Innehållsförteckning för September 2025 från Yachting Monthly

Major collisions and groundings of merchant ships indicate the need to rethink the role of human watchkeepers in the digital age, Captain Andrew Moll, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents at the Marine Accident Investigations Branch (MAIB) said in the organisation’s 2024 annual report, released in July. ‘Significant collisions between and groundings of merchant vessels show no sign of reducing,’ wrote Captain Moll. ‘The fatal collision between Scot Carrier and Karin Høj (MAIB report 5/2023) resulted from poor watchkeeping practices. However, the collision between Scot Explorer and Happy Falcon (MAIB completed preliminary assessment 3/2024), the fatal collision between Verity and Polesie (under investigation) and the dramatic and tragic collision of the Solong into the anchored Stena Immaculate earlier this year (also under investigation), indicate a need to radically rethink the role…

The Canal & River Trust charity has secured the future of a rare 1926 Cornish lugger, White Heather, with a complex rescue in the wake of her sinking in Gloucester Docks in 2023 and a 12-month search for a new owner. White Heather, a wooden-hulled sailing boat, was originally built for fishing off the Cornish coast and later became a popular passenger boat in Fowey during the 1980s and ’90s. In 2003 she undertook an Atlantic voyage to Morocco, Brazil and the Caribbean, returning to the UK and later appearing as a guest ship at the Gloucester Tall Ships Festival in 2011. Recognising the high heritage value of White Heather, the Trust’s heritage team was brought in to support the removal operation. Initial concerns about the integrity of White Heather’s…

Darkness still reigned when I warped Betty II, my 25ft gaff cutter, out of her mud-berth at Canvey Island, in the Thames Estuary. Once out in the deep water of Hadleigh Ray, I picked up a buoy to stow stores and await the dawn, as Betty’s restoration has not, so far, included navigation lights. By the time night’s shadows had become a grey, flat dawn, I had lost an hour of fair ebb tide. But with a following southwesterly breeze puffing up to Force 4, necessitating a reef in her huge gaff mainsail, I expected to make short work of getting down the coast to the Spitway. So, on a chilly May morning, Betty, under reefed mainsail, with staysail and jib set on her bowsprit end, sped away down Sea…

CONTESSA 32 NEW vs VSOLD Buying a boat, especially a new one, is rarely a decision that can be justified as financially sensible. Ordering one built to a design half-a-century old is even more perplexing. Why part with more than ten times what you’d pay for an old Contessa just to have a new one built for you? The calculation comes down to how you value the sheer pleasure of owning the yacht of your dreams. So what is it about the Contessa 32 that has people still yearning after them 56 years after they were first launched? A clue to the Contessa 32’s enduring appeal lies in the only other boats I can think of that are still in production after that length of time; the strikingly similar duo…

Last summer I was doing a photo shoot with a cruising couple aboard a 32-footer. Upwind sailing produced the best angles for the shots, so we covered a fair distance to the west. Facing a slow and potentially tedious run home, I asked about downwind sails. They had a cruising chute – used only once with an experienced friend. Doubting its size and unsure how to use it, the owners had left it in its bag. As we eased the sheets and pointed the bow eastwards, I could hear the chute crying out from the bottom of the locker. Here we were, about seven miles directly upwind of our destination on an absolutely glorious summer’s day with a flat sea and a steady 12 knots of wind. We just had…

Bang!’ Luci’s bow collided with a steep wave, filling the air with a deafening reverberation. Water drenched the foredeck, followed by the characteristic sound of water rushing into the boat. ‘Oh no, the hatch of the heads is still ajar!’ Ivar cursed on his way below deck. After closing the hatch and drying the heads, he re-emerged in the cockpit, half seasick. Obviously, we miserably failed to properly prepare for our departure from Richards Bay. The Indian Ocean afforded us no trial period and forced us right into sailing mode. The start of our 900-mile passage along the South African coast – notorious for depressions, monster waves and rugged capes – was a rude awakening. TIMING IS EVERYTHING After studying the weather forecast and identifying possible safe harbours, we had…

www.yachtingmonthly.com/books I glanced around me in all directions. To leeward was a mass of rocks. To windward, the grey horizon was totally empty. No one else was out sailing that day. If I capsized or if my boat was swamped, there would be no one to come to my aid. At sea, it sometimes becomes a matter of grim survival. You cannot just stop and get off a boat even if you are dog tired and have had quite enough. You must carry on until you have once again brought your vessel into a safe haven. I was shaking with delayed fear. My body desperately needed a break from the mental and physical tension of the day’s passage. But there was no shelter to be had in the la Passe…

The 14 solo sailors remaining in the 24,000-mile McIntyre Mini Globe Race have set sail from Vuda Marina, Fiji, on Leg 3 to Cape Town, South Africa, the toughest leg yet, planning to arrive in early December in time for Christmas. The next 9,700-mile leg is expected to be the most dangerous with the sailors crossing over the top of Australia then down into the Southern Ocean. Australian entry Mike Blenkinsop, aka ‘Popeye’, retired in Fiji although he had previously stopped racing and was cruising with the fleet. The first real challenge of Leg 3 is transiting the Great Barrier Reef to Thursday Island or Darwin, then across to Cocos Keeling, Rodrigues Island and Mauritius before making for Durban. From there things become serious. The sailors will have to use…

One hundred years on from the introduction of the first drink-driving laws in the UK, it is still not illegal for someone to be in charge of a yacht while drunk. The British Ports Association (BPA), the collective voice for the ports industry, has, on the UK government’s National Maritime Day, renewed its call for policymakers to close the unusual loophole which allows non-professional mariners to sail around the UK while under the influence of alcohol. Richard Ballantyne, BPA Chief Executive, warned that alcohol use in the recreational marine environment remains widespread, and that introducing alcohol limits could be readily implemented within the existing legislative framework. ‘It is simply unacceptable that someone can legally operate a vessel in a dangerous environment while impaired by alcohol. We rightly regulate drink-driving on our roads,…

Ever wonder what a person learns from 57 summers yacht cruising, serving as crew aboard boats from 18 to 50ft and then joint-owning a series of sloops and a ketch, not to mention the odd charter? What lessons have been learnt on those journeys via half a dozen seas, two continental shelves and three types of keel? This magazine offers plenty of good skipperly advice from grizzled old sea-dogs and up-to-the-minute early adopters, but does anyone want to consult this wrinkled ruin of a she-crew? Might you, noticing the marks of wear and tear and interestingly placed contusions, ask, ‘What have you learned about glum, thwarted arrivals? What is the first, best thing to do when you all arrive in a harbour in a possibly resentful mood? What do you…

Q Louise and Julia are cruising the north east of the UK on their Grand Soleil 43. They seize a brief weather window to visit the Farne Islands off the Northumbrian coast. With light southwesterlies, The Kettle, the small bay on the western side of the islands, is unsuitable, but Holy I. the large bay Farne Is. opposite it – 0 Newbiggin Bush, between the Wideopen Islands and Knoxes Reef – offers a good alternative. They arrive at 1600, which is LW, and find good shelter inside a horseshoe of islands and reefs. The anchor sets perfectly. The pilot describes it as a daytime stop only, so they had intended to sail on before dusk. N However, it’s such a peaceful spot that Louise suggests they spend the night. If, at…

This summer, the Boat Building Academy’s most gender-diverse course to date launched its newly made boats in Lyme Regis. The 40-week course had its largest ever female cohort this year, with seven out of 15 students being women. Previously, there had never been more than two. Belinda Joslin, founder of Women in Boatbuilding, worked closely with the BBA to encourage women to enrol in the programme. Still, she hopes the industry will someday move past the need for this kind of deliberate intervention. ‘Watching the launch day of this student cohort reinforced the central pillar of Women in Boat Building,’ she says. ‘We all just want to be boat builders working in an environment where gender is irrelevant. The more diversity becomes the norm, the less we need to talk…

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency recommends that all UK-registered boats carry a radar reflector. Its Marine Guidance Note 349 states that: ‘All small craft should correctly and permanently install a radar reflector, passive or active (powered), that meets British Standard BS EN ISO 8729:1998 (ISO standard 8729:1997); and Owners of vessels under 15m overall length should, where practicable, fit the most effective and appropriate reflector for their circumstances’. The MCA’s guidance repeats the SOLAS requirement for all ships of less than 150 gross tonnage to, if practicable, ‘have a radar reflector to enable detection by ships navigating by radar at both 9GHz and 3GHz. This applies to all boats whatever their country of registration’. The guidance note was issued after the 25ft yacht Ouzo was run down by a P&O…

Women in Marine has announced the speakers for its 2025 panel and networking event on Wednesday 24 September at the Southampton International Boat Show, with the theme ‘Diverse Talent in Action: Leadership, Representation and Career Progression in the Marine Industry’. An important part of the discussion will centre on Imposter Syndrome as the panel debate whether it is a real or learned experience, and share practical tips and personal advice on how to recognise it, reframe it and move forward with self-assurance. The event will be hosted by Nicky Vaux, also known as ‘The Boat Princess’, an industry champion, podcast host and co-owner of Australia’s Empire Marinas Group. Speakers include: Captain Claire Thompson, Commanding Officer, Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth; Claire Abraham, HR Officer, Navico Group; and Sarah Donohue, marine…

The Magenta Project has launched the 2x25 global survey, one of the most ambitious equity and inclusion reviews ever undertaken in sailing and the wider marine industry. Building on the landmark 2019 Women in Sailing Strategic Review, where 59% of women reported personal discrimination and 80% said gender imbalance was a problem, 2x25 expands the lens to include more research into race, ableism and age. Six years on, it aims to shine a light on progress made and barriers that still persist across the sport. Backed by 11th Hour Racing and supported by World Sailing, 2x25 is led by the Magenta Project, a global initiative committed to equity and inclusion in sailing, in collaboration with a team of expert researchers and advisers. The research runs from July to September 2025,…

If you would like to recommend a marine charity doing great work (including care for the environment) contact julia@golden-duck.co.uk Steve, an experienced seaman who had been in the Royal Navy, believed he would never enjoy the water again after he was left disabled. Nevertheless, he heard about Sailability and decided to give it a try. ‘I love it. Sailors enjoy getting out of their chair, their prison. When a person is in a wheelchair they’re always looking up, so they are rarely eye to eye with someone else. But the nature of sailing changes that and makes engagement with other people more comfortable. It’s also a joy to see the wildlife.’ Dart Sailability started in 1997 and has gone from strength to strength despite a forced move in 2021 from Noss…

CONTESSA 32 NEW VS OLD SAFETY AND AFFORDABILITY ‘Once, we were going around Portland Bill in a blow and we hit a wave – the boat stopped and I carried on going. I flew 4ft through the air and landed on the other side of the cockpit. I was tied on, so I wasn’t in danger. But I thought, wow, that’s an eye-opener.’ This was a defining moment in Mike and Julie Sellers’ boat ownership – not of their beloved Contessa 32, which we are sitting on while Mike is speaking, but of their other boat, a J-97 cruiser/racer. The couple had owned their Contessa 32 L’Aquarelle for six years, when Mike started to have a yearning to race a faster boat. He and a friend bought the J-97 High…

Think ahead if you want to sleep soundly on long passages Getting ready for bed takes a few extra steps when you are on a long ocean passage. Before settling in for a nap, I make sure to prepare all the onboard tools I will need to manoeuvre safely in the night. I visualise the steps I will need to follow at least a few times, which helps me increase my focus and lets me spring into action if I’m still groggy when I wake up. Before each nap, I also check whether any cargo ships are close by and on a collision course. The previous owner of my boat Giulia installed a coaxial VHF cable with good impedance. As the AIS transponder on board is connected via a splitter…

When at sea for weeks on end, it highlights our dependence on land even more. From the food you carry to managing your waste, everything has to be accounted for. After living for two years on our small Rival 32 off Shetland, which lies 100 nautical miles north of Scotland, we experienced the remoteness of life on an island. We were very disconnected from normal food supplies and thought then we knew what it is like to be cut off from bigger land masses, but once we set off in 2023 for our voyage around the North Atlantic, we realised that we would need to adapt further to keep a sustainable lifestyle. In a small space such as a 32ft boat, you quickly see your impact – the bin, recycling…

Pete and Bernese mountain dog, Svea, slipped the lines of our 10m Westerly Fulmar Rimau from Shotley Marina in May. Due to Jen’s job, some of this leg would be completed single-handed, so the decision was made to cruise slowly and enjoy the east coast at a leisurely pace. Shotley Sailing Club raised a glass of schnapps in a pre-departure toast. Jen joined Rimau in Lowestoft, the first stop, before heading north. WIND IN THE SAILS Choosing an anti-clockwise route made sense for prevailing southwest winds – though naturally, the wind blew squarely from the north for the majority of this leg. Reaching Wells-next-the-Sea demanded sharp piloting through shifting sandbanks, navigable only on a rising tide. Wells is a hidden gem tucked away on the north coast of Norfolk. As…

It’s impossible to get to grips with electrically promoted corrosion – as distinct from that caused by oxidation, such as rusting – without appreciating the extent, vigour and unpredictability of the electrical frenzy that surrounds us. Our boats are assembled from materials of varying potential. We then launch them into a soup, also of varying potential, and – as if that wasn’t enough – teeming with stray leakage current that we can neither see nor easily measure. The figure above shows two yachts, both properly connected to the shore power. In compliance with recommended practice, each has its AC and DC grounds bonded together. Neither is drawing power from the pontoon but this doesn’t matter. Even with their systems dormant, the earth wires continue to link them, binding them into…