Innehållsförteckning för May 2024 från Yachting World

The Norwegian government has issued new regulations to protect the remote island of Svalbard, which will impact expedition sailors hoping to explore the area from 2025. Key changes are that landing will only be permitted in 43 designated sites, and the use of drones is prohibited in all protected areas, 5 knot speed limits have also been designated – along with minimum distances – off bird cliffs from April to August, and in areas where walruses congregate on shore (known as haul sites). There is also a 200-passenger limit on board ships in all protected areas, which will curtail cruise ship activity in the area. August Sandberg has worked as a professional skipper in the area for many years and is now a skipper and yacht owner with 59° North,…

A round the world cruiser has lost his yacht, and all his possessions, after he was wrecked while attempting to cross the Bahia del Sol sand bar in El Salvador. His boat was then stripped by thieves while grounded. Bahia del Sol, or Estero Jaltepeque, is a famous stopover for cruisers exploring the Central American country. Entrance into the harbour requires a local pilot and an often tense surf in through breaking swell. British sailor Mark Thurlow was attempting the crossing on his Moody 49 Rum Truffle on 7 March, accompanied by a local pilot in a panga, in moderate conditions. A report from rally organisers states that the yacht was directed to follow the pilot boat over the bar, but was unexpectedly picked up by two consecutive waves, causing…

Downwind sails: the big ARC survey Our annual ARC survey results tackle the big topic of downwind sail selection: 242 skippers were asked what worked, what didn’t, what broke, and what they’d advise when it comes to downwind sail selection and setup for a transatlantic crossing or tradewind passage. Essential reading! Surprising Norway A summer spent sailing above the Arctic circle showcases Norway’s cruising delights for Janneke Kuysters and Wietze van der Laan as they explore archipelagos and islands on their way to Cape North. America’s new hero: Cole Brauer Aged 29, Cole Brauer became the first American woman ever to sail solo around the world non-stop – building a huge fan base along the way. Helen Fretter meets the solo skipper intent on shaking up offshore racing. Expert technique…

CALEDONIAN CANAL Scotland’s famous Caledonian Canal cuts through the Great Glen from Inverness to Fort William and offers cruisers an unforgettable experience. The 50-mile canal first opened in 1822; it was designed to ensure ships (including those of the Royal Navy) a safe passage east or west, avoiding the dangerous route through the Pentland Firth and around Cape Wrath. Roughly one third of the route is man-made, while the rest is made up of stunning lochs. You also pass through 29 locks and 11 bridges to go from coast to coast. The summit is in Loch Oich, over 31m above sea level. The channel can handle quite large yachts, with a maximum mast height of 27m (for example, at the bridge in Inverness). The canal is used by motorboats and…

The nighttime call of owls reverberated through the forest – a forest of 1,000 aluminium masts, like stands of pine trees stretching in all directions as far as you could see. Just looking at the vast rows of neatly organised boats induced a kind of vertigo as we arrived back at Cleopatra Marina on the west mainland coast of Greece. Mega-boatyards like this one are becoming ever more common in Greece as its cruising grounds continue to swell in popularity each year. The sheer size of this dry-dock, combined with the factory-like efficiency of its staff launching vessels throughout the day – one every 20 minutes on average – was nipping at our backsides as we raced to tick off our spring, pre-launch checklist. Non essential projects were quickly shuffled…

How many crewmembers of high tech racing yachts have wondered whether the boat could be tweaked and tamed to create a super-fast cruising machine that’s enormous fun to sail? I certainly considered the idea as a navigator in the Farr 45 fleet when there was a strong class in the Solent. Australian sailors Ian and Annika Thomson went further and refitted an early TP52, J-Bird, as an ultra-fast cruiser and occasional racer. Mats Bergryd, a former ClubSwan 42 and ClubSwan 50 owner, is of a similar mindset, but instead he commissioned renowned Swedish father and son design team Hakan and Oskar Södergren, along with the Rosättra shipyard (better known as the yard behind the Linjett brand), to create a no holds barred all-carbon 50-footer for very fast cruising and occasional…

NKE NAVXP CHARTPLOTTER What is it? The first chartplotter from French manufacturer NKE, intended to be both powerful and intuitive Who’s it for? Offshore racing and performance cruising NKE’s electronics have never gained much traction in the English speaking world, even though they’re almost a default choice for offshore racing and performance cruising yachts in France. Part of this may be down to the ways in which the system is different to what the rest of us have become accustomed to using. For instance, it doesn’t rely on the near ubiquitous NMEA 0183 and 2000 protocols with their long text sentences – though these are supported. Instead, it uses a compact compressed binary eight-character hexadecimal system, which makes for very fast data transfer while minimising congestion on the network. And…

Cole Brauer has become the first American woman to sail solo around the world non-stop. Brauer, 29, finished the Global Solo Challenge in 2nd place in her 2008 Owen-Clarke designed Class 40 First Light on 7 March. Brauer completed the race – in which competitors set off in a ‘pursuit’-style staggered start – in 130d 2h 45m. She finished 2nd to Frenchman Philippe Delamere, who was sailing an Actual 46, though her corrected elapsed time was actually 17 days faster than Delamere’s. Race organisers report that Brauer’s circumnavigation is also the fastest known time for a solo non-stop around the world on a 40ft yacht, saying it ‘can’t be ratified as an official record, but effectively improves the reference record time set by the late Guo Chuan in 2016’. Brauer,…

The growth in big boat multihull racing continues, with two new circuits for ‘Maxi Multihulls’ of 60ft-plus organised by the International Maxi Association. The Caribbean Maxi Multihull Series included inshore and offshore events, such as the RORC Caribbean 600 and St Maarten Heineken Regatta, finishing with the BVI Spring Regatta in April. A new Mediterranean series has also been announced, including the Aegean 600, a 600-mile offshore around the Aegean now in its fourth year; the Ibiza JoySail regatta, a maxi and superyacht event in the Balearics that’s also holding its fourth edition this year; the Multihull Cup in Palma; and the classic Rolex Middle Sea Race in Malta in October. Andrew McIrvine, of the International Maxi Association, commented: “In recent years we’ve been seeing great racing between maxi catamarans…

In a change to previously advertised schedules the Ocean Globe Race is set to finish off the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes from mid-April. Each finisher will then berth for up to 48 hours on Trinity Landing, giving crews a chance to celebrate in Cowes, before dispersing to their respective ports. The move is a reflection of the perennial difficulties of events in securing host venues, particularly in the UK. As they won’t be gathering for a conventional finish, race organiser Don McIntyre tells us that the fleet will instead be holding a highly anticipated farewell party in Rome in June, hosted by Italian entry Translated9. Shirley’s superyacht role Shirley Robertson is the new manager of the Super Yacht Racing Association (SYRA). The British double Olympic gold medallist has…

Among the elite band of rock star offshore sailors that do a solo lap of the planet there’s one basic yet counterintuitive rule they swear by: ‘To go fast you have to understand how to go slowly.’ Wherever you look into the history of fast passagemaking, the accounts of those that were seeking to set new records always include frequent references to looking after the boat. And no matter how clunky and old fashioned those boats might look today, in their time they were most likely at the cutting edge of design and materials available. Being heavy and slow by today’s standards didn’t make them any safer, robust or any less of a challenge when it came to going the distance. Indeed, being hefty and sluggish brought its own problems…

We’re all seeking experiences. Whether that’s taking on a sporting challenge, going on above-averagely-adventurous holidays, or learning a new hobby or skill, we live in an era where ‘doing’ is more important than ‘having’. It’s evidenced by the rise in everything from ultra marathons to immersive art exhibits to Duolingo. A travel trends report by Mastercard in 2023 found spending on experiences was up 65% over the previous four years, while spending on ‘things’ had risen just 12%. What’s more, it makes us happy: officially. A 20-year study by Dr Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University, USA, came to the conclusion that buying possessions might bring temporary happiness, but it fades quickly. By contrast, experiences shape us – and they stay with us forever. But if you could…

Back around 1980 I was privileged to be involved with the Robert Clark-designed 72ft ketches operated by what was then called the Ocean Youth Club. My own contribution was as a relief skipper on the Solent-based Samuel Whitbread and the time I spent running the boat gave me great respect not only for the vessels themselves, but also for the permanent skippers, mates and bosuns. The size of the yachts and the ethos of the club were a perfect combination for sail training at its best. One of the great names from those days was Chris Payne – ‘CJ’ to his shipmates – skipper of Francis Drake. CJ has made an enviable life on the water, skippering all manner of interesting craft over four decades. His book, When the Sea…

They say that most accidents happen in the home, and I’d hazard a guess that the same is true for sailing. Of the accidents I’ve witnessed over the years, a significant proportion have been in port, often while mooring. It’s a time when the crew are starting to relax, the seasickness has vanished and the bar’s in sight. Meanwhile, the skipper is focused on the manoeuvre. We often underappreciate the hazards involved in mooring. As the size of yacht increases, particularly above 45ft, it’s essential to upskill our line handling, and that of our crew. Last issue we looked at line handling techniques while under sail, this issue we’ll look at coming alongside, berthing, and other critical moments. The good news is that safe line handling isn’t complicated: with a…

Vendée Globe skipper Clarisse Crémer has been cleared following accusations that she cheated during the 2020 race by discussing routing options with her husband by WhatsApp. A French sailing federation (FFV) jury cleared Crémer and her husband, Tanguy Le Turquais, of any misconduct following anonymous accusations which were made via leaked photos of Whatsapp messages exchanged between Crémer and Le Turquais during the race. Crémer finished 12th in the solo unassisted round the world race sailing Banque Populaire. The jury accepted that route images generated by Le Turquais did not include any detailed information about wind, wave states, time or course options that Crémer could adapt for her own use. Towards the end of the race, Crémer and Le Turquais discussed Crémer’s projected finish, and severe weather conditions of the…

Dykstra Naval Architects has designed the world’s largest sailing multihull, a full custom twin-masted 57m/187ft catamaran. The build commission is with Echo Yachts near Fremantle in Western Australia and when completed it will easily eclipse the 47m/154ft Perini Navi ArtExplorer, which launched last year, and the previous largest sailing cat, Hemisphere at 44m/145ft. From the scant details so far and only this one sketch released, it looks like the aluminium hull form will sport twin masts with some sort of Dynarig, the system developed by Dykstra originally for Maltese Falcon. This rig will be capable of setting 1,660m2 of sail for efficient cruising and ease of handling. Echo Yachts and structural designers One2Three are no strangers to supersized multihull projects – as well as commercial and defence projects, they delivered…

The first thing I do when I meet a new crew is gather everyone together and get each member to introduce themselves. It’s a pretty common thing for team leaders to do whether on land or sea. For the RORC Caribbean 600 race this year, 12 of us sat together sweltering under the boom tent and spent over an hour on this introduction. Alongside the usual, “How do you like to be called?” and “What’s your sailing experience?” I asked, “What are you hoping to get out of this experience?” and “What are you feeling nervous about?” For many, this whole process can feel like a waste of time. A life story about the challenges someone overcame to go sailing isn’t relevant, right? What we need to know is: can…

‘The helm feels direct, with positive feedback’ With renowned designer Gerard Dykstra approaching 80 years old, he was looking for a boat for himself that would fit a somewhat different use to his previous yachts. Yet at the same time he still wanted to include many of the features from those vessels over the years. Given Dykstra’s background, with successful projects including the rebuild of the J Class Endeavour for Elizabeth Meyer and the innovative Dynarig of the 88m superyacht Maltese Falcon, it was clear at the outset that the Bestevaer 36 was destined to be a different class to other yachts of this length. The designer’s own brief was different to that of any of the previous models in the well known Bestevaer line. Firstly the boat had to…

Wauquiez 55 LOA 17.58m 57ft 8in • Hull length 16.4m 53ft 10in Beam 5.25m 17ft 3in • Draught 2.4m 7ft 10in or 1.6m-4.2m 5ft3in-13ft9in • Displacement (light) 20 tonnes • Price from €1.8m ex VAT • wauquiez.com While the graphical representations of many new designs may look impressive, rarely do we see a production yacht unveiled with so many new or reimagined clever ideas all packed into one hull as there are on this new Wauquiez 55. And the French shipyard did so under the radar, only unveiling these images of its first new model since the 42 in 2018 at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in January this year. The 55 also marks its first new launch under new owners Exel Industries, and is aimed squarely at the premium end…

Offshore racer and chief Mr Fix-it during The Ocean Race, Jack Bouttell shares tips for keeping your boat going offshore with Andy Rice In the 50-year history of The Ocean Race (ex-Whitbread/Volvo), Leg 3 of the 2023 edition from Cape Town, South Africa through the Southern Ocean to Itajaí, Brazil, was the longest ever. Jack Bouttell was crew on Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team, and became chief boat fixer over 14,840 miles as the IMOCA suffered a series of breakdowns. Broken battens in the mainsail, two damaged rudders, damaged foil downlines, as well as a huge rip in the mainsail… time and time again the team had to dig deep for creative solutions to make repairs while keeping on racing. Many times the team wondered if the breakage would…

‘Downwind is amazing on this boat’ CHARLES CAUDRELIER NOMINATES THE OPEN 7.50 The Open 7.50 is the fastest one-design sportsboat ever built. Designed by the Finot Group, it applies much of the developments from Open 50s and 60s ocean racing designs to a 24ft sportsboat weighing just 750kg. Features include a retractable carbon keel, carbon rotating wing mast, and twin carbon rudders with a titanium rudder bar system. High stability combines with an impressive sail plan – 54m2 upwind and a 65m2 asymmetric –for blistering performance. “The Open 7.50 is an amazing inshore boat. It was designed 25 years ago but nobody has done it better since,” says Caudrelier. “It’s very light and very powerful – downwind is amazing on this boat. All the famous sailors in France try to…