Innehållsförteckning för September 2024 från Yachting Monthly

The iconic British boatbuilder Cornish Crabbers has been bought by a team led by Ben Walker of Blue Lagoon Marine. The team has acquired the brand Cornish Crabbers, along with its intellectual property and production moulds, directly from the liquidators of Cornish Crabbers LLP after the brand entered voluntary liquidation on 13 March this year, reportedly owing £1 million in bank loans and taxes. ‘We cannot let this classic brand just disappear,’ said Walker. The new set-up, which has been funded privately, will establish sales of the brand out of Blue Lagoon Marine in Poole, Dorset. A new firm, Cornish Crabbers Ltd, will oversee boat production, which is set to continue at the yard in Wadebridge, Cornwall. The new lineup will comprise fewer models: the Shrimper 17, 19 and 21;…

Associated British Ports (ABP), the owners and operators of the Port of Ipswich and the Ipswich Beacon Marina, is pleased to announce its plans to invest a further £2 million in the Port of Ipswich, with a focus on enhancing the marina and port facilities. ABP has submitted plans to Ipswich Borough Council for upgrades in the Wet Dock – known as Ipswich Beacon Marina (the Marina) – which represent a positive vision for Ipswich as a vibrant waterfront town. These proposed upgrades to the marina, pending planning approval, are set to transform its facilities. When ABP announced its initial proposals in June 2023, it originally involved removing all berths at the old Neptune Marina and installing new pontoons with access from the island site instead. These plans were met…

Q I have been considering an inner forestay, but primarily to rig a working jib or blade to take over when too many rolls are needed on my 120% genoa on my Moody 31. In your feature, Kit Rogers and Holger Kamps imply the only use would be for a storm jib. My genoa is a little elderly but not too baggy. She’s a cruising boat and I don’t expect miracles. I just want to sail to windward in 20-25 knots apparent without heeling over too much. Should this be unnecessary with a new genoa? How much better would a jib/blade be in these conditions? Peter Viccari A Paul Lees from Crusader Sails replies: The first decision that needs to be made is where the extra sail is to be…

Zen Again was heading west for Africa. We had departed our home port of Fremantle, Western Australia in June. We visited Shark Bay, Cocos-Keeling Islands, Rodriquez, Mauritius and Reunion. Now it was late October and the cyclone season was approaching. Two days after departing Le Port in Reunion Island, we found ourselves in adverse current. We gybed towards Madagascar to get into positive current, using RTOFS (Real Time Ocean Forecast System) ocean surface current GRIB files to guide us. On day five we passed 80 miles off Madagascar. We ignored the 150-mile recommended range since adverse current was predicted there. This proved fortuitous as we later learned that a yacht, following the advice, had been pooped and their cabin flooded while rounding further offshore. We rounded with typically strong Southern…

SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE AWARD Sitting on my living-room floor surrounded by tide tables, pilot books and almanacs, one part of my upcoming voyage around Britain began to excite me more than the rest. I had never been to Orkney before; and Salthough in purely cartographical terms it’s not all that far from the mainland, it seemed intriguingly remote. It’s full of history and prehistory, and is beautiful to boot. I couldn’t wait to see it. But we had to get there first. And that involves crossing one of the most fearsome stretches of water in the British Isles: the Pentland Firth. Goldfinch, our Bénéteau Océanis 36cc, had left her home port of Ipswich in mid-May, and by the middle of June she had arrived in Wick. We spent three nights…

This is what Thor-Erik had meant. ‘When you sail past Cape Lindesnes, you go from one world to another,’ he had said when we had moored alongside his boat in Farsund. At the time I hadn’t quite believed him, but now I think differently. We have just rounded the cape, and the contrast with the conditions we left behind is breathtaking. West of Cape Lindesnes, the world seemed grey, hostile, downright threatening. Now, east of the cape, two of my children and I were sailing along with ease, aboard Youkali, a Breehorn 37, followed by large but gentle and friendly seas. On the other, the weather side, of the cape, we were crashing through steep, aggressive waves that seemed to be churned up by the concentrated malice of all the…

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Few yachts have issues caused directly by the design of the keel. Almost all the failures I deal with are from hull damage that has gone unnoticed or poor repairs of common problems, such as constant, regular grounding, or rare incidents such as contact with a submerged shipping container. While it’s important to check keel fittings over time for signs of stress, the most obvious moment to check them is following a grounding. Groundings come in two forms: the regular expected grounding and refloating of a boat left on a drying mooring, and sudden, unexpected groundings. It’s important to remember that sand can be surprisingly hard to ground on, while mud can create suction tight enough to hold the hull, and even force the hull and keel fastenings apart. If…

BENETEAU FIRST 305 Though she didn’t evolve from a specific IOR design, Jeanneau’s Sun Light incorporates features inspired by the rule. By contrast, Jean Berret’s First 305 for Beneteau was developed directly from his First Evolution, which won the Half Ton Cup in 1981. The 305 was launched in 1984, a year when the Half Ton Cup was again won by a Berret design. Despite this performance pedigree, the 305 is by no means a racing machine. She’s far from over-canvassed for her weight, and this, combined with her substantial wetted area, means she’s not always at her best in light airs. In a breeze, however, she can be a potent performer, and a crew who knows how to keep the boat underneath the kite can have some fast fun…

A jet-skier who forced an Isle of Wight ferry to take evasive action after steering across its path has become the first to be cautioned by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under a new water safety law. The offence was committed by a man in his 20s from Southampton at the entrance to Cowes Harbour on 4 August, 2023 after he circled directly across the ferry’s path, within metres of its bow. His actions prompted the ferry’s master to make significant changes to steerage and power to reduce the risk of a collision. The incident was spotted by officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary with the case being taken by the MCA which issued a caution to the man on 1 July, 2024 after he admitted the…

The bodies of a couple who set sail across the Atlantic from Nova Scotia have been found on a liferaft that washed up on a remote Canadian island almost six weeks after they were last seen, prompting an investigation by Canadian authorities. Briton Sarah Packwood, 54, and her Canadian husband, Brett Clibbery, 70, are thought to have abandoned their yacht for the liferaft and died before the raft washed up on Sable Island, east of Nova Scotia on 10 July. The couple were reported missing on 18 June after leaving Dartmouth Yacht Club in Halifax Harbour in their GibSea 42 Theros, on 11 June. On 13 June, Clibbery’s GPS device transmitted a last signal about 40 miles southwest of Sable Island. The couple planned to sail their yacht to the…

Catamarans don’t belong in the UK, I hear you cry. If you’ve been put off by towering topsides, the vast beam and ideas about how much it might cost to keep one in a marina, or their supposed lack of upwind performance, then stay with me. This is a boat that has certainly made me think again. High-volume production catamarans certainly make fantastic boats for chartering with your family in hot climates and introducing nervous crew to life afloat, but I was eager to find out if a new brand of catamaran could also make a genuinely practical and enjoyable cruising boat for private owners to sail in the UK’s more temperate waters. If you’re looking for a cruising catamaran you have, until fairly recently, faced a choice between a…

Would you risk a short cut on this passage? Q George and Janet are on holiday in North Brittany on board their 10m yacht, Roller Coaster. North Brittany has a spectacular coastline with numerous offlying rocks which are up to four miles offshore and many of them are hidden at high water. The tidal range is huge; George and Janet are currently moored in Tréguier, where the range of the spring tide is just under 10m. Outside, the streams run at up to 4 knots offshore and 3 knots inshore between the rocks. Roller Coaster is a fin-keeled production yacht with a draught of 1.7m. She is well equipped with an electronic chart system at the steering position but no radar. George and Janet are planning to sail to Lézardrieux,…

Having worked aboard merchant vessels as well as being a yacht sailor myself, I’ve gained invaluable insights into the visibility challenges posed by small vessels and the critical importance of timely detection. Often, especially at night, small vessels without AIS are detected visually well before they appear discriminable on radar. Factors such as fog, heavy traffic, radar clutter from land and sea can all significantly diminish both visual and radar detection ranges. Equipping vessels with an AIS (Automatic Identification System) transceiver can alleviate these limitations, enhancing vessel visibility exponentially, increasing safety and situational awareness. AIS operates by broadcasting a vessel’s identity (static data), position, course, speed (dynamic data), and additional information such as destination and status (voyagerelated data), such as sail or power, restricted in ability to manoeuvre and so…

Made-in-Looe Reunion Regatta a success Fresh southwesterly winds, squally heavy rain and a distinct lack of sunshine – the weather was determined not to play ball with the inaugural Made-in-Looe Reunion Regatta, writes John Collings. But despite an understandable lack of boats, caused by the rough on-the-water conditions, the South East Cornwall festival still drew good crowds to West Looe Quay for three days of musical entertainment and refreshment. Adrian Grigg sailed up from Falmouth with the Pengelly family’s old shark and mackerel-fishing boat, Ganesha – built by Curtis and Pape in 1969 – and also gave a demonstration of crab-pot making. Three Cornish Pilot Gigs, of the 48 built in the town by the late David Currah and his father, Jim, were also seen out on the water, and…

www.yachtingmonthly.com/books In January 1977, Suzanne, aged seven, her parents, younger brother and two novice crew members were sailing east-west across the Indian Ocean when they encountered storm conditions. When I next woke, the cabin was so dark that I wasn’t sure if it was morning. I lay for a while feeling the boat’s movement. Wavewalker’s quivering moments at the summit of each wave had become longer, and her plunges forward, more extreme. I climbed out of my bunk and made my way into the main cabin. Everything felt wet: my skin, my clothes, my hair, the floor and every surface I touched. Larry was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. He looked up when I asked him where everyone was. ‘Your dad’s on the wheel and…

Lots of jobs on your boat are relatively straightforward and don’t need a great deal of skill. However, if you haven’t tackled a certain job before, you may not know the techniques required, or how to set about doing it. I have been able to complete all of the jobs described in my book, Simple Boat Maintenance, so they should certainly be within the capability of most YM readers. The skill level required for each job is indicated on a scale of one to five (five being a job best left to a professional). Special tools are never required. CHECKING YOUR ENGINE MOUNTS Rubber engine mounts will settle as they age. This will cause the engine to become misaligned with the propeller shaft, causing wear within the gearbox. Contamination of…

The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) rally organiser, the World Cruising Club, is running a series of free events for boat owners in September close to the Southampton Boat Show. Whether you’re planning to sail across the Atlantic this winter or dreaming of a blue-water cruising adventure, register to learn more about routes, weather, destinations, the ideal boat, equipment, and crew, with insight from industry experts and sailors back from distant shores. ARC event dates: Saturday 14 September: Blue-water Cruisers’ question time – Atlantic crossings and destinations. Sunday 15 September: World ARC circumnavigation rally. Saturday 21 September: Sailing south – Biscay to the Algarve and onwards. Next year marks the 40th edition of the ARC. To celebrate this achievement, discounts are on offer at: www.worldcruising.com/training ORCA ATTACK Orcas damaged a 40ft…

Yachting Monthly’s environmental journalism competition, the Brian Black Memorial Award 2024, is inviting entries before the deadline of 22 August, with two £2,000 cash prizes up for grabs. The Award was established in 2021 to commemorate Brian and Lesley Black, who were trailblazing sailors, daring small-boat explorers and passionate storytellers. A film-maker and broadcaster, Brian used his boat to capture first-hand footage of melting glaciers to tell the story of global warming decades before it was in the public awareness. The award aims to encourage other sailors to use their boats to share the stories of the places and wildlife they encounter on their voyages with the wider world. This year, the judges will be looking for entries that focus on ‘treading lightly’ in the marine environment; how we can…

Falling off a ladder teaches you many things. For a start the NHS treats a one-metre fall as serious, so my fall, from above first-floor level, should have had spectacular results. I also learnt that youthful elasticity had long fled my body as the shock wave rattled up my torso, bounced off the roof of my skull and rattled its way back down. The outcome of a broken wrist and injured back, which fortunately is all soft tissue, will repair in time. I only share this because, being unable to sail, Tracey and I headed off instead on a power boat trip with a very good friend. Imagine is 30ft, has a flying bridge and cruises at 18 knots with a top speed of 25. Not really us but at…

You have no idea how frightening it is to step off a sinking yacht and into a liferaft. There is just you, the raft and whatever you have managed to snatch off the sinking craft.’ Phil Nicolas is describing his feelings as he watched his yacht, Shiralee, sink from the comparative safety of the liferaft. ‘You sit there asking yourself, did the EPIRB device activate correctly? Or is anyone on their way to rescue me? You just look around at a vast inhospitable ocean and say to yourself, I must snap out of this gloom and get on with saving myself. On my first night at sea, I saw lights of what must have been another ship. I was so excited but also so very cold. I found it very…

The wind is cold, the air clean and the light majestic. While sailing north might not be everyone’s idea of a relaxing holiday in the sun, for the adventurous of spirit, it offers an escape from the gentle and crowded south, freedom and unparalleled beauty, populated by a wealth of wildlife. Having said that, Scotland and the European and Scandinavian north is reassuringly civilised, with enough infrastructure, marinas and transport hubs to mean that cruising north doesn’t have to equate to sailing off the edge of the known world. Furthermore, many of these coastlines are heavily indented and strewn with protective chains of islands, giving both a variety of places to explore and extensive areas of protected waters in which to do so. Heading to any of these northern cruising…

…FROM OUR FAMILY CRUISING CORRESPONDENT I sat back on the saloon roof, leaned against the mast, sipped my beer, and revelled in the moment. Here I was, at long last, perched on my very own vessel – a 34ft ketch named Sobek. It marked the end of a long aspirational journey, the culmination of a dearly held dream, and I couldn’t believe that it had come to fruition. Monty Halls, yachtsman. Monty Halls, skipper. Monty Halls, flinty eyed explorer who will ride the wind towards a curved blue horizon. In short, this was going to be great. Fast forward 24 hours, and I’m trying to manoeuvre the same yacht out of the marina so I can get it home. Problem was, Sobek seemed rather reluctant to leave, and for some…

After four days in the Andrejosta Yacht Harbour in central Riga, I took my mooring lines aboard and motored Zephyrus, a Hunter Horizon 26, down the river Dugave and out into the open sea of the Gulf of Riga. On the way I passed on the starboard hand a channel leading to the Kisezers salt water lake. Here, in 1922, while on holiday from reporting for the Manchester Guardian on the Russian revolution, Arthur Ransome took delivery of his new 9m centreboard ketch, Racundra. I sailed for 50 miles from the river mouth travelling north across the Gulf of Riga in Ransome’s maritime footsteps. In Racundra’s First Cruise Ransome wrote: ‘Runö Island was in sight. I ran up on deck to see a low line of trees with a pale…

When the big French production builders started launching boats like the Sun Light 30 in the mid-to-late 1980s, they got the British builders worried. I was working in the sales office of Sadler Yachts at the time. Sadlers, along with other British yards such as Westerly, Moody and Hunter, had always prided themselves on producing rugged, capable cruisers that would look after the crew when the going got tough and that were built to last. Then along came the new wave of family cruisers from across the Channel. They were typically much lighter than the British designs, with beamy, higher-volume hulls and spacious, airy interiors. Many of them sailed nicely in light airs and, importantly, they had room for a heads compartment and double cabin in their broad sterns. This…