sailors so far selected to represent Great Britain at this summer’s Olympics were the first athletes of any sport to be announced by Team GB; filling the spots in seven of the ten Sailing classes. The team is a mix of fresh talent and experienced Olympians. Tokyo 2020 Nacra 17 silver medallists John Gimson and Anna Burnet, and windsurfing bronze medallist Emma Wilson lead the charge, along with two-times Olympian 49erFX crew Saskia Tidey, hoping it’ll be third-time lucky with new helm Freya Black; the rest make their Olympic debuts. The ambition, according to Mark Robinson, RYA Performance Director, is to win three to five medals of any colour, and, above all, maintain Britain’s position – held for five of the last six Games – as top sailing…

WAUQUIEZ PILOT SALOON | SHABBY TIGER Handsome Berret Racopeau design from Wauquiez from 2013, Shabby Tiger comes with a generous cockpit and great accommodation with three cabins. Exceptionally equipped for bluewater cruising, she has been meticulously maintained and substantially updated by her current, very experienced owners. Shabby Tiger is the perfect platform for family sailing and is turnkey for ocean cruising too. Year: 2013 LOA: 14.36m (47’1”) Beam: 4.61m (15’1”) Draft: 2.10m (6’11”) Displacement: 14,000kg Hull Construction: Glass fibre Keel: Bulb Engine: 1 x Yanmar 4JH4-HTE 110hp Designer: Berret Racopeau Accommodation: 6 berths in 3 cabins Location: Corfu, Greece Contact: berthoninternational.com craftinsure quote: £1,138 BAVARIA VISION 42 | HALCYON Halcyon is for sale with a remarkable specification level including Bavaria’s Advanced Navigation Package comprising a full suite of B&G equipment,…

Charter With 15,000 kilometres of coastline and around 6,000 Islands to explore, the cruising area of Greece is vast and offers a huge range of conditions to suit all levels of ability. If you are looking to escape the madding crowds, don’t be put off by the popularity of Greece because one of the reasons why it remains a charter holiday hot spot is because there are plenty of places to explore in areas such as the Saronic Gulf, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Sea. Most charter bases in Greece are in prime positions, which means you don’t need to sail for days to find tranquil anchorages off the beaten track, or quaint harbour towns with waterside cafes and restaurants. There are plenty of opportunities to embrace the rich and…

Around the world in 50 days? A new supercharged era of ocean racing was ushered in off the Rade de Brest on 8 January, as a fleet of six 100’ ULTIM multihulls leaned into a gentle northeasterly breeze, jumped up onto their foils and roared off towards the distant horizon. The Arkea ULTIM Challenge will be the first time monster trimarans in this class have raced singlehanded non stop around the world making this a truly intriguing challenge, particularly given that these supercharged monsters are capable of hitting speeds of over 40kts. The course takes the classic clipper ship route around the world by way of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn meaning that the racers will be down in the Southern Ocean for an extended period of…

Cruising – Corfu to Albania Mirë se vini në Shqipëri – Welcome to Albania!” said the dark-haired young woman as she took our lines on the dock at Sarandë. This was Jelja Serani, our guide for the next few hours as we explored this strange (to us) land. Even though we had all travelled widely around Europe and I had spent my entire childhood sailing around the Mediterranean, none of us had explored Albania, this still-mysterious country at the heart of southern Europe, which seemed so close and yet so alien. Of course, there’s good reason for this disjuncture. For nearly 50 years, Albania closed itself off from the Western world, and no Western visitors were allowed into the country. Its only relations were with other Communist countries, such as…

Cruising – North Wales My neighbour’s boat, Inthral, is berthed in Victoria Dock, Caernarfon, where she had been surveyed after a poor deck repair by a firm no longer trading. The surveyor made his recommendations very clear, “Get it done by Yacht Systems in Deganwy.” As my boat is berthed in Conwy Marina, his first question for me was, could he get from Caernarfon to Conwy on the same tide? Yes, all the crucial tidal gates are open as you reach them, assuming a boat speed of about 5kts. However, getting back on a single tide, in a displacement vessel, is not so easy. Tidal gates ahead of you close, eg the Swellies, or have not yet reopened, eg Victoria Dock.” In a fast RIB, it’s not a problem, but...…

The Sydney Hobart race remains one of the great iconic races in the yachting calendar and the sight of the huge fleet powering out of Sydney Harbour bound to Hobart on Boxing Day – just as most of us are recovering from the effects of too much Christmas cheer – always elicits a tip of the hat. This may be the antipodean summer but the Bass Strait is always capable of dishing up the sort of conditions to send a shiver down the spine of even the most experienced sailor. This year was no different and a 103-strong fleet enjoyed a relatively light weather crossing of this notorious strait, yet this came with a sting in the tail for sailors towards the back of the fleet who, when almost within…

Following a year when the cost of living was never far from the headlines, you would be forgiven for expecting boat insurance premiums to skyrocket. Inflation was hovering stubbornly around the 10 per cent mark this time last year, reflecting higher prices across the board. But as some of the hot air has escaped from the economy, that figure slipped to less than 4 per cent in November, and the major insurers canvassed by Sailing Today all forecast below-inflation premium rises in the new year. We won’t know what that means until the spring, when insurers traditionally set the year’s premiums. Icy conditions currently grip much of the continent, and there is the prospect of further named storms before the weather starts to improve and thoughts turn again to boating.…

BoatLife 2024 - Powered by Suzuki, is certainly not just an event, it is an exclusive experience tailored to the boating lifestyle. Taking place at the NEC in Birmingham from 15-18 February 2024, this third run of the show promises to be a fantastic event with an impressive 200+ boats alongside its inclusive atmosphere, themed days, live stage guests and much more. Irrespective of your cruising experience or budget, there's something tailored to everyone. Spending a day at BoatLife is packed with fun-filled activities and experiences and the variety of exhibitors across sectors is diverse - from luxury powerboats to kayaks, green tech to sailing boats. Visitors are free to browse, climb on board, and most importantly to ask questions; this is where knowledgeable exhibitors provide an ideal guide towards…

Saffier SL 46 Dutch manufacturer Saffier Yachts has specialised in turning out fast, stylish weekend sailers with an emphasis on performance and ease of use. That is, until now. By launching the new SL 46 the boatbuilder has moved into an altogether new realm, as this boat is unquestionably a cruiser/racer capable of offshore passages. This is an intriguing move, as it pitches Saffier against a plethora of established operators such as Grand Soleil, Italia Yachts, even Beneteau and Jeanneau. Anyway, the SL 46 looks the part, featuring modern aggressive styling coupled to a big rig, light displacement, and a deep, T-shaped keel. The interior looks stylish and luxurious and the boat is available with the option of a tender garage – something of an oddity in a 46 footer.…

Boat test – Italia 12.98 Perhaps few things sum up the recent success of Italia Yachts as the sight of the Italia 15.98 Nessum Dorma ghosting into Port St Louis, Grenada one early December night in 2023. The significance of the arrival was that she was the first boat across the line in the 2023 ARC+. This transatlantic rally is ostensibly for cruisers but, as always, it has strong overtones of a race for those at the front of the fleet and, in a light weather run from the Cape Verde islands to Grenada, this monohull had fended off challenges from big, sporty catamarans such as Marsaudon’s ORC 50 and a number of Outremers, to cross the line first. In many ways the win was small beer given the triumphs…

Flotilla history The genesis of flotilla sailing is tied into the era of the 1960s and 70s when the democratisation of sailing, of the idea of going on holiday in the Mediterranean, was beginning to take root, not as the prerogative of the rich or an adventure for the tough, but as something the man in street could aspire to. The very idea of sailing in turquoise waters under a blue sky with the heat of the sun on your back was to tempt many who would otherwise have turned down a sail in the muddy swatchways of Essex or the shouting and testosterone enveloping racing in the Solent. I should disclose at this point that part of this history takes a personal twist since I was involved in the…

Rio Dulce in Guatemala has an impressive reputation for being hurricane-free. Even the US Coast Guard says it’s the safest place in the western Caribbean for boats during hurricane season. The marinas and anchorages are situated at the juncture between two lakes, 20 - miles from the sea as the crow flies. This distance keeps the area protected from tidal surge and the mountains along the northern Honduran coast make it almost impossible for hurricane winds to enter. This was the case in November 2020, when Hurricanes Eta and Iota pummelled most of Central America causing flooding and catastrophic landslides and mudflows. The boats hiding out in Rio Dulce remained well-protected from the winds, it was just a rise in the river level from unusually heavy rains that caused minor…

For many of Sail Ionian’s guests who have come up through our RYA Sea School, and then chartered bareboat or on flotilla with us, the Lefkas canal and the passage to Corfu will be the first longer passage they will make alone. Distances between harbours are short in the Southern Ionian, and the waters well protected by the outlying islands. The passage north to Corfu, with the navigation of the canal, the bridge, and then the open water of the Ionian, can be a little daunting, especially as part of a family holiday. While it is certainly not the English Channel, there are many ideas that will help to make a passage much smoother. The Passage From the north of Lefkada to Corfu Town is just under 60nm in a…