Innehållsförteckning för November 2024 från Sailing Today

Barcelona has not delivered the wind it was expected to, and that’s made the racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup much more exciting. Up to the point of writing this column, and having just returned from a visit to the America’s Cup Village, I saw the semi-finals of the Challenger Series concluding with Ineos Britannia seeing off Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli holding off a late charge from American Magic. The marginal foiling conditions in Barcelona, with the wind often failing to rise into double figures, has made every race a nail biting, three-lap affair. When the AC75s are struggling to stay on the foils, no lead is ever secure. As the wind faded in the latter stages of the semi-finals, the inexperienced Swiss on Alinghi…

The Cape Verdes remain an off-the-beaten-path archipelago to sail around. At any given time you may feel as though you could be in Portugal sipping sherry, mainland Africa with kids around in a circle listening to stories, or feel like you’re walking on Mars. That would be the Cape Verde Islands off the West coast of Africa. Is it safe? Ask the voyagers from Europe that holiday there each year. Yes. Let’s dive into why Cape Verde should be added to your passage plan. If you are in Europe and plan to sail to the Caribbean or South America, you wouldn’t even have to change your passage plan by much. Cape Verde is right along the speedy path for sailing into Grenada or South America and you get to take…

Patient readers will have already read about the first part of this trip in last month’s edition of the magazine in which I moved my boat from Greece to Sicily enroute to my home port of Sete in southern France. In the process, I made my crew, who also happened to be my dad, very tired. For the second leg of the adventure, he was safely back home in the rainy Lake District – presumably getting a lot of sleep. His replacement, Gavin, flew out with me to Catania where I had left the boat. I had sailed with Gavin before and, although I think he would be the first to admit he was not a hugely experienced sailor and also a distinctly middling chef, he possessed the attribute of…

Cruising - Ionian As the Ionian goes from strength to strength as a cruising area, it is only natural that it must change with the times. Many long-term visitors and residents wish that it would stay the same as it was when they first came and retain its off-the-beaten-track charms. However, the volume of tourism and yachts are increasing, and the region must adapt to continue to offer an attractive cruising area. New developments and new marinas should go ahead. They will irrevocably change the areas they are situated in, but they will also help conserve nearby locations by accommodating a huge volume of boats in a well-designed modern way. They will take some of the load off the smaller harbours and bays. One marina will have a large catchment,…

From the storybook-like tales of Joshua Slocum, the steadfast determination of Robin Knox-Johnston, and the romantic adventuring of Bernard Moitessier to the gutsy female role models of Ellen MacArthur, Laura Dekker and Jeanne Socrates, the people who choose to sail solo are a constant source of inspiration for me. Those are the big-name heroes of sailing, known worldwide for their bravery, capability and strength. They are in an entirely different world and another league from what I and my family are doing. But, closer to home, there are many singlehanders who go out cruising like us. Not racers trying to win prizes or glory. Just ordinary folks with an unshakable curiosity about the world and a desire to go and explore it on their own terms. In Tonga we met…

INEOS Britannia rule the waves in Louis Vuitton semi-finals The 37th America’s Cup regatta is in full force, and we’ve been treated to some exciting racing as the teams have been battling it out for the Louis Vuitton Cup that decides which of the four challengers will win the right to take on Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup proper. INEOS Britannia has made a strong start and, as we went to press, INEOS Britannia had beaten the Swiss challengers Alinghi 5-2 to reach the final, while the Italian team of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli had seen off American Magic 5-3 in the other semi final. The showdown between INEOS Britannia and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli takes place at the end of September, and the winner will challenge…

Truly, the sea is full of surprises. For the tropical sailor these may come as flying fish peppering the watch on deck on a dark night. My wife Roz was once enjoying a few minutes snooze while tending the helm in mid-Atlantic when a substantial specimen smacked into her at chest height. This brought her naughty slumbers up with a round turn. Robbing her shipmates of a rather bony breakfast she shovelled it over the side, got back on course and fell to pondering why, with all the wide ocean to fly above, this one chose to bump into her. Fish seem to be attracted by light. The night was moonless with the constellation of Scorpio putting on a brave show. Jupiter, high in the sky in those latitudes, was…

Cities around the British coastline are often some way up an estuary or river which makes them a superficially unattractive proposition for cruising yachtsmen, even more so for others hurrying from their home-port to some distant cruising ground. Nonetheless they provide welcome surprises as well as interesting things to see and do. Of course, these days you don’t have to dry out against their slimy and abrasive harbour walls, instead there are marinas which are mostly in redeveloped docks behind lock gates and surrounded by historic buildings. And of course with their road, rail (and air if you must) connections, cities are good places for changing crew while the skipper takes a rest, cleans the boat, and does the shopping. Don’t begrudge the marina fees, they pale into insignificance compared…

Caribbean charter The Caribbean is one of the preferred destinations for winter sun yacht charter not least because of the guaranteed climate, which offers consistent tropical temperatures, good sailing winds, and some of the most spectacular cruising grounds in the world. The allure of the warm trade winds, the breathtaking vistas of palm fringed islands and vibrant clear blue waters create an idyllic setting for a dreamy escape, although remember, the best time to travel there is December to late April to avoid the hurricane season. Another reason why the Caribbean has become so popular over the last decade or so is the relative ease of access. Destinations such as Antigua, Grenada and St Lucia have regular non-stop 8–10-hour flights from the UK, while even with flight changes to places…

Buyers Guide – Rigging Replacing the boat’s standing rigging is one of those regrettable costs of boat ownership which seems to have no discernible impact on performance. You swap like for like and carry on as before. But what if you could actually upgrade the boat at the same time? Order new stays which would stiffen the rig or reduce weight aloft? In this way, the standing rig becomes an investment in better performance. It certainly won’t suit all boats or all budgets, but there are a host of options now available to sub-60ft cruising boats which have trickled down from the racing world. They are all more expensive than the basic 1x19 wire rope, but they could transform your sailing. The first step up the performance ladder is compacted…

J/40 US manufacturer J Boats has a long and hugely successful formula of building boats that flourish both as cruisers and racers. With each design t the company tends to make a very conscious decision of where it wants its new launch to sit on the cruiser/racer spectrum. With its new 40 footer, it is definitely edging towards the cruiser end of the market, and the publicity around the boat references ‘comfort’ on numerous occasions. For all that, there is little doubt that this will be a very fast cruiser that can be raced, and she boasts a big rig and slippery lines in addition to generous accommodation. A slightly odd quirk to the uninitiated is that the boat will be built in Vendee in France, where J Boats has…

The America’s Cup has long been associated with advanced technology. For the 2021 edition in New Zealand, Britain’s INEOS crew joined forces with the Mercedes Formula 1 team of engineers to help in its quest to win the coveted title. The relationship was developed late in the competition, when the team was struggling to achieve the desired results. That meant the engineers had only limited time to step in, but the outcome was undeniable. The team recovered form and, although it didn’t win the competition, it certainly felt the benefit of the relationship. That, then, was the cue to continue into the 2024 edition together. Starting earlier this time, and more carefully allocating resources from the beginning, the development path of the team, the boat and the project was extreme.…

Boat test – Dufour 44 I never thought the day would come when I compared a Dufour yacht with Kim Kardashian but, well – deep breath – here goes. In recent years boats seem to have had the yachting equivalent to Botox injections. They are becoming increasingly swollen in all certain areas and some manufacturers seem to be taking this tendency to extremes. Kardashian is inexplicably famous for – among other things – having somewhat exaggerated features which may – or may not – have been further accentuated by plastic surgery. Whatever the case, she is one of the most out there when it comes to extremes of curvature. Which – breathes out – brings me to the new Dufour 44, designed by Umberto Felci and launched earlier this year.…

Gull’s Eye – Conwy Marina 53° 17.5’N 03° 50.3’W Conwy Marina is located on the north west coast of Wales, which makes it the ideal base to locate yourself if cruising the area. This much-loved Welsh beauty spot in the heart of Conwy has so much to offer onshore too including the imposing 700-year-old Conwy Castle – one of Wales’ UNESCO World Heritage Sites – which stands proud overlooking the town just a bit further upstream from the marina. Beyond that, the craggy mountains of Snowdonia form the perfect backdrop, and over to the east, on the other side of the Great Orme, is Llandudno – another popular summer holiday resort. The fact the whole area, including the approach to the river is surrounded by sand, there are loads of…

How to win In the July edition of Sailing Today, our close competitor at Mudhoppers Sailing Club showed us that with a knowledge of your boat’s upwind characteristics, you can adapt your upwind angle from the theoretical perfect one to give a long term strategic or short term tactical gain. Though we used a dinghy example, the same principle can apply to racing keelboats and sportsboats. We left the race with our rivals taking a significant lead around the windward mark, with a run to follow. The wind has now dropped to 6kts, with patches of pressure passing down the course. With the tide underneath us, there’s no benefit from sailing to the shorelines. We’re on starboard gybe: “new pressure coming from the right.” “Weight up: sailing high for it.”…

SWEDEN YACHTS 42 | FANDANGO An elegant performance cruiser from 2003, this very attractive Sweden Yachts 42 was designed for relaxed shorthanded sailing by the Norlin/Ostmann team. Fandoango stands out with her graceful lines, superb deck layout, and meticulously crafted interior. She has enjoyed careful ownership, receiving constant care and numerous upgrades over the years, with her current owner investing in both major improvements and essential maintenance. Recent updates include electronics, batteries, sails, re-caulking, upholstery, rigging, and plumbing. Gleaming and ready for new adventures, Fandango is perfectly suited for Mediterranean cruising or returning to the UK, where she would qualify for UK VAT paid status. Year: 2003 LOA: 13.25m (43.6ft ) Beam: 3.90m (2.10ft ) Draft: 1.80m (5.9ft) Displacement: 10,000kg Hull Construction: Glassfibre Keel: Wing Engine: 1 x Volvo D2-55…