Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Yachting Monthly

He said his 10th solo circumnavigation around the world would be his last, but now Jon Sanders, 80, has announced he will sail around the globe again. The legendary Australian skipper is preparing his Sparkman & Stephens 39, Perie Banou II, to leave from Freemantle on 13 October 2019. Unlike his previous voyages, Sanders will be helping to research ocean microplastics by collecting daily water samples. These will be dropped off at pre-arranged ports for dispatch to marine institutions for analysis. It is hoped this will provide reliable data on the amount of plastic pollution in Southern Hemisphere oceans. His 12-month voyage will take him from Western Australia to the Cape of Good Hope and then northwest to St Helena, before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean. He will then…

For the 13th time, Hamble Point-based yacht broker, Inspiration Marine Group, has been named Hanse Dealer of the Year. The accolade is based on customer service feedback and sales figures, and was presented to Inspiration’s director, Phil Dollin, and other team members at the annual Hanse Group Dealer Meeting at the boatbuilder’s headquarters in Greifswald, Germany. Dollin said the brokerage put customer service at the heart of its operations. ‘I would like to thank the many customers who have supported us over the years and for giving us such positive feedback,’ he said. Inspiration Marine Group has been the UK Hanse Group Dealership since 2002, representing the Hanse, Dehler, Fjord and Privilege brands.…

SPECIFICATIONS MAKE / MODEL Bavaria C50 PRICE FROM £348,299 inc VAT DESIGNER Cossutti Yacht Design BUILDER Bavaria If any builder is determined to keep ahead of the trends in a rapidly changing market, it’s Bavaria. In the not-too-distant past, this German giant was associated with boats that were hardly the most inspiring to look at or to sail. They sold like hot cakes principally because they were roomy, remarkably inexpensive and aimed squarely at the mass market. Then came the switch to Farr designs. Performance went up in leaps and bounds and the styling received some much-needed attention too. Bavaria has now moved on from Farr’s Cruiser range by introducing the C models, designed by Cossutti Yacht Design. First came the C57 in 2017, and then the C45 and C50…

It is 44 years since the inaugural running of the Azores and Back Race and I am having a pint with one of its founders in the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club bar, the relaxed and witty Colin Drummond. Reflecting on the early planning stages of the original race back in the early 1970s, Colin tells me there had been talk in the yachting press about running an alternative, shorter version of the OSTAR with Corinthian competitors in mind, and ‘smaller’ boats, in contrast to the well-sponsored and comparatively longer boats that increasingly made up the OSTAR. Colin met with Chris Smith, Spud Spedding and Andrew Bray, then deputy editor of Yachting Monthly, which sportingly sponsored the first event. It was decided the race wouldn’t be shorter than the OSTAR and…

Located between the major holiday resorts of Llandudno and Colwyn Bay in North Wales, Rhos on Sea is a quiet anchorage for the night when the wind is in the west. The town has a small harbour, but while most harbours have long historical origins based on commercial activity or fishing, the harbour at Rhos on Sea was only developed in the 1980s as part of a flood protection scheme. Evidence of the fish weirs that were used to funnel fish into nets in the 13th Century are still visible, with a P-shaped fish trap still partly shown on the Ordnance Survey map of the harbour. The sea wall along the coast here is quite low and in storms there used to be a serious risk of the waves overtopping…

Long-gone are the days that yachts would lash a clinker dinghy to the deck, or tow it bobbing astern, replaced instead by the ubiquitous inflatable rubber tender. For all it’s pack-down convenience, however, these bulbous craft have never been easy to row, and mostly can’t be sailed, prompting heavy reliance on outboards, and with it, losing a peaceful means of exploring new harbours. With a sail and reasonable rowing abilities, however, you can get around without a noisy engine, occupy family for hours on end, and sail up creeks that a yacht could never explore. New inflatable technologies, such as lightweight fabrics and drop-stich construction enabling rigid high pressure structures, have opened the door to all-round inflatables that are far more capable than their predecessors. We wanted to try out…

£3,499 SPECIFICATIONS LENGTH: 3.05m BEAM: 1.42m TOTAL WEIGHT: 64kg BIGGEST BAG DIMENSIONS: 360cm x 68cm x 17cm ASSEMBLY TIME: 18min www.seahopperfoldingboats.com This was the only folding boat in our test and looks for all the world like a small Mirror dinghy – her red sails doing little to discourage the comparison. She is beautifully crafted from marine ply, gleaming in the sun under her varnish. As such she is far away the most aesthetically pleasing of all the dinghies we tested. We raised concerns over the need to revarnish but were told she would sit outside happily enough in her folded state without the need for regular revarnishing for several years. For what was the biggest and most like a sailing dinghy of all those we tested, the Seahopper was…

With thanks to Nestaway Boats, supplier for Tiwal and DinghyGo, for their help with this test. www.nestawayboats.com MINICAT 420 The bigger sister of the MiniCat Guppy, the 420 is a larger and more complex boat. As such she should sail better and comes with a furling headsail as well as a larger mainsail. She has been designed to sail with one or two onboard. The manufacturers claim it is 52kg total weight across two bags. The 420 can also come with an engine mount making her a more viable tender. £3,595 TRIBORD 5S The Tribord 5S is a compact inflatable boat from French sports brand, Decathlon, that packs down into two bags. It is clearly designed for the fun-sailing-for-kids end of the spectrum and is not dissimilar to the Tiwal…

PRICE £150,000-£220,000 YEAR 2002-2006 SPECIFICATIONS LOA 12.37m (40ft 7in) BEAM 7.09m (23ft 3in) DRAUGHT 1.20m (3ft 11in) DISPLACEMENT 7,240kg (15,965lb) DESIGNER Peteghem/Provost BUILDER Lagoon Catamarans, France OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION www.groups.io/g/lagooncatowners Catamarans are becoming extremely popular now for blue-water sailing – due mainly to their stability at anchor, speed downwind and voluminous accommodation. The Lagoon range is one of the most prevalent on the ARC, with 28 different models competing in last year’s rally. The original 410 was launched in 1997 and then relaunched in 2002 as the 410-S2 with a host of ergonomic and equipment upgrades. The accommodation is spectacular, especially through the eyes of a monohull sailor, with over 6ft headroom throughout. The cooking and preparation areas are separate, with a large fridge-freezer beside the cooker forward and a twin…

Sunsail is to add 25 new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410s to their UK fleet. The £3.75 million investment will deliver 15 boats in 2020, with a further 10 in 2021. Based at Port Solent, the fleet will be available for charters and all major UK sailing events. The boats, which will be known as Sunsail 41.0 yachts, will also be used at Sunsail events and school courses. Each Sunsail 41.0 will have three cabins and one head. The bowsprit will be removed and a racing pack for jib and main sail trimming will be added. The UK is Sunsail’s largest market, attracting overseas sailors keen to cruise the Solent and take advantage of the exchange rate. The president of Sunsail, Simon Cross, said the new yachts would ‘provide a fantastic…

EXCLUSIVE TICKET OFFER Southampton Boat Show 2 TICKETS for JUST £27 Use discount code YM27at checkout when buying tickets at www.southamptonboatshow.com Offer ends 23:59 on 12/09/2019 Ticket type: Adult Any One Day (flexible entry) The Southampton Boat Show, held every year in Mayflower Park and its temporary marina, still attracts swathes of visitors and industry big names. It has long been seen as the show with a great atmosphere, particularly if the UK is still enjoying good weather in September – not always a given. The show has grown over the years, slowly taking more space in Mayflower Park and has now more or less reached the full extent of the land availed there. A real boon, however, is the purpose-built marina, on which many boats are displayed, as it…

‘The first two-and-a-half weeks were fraught with tremendous storms, horizontal rain and sleet, funnelled winds and ‘bergy bits’, which were translucent lumps of ice, largely resembling at a distance, the crest of a wave, which made every breaking wave suspect. I had to be constantly looking out for hazards.’ It was a steep learning curve for 18-year-old Scottish skipper Loris Pattinson, who was sailing Aisling, a 50-year-old 31ft Rustler, solo through the maze of Chile’s fjords and channels. It had not started out that way. Pattinson had answered an advert placed by Dan Stroud, who was looking for unpaid crew to help him sail the three-month voyage from the Argentinian resort of Ushuaia to Puerto Montt in southern Chile during the southern hemisphere summer. Having double-handed through the Tierra Del…

Q I currently have 45m of 8mm calibrated galvanised anchor chain on my fin-keeled Moody 31. Having anchored in some places last year where I needed to anchor in 10m of water, I felt uncomfortable with not having any more chain to put out. I would have like to have closer to 60m. At the same time, I am reluctant to shell out for a new chain when mine is virtually new and I rarely need all of it, so most of the time it’s just a big weight up in the bow. If I were to add warp to the chain, what kind of rope should I use and how should I attach it? Three strand or octoplait and what thickness? Is splicing into the chain the best option…

Spanning the Avon Gorge, the engineering splendour of the Clifton Suspension Bridge never fails to astonish as you cruise beneath it, making Bristol one of the most impressive English harbours. It is a shame then that many sailors seem to be put off from visiting by the Bristol Channel’s strong 15-metre tidal range. Although one of the most challenging cruising areas in the country, planning the tides carefully allows you to recoup considerable rewards with Bristol Docks offering a mix of maritime heritage and museums as well as a wide choice of restaurants and pubs. Few harbours have facilities that allow you to moor virtually in the centre of the city. Bristol is my home cruising ground and I still get a thrill as I head past the dock areas…

BEST FOR SAILING FUN £4,350 SPECIFICATIONS LENGTH: 2.8m BEAM: 1.9m TOTAL WEIGHT: 49kg BIGGEST BAG DIMENSIONS: 148cm x 40cm x 35cm ASSEMBLY TIME: 13min WEBSITE: www.tiwal.com/en This was by a good distance the favoured sailing dinghy of all those on test. The second iteration of this inflatable sailing dinghy is smaller and faster to assemble than the Tiwal 3 but has retained much of the sailability of the larger model. Of all those we tested, the Tiwal 2 falls mostly into the toy category rather than being an out-and-out tender. As such she has no cockpit, with the main inflating hull being something closer to a paddleboard. A metal tripod holds both daggerboard and mast in position offering a solid frame from which much of the performance of the boat…

£2,595 SPECIFICATIONS LENGTH: 3m BEAM: 1.5m TOTAL WEIGHT: 31kg BAG DIMENSIONS: 161cm x 33cm x 33cm ASSEMBLY TIME: 38min WEBSITE: www.minicatamaran.eu The MiniCat Guppy is a newer model to her bigger sister, the MiniCat 420. The Guppy was the only catamaran we had on test. In terms of usability, she was up against the Tiwal 2 in that she is aimed more at fun sailing that tender work. The Guppy has been designed to be more portable and quicker to assemble than the previous 420. She certainly ticks the more-portable box and was the only boat in our test that came in a single bag and was fully 17kg lighter overall than the next lightest. Certain features feel a little lightweight when she is fully rigged, however. Each hull has…

PRICE £130,000-£180,000 YEAR 2005-2009 For a production yacht Jeanneau’s DS range offers plenty of boat for the money and, though maybe more lightly built than many semi-custom yachts of a similar size, the 49DS makes an excellent blue-water cruising yacht and ocean passage-maker for those on a reasonably limited budget. At the time of her inauguration it was rare to see such a boat with the amount of smart wooden joinery and trim below. The large saloon windows let in plenty of natural light too, ensuring it is anything but gloomy below, and there’s bags of living space and stowage too. Several interior layouts were available offering two or three double cabins, but the most popular was the model with the large owner’s ensuite cabin forward and two roomy doubles…

The dangers of sailing and drinking excessive alcohol are to be highlighted in a new campaign by the Department for Transport. The Alcohol Awareness Steering Group, involving both the Government and the maritime sector has instigated the campaign aimed at recreational sailors. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) revealed that between 2006-20012, 45 people died in accidents involving recreational boats in the UK where alcohol was a factor. The British Ports Authority, a member of the group, has previously called for new laws imposing alcohol limits for non-professional sailors. Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, sailors can be prosecuted if they are under the influence of alcohol and endanger other vessels, structures or people. Most harbour authorities also have local by-laws, which allow boaters to be prosecuted if they are…

Legendary skipper Willy Ker, who sailed his Contessa 32, Assent all over the world from the high Arctic to the Antarctic has died aged 94. Willy, who joined the Royal Engineers in 1942, learnt to sail after the Second World War. He studied engineering before being posted to Canada to map the west coast. He retired as a major in 1960, settling on a farm in Somerset with wife, Veronica. Willy bought the 1972 Contessa 32, Assent in 1976. Their partnership lasted until 2011. Initially, he raced Assent, competing in the 1977 Fastnet Race and the 1978 double-handed Round Britain and Ireland Race. His son, Alan, skippered Assent in the 1979 Fastnet, the only Class 5 yacht to finish. But, it was for his cruising exploits that Willy was best…

It all started late in August 2009 at the unfinished Preveza Marina where we had berthed a number of times over the years, the cost being 200 cigarettes as payment to the unofficial manager. However, a few days after our arrival, for no apparent reason, we were told to move berth and leave the next day. The 200 cigarettes I offered as payment were refused. Maybe he had received a better offer? Linga Linga was not happy at having to move – she refused to start and caused me to flood the engine, to which I panicked. Fortunately, I was able to get Preveza Marine Boat Yard [now named Ionian Marine] engineer Spiros, to inspect the engine. The diagnosis was loss of compression on one cylinder, which had obviously been…

With a 15m tidal range it is essential you plan your navigation in the Upper Bristol Channel carefully. The channel into Cardiff is well marked by buoys but gives priority to ships entering and leaving the docks. Approaching from the south, look out for the RANIE buoy which marks the rocks and sand spit off Lavernock Point, and South Cardiff S cardinal Buoy which marks the southern edge of the Cardiff Grounds. Once between the two, plot a course for the Outer Wrach W cardinal buoy and then the buoyed minor channel into Cardiff Bay Outer Harbour. On the final approach contact Barrage Control on VHF Ch18 to be advised on the next available lock. For Portishead keep to the south side of the shipping channel well inshore and give…

Monitor wind and sea state forecasts very carefully as conditions can change rapidly. Cape Wrath is exposed to W and N and in strong NW through NE winds dangerous seas can build quickly. DEPARTURE Westwards from Stromness: Leave 30 minutes before the end of the ebb to avoid overfalls in the Sound of Hoy. The entrance to Eilean nan Ron anchorage in Kyle of Tongue is very narrow but straightforward by day. At night Loch Eriboll anchorages are preferable. Rounding Cape Wrath (Fl(4) 30s, 122m, foghorn), keep 3-5 miles offshore. In very settled conditions you can pass close inshore, but beware Duslic Rock (dries 3.4m), 7 cables NE of the lighthouse. The W-going stream off Cape Wrath begins at +0230 Ullapool. ARRIVAL S of Cape Wrath there are many anchorages…

The young men who signed up for war service in September 1939 are centenarians now – and almost all are gone. Many of the older men they served alongside were veterans of the First World War, as was Yachting Monthly, which was founded in 1906. During the 1914-18 war, the magazine had taken on an additional identity serving as the Journal of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. (One can only assume it must have lied about its age.) On its 34th birthday, in May 1940, YM signed up again, changing its name from Yachting Monthly & Motor Cruising to Yachting Monthly & RNVR Journal. Its editor wrote: ‘In the interval since the Armistice, methods of waging war may have changed, ways of dealing with the menace have certainly altered, yet…

£Pending SPECIFICATIONS LENGTH: 2.8m BEAM: 1.5m TOTAL WEIGHT: 57kg DIMENSIONS (FOLDED): 110cm x 68cm x 40cm ASSEMBLY TIME: 23min CONTACT: i.thacker@ntlworld.com First and foremost, the Seal inflatable dinghy we tested was a prototype with some small modifications to come. Specifically she does not yet have the two bags within which she will be supplied as standard. We measured the longest parts of all the equipment to come up with the rough dimensions the bags would be in the final instance. We’re reasonably certain that we have provided an accurate representation of the size the bags will be, but in this instance the measurements in the comparison table should be taken as a guideline. The Seal is most directly comparable to the Dinghy Go models (p90) though with some differences. She…

£3,250 SPECIFICATIONS LENGTH: 3.25m BEAM: 1.5m TOTAL WEIGHT: 51kg BIGGEST BAG DIMENSIONS: 120cm x 41cm x 26cm ASSEMBLY TIME: 21min WEBSITE: www.dinghygo.com Dinghy Go has become something of a market leader in the inflatable sailing tender field. The Nomad was its first boat to come to market, now on its third iteration with tweaks to the design over the years. The Orca is a newer offering from the company and is larger than the Nomad with a more pronounced vee in the hull and a larger sail. They both come with oars that attach to either side tube via a robust plastic attachment and which stow along the side tubes. The Dinghy Go products both felt well thought-out and clearly have benefitted from plenty of time in development to create…

PRICE £150,000-£225,000 YEAR 1998-2002 Quite a few yacht owners favour a centre-cockpit design for blue-water sailing, often stating that being so far from the water proffers a feeling of security in the cockpit and ensures little, if any, spray hits the crew. It also enables the builder to fit in a massive owner’s suite aft. Moody Yachts has always been king of the centre cockpit yachts and its Dixon-designed 46-footer was the start of a new breed of ocean-going yachts ideal for events such as the ARC and ARC World rallies, as well as long-term family cruising. Moodys were almost always built like the proverbial, with thickly laid-up GRP hulls, heavy-duty deck gear and top-quality joinery below. The yacht exudes solidity with its plumb bows, tall topsides, high bulwarks and…