Innehållsförteckning för April 2021 från Yachting World

Heroes come in many forms. From the deluge of messages we’ve received recently, it’s clear that sailing has a new one, and she’s called Pip Hare. She stood at the bottom of an enormous mountain and steadily worked her way up, undistracted by how out of reach the summit seemed, or how far the potential to fall, with good humour all the way. Read her fascinating full Vendée Globe story from page 26. As many of us await a return to much-missed freedoms, Pip’s story feels like a parable for our times: keep going, and the rewards will be worth it in the end. Eagle-eyed readers will notice a small change at the end of this column, and I’m delighted to officially take the helm of Yachting World as editor.…

Such is the demand for sailing adventure after a year of lockdowns and limits that World Cruising Club will be running three ARC transatlantic rallies next winter. The ARC from Gran Canaria to St Lucia and ARC+ rally to St Lucia via Cape Verde will take place as normal in November, but will be followed after Christmas by another, new event named ARC January. Crews forced to postpone in 2020 who had transferred to this November’s ARC were further bolstered by new entries, and entry numbers reached the maximum of 315 yachts even before the beginning of this year. “We had 180 boats hoping to go last year that transferred so we were already full, and enquiries kept on coming in,” explains Andrew Bishop, managing director of World Cruising. “Rather…

A stern warning has been issued by the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) to all commercially operated yachts taking part in racing that they must have a valid code certificate when used for any commercial purposes. The MCA started a prosecution against two owners last year for their yachts not being coded while taking part in offshore races in 2019. The owners understood they were exempt from regulations while racing, and the MCA later agreed to drop the prosecution under condition the owners made a written agreement to get coding for all commercial activities in future. An MCA release states: ‘Small, commercially operated yachts must hold a valid code certificate when being used for any commercial purposes, including racing and training, while vessels must also only operate within the…

Two of France’s best known naval architects – and the visionaries behind some of the fastest and most revolutionary multihulls ever seen – have passed the reins of their company to the next generation of designers. Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost met as students at Southampton University and went on to set up the design studio VPLP in 1983. The pair, now in their 60s, decided the time had come to hand over the governance of their company to younger colleagues. Simon Watin is the new company president and will work with co-directors and naval architects Mathias Maurios, Quentin Lucet and Xavier Guisnel. Simon Watin worked at VPLP until 2008 and returned in 2010 after a stint with Artemis Racing. Maurios, Lucet and Guisnel have been with VPLP…

yachtingworld@futurenet.com Vendée lessons for all As a cruising and racing yachtsman since the 1970s, I have been a regular reader of your publication. After being captivated by the latest Vendée Globe broadcasts, it made me think that what we have seen and learnt from this race must be a mine of content for some time to come. The range of learning opportunities from this race are enormous. The interesting point to me is that there are lessons and issues which are pertinent to both racing and cruising offshore. For example, the human face of the event. The different approach skippers showed to the stress, resilience, sheer stubbornness in the face of major problems, is an example of what can be achieved. The one thing that was obvious to me was…

During the time of the COVID I have found myself recounting my past sailing history on webinars, podcasts, Zoom calls and other online forums, of which I have done far too many for my own ego. But I really don’t like dwelling on past events. To wit, I have never re-read my two books, One Watch at a Time, or Fazisi – the Joint Venture. No, I like to look ahead to the next project and luckily have always kept something on the boil to plan for. However, that’s not to say I can’t vicariously become involved in the most famous of retro sailing events, the Golden Globe Race. Sceptical of the whole idea during the first edition, I cannot help but follow the second, due to begin on 4…

There were many things to learn from this edition of the Vendée Globe. It proved that foiling IMOCAs are not invincible, and that you don’t need a newly built boat to win the race. It showed that tumbling speed records are not inevitable, but neither is a near 50% attrition rate unavoidable, writes Helen Fretter. Above all we learned what devotees of the race have always really known: that the Vendée Globe is not about results, but is a race of character. The fascinating thing is that in this race the distinction between the ‘competitors’, at the front of the fleet, and the ‘adventurers’ on their own personal quests, was blurred. Prerace favourites faced battles far from the front of the fleet, while rookies and skippers on older boats duked…

You might have a departure day circled red in the diary and be furiously working through a to-do list to get there. Or maybe you’re considering a bluewater adventure in future, and starting to think through the preparations you need to make. You might even have postponed your big trip, and be considering how to make the most of an extra sailing season at home. Either way, in between the jobs lists of boat upgrades and household admin and everything else, it can be easy to overlook one area of preparation: yourself. How ready, really, are you? Are there skills or areas of knowledge you and your partner or crew could work on? Would some coaching or additional experience boost your confidence? Now, with a lot of people’s sailing plans…

What if you could experience the pleasure of sailing a fast cruising monohull, but at a more comfortable heel angle and motion? Dynamic Stability Systems has offered the potential to do this in recent years with its retractable foil. However, rather than test the theory on a modest-sized yacht, the owner of Canova decided to integrate the system on his new 142ft global voyager, a yacht full of innovative cruising ideas. Of course many superyacht owners are forward-thinking and happy to integrate advanced ideas into their yachts. From the early days of the schooners and J Class through to groundbreaking experiments such as Maltese Falcon, we’ve seen big yacht owners invest in new technology that can help the sport and, more latterly, the environment. Regenerating drives, for example, are an…

Innovative features are not lacking on this large catamaran, which is the brainchild of Marc Pajot, whose brother gave his name to a brand of smaller production cats. The 35m Eco Yacht offers jacuzzis fore and aft, single-level access from the VIP cabins in each hull onto a private beach club aft, and a boom-less main that gets flaked down into a sofa on the 100m2 flybridge. Its claim to eco credentials stems from the use of hybrid electric propulsion, plus a powerful 12kW solar array and regeneration capacity of 7kW, which should be enough to cover house loads in the sunny Med. The batteries will be able to cover up to 30 miles of electric motoring and still provide for a silent night at anchor. The hulls and nacelle…

Bill Dixon has bags of experience in designing motor yachts, and the team brought this to the fore when they sat down to pen a sailing concept around the 100ft mark. As they got into the design, it expanded until it came to rest at 121ft/37m LOA. The aim was to offer the sort of comforts and features you might find aboard a 100ft motor yacht and appeal to a broader clientele. “It was felt that at this length they could offer the volume and comfort that many customers aspire to without losing the yacht’s intimacy,” says Anders Berg, Dixon Yacht Design partner. “We have carried ‘beam max’ aft, which yields hull form stability – more capacity to carry sail without additional ballast, and a wider accommodation block aft, which…

Were you to somehow be teleported into Canova’s palatial master cabin while under way – and let’s face it, many of us would like a sudden change of scene these days – you could be forgiven for thinking that her owner doesn’t much like sailing. For starters, it would seem remarkably quiet, thanks to the impressive insulation and a quiet ship system that ensures no unnecessary mechanical noise. Then consider how surprisingly flat it feels for a monohull under sail, and not just because the generous berth you’re sitting on can gimbal. However, once you look out of the considerable porthole, see the blue sea streaking past at over 20 knots and notice the orange plank of carbon fibre sticking out to leeward – which is serving to keep the…

Swedish outfit Sail Racing International is the official supplier to the New Zealand team. It produces two grand prix collections called 50KTS and Reference, developed with Oracle Team USA during the last America’s Cup. The Emirates Team New Zealand gear is heavily based on that – all in black, naturally. “We have made some tweaks to the garments that ETNZ is using while racing to make the team more flexible, faster and waterproof,” says Erik Martinsson, crew centre manager at Sail Racing. “On the neoprene pant, for example, we have excluded some shin guards to make it a little bit lighter, and made the waist on the back higher.” The short and long-sleeved rash vests are in super-stretchy layered construction of nylon, elastane and durable water-repellent treatment. Astonishingly, this imparts…

‘Vessel not under command’ looks set to take on a new meaning, with the race to develop a new generation of boats that are sailed by artificial intelligence (AI). But what will it mean for other water users? Today we’re all familiar with the concept of autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars are the next development frontier, and the tools needed to make them a reality are being intensively tested by some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech firms. Less well known is the similar trajectory being followed in the marine industry. So-called unmanned autonomous vehicles, or marine drones, are attracting research interest from everyone from backyard inventors up to engineering behemoths like Rolls-Royce. They come in all shapes and sizes, with intended purposes varying from meteorology and oceanology, to cargo, surveillance and…

Luna Rossa wins Prada Cup 7-1 The Italian challenger Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli demonstrated unstoppable momentum to dominate the Prada Cup finals against INEOS Team UK and win 7-1. Max Sirena’s team has secured its place in the 36th America’s Cup match, representing the Circolo della Vela Sicilia. While much attention had been focused on the turnaround in fortunes of first American Magic, then INEOS Team UK, the Italian squad’s steady yet relentless progress throughout the early stages of the Prada Cup series could have been overlooked. Yet the clues were there – after beating the Americans once in the Round Robin, they then defeated them 4-0 in the semifinals. By the time it came to face INEOS Team UK, the black and red Luna Rossa AC75 was showing devastating…

Vinson of Antarctica, the Pelagic 77 expedition vessel that is the latest to join Skip Novak’s Pelagic Yachts charter fleet, launched at KM Yachtbuilders in Makkum on 22 February. Novak describes it as “an evolution from Pelagic Australis [his current 74ft charter and exploration yacht], conceived and designed for expedition sailing, mainly in high latitudes”. The new Tony Castro design is an aluminium schooner with two carbon masts which ensure all sail handling can still be managed by hand. It has a centre-board with a fixed keel box and twin Yanmar engines. Vinson of Antarctica, named after the highest mountain on that continent, is owned by the Chilean adventurer Nicolás Ibáñez Scott and will be used privately as well as for charter trips from Puerto Williams in South Chile. Commissioning…

Organisers of The Superyacht Cup are confident the 25th anniversary regatta will go ahead with an exciting new format in Palma from 23-26 June. The event has been adapted to suit pandemic restrictions, with the shoreside venue relocating to Real Club Nautico De Palma, its long-standing race management collaborator. A new class is planned this year to provide for the latest generation of high-performance yachts. This will have a conventional fleet start on a separate course to the other two classes of superyachts, which include the non-spinnaker Corinthian class introduced in 2017. “We know there is a yearning for competitive sailing after what has, of course, been a challenging time for everyone,” says SYC event director Kate Branagh. “By keeping the focus out on the water we can meet all…

An unusual deal was struck in February to help save one of the most famous names in sailing superyachts. After the Court of Lucca declared Perini Navi bankrupt on 29 January following a period of instability, the Ferretti Group and Sanlorenzo, both giants in the superyacht power sector, announced the creation of a 50:50 joint venture NewCo to take over the 38-year-old Viareggio-based yard. It’s interesting to see two such rivals working together. The Ferretti Group, which includes brands such as Riva and Pershing, acquired Wally Yachts in January 2019. Speaking of the link up with Sanlorenzo, Ferretti Group CEO Alberto Galassi describes it as a new spirit of collaboration sweeping through Italy. Galassi says: “This is an important day for the Italian yachting industry, for the employees of Perini…

Flight of the AC75s Will Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand hold off the slick Italian Challengers Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli? Matthew Sheahan has been in Auckland for the entire America’s Cup and shares his expert analysis of all the foiling action Mid-ocean repairs As the Vendée Globe IMOCAs arrived back in Les Sables d’Olonne they revealed some impressive repairs their single-handed skippers had achieved mid-race. Rupert Holmes looks at what we can learn from these most resourceful of racing sailors A non-stop transatlantic An eastbound Atlantic crossing is often more challenging than the Europe to Caribbean route. But with travel restrictions ever-changing, do you need to prepare to transat without island stops? Chris Tibbs analyses the routing options Diving from your yacht Highly experienced divers and liveaboard cruisers Rachel and…

‘I never conceded a mile without one hell of a fight’ The Vendée Globe race was everything I ever dreamed it could be, and more. It challenged me every day, it made me scream with laughter, it brought me to my knees with physical fatigue and the emotional agony of disappointment. But there is not one single day I did not want to be exactly where I was. It had been a hard battle to get to the line. I was sailing the second oldest boat in the fleet, was a rookie in the IMOCA class, had a small team behind me, and very little time to test the upgrades we made after Medallia came on board as my title sponsor. But I was determined to make the most of…

▪ “I always recommend that people take an EMT [emergency medical technician], Wilderness EMT, or offshore medical training course. It isn’t enough to have a massive first aid kid aboard if you don’t know how to use it,” says Teresa Carey of Morse Alpha. ▪ Use pockets of downtime to accelerate your navigation skills. “Install Navionics charting and Marine Traffic AIS apps on your smartphone or tablet,” suggests Amanda Neal, Mahina Expeditions. ▪ Splicing is a perfect activity to practice in lockdown. “Start with splicing an eye in three-strand line, then progress to technical line and on to double-braid,” says Amanda Neal. ▪ Sailmaking and canvas work is another skill that can be practised off the boat. “Become proficient at using needle and thread to repair small Dacron sailcloth tears…

Where we tested: Treguier, north Brittany Wind: southerly 8-22 knots, large swell Model: Boréal 47.2 with options including fully battened laminate mainsail, furling staysail, asymmetric, 500W solar panels, Refleks heater and engine-fed radiator system Boréal is not afraid to forge its own path and its distinctive aluminium cruising yachts have gained a strong reputation over the past 15 years. The latest model is a shoal draught expedition yacht that can take you anywhere on the planet, yet, as we were to discover, is also responsive and fun to sail in more confined waters. The Breton yard’s success is underpinned by a huge amount of embedded expertise. Founder and naval architect Jean-François Delvoye based the Boréal concept on experience gained during a six-year circumnavigation with four children, plus expeditions to South…

The tie-up between Malcolm McKeon and Royal Huisman continues to bear fruit, this time in the form of the world’s largest sloop. Measuring 85m on deck, the yacht’s mast towers 107m above the water – eclipsing the former Mirabella V, currently the world’s biggest sloop. She will take her place as one of the world’s five largest sailing boats. “The sailing experience of APEX 850 will be sensational, with speeds in excess of wind speed in most conditions,” says designer McKeon. “Her retractable keel, optimised weight distribution and limited heel angle will provide stability, comfort and safety for all on board.” APEX 850 is a radical design, according to McKeon. Just look at the all-glass coachroof, which seems to float above the surface of the deck. Under its canopy is…

A new Slovenian design studio with bags of experience from the likes of Nuvolari Lenard has been busy over the past six months, publishing some dramatic-looking concepts for sailing superyachts. They include a sporty 72ft/22m sloop with marked chine and a glazed hard top that seems to sprout from the mast foot and swoops aft almost to the transom. Project Griss, meanwhile, is a 150-footer (pictured) that is designed to balance speed and comfort. Strong lines include a heavy camber to the bulwarks and an imperious bowsprit. There are no technical details available yet for either of these yachts, but the team behind Vom certainly appears to have the necessary experience to draw them up. vom-creations.com…

Nautor’s Swan is billing its new 88-footer as the gateway to maxi yachting. German Frers is responsible for the lines of the yacht, which are typically understated, but there are a number of new features aimed at boosting its cruising appeal. Chief among these is the fold-down bathing platform, which is large enough to install a couple of sun pads, as well as giving access to the tender garage. There’s nothing ground-shaking in this, of course, but it’s a novelty for Swan. Other cruising additions include a sprayhood and bimini integrated into the low-profile coachroof. Cockpit seating is modular, allowing it to be pressed into service as a sunbed or as a bench at the table. And just forward of the mast the leading edge of the coachroof can be…

Watching the AC75s cracking along on a foil, it’s easy to forget that innovation pervades every element of this level of racing, not just boat design. Right down to the helmets the sailors wear and their choice of rash vest, hundreds of hours of R&D lie behind the crew kit. America’s Cup rules stipulate between 3kg and 5kg of gear per team member, which has to include everything from water bottles to goggles, personal flotation devices to gloves. Little wonder, then, that there has been an intensive effort by the clothing brands that work with each team to develop new materials and new ways of building garments. “No ‘off-the-shelf’ sailing kit exists for the extremities of America’s Cup racing, so the athletes’ technical gear needed to be custom made,” says…

Helly Hansen is the clothing brand behind the US team’s clothing. Terry Hutchinson and his crew may have gone home empty handed, but they also devoted huge attention to the technical gear worn in the boat. “Every fabric, seam, panel and zipper makes a difference in enabling crews to execute their responsibilities to perfection on deck in such a fast-paced environment,” says Paul Stoneham, CEO of Helly Hansen. Helly Hansen has translated the extreme requirements of its America’s Cup garments into a slightly more commercial offering under the HP Foil Pro moniker, available through its online shop. The range currently extends to a jacket (830g), a smock top (630g) and a pair of shorts. A softshell jacket will also be launched this spring, built of four-way stretch fabric that gives…

In gearing up for the Cup, all the teams made use of cutting-edge electronics to monitor heart rate and performance during training sessions, logging progress. For instance, INEOS Team UK crewmembers wore Garmin HRM Pro heartrate monitors connected to Fenix 6 GPS watches and Edge bike computers. “There were no special tweaks made for the team,” says Garmin’s Erika Dulay. “But they do use certain features more than others (training load, sleep etc). From this they were able to collect data and show progression from the beginning of their training throughout.” The crew on American Magic wore specially commissioned Garmin Marq Captain watches, with sailing features including ‘tack assist’ and wind direction analysis, and fitness tracking that includes a specific profile for sail grinding. www.garmin.com…

These two gorgeous German Frers designs offer an enticing blend of contemporary yacht design with classic elegance. They’re intended to re-establish the Trintella brand, echoing the timeless style of the original yachts, including their trademark varnished coamings and coachroof sides. Yet they’re bang up to date in every other respect. The Dutch yard was synonymous with quality boatbuilding and cutting-edge design for more than 40 years until it closed 18 years ago. During the rise of production boatbuilding in the 1950s and ’60s founder Anne Wever was quicker than his competitors to adopt new technologies, yet he also had a traditionalist’s eye for perfection. The result was beautiful yachts that were fitted-out to a very high standard and his yard quickly became one of the most successful in Europe. Arguably…

This performance cruiser is intended as a long-distance yacht that’ll be fun to sail, as well as being enormously civilised when spending extended periods of time on board. It’s the result of a three-year collaboration between the north American and French arms of the company. In addition, Isabelle Racoupeau brought her interior design expertise to the project. The premise behind the design recognises that more than half the 15,000 J/Boats built to date are used solely for cruising, and that many of those owners would like a larger yacht with a greater level of comfort. Guiding principles that informed design decisions include maximising interior volume and comfort, while maintaining an elegant profile. In addition, the aim was for minimal wetted surface area and light displacement in order to promote good…

Australian yachtsman Jon Sanders has completed his 11th circumnavigation. The voyage, which he ended by sailing back into his home port of Fremantle on 31 January, makes him one of the most successful round the world sailors of all time. As a side note, at the age of 81, he is also one of the oldest solo circumnavigators. Sanders arrived home in his 39ft S&S design Perie Banou II to a parade of sail and a police pipe band, but no world headlines. A quiet-spoken, extremely modest man, he seems to care little about publicity. His latest voyage began in October 2019 and he made six stops, including a period of enforced lockdown in St Maarten from April to June last year. During the voyage, tagged #NoPlasticWaste, he collected seawater…

A new format for their Round Britain & Ireland Race has been launched by the Royal Western Yacht Club (RWYC) to reboot the famous endurance race and encourage short-handed teams. The 2,000-mile race, traditionally run every four years, delivers a combination of exacting navigation, diverse weather and friendly stopovers. However, the original route with 24-hour compulsory stops at four ports meant it was too time-consuming for many current owners. The next race, starting in Plymouth in May 2022, goes clockwise round the British Isles, stopping at only three places: Galway, Lerwick in the Shetland Islands and Blyth, before returning to finish in Plymouth. This replaces original stops in Crosshaven, the Hebridean Island of Barra, and Lowestoft, while preserving the popular halt in the Shetland Islands. The new route is approximately…

As you read this, racing for the America’s Cup itself should be in full flow. But even before the Challenger for the 36th America’s Cup had been decided, there was speculation about what the 37th Cup might look like. Following INEOS Team UK’s spectacular recovery over the New Year period and early domination of the Round Robin Series, before they were knocked out of the Prada Cup by the Italian Prada Pirelli Luna Rossa challenge, rumours were circulating around the prospect of the Royal Yacht Squadron becoming the Challenger of Record if the Kiwis were to successfully defend the Cup. But the issue that was gathering most airtime down in Auckland in the count down to the main event was whether New Zealand would lose the Cup if they won…

One of the biggest challenges of my race was swapping a rudder in the Southern Ocean after the port rudder stock cracked. In the moment, it didn’t seem like such a huge ordeal, but on reflection, and judging by the reactions of other skippers and race supporters, it was a bit of an epic feat. I was naturally nervous, as conditions were far from perfect, but if I couldn’t manage this procedure myself then not only was my race over, but I was still thousands of miles from any safe haven. Faced with this reality there was no other option but to succeed. My technical director, Joff, set up a WhatsApp group and we discussed the various aspects of the swap to be sure we’d thought of all possible outcomes.…

There is a growing number of shorebased coaching and mentoring services for cruisers seeking out additional expertise or advise. Behan and Jamie Gifford of Sailing Totem were among the first when they started their TRUcoach programme five years ago, having sailed around the world with their family for eight years. Behan explains: “Dreaming is easy: setting and holding to a departure date is hard. Whether it’s tackling a long list of steps towards cutting the docklines or figuring out what’s on that list in the first place, helping hopeful cruisers set sail is where Jamie and I step in as coaches. “Some people come to us at the start of a long-term plan before casting off as a way to validate their process, then stay inspired and motivated. Others are…

Designer Malcolm McKeon has deepened his collaboration with composite wizards McConaghy by launching a range of semi-custom sailing yachts running from 85ft up to 120ft. Dubbed Makara, the new line is aimed at comfortable family cruising with the option of taking to the race course short-handed. For that reason, the boats look sporty, with a defined hull chine, a low-profile coachroof and plenty of dark glass. “Our target market is sailors that enjoy the ease of sail handling that modern systems can provide,” explains McConaghy MD Mark Evans. “This yacht will perform in light winds which will make the whole experience very enjoyable, but the Makara yachts will also perform around a racecourse – easily sailed by a group of friends.” The boats are light, thanks to lay-up in pre-preg…

Yacht number five in Southern Wind’s 105ft semi-custom line is set to have a raised saloon, like several of her sisterships. But the lines and geometry have been slightly modified to give the yacht a sportier look. Always designed as a strong performer, as the involvement of Farr Yacht Design shows, this latest boat has been supercharged. The hull, deck and bulkheads are all full carbon, the deck is light synthetic teak, and the stanchions and deck gear are in titanium. The keel is a telescopic model. The objective is a yacht that displaces under 70 tonnes and can sail fast even in light airs. The look and feel of the boat has been termed ‘Nordic cool’, and Nauta has teamed up with Dutch designer Jeroen Machielsen to deliver an…

This bold concept from Merveille Yachting and the Dutch yard best known for motoryachts is going to raise eyebrows. It sports twin Ayro Oceanwings, which are claimed to be twice as efficient as sails and are completely computer controlled. They should propel the yacht at 18 knots without heeling, Feadship says. Energy to recharge batteries and run onboard systems comes from regeneration via underwater turbines, embedded solar panels and vertical-axis wind turbines at the mastheads. Feadship plans to be emission-free by 2025. feadship.nl…

The first example of this stunning Javier Soto Acebal Mini Maxi (see YW October 2020) is now on the water. The design aims to provide a mini superyacht experience in terms of comfort and style, while incorporating innovative features that improve the owner’s experience when under sail. The twin full-size wheels, for instance, are mounted well outboard, where there’s a good view of the headsail luff. In addition, careful consideration has been given to ergonomics at the helm stations, including providing a comfortable position to sit on the side deck, as far outboard as possible, while steering upwind. Price ex VAT €995,000 www.solarisyachts.com…

The latest model from Sweden’s Rosättra yard is intended as a fast cruiser with a sleek hull shape and powerful rig that is easy to single-hand. At the same time additional freeboard and a higher coachroof relative to earlier models create a greater feeling of light and space on board. An unusual aspect among today’s new yachts is the more traditional raked stem. This keeps the bows a little further from danger when mooring or anchoring bows-to a rocky shore in the natural harbours of Sweden’s archipelagos. To minimise weight without compromising stiffness construction is of vacuum-infused vinylester, with a Divinycell foam sandwich. Structural frames made of unidirectional fibres reduce the dependency on the main bulkhead, which opens up options for the internal layout. This has allowed a more open…

Jzerro is a Russell Brown-designed proa, which is being prepared for a 14,000-mile record bid from New York to San Francisco The great Californian Gold Rush of the 1840s and 1850s saw over a quarter of a million people follow the sun to the west of the United States, each dreaming of making their fortunes. The ‘49ers’, as the early migrants in the first wave of 1849 were known, mostly travelled by ship, sailing from New York to San Francisco westabout around Cape Horn. It was an arduous and dangerous journey, but over 500 vessels – from majestic clipper ships to hastily converted whaling boats – made the voyage in 1849 alone. The route is as much a part of the American maritime heritage as the clipper tea routes are…

Six-time World Match Racing Champion IAN WILLIAMS analyses the match racing tactics of the AC75s with ANDY RICE There’s no question: the final Prada Cup Round Robin race between INEOS Team UK and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was any absolute humdinger. With nine lead changes, this scorcher of a three-lap battle demonstrated many of the critical features of match racing in the foiling AC75s. Who better than British match racing supremo Ian Williams to explain the tactics behind the manoeuvres? “This was a very interesting race due to the fact that Luna Rossa had an apparent boat speed superiority, but INEOS Team UK appeared more confident in their manoeuvres,” explains Williams. “Normally in match racing you’d always take the boat speed advantage, but the boundaries [on an America’s Cup course]…

LUCA BASSANI NOMINATES WINDWARD PASSAGE “A very modern boat for her times: very large stern (almost like today’s naval architecture) and semiround bilge hull made her very fast in reaching – and with a flush deck!” says Luca Bassani. “For a long time she was the fastest boat in real time in the SORC regattas – ie the world’s fastest boat – and she can be considered the first modern maxi yacht.” Windward Passage was designed by the late Alan Gurney as an ocean racing record breaker for lumber tycoon Robert Johnson and built in laminated wood in 1968. The semi-planing hull was radical for the time, particularly beamy with a shallow canoe body, a fin keel and an elegant run aft to a broad transom – a shape described…