Innehållsförteckning för October 2023 från Yachting World

Does your ideal anchorage have anyone else in it? In this issue cruising doyen Jimmy Cornell revisits his incredibly authoritative survey of world cruising destinations, in which he tracks where boats are cruising today (see page 24). It’s no surprise the pandemic and shift to remote working has had a big impact, with some areas seeing far fewer cruising yachts in recent years, but is that a good thing? We pick out some of the most incredible places to sail now – many of them remote and little-visited by other sailors, increasing the chances of having the whole bay to yourself. Yet making connections along the way is what can make cruising life sustainable for many – particularly more sociable souls or those sailing with young families. On page 120…

SPECIAL: high latitude adventures Inspiration and expert tips on one of the most exciting growth areas in adventurous cruising. Andy Schell has essential advice for anyone dreaming of a high lats expedition; Skip Novak sails to Zavodoski, the most remote of the South Sandwich Islands; plus how one couple spent three years sailing the Southern Oceans Try before you buy Ever fancied taking your dream yacht for a cruise before you commit? Will Bruton reports on new ‘try before you buy’ charter options Win the Middle Sea Race The Mediterranean classic 600-mile offshore is renowned for dealing competitors a mix of extreme weather conditions. Top navigator Tom Cheney walks the course Hitting the turbo button! Pip Hare reveals how she’s turbo-charged her IMOCA 60 Medallia, and what it’s like to…

1 COOK ISLANDS Located between French Polynesia and American Samoa. Rarotonga is the clearing in port, but the 15 different islands are scattered across almost half a million square miles of the Pacific. The northern group of the islands, with turquoise sea and sand fringed coral atolls, are the ones to head to if possible, and include the hideaway of Suwarrow (pictured here, see also page 27). I have been tracking the global movement of cruising boats since 1987, when I published the results of my first survey on this subject. In the intervening 35 years I’ve conducted follow-up surveys every five years. Since the last in 2016, the world has experienced two major phenomena that have seriously affected offshore cruising: the Covid pandemic; and the climate crisis, the effects of…

Beside the quiet, sun-bleached Mexican town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle lies a busy anchorage on the north side of Bahía de Banderas. Humpback whales cruise nonchalantly through the bay, unconcerned about the nearby boats. The combination of good shelter, cheap restaurants, and marine stores has led to a large community of cruising sailors. Throughout March and April, the eager group of ‘puddle jumpers’ gather in the town’s sail loft. Amid dusty spinnakers and used paper charts, they chat about weather windows. Over beers and tacos they share knowledge about the 2,800-mile passage from Mexico to French Polynesia. The crossing is similar to a transatlantic in distance, but without the three-week promise of tradewinds. We’re taught the right approach: wait for a low to push a few days of consistent…

Go on, pull the other one…! In an era of computer generated graphics and Artificial Intelligence you could be forgiven for thinking the picture above right is just a rendering of a concept, the fanciful digital illustration from a creative brain, or even a bot. But the 111ft foiler Raven is perhaps the most mind-bending, advanced and ballsy superyacht ever. And it’s real, it’s already launched and is undergoing sail trials as you read this (see more on page 104). What a project to have kept so tightly under wraps! It needs both whacky projects and visionary owners with deep pockets to keep the yachting industry moving forward. Some will push technology, whether to explore materials and renewables, or to win silverware or even set records perhaps, and their resultant…

Baltic 111 Raven LOA 34.0m 111ft 6in LWL 33.1m 108ft 7in Beam 7.40m 24ft 3in Draught 4.80m 15ft 9in Light displacement 55,000kg 121,000lb Ballast 9,300kg 20,500lb balticyachts.fi WOW…! This foil-assisted, ultra-lightweight superyacht breaks new ground in many respects and Baltic says it is “one of the most extreme yachts” the yard has built in its 50-year history. Raven is designed to sail partly on her leeward chine, with giant T-foils providing the bulk of stability, plus some vertical lift, while a 9.3-tonne bulb at the end of a precision engineered 5m-deep fixed fin keel provides additional righting moment. There have, of course, been many standout superyachts over the past few years, yet it’s still extraordinarily rare to come across a yacht like Raven. This 34m foiling beast blends virtually unprecedented…

What makes the best head torch for sailing? The red light facility, the ability to dim the white light, or having an ultra bright light that will help you pick out mooring buoys in the gloom? And does it really need to be waterproof? To answer these questions we tested a selection of the latest head torches on the market. They all have multiple modes of lighting – from narrowly focussed spot lights to an array of red and boost power flood lighting – and have their own specialities. It’s a diverse range, suitable for all budgets and practical uses, from a little under £20 and up to £125. All are rechargeable, have at least one red light function, and provide more than one white light setting. Waterproof ratings vary.…

‘This was the boat that really cultivated my passion for sailing’ SIMON FISHER NOMINATES THE CADET DINGHY “I’ve been lucky enough to sail on a good selection of the ‘coolest’ yachts and I remember the excitement of the first time sailing each of them as I’m something of a fan boy when it comes to cool boats. The MOD70, VO70, Comanche or a foiling IMOCA already rightfully hold a place on this list, as do the TP52, IACC class and J-Class. “So I’m going to the other end of the spectrum and nominating a junior class that gave me so much joy growing up. The International Cadet isn’t fast by modern standards or very technologically advanced but it was the boat that really cultivated my passion for sailing, whether racing…

The six competing teams in the 37th America’s Cup are set to get their first chance to line up competitively against one another at the first America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta, from 14-17 September 2023. The event, which sees the America’s Cup teams move 50km up the coast to Vilanova i La Geltrú from the main event base in Barcelona, includes four days of racing in the AC40 one-design foiling monohull. Racing begins with official practise on Thursday 14 September, followed by three fleet races on 15 and 16 September, and then two further fleet races on the Sunday before a single match race final. Coverage will be live-streamed via americascup.com as well on YouTube. As it is held in the supplied AC40s, rather than the America’s Cup final designs of…

Speed comes naturally to some. For the current world sailing speed record holder, Paul Larsen, it was all he thought about for years as he and his small team developed a radical machine to set a new outright sailing speed record. Despite some major setbacks – including a serious hospitalisation and a suite of maxed out credit cards – in 2012 Team Larsen left the bar at a staggering height, with the record of 65.45 knots over 500m. It was an incredible achievement and one that has deserved every day of their 11 years in the spotlight. But now that speed record, which once seemed out of reach, is coming under threat and from a number of different angles. On the face of it the obvious two challenges are from…

The pagers started bleeping soon after lunch for the volunteer crews of the Solent lifeboat stations on Saturday 22 August. The team at Yarmouth RNLI barely had time to peel off their oilskins and yellow wellies between ‘shouts’ that afternoon, as call after call came in for Fastnet competitors requesting assistance. An incredible 430 yachts had taken the start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line just an hour or two earlier, making the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race the largest offshore race in history. Even more had entered, but several dozen skippers considered the forecast and chose not to take part. They included the Maxi 72 Notorious, with Volvo Ocean Race-winning skipper Ian Walker among the experienced crew, so challenging were conditions. ‘Gnarly’ was how RORC race director Steve Cole had…

Clear the headland three miles south of Guernsey’s St Peter Port and the depth and conditions can change abruptly, as you transition from sailing around tidal banks into the English Channel proper and realise there’s suddenly nothing between you and 2,000 miles of North Atlantic swell. This became quickly apparent as we headed out on a reach, the Spirit 72DH Gwenyfar II in full stride at double figures, and I noted the rapidity with which the waves were building. These soon became 3-4m ocean rollers, as thick as they were tall but with a goodly period between each crest. The Spirit took it effortlessly, the motion kind enough to become quite addictive. Heeled over at full waterline, her spoon bow cut through the swell and speed remained steady. When we…

Time. You may not be able to buy it, but some may be fortunate enough to buy the things that let you use it most efficiently. It was mid afternoon on a sweltering day in late June, Mallorca. I’d just come ashore from the Superyacht Cup Palma. With the rush hour traffic looming, roadworks stifling the city centre and the oppressive heat, there was surely no chance of any meaningful sail on the new Y9 that day, as it was located in Port Adriano, 25km along the coast. Hitching a ride on Ulli’s (YYachts’s Hans-Ulrich Heisler) unnervingly powerful moped, we weaved through the city, avoided the motorway standstill and tailback and arrived at the Philippe Starck-designed marina within half an hour to be welcomed by Bella’s crew, ready to depart.…

MIDNIGHT SUN Baltic’s first yacht at Maxi size to race under the IOR rule was the one that made its name for innovation and performance. Midnight Sun was designed by Doug Peterson and launched in 1982 for a Swedish owner who wanted to move on from successful Admiral’s Cup campaigns and go up against the most prestigious race yachts of the time, the likes of Kialoa IV, Condor, Helisara, Nirvana and Windward Passage. She was one of the first glassfibre composite yachts ever built, using foam sandwich over aircraft grade balsa core. Unusually, she had a titanium rudder. Midnight Sun’s high point was the 1983 Southern Ocean SORC series. She’s still active today, operating as a charter yacht. VISIONE Launched in 2002 for Hasso Plattner, the German co-founder of software…

EXPERT TIPS In the second of this two-part series, Rachael Sprot explains her golden rules When you see someone handling a boat crisply under power it’s an undeniably impressive skill. After I became an instructor, I realised this black art could be broken down into a few key concepts, and I called them ‘The 10 Golden Rules of Boat Handling’. In the first part of this series last month, I looked at the importance of five factors: maintaining steerage, going ahead and astern, the effects of prop walk (and how to use it to best effect), and using a boat’s pivot point. To read the first five tips visit yachtingworld.com As we all know, manoeuvres don’t happen in a vacuum so we need to be able to consider environmental variations,…

The 194th running of Cowes Week, the UK’s biggest annual regatta, was dominated by strong breeze conditions. With two days of racing lost, and gusty conditions of over 20 knots for much of the event, it turned into a no-discard series with the overall winners decided on a testing final day of much lighter winds and strong spring tides in the Solent. While numbers were down on previous years, particularly in the bigger boat fleets, the 24-strong Cape 31 class delivered a show for spectators and photographers, enjoying some full-power asymmetric reaching. At the other end of the performance scale, a new Weekend Warriors Cup was created for the Club Cruiser Division, for boats that are true cruiser-racers. Winners of White Group overall as top keelboat were Mark Downer and…

Recently a friend confided in me about a difficult leadership dilemma they’d faced. After skippering a qualifier for the Fastnet Race, they were preparing to berth in the marina. On approach to the dock, the first mate started instructing them on how to drive. In response, my friend said: “I’ve got this, thank you.” Panicking, the first mate grabbed the wheel and tried to take over. Again, my friend repeated: “Please stand back. I’ve got this,” took back the wheel and parked the boat safely alongside. I was lost for words. I’m amazed that my friend retained composure despite such a direct and public challenge to their authority. I was also shocked that someone had the – I’m not sure what word to use… arrogance? Conviction? Lack of situational awareness?…

“Nikki, give up the tiller for a second. You gotta see this.” Ev Goussev, co-owner of the yacht Gray Wolf, shoved the binoculars in my hand. “Just there. That beach. That’s bear territory, for sure.” A shady stretch of sand lay a quarter of a mile to our starboard. Looking through the lenses, I could see the tide gently rippling past the remains of old logs and bracken washed up on the shore. Scanning left and right to see if there was any life out there, I almost got lost among the trees. So many trees, so thick, so old – so untouched by humankind. For sure, this place was inaccessible by land. Beyond it were hundreds of miles of dense forest, grizzly bears and uncharted wilderness. I guess some…

Those who followed the early stages of this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race will surely have been intrigued by how well the front runners in the Class 40 fleet appeared to handle the brutal wind against tide conditions that caused problems for a lot of other boats. Conventional wisdom has it that a slim, narrow hull is ideal for sailing upwind in a blow. Yet the recent Class 40s carry their immense beam well forward of the mast, with a bow that’s closer to a square shape than a conventional point. However, when heeled these boats present a relatively narrow immersed section that doesn’t slam into a head sea with the intensity that the flat saucer-like hull might suggest. At the same time they have enormous righting moment, which gives power…

Lying beneath the limestone mountains of Mallorca, the Bay of Palma draws in a sea breeze almost every afternoon in summer. It builds lazily through the morning and peters away in the late afternoon. But it has its idiosyncrasies, as any racing tactician or a race organiser will know. Sometimes it can be patchy across the course, or streaky, or have dead zones, or even be very breezy. What it will do is give a sailing crew a quiet morning ashore followed by a sporting afternoon’s racing – with a dash of uncertainty. Palma is always a favourite venue for sailing. Nevertheless, the Superyacht Cup Palma, the longest running big boat regatta in Europe and now in its 27th year, was a slimmed down event in June. With just nine…

There is no upper age limit to join the YCA with some YCA members in their 70s. The only guide is not to wait until retirement! The Young Cruisers Association is not your average yacht club. In fact, it might be the largest cruising association you’ve never heard of. Its ethos is very different to any other major yachting organisation, and its recent explosive growth reflects some of the biggest shifts in cruising trends. Officially set up in 2018, the Young Cruisers Association (YCA) now boasts over 10,000 members worldwide. A quick scan of the YCA social media pages shows sailors from the US, Australia, Canada and Britain, along with Sweden, Argentina, Estonia, Ireland, and pretty much everywhere in between. But what defines a ‘young cruiser’ and what has seen…

Sailing downwind in big breeze is what keeps many racing sailors coming back for more, but how hard can you push? And how can you stay in control? Pro skipper Jelmer van Beek shares top tips with Andy Rice Pushing a boat close to the edge downwind is exhilarating and sometimes exhausting. Sailing hard downwind in waves requires 100% focus from the helmsman and trimmers, not to mention the grinders and other key members of the crew. One mistake and the gennaker can flap or, even worse, you end up broaching. So how do you keep pushing the boat up to the edge without reaching the point of no return? As the person with direct control and feedback from the rudder, the helmsman has ultimate responsibility. But seeing as the…