Innehållsförteckning för July 2024 från Sailing Today

Pelicans soar over white sand beaches that fringe perfectly sheltered anchorages. Rum punch flows freely and the aroma of barbequed chicken drifts on the breeze. The bright colours of Carnival and steel drums playing into the night. Markets selling breadfruit, papaya and avocados, weighed out on scales. Days spent snorkelling reefs and hiking volcanic mountains. Evenings with other sailors watching for the green flash, sharing ideas and making plans. Fond memories of our time in the Caribbean. As the final lock gates of the Panama canal swung open to reveal the Pacific ocean to us for the first time, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic about the places we were leaving behind. To me those gates represented the end of one very important chapter in our circumnavigation and the beginning…

Like the rest of us, I’m always keeping a weather eye on my boating budget. I never begrudge a penny on sails and I won’t sell my engine short on filters, oil, coolant, belts and the rest. There’s no escape from the annual hit for antifouling, and if the propeller shaft starts wobbling in the cutless bearing, stump up I must. This year I’ve treated myself to one or two new lengths of Dyneema running rigging. That’ll be a joy all summer. It’s the safety equipment that sticks in my throat. I part with hundreds of pounds of the hard-earned and, if fortune favours my efforts, I’ll probably never use the stuff. Take the liferaft: I’ve had the same one for ages and, every two years, here it is again…

Early May after nine days on anchor in Shelter Bay we were cleared to enter the Panama Canal. I was taking part in a delivery of Kokomoko, a Leopard Cat 47 from New York to Sydney and the job was half done. The Pacific beckoned. Two local line handlers and a pilot had joined us. We would motor under the mighty Atlántico bridge, clear three east-side locks then anchor in the Lake Gatun around midnight. Ingeniously, the first three locks elevated Kokomoko 35m above sea level with two smaller yachts lashed either side of us, Line handlers shortened ropes as the lock filled from the forward lock after the hydraulic doors closed behind us. We were the biggest boat, so it was our engines which moved the three of us…

50.8121° N, 0.0985° W Brighton Marina is one of 11 Premier owned and operated, award-winning south coast marinas that run from Cornwall to Brighton. Opened by the late HM The Queen in 1979, Brighton Marina is indeed the largest marina in the UK. It is also one of the most vibrant with a host of facilities including a well-stocked chandlery, boatyard, supermarket, cinema, hotel, and one of the most extensive varieties of cafes, restaurants, and pubs. Also, given its location (approximately one mile east of the pier, and half a mile into town), historic Brighton is a great place to explore. As well as an excellent choice of stop-off for visitors, this marina, and its location on the UK’s southeast coast, is a popular choice for berth holders not least…

NAUTOR SWAN 44 | ASTRID S&S and Nautors Swan 44, Astrid, is an evergreen classic. She has recently enjoyed a comprehensive refit, including new teak decks, updated spars, rigging, sails, and winches plus new engine and B&G nav. You will find professionally refurbished woodwork below decks, along with all new upholstery and a modernised galley. Astrid has been lovingly cared for by experienced owners. She is in impeccable condition and, of course, the sailing is sublime. Year: 1972 LOA: 13.41m (44’) Beam: 3.83m (12’7”) Draft: 2.26m (7’5”) Displacement: 12,701kg Hull Construction: Glassfibre Keel: Fin Engine: Beta 50 marine diesel Designer: Sparkman & Stephens/Nautor Swan Accommodation: 6 berths in 2 cabins Location: Lymington, Hants Contact: berthoninternational.com craftinsure quote: £POA VANCOUVER 34 CLASSIC | FIDRA This Vancouver 34 Classic has had three…

Sponsorship search leaves Hare worried about making the cut for Vendée Globe Funding issues threaten to stymie Pip Hare’s plans to race in the 2024 edition of the Vendée Globe as her Medallia campaign threatens to hit the financial buffers. Although Hare retains the support of main sponsor Medallia, both her team’s second tier sponsors have stepped back, citing ‘world economics’. Now she is seeking partnerships to take their place. In a statement posted on Facebook, she said: “With 30 weeks to go to the start of the Vendée Globe Race, we are facing the reality of having to halt preparations if we are not able to bring funding to the campaign. “The final act is the big one, we have created huge potential and an incredible platform with genuine…

A few weeks before, we had delivered my neighbour’s boat, Inthral, from Victoria Dock, Caernarfon, to Deganwy for some deck repairs. With phase one complete, it was time to return to Caernarfon before what remained of the sailing season passed us by. Phase two would have to wait for the following season to avoid damp weather spoiling the bonding. With the usual suspects for crew – skipper John plus Dave, Don and Phil – we sailed on the morning spring tide, as soon as the Deganwy Marina gate opened. It was three hours before local high water (~0830) and we got out past the Beacons landing stage without an epic struggle against the rushing incoming spring tide. The outward leg from Caernarfon to the Conwy River was straight forward, all…

I would have liked to record that the last bastion of male chauvinism within our sport had been blown away at the finish of the Ocean Globe Race at Cowes in April by cannon fire from the heart of male dominance – The Royal Yacht Squadron. But health and safety rules preclude any sort of gunfire after sunset. The first five finishers, led by Marie Tabarly’s 73ft destroyer of a yacht, Pen Duick VI all finished at night. It was left to Heather Thomas and her all-girl Maiden crew to shine daylight on the issue, finishing at a more ladylike1052 to take the crown for handicap honours. Even then, Squadron members were noticeable by their absence on the castle parapets, perhaps hiding behind their morning papers, hoping the issue might…

Cruising – Kenya to Tanzania As a Canadian registered sailboat, as long as Cassandraville has been in Kenya, every November, we must make what I call our annual pilgrimage to Tanzania along with a flotilla of other foreign registered yachts to avoid having to pay VAT. This year was no different than previous years except that we had hoped to sail in the annual Dar Tanga Yacht Race, the oldest, longest and largest yacht race in East Africa (almost 60 years old now!) Every year for the past seven, I start planning my next voyage south to Tanzania as soon as the new year rolls around. As part of the planning, I reach out to friends and sailors both far and wide to join in the adventure, and 2023 was…

Boat test – Jeanneau 55 The days are long gone, if they ever really existed, when sailing folk opened a tin of something for dinner or like Tilman, cooked up a pot of gumbo or burgoo which was added to for weeks until it got too mouldy to eat. Most cruising people eat very well and spend a lot of time thinking about and preparing food. Over the years I’ve been putting together boat recipes and listening to lots of other cruisers who like good food and bit by bit this book ‘just growed’. I am not a gourmet cook. I don’t even think I am a great cook. What I like is food and that naturally leads to an interest in cooking good food and once you start there…

Musto base layer Musto’s base layer is a super light thermal layer that is ideal for dinghy sailors and yachtsmen and women alike, writes Sam Jefferson. I was sent this top to test at the end of last summer when it was still very warm where I live but it served me well to keep the evening chill off while I was out sailing. I must admit that I haven’t done a great deal of sailing throughout the depths of winter but it has served me faithfully on extended bike rides and also just for wearing around the house. It is extremely light but just as effective as some of the thicker thermal garments I own. Being cotton, I also found it much more user friendly after a long bike…

After all these years at sea I am often asked questions about whether I worry about storms or get nervous over thoughts of pirates. But, truth be told, there is honestly only one situation that I tend to get a little jittery over and, when compared to the wild swells of ocean sailing, or the challenges of heavy weather, it’s almost embarrassing to admit what it is. Docking the boat is one of those manoeuvres that you really want to go smoothly, especially as it’s on such occasions that you might actually have others witnessing your performance. Now, neither I nor James have ever made any colossal berthing blunders; we’ve not smacked into the dock or hit another boat or anything to make us blush crimson remembering. However, I suppose…

Hanse 360 The Hanse 360 will round off the new generation of Hanses that have been designed by the French naval architects Berret-Racoupeau. This new generation of yachts is quite starkly different from the Judel/Vrolijk designs that came before and there has been an emphasis on internal volume and also quality of finish. The 350 will be the baby of the range and boasts similar lines to her bigger sisters, with a chined hull, fullish forward sections and a dreadnought bow. • Inspirationmarine.co.uk Lagoon 60 French boatbuilder Lagoon has dominated the cruising multihull market for many years now and provides voluminous yachts at competitive prices. The 60 is obviously towards the top of its size bracket and sits between the Lagoon 55 and the more luxurious Sixty 5. The 60…

2024 Round the Island Race preview The Round the Island Race remains one of the most iconic events of the sailing calendar, enjoyed by both top professional sailors on the international stage and families in modest cruising yachts, many of which take part in no other races during the season. The first start this year is at 0600BST, just over half an hour before high water Portsmouth, so the tidal stream will already be setting to the west, with maximum strength close to the Island and up to around a quarter of a mile offshore, near Gurnard north cardinal buoy. The smallest boats will have until around 1200-1230 to clear the tidal gate at the Needles, around 12 miles from the start line. For slower vessels, in the event of…

The world of multihulls has long been an esoteric one and the fact that it is now a multi million pound industry doesn’t mean that certain oddities and prejudices do not remain. One of the most troubling for many manufacturers has been the sharp divide between those catamarans with daggerboards – which are generally labelled performance cruisers and those without – which are generally sneered at by those who have daggerboards. This is because many years ago, certain manufacturers thought nothing of building comfortable cruising catamarans that went sideways as fast as they went forward. The reason manufacturers eschewed daggerboards is because they were expensive to fit and took up a bit of interior volume. The result was a certain snobbery that persists to this day. One manufacturer which has…

Buyers Guide – Safety Gear Man overboard recovery is a topic that inspires healthy respect among sailors. For many, in fact, it is a question that provokes outright fear, and it’s not hard to see why. Offshore, far from help, or even for shorthanded coastal outings, the prospect of finding and re-embarking a member of the crew lost over the side, is daunting. Now, my intention here is not to explore the best MOB technique to use. I’ve asked Simon Jinks of SeaRegs Training in Plymouth to provide a brief step-by-step guide instead. He outlines the RYA’s official drill for handling an MOB situation below. The focus of this article is on the equipment you need to accomplish a successful recovery. We’ll tackle two scenarios: recovering a conscious and able…

Cowes Week Preview Cowes Week takes place this year from 27 July to 2 August. Entries for 2024 are already up on 2023, with around 500 boats expected, drawing sailors and spectators in their thousands. With 2026 set to mark the 200th anniversary of this iconic event, things are already ramping up to ensure a superlative experience for all, with organisers promising a unique blend of traditional and modern. Yet sailors need not wait two whole years though to enjoy an exciting, world class regatta, with plans already well in hand to ensure 2024 is a fantastic and memorable event. High calibre Competition A concerted effort in recent years has seen the calibre of on the water competition cement the event’s reputation for outstanding racing, with amateur sailors lining up…

Charter French Polynesia, in the South (central) Pacific Ocean, with its vibrant blue lagoons and Robin Crusoe-style remote, pure white sandy beach-lined islands, is just one location that evokes charter holiday paradise. From the picture-perfect lagoons of Bora Bora and beyond to the rugged beauty of the Marquesas Islands, there’s a wealth of natural wonders to explore by yacht. But it’s not just French Polynesia that offers an abundance of charter opportunities. As the demand for charter holidays in far-flung places increases, more and charter companies are now operating regularly in places like Thailand, the Seychelles, Maldives, Australia, and even Zanzibar or Madagascar in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. To satisfy your hunger for pure indulgence, sailing companies such as Dream Yacht Worldwide, Nautilus Yachting, Seafarer,…