Innehållsförteckning för November 2023 från Yachting World

‘It’s not like the good old days!’ If only we had a pound for every time someone said that about a Yachting World article… It’s a comment we hear about all sorts of topics, but most commonly on big events like ocean races and the America’s Cup. So it was no surprise to see the enthusiastic send off given to the Ocean Globe Race, the Whitbread-esque revival race, last month. Over 250 hardy souls cast off aboard a melange of vintage Maxis, Swan ketches and other old-school offshore yachts to try and recapture the essence of the original Whitbread Round the World Race. An experience that will include more surfing ocean swells than slamming through them, as the modern racers do. Probably a little less revolting freeze-dried food than today’s…

Three crew members of a Russian sailing expedition were rescued 450 miles south-east of Cairns, Australia, after sharks repeatedly attacked their inflatable catamaran. The ‘cookiecutter’ shark species, while not usually considered dangerous to humans, is known for inflicting small circular wounds on larger sea creatures with their razor sharp teeth. Some 20-30 of the sharks, which usually grow to no more than 20in long, attacked the soft hull material of the catamaran hulls on two occasions before the crew decided to call for help. The three-man crew – Russian sailors Stanislav Beryozkin and Evgeny Kovalevsky, and Frenchman Vincent Thomas Garate – initially came under attack on 4 September. Their 30ft catamaran lost some buoyancy, but they were able to continue sailing on their passage from Vanuatu to Cairns for over…

As we passed through the narrow harbour entrance you could feel the tension on board. No one really knew what to expect. We could see the gusts on the water outside Auckland’s Viaduct Basin and, while they wouldn’t have been an issue with a conventional sail plan, a solid wingsail is a different beast. Efficient yes, low drag, yes, but unlike the analogue feel to handling a soft sail, there’s little between full ‘on’ and ‘off ’ with a wing. Think riding a motorcycle with a switch rather than a throttle and you’re getting the picture. At least that’s what we’d been told. It had been a breezy day from the outset on the day of the first practice races for the brand new AC45 cats back in 2011, with…

Yachting World has featured high latitudes adventures from many different skippers, all with their own views on essential preparation and gear. Where you plan to sail will affect what your boat should look like: if there is a serious risk of coming into contact with ice, then an aluminium or steel hull is recommended. The flip side is that an ‘ice-proof’ hull can give a false sense of security; it may be better to avoid getting into that situation in the first place. But if you’re looking to adapt a more standard cruising design for high latitudes sailing, modifications to consider include: • Creating a protected cockpit (ideally with heater) if you don’t have a doghouse/pilothouse. A solid dodger top and tent combination can offer good protection. • Major structural…

You need two yankees, two poles, two pole halyards, foreguys and afterguys to exercise this manoeuvre – a lot of strings, but we do it often on my boats, as it’s the safest way to sail downwind on long stretches, especially in big seas. The yankees need to be high clewed for good visibility forward and to prevent a pole end dipping in on a roll or a broach. We have a 135% yankee on the headstay and a 100% yankee (our workhorse sail) on our forestay. We rig one pole 45° off the windward bow, stabilised by foreguy and afterguy. Then roll out one of the sails to that pole end; the full 100% yankee can go on that pole. Next rig the leeward pole (mainsail still up) and…

Malizia-Seaexplorer changed to C-foils during The Ocean Race, which proved fast in the Southern Ocean, big breeze reaching and downwind conditions, where they were more able to keep the bow clear of the water when catching up waves. The 11th Hour Racing’s L-foils have a tighter angle at the elbow which results in a greater depth and shorter span – this will help keep the bow higher, but is less effective at lateral resistance. Medallia’s have a slightly shallower angle that gives a more all round performance. Our foils are made end-on, now a fairly common practice that addresses the problem of separation of layers when the foils reverse load. Reverse load happens when the foils present to the water at an angle or in a way that creates an…

Owen Clarke Explorer Yachts A well established and regarded name in the offshore racing world, the Owen Clarke studio has in recent years been making a reputation for its bespoke explorer yacht creations. The most notable is arguably the 2018-launched 20m Qilak which was the cover model and main feature boat in Yachting World’s May 2019 issue. It helps that naval architect Merf Owen has plenty of high latitudes cruising experience, and that his wife, Ashley Perrin, is an ice pilot and expedition leader who has been taking yachts to high latitudes for nearly a decade. The couple have just completed a circumnavigation of Newfoundland via Greenland and Labrador. Owen Clarke currently has two notable alloy explorer projects in construction which have spawned from Qilak in terms of looks, layouts…

Cruising can be a transformative journey, filled with remarkable moments and unforgettable adventures. But challenges come hand in hand with this way of life: from the constant maintenance and repairs, to the never-ending cleaning and polishing, liveaboard sailing can sometimes be exhausting and frustrating. Over the past decade, I’ve experienced both the highs and lows of this lifestyle, falling in and out of love with our boat countless times. Inevitably, just when the frustrations threaten to overwhelm me, something magical happens and we are blessed with one of those days where everything falls into place. When conditions are ideal, the boat is cutting through the water, and all feels right with the world once again. These are the days that reignite my passion for sailing and reaffirm my decision to…

Maluka is an indigenous word for respect and affection. To many Australian followers, she is known as ‘The Mighty Maluka’ “One thing you should do is take your watch off. If you start looking at your watch you’re going to do your head in!” said Sean Langman, owner and skipper of the diminutive 91-year-old Maluka. He’d been asked, just days prior to competing in the 50th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, how best to approach an ocean race in a boat of this nature. Langman, who still races Sydney Harbour 18ft Skiffs and has competed in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race in supermaxis, knows better than most the importance of changing mindset when switching from super fast grand prix yachts to a gaff-rigged classic. “The goal is to just…

Almost exactly 50 years to the day since the first Whitbread Round the World Race, the ‘retro’ Ocean Globe Race started from Cowes, UK, on September 10. Fourteen teams racing in three classes set off on the first edition of the round the world race with stops, which is intended to recreate the atmosphere and ethos of the original Whitbread Round the World Races. The Ocean Globe Race is the latest event created to pay homage to the ocean races of yesteryear, run by Don McIntyre who is also the man behind the modern Golden Globe Race. Unlike the Golden Globe, however, which moved to France for its reincarnation, the Ocean Globe Race saw a round the world race start once again from the Solent, off the famous Royal Yacht…

How many of us have returned home from time spent sailing, gone to the bathroom and wondered at the sheer marvels of engineering that are flush button toilets and sewer systems? No pumping needed. No holding tank. Very low maintenance. And if, very rarely, the land toilet does break, most of us call out a plumber to fix it. I’ve never heard of anyone in a boatyard who specialises in unblocking other peoples’ heads. Is it even socially unacceptable to ask someone else to do that job? I’ve never dared. As sailors, at some point we all end up having to service the heads. My friend Ryan celebrated this inevitable reality by having a scaled-up version of the Jabsco diagram that’s found in the toilet servicing manual printed on a…

We dropped anchor in 12m of water, a long stone’s throw from an unfriendly rocky cliff face and immediately the reality of our position set in as Vinson of Antarctica began to roll unpleasantly some 10-15° port and starboard. The surging water was alive with chinstrap and macaroni penguins, some heading out to sea and others heading toward shore, if you can call it that. A wall would be a more apt description. Dion Poncet had the binoculars out. Pointing to an obscure weakness in an otherwise vertical side of rock he announced: “That’s it”. ‘It’ was where we had to get ashore, a spot discovered by Dion’s father Jerome over 20 years ago and one of only two known landing places on the island, both requiring a Grade 2…

It’s five years since our first voyage to Antarctica and we need a break from chartering to the Antarctic Peninsula. We love Southern Patagonia and the Antarctic but it’s time to refresh. Too many charterers like us started as sailors with the dream of making a living under sail but no longer hoist the sails: instead we have enormous diesel tanks and bigger superstructures to help us run our guests from one location to the next. This time it’s just Caroline and me on the crew list aboard Jonathan. We make a last run for fresh vegetables then check out with the Chilean Armada in Puerto Williams. We share a smile when the officer asks if it’s really just the two of us. Well, yes – and the Windpilot of…

SCORKL 2.0 – ELECTRIC What is it? A portable mini scuba system powered by a new electric compressor Who’s it for? All sailors who want or need to go below the surface – for much less expense and more convenience than a scuba set The ability to breathe underwater can be a really practical benefit to most sailors: from clearing a fouled prop or checking your anchor gear to the need to keep bottoms clean (whether for racing or for cruising, particularly in protected waters). And on the leisure side, diving and snorkelling from the dream anchorages we reach is surely one of the prize benefits of sailing to the locations we do. The trouble is that dive tanks and compressors use a lot of valuable space and weight on…

‘They are totally unstable with a huge mainsail’ BRUNO DUBOIS NOMINATES THE DHOW “I always have been impressed by the dhow, the traditional racing boats sailed in the United Arab Emirates,” says Bruno Dubois. “The 60ft yachts are particularly impressive.” The original dhow design dates back to the 1900s, when thousands of boats were used for pearl fishing in the Arabian Gulf. The class underwent huge a resurgence in the 1990s, and modern iterations now regularly race in 7-, 13- and 18m classes. They are keel-less, and use sandbags and water ballast as well as moving the 11-man crew weight for stability. “They are totally unstable with a huge mainsail, recalls Dubois. “The first time I met one of the owners I was working at North Sails. He asked us…

The first America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain, was something of a mixed bag with tricky conditions – but there were still some surprising upsets throughout the fleet, racing for the first time in the one-design AC40 foiling monohulls. Day one of racing was cancelled after torrential rain and lightning storms swept the race course The second day, Saturday 16 September, looked promising and at the prestart for Race 1, all teams were ripping around on their AC40s in full foiling mode, but sadly it wasn’t to last. By the start of Race 1 the wind had dropped to around 7-8 knots. In marginal conditions, few teams were positioned well, and it was a messy and straggly lineup for the first fleet start in the 37th…

Cruise in paradise for longer Planning a transatlantic, trans-Pacific, or round the world voyage – but not sure if you have long enough? Or put off by the return delivery? We get expert advice on how to combine shipping and sailing to maximise your cruising time. Sailing’s greatest spectacle The iconic Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta celebrates its 25th anniversary this autumn – we find out what draws the world’s most spectacular yachts there year after year… New multihulls for 2024 The boom in cruising multihulls shows little sign of abating, with a bumper crop of new designs coming on line soon. Toby Hodges looks at the pick of the bunch. Caribbean made simple Considering taking part in one of the Caribbean’s famously fun regattas next spring? We guide you…

I’ve just returned home from skippering 59º North’s Farr 65 Falken from Annapolis, Maryland, to Isafjordur in north-west Iceland. We covered over 3,000 miles, sailing via the stupendous Prince Christian Sound in southern Greenland. And we did it all in safety and style, managing a tight passage schedule through fog, ice, unpredictable weather and everything else you come to expect when sailing in high latitudes. I’m proud of the fact that my first mate and I made it look easy for the paying crew who joined us this summer. In truth, like every big ocean passage, the ‘making-it-look-easy’ part is all down to preparation, the part our guest crew don’t get to see. With the right prep, all that’s left is the execution. I should start with the disclaimer that…

Ahead of me, the bow of Medallia is pointing at the sky. This is not poetic license; I am actually looking upwards at my bowsprit as it rises up, 50ft in front of me and some 3m higher than I am. In that split second, I can barely compute what is happening. My brain just starts to grasp the situation when Medallia levels out and shoots forwards. I watch the speed log flick from 26 knots to 27, 28, 29 knots. The acceleration is actually insane. The foils are humming. Occasionally the windward foil grazes the waves and sprays me with a wall of water. Medallia, newly refitted and modified, is just one hour into our first commissioning sail and I have no doubts that we have indeed turbocharged our…

The concept of rugged aluminium centreboard boats is well proven, but can a boat displacing 14 tonnes when loaded sail well in the light airs that predominate during summer in cruising areas such as the Med, northern Europe and even the Arctic? And can hybrid propulsion work in that context? The chance to jump on the first Ovni 430 to leave the yard during September’s heatwave provided clear answers to both questions. First impressions are of very practical and seamanlike arrangements, with acres of flat deck space, deep bulwarks, plus solid metal handholds, mostly near waist height. There are also plenty of mooring cleats, a capacious deep chain locker and our test boat was also fitted with substantial granny bars at the mast. The standard of finish on deck is…

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Champion sailor Ben Saxton explains to Andy Rice how he keeps a boat on the move in very light airs Just as the best teams seem to find an extra high mode on the upwind legs, often they’re also very good at eking out an extra-low mode on the downwind. Unlike symmetrical spinnakers, where you can square back the pole and sometimes sail directly down the rhumbline, with an asymmetric gennaker you’re always having to work the angles. In light airs these angles can get pretty big as you work to keep the apparent wind flowing over the sails. If you can keep the flow AND gain a bit of extra depth compared with the boats around you, then you’ve got the opportunity for some significant gains downwind. Here are…

A typical first charter holiday, perhaps on a production boat in Greece or Turkey, holds a special place in most sailors’ memories, even if they go on to own their own yacht and sail further afield. A charter gives a taste of the responsibility, freedom and possibilities that owning a yacht might unlock. The yacht you hire, though, is rarely what you’d choose to own. Charter yachts are often built with mass appeal in mind, packing in berths and cabins, and rarely geared for performance or living aboard full time. However, chartering the model of yacht you are seriously considering buying is very worthwhile, and something many don’t even realise is possible. Swan is one company which offers charter as a ‘taste’ of ownership. Nicolò Telese, charter manager, says: “Chartering…