Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i Yachting Monthly

A call for evidence has followed proposals by the UK Government to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) around the coast. Providing the toughest form of marine protection, these HPMAs are part of plans to safeguard 50% of UK and Overseas Territory waters by the end of 2020. In the UK, 85,000 square miles of water have already been given protection through initiatives like Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). Known as the Blue Belt, these areas aim to protect rare or vulnerable species such as the short-snouted seahorse. The feedback gathered by the four-week call for evidence will inform an independent panel, set up to look at the case for introducing increased protection to English inshore and offshore waters and Northern Irish offshore seas. The review doesn’t affect Scotland or Wales…

One of the largest, single-masted wooden yachts ever built in the UK has been launched. The 34-metre Spirit 111 was lowered into the water for the fast time at Spirit Yachts’ headquarters in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is designed to be as eco friendly as possible, with a 100kW Torqeedo electric propulsion system supported by four BMW lithium battery banks. It is also capable of cruising without professional crew. Energy efficient Lewmar hydraulic deck hardware and OneSails GBR (East) 4T Forte sails made from recyclable materials will be fitted to a Hall Spar carbon-fibre mast and in-boom furling to facilitate short-handed sailing.…

I like the independence of anchoring and so anything other than the rattle of our anchor chain is seen as a novelty, almost alien. Anchoring, however, is illegal in North East Harbour, Maine, as it’s both a popular cruising stop and full of lobster boats. Our mooring, thanks to a quick VHF call, is to be ‘Buoy 410’ and so we dive into the narrow harbour entrance. Taken aback by the bustle, a steely focus pervades the cockpit in our determination not to be painted as Johnny Foreigner of dim extraction. The condensed mooring field calls for the discipline of a grid search. A precision north-south search is executed followed by a bemusing east-west search to no avail. A glance at the Pilot Book reconfirms that all visitor moorings are…

While looking at a GRIB file may seem intimidating at first, deciphering one is actually very simple. Knowing how to use wind patterns to your advantage or find a suitable weather window is a different story, but by familiarising yourself with how to read GRIB data, you can better prepare yourself for future passage making and sailing in general. WIND BARBS Wind barbs indicate both the wind speed and wind direction. The barb line represents wind direction by pointing like an arrow in the direction the wind is blowing in. The tails extending from the barb are an indication of wind speed; each half bar represents 5 knots of wind. Therefore, in this GRIB file, the stongest wind is NW at 40 knots and the lightest winds are the variable…

Plymouth is a port steeped in history. This was where the Pilgrims’ Mayflower sailed from in search of the New World and where Sir Francis Drake famously played bowls before heading out and defeating the Spanish Armada. It is a big naval port, and the Royal Navy rules here, but don’t let that put you off. Known as Britain’s Ocean City, Plymouth is awash with marinas and there are many rivers to explore, whilst ashore the old parts of Plymouth still remain ripe for discovery along with shops, restaurants, pubs and other attractions. If you are approaching from offshore then the grey and statuesque Eddystone lighthouse, nine miles south of Rame Head, will be your guide. Once inside Plymouth Sound, the huge stone breakwater is soon in view, with the…

We couldn’t have asked for anything more as we registered 10 knots speed over ground as our 1988 33ft Westerly Storm, Musketeer, sliced through the waves towards Guernsey. Blessed with fine weather and a superb Force 4-5 wind, we beam reached across the sea and finally passed St Martin’s Point and steered a course to Castle Cornet at the extremity of the St Peter Port entrance – once the harbour’s main defence against invaders. This was champagne sailing, and all on board enjoyed it judging by the wide smiles on everyone’s faces. Keith, Colin and John were all experienced sailors, and although my cousin Robert was still a novice, he proved a more than capable crew on this five-day voyage. This was also my first time skippering in the Channel…

PRICE £100,000-£150,000 YEAR 2001-2008 SPECIFICATIONS LOA 13.25m (43ft 5in) LWL 11.40m (36ft 0in) BEAM 3.95m (12ft 11in) DRAUGHT 2.30m (7ft 6in) DISPLACEMENT 8,900kg (19,580 lb) DESIGNER Botin & Carcreek/Roseo BUILDER Cantiere del Pardo, Italy OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION See Facebook The Italian-built Grand Soleil 43 is the archetypal combination of style and performance. She is deep-drafted and comparatively narrow, so upwind performance was definitely top of the list from the moment she was first conceived. However, she’s not lightly built either – incorporating, as she does, an immensely strong galvanised steel floor frame, designed to dissipate the keel and rig loads evenly throughout the hull. The earlier J&J-designed model had a large single wheel, deep cockpit and a nipped-in stern and was dropdead gorgeous thanks to her sleek superstructure, retroussé transom and…

PRICE £125,000-£175,000 YEAR 2001-2010 The Swedish-built Arconas are designed to withstand the toughest sea conditions and have earned an enviable record. At the heart of the 400’s structure lies a substantial galvanised steel floor frame to which the mast, rigging and keel are firmly attached. The hull and decks are foam sandwich and her plywood bulkheads are bonded in. The cast-iron stub keel came in varying lengths, to which was bolted a 2.7 tonne lead ballast bulb. She has a big wheel, but the mainsheet is easily reached from the helm. The primaries are also just a short stretch away and all controls are led aft. There are no cockpit seat lockers in the three-cabin version, but the lazarettes are deep. A gated walkway leads to a short transom step.…

The Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation has been named the Marine Charity of the Year at the sixth annual British Marine Awards. Founded in memory of Olympic and America’s Cup sailor Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, the foundation provides sailing opportunities for thousands of young people. Every September it holds Bart’s Bash, the largest mass participation sailing race in the world. CEO Richard Percy said the charity was ‘delighted that the industry and British Marine have acknowledged our ethos, which is to transform lives through sailing.’ Other award winners included Ancasta, which was named the Best Marine Company to Work for over 20 Employees, while Marine Resources Recruitment Ltd took the Best Marine Company to Work for under 20 Employees Award. Pendennis Shipyard was named the recipient of the Best Training and Development…

TESTED BENETEAU OCEANIS 30.1 Again and again she surprised me with the attention to detail that’s gone into her,’ this was the view of tester, David Harding, who was full of praise for the Oceanis 30.1. The Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 is essentially a starter boat and offers many of the features you would hope for as such; a good all-rounder with plenty of accommodation and fun sailing packed into a small boat This boat has been tailored to the conditions most owners, particularly new owners, will go out in, leaning towards the lighter end of the forecast. Because of that she sails really well in light winds. Of course she should be able to cope with a blow too. Her layout works well and, thanks to the broad bows, if…

It is unusual for a sailor to outlive his vessel, so it will be a poignant moment on the 26th July next year when veteran yachtsman Don Street celebrates his 90th birthday because his trusty yawl, Iolaire, will not be part of any celebrations. The 46ft of her pitch pine planking has been reduced to matchwood on the rocks of the north-east coast of the Mediterranean island of Ibiza following a reported accidental gybe while the 114-year-old classic was running in heavy seas close to shore. Don is not a sentimental man, but he and his second wife, Trich, and their four children, will doubtless raise a glass to ‘absent friends’ on that day because 52 years of partnership cannot go unrecorded. That is how long Don and Iolaire were…

Q We sail a Dufour 34 on the east coast, and this season have had a number of light groundings in the sand and mud. None of these were of a sudden stop in nature, more a slowing, followed by a tack, or course change to take us off the soft seabed. Lifting the boat for winter recently, I noticed a fair amount of scuffing on the anti-foul on the keel that got me to wondering whether these light groundings might have any significant consequences. It is a pretty common event sailing the estuaries of the East Coast and I’m sure this won’t be our last light touch. Do I need to worry about potential long-term damage from these? Nigel Blackburn A Ben Suttcliffe-Davies replies: It's easy to be lulled…

All the time we are getting access to higher and higher resolution GRIB files. So GFS now offers ¼ degree resolution [one weather point every 15 miles] for the global model. A decade ago that sort of accuracy would have cost a lot of money and was not really attainable for the ordinary sailor, but now it is free, or often on a very affordable subscription for the highest resolution. That said, we are always going to have local differences that are simply not picked up by GRIB files at the moment. That often depends on what the local effects are, some are dealt with quite well, others less so. FRONTS If you have a fairly active front, it is pretty safe to assume the front will give you a…

‘My main take away from going overboard was how important it is to debrief and to get the crew to talk about it.’ Dee Caffari MBE is one of the world’s most experienced ocean sailors and skippers, having skippered a Volvo Ocean Race, a Global Challenge, a Vendée Globe, and the Barcelona World Race, as well as being the first woman to complete a westabout circumnavigation in 2006. Nevertheless, in June this year, she found herself hanging over the side of a 50ft yacht, holding on by nothing more than a spinnaker sheet. It was a sobering experience for her and the crew, and illustrates how no-one, however experienced, is immune from getting into difficulty at sea. If you were to do a debrief of your season, what would you…

Sorrento in southern Italy is one of those magical places that should be on everyone’s itinerary at some point in their lives and for many it is a bucket list destination. Despite this being a busy and much sought-after area for yachting, it is possible to find an anchorage off the town if you know where to look. Sorrento lies on the southern peninsula that encloses the Bay of Naples and like much of the Italian coastline, the shore is rugged cliffs. The town of Sorrento lies up above the cliffs but along the coastline here there are areas inshore suitable for anchoring. The main harbour is Marina Piccola, which is enclosed by a long breakwater. It is also the terminal for the fast ferries that shuttle to and from…

Plymouth is a Naval Dockyard port and under the control of the Queen’s Harbour Master (QHM). Navigation within the harbour area is straightforward, with all the channels well marked by buoys and beacons. Contact QHM (VHF Ch 14) on arrival and for movements. Monitor this frequency when in the harbour area. The harbour is protected by a breakwater with east and west entrances. The west entrance is the main shipping channel. Be aware of streams, which can run strongly at The Bridge by Drake’s Island. If approaching from the east, round the Great Mewstone and continue on bearing 290°. On reaching Tinker Q(3)10s bear 325° then leave it a cable to port. Bring Lt bn, LF1.WR.10s on east of breakwater in line with Smeaton’s Tower, 355°. Give breakwater 1 cable…

Win for North Shields’ Royal Quays Royal Quays Marina in North Shields on the River Tyne has been named the 2019 UK Coastal Marina of the Year for marinas accommodating more than 250 berths. The annual awards from the Yacht Harbour Association recognise the best of more than 160 Gold Anchor-accredited marinas around the world, with the winners being voted for by berth holders. The marina manager at Royal Quays, Matt Simms, said he was ‘immensely proud’ to have received the prestigious accolade, having secured the runner-up spot in 2015 and 2018. All the staff work really hard to provide a marina which we can be proud of, with service to match. It’s great not only to have this effort recognised, but also to be able to put the north-east…

WIRELESS VHF AND AIS VESPER CORTEX Most of us have both VHF radios and AIS on our boats. These work well, but the real jewel of DSC (digital selective calling) and its game-changing role in collision avoidance is largely under-used, simply because the interface is too clunky. That’s where the new Vesper Cortex comes in. It is a DSC VHF radio and Class B SOTDMA AIS transceiver with integrated no-loss splitter, putting it on a par with the latest AIS units from other brands. The real difference with this system, however, is that there is no bulky base station. Its black box is wired in to power, NMEA 2000 network and VHF antenna, and houses heading, battery and barometric sensors, as well as 4G mobile capability. The touchscreen handset is…

Figures released by the RNLI reveal Christmas launches in 2018 to yachts were the highest in five years. In 2017, volunteer lifeboat crews were called out 22 times to leisure boats during the festive period between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, compared to 37 times in 2018. The RNLI define leisure boats as any kind of recreational craft including yachts, motor boats, dinghies, canoes and kayaks. Out of 37 shouts in 2018, 11 were to yachts. In 2017, just three launches were to yachts in distress compared to three yachts in 2016 and seven in 2015 and 2014 respectively. This comes as the RNLI continues its consultation with staff to cut 135 jobs due to funding shortfalls. The charity saw a £28.6 million drop in its financial resources in…

It has taken over 140,000 hours to design and build, but Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup foiling monohull has now finally been launched. Named Britannia, the yacht will now undergo trials on the Solent. The 22.76m Britannia will then move to Sardinia for further testing ahead of the first America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) event in Cagliari in April. Sir Ben’s INEOS TEAM UK have estimated Britannia’s top speed to be 50 knots. Weighing 6.45 tonnes, the yacht’s rig and hull are carbon-fibre, and the rig is a double-skinned soft-wingsail. A second Britannia will be launched at the end of 2020, which will be the boat the team race in the 2021 America’s Cup in Auckland. Speaking at the launch, Sir Ben said the quest to win the 36th America’s…

Having a boat means peace and relaxation, even though the weather can mean stress, fear and more repairs at times. It is the getting away from the office, the computer and the everyday hubbub of working life. Sadly the mobile phone still comes to the boat – that umbilical cord to 4G just cannot be cut. But the trip out to a swinging mooring on a Friday evening after work marks the transfer from deadlines and contracts to reading in the cockpit or rafting up with friends. I have always kept my boats on swinging moorings on the East Coast, apart from a season in Holland when we were in a marina. Go into any marina in the UK, however, and you will see hundreds of boats, sail and power,…

The right pilot? People often report no issues if they have an autopilot that is rated for a lighter boat than theirs. This might be the case in most situations, but the drive can stall when you need it most, when it is trying to prevent a gybe in a following sea for example. Keeping the sails well balanced helps keep the pilot’s load down much of the time, but makes little or no difference when it’s a sea that’s pushing the stern round and the pilot is trying to force the rudder back the other way. You might not feel all that load at the helm but you have a large mechanical advantage there compared to the drive: for example, the standard linear drives have a stroke of 300mm…

Dismasting doesn’t happen very often in summer coastal cruising. When it does, proximity to land and other boats usually means that some external help is at hand. But the possibility that you lose the rig and have to deal with the ensuing situation alone is always there. I was sailing Saga, a 30-year-old Beneteau First 36.5, with her owners Thomas and Astrid, from Gotland back to mainland Sweden, a distance of 70 miles. Her mast and standing rigging had been professionally inspected two years previously, her sails and running rigging were mostly new, and everything appeared sound. We put in a first reef with a breeze of 14 knots and the second at 17 knots and were making 6.7 knots close-hauled in a relatively lumpy sea with waves around 1-1.5m…

The propeller fell off in Badachro, off Loch Gairloch, just as my heavy 30-ft ketch Dahlia and I were anchoring. The first indication of its departure was a clunk from the direction of the rudder. The second, more conclusive, was the fact that while the engine was going hard astern, the rocks ahead carried right on approaching. Having sprinted up to the foredeck, let go the anchor, stopped the boat, and reduced my heartbeat to about 120bpm, I started thinking. The first step was to ring the kindly Rob Adam, Badachro’s nautical Mr Fixit, who showed up in a RIB with a TV camera taped to the end of a roofing batten. The screen showed a shaft, but no propeller. The waters of Badachro are the colour of strong tea…

PRICE £130,000-£175,000 YEAR 2004-2010 SPECIFICATIONS LOA 12.19m (40ft 0in) LWL 10.71m (35ft 3in) BEAM 3.80m (12ft 6in) DRAUGHT 2.10m (6ft 10in) DISPLACEMENT 7,450kg (16,425 lb) DESIGNER Niels Jeppesen BUILDER X-Yachts, Denmark OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION www.x-yachtsowners.co.uk The X-40 is a development of the earlier IMX40 – one of X-Yachts’ most successful racing yachts. While their hulls are virtually identical, the X-40 has a triple-spreader aluminium mast instead of the IMX40’s carbon spar, a more cruising-orientated deck layout and a much more luxurious interior Hull and deck are foam sandwich construction to reduce weight and a steel framework in the bilge takes all the keel, mast and rig loads – relieving the hull of much of the physical stresses. The X-40 has a fine racing pedigree and carries more than 1,000 sq ft…

PRICE £140,000-£180,000 YEAR 2003-2008 Often considered the ideal compromise between cruiser and racer, the Finngulf 41 comes from a long line of stunning performance yachts from Finland and is a delight to sail. The hull and deck are hand laminated with a balsa core sandwich and her deep keel is loaded with plenty of lead ballast at the bottom, resulting in a stiff yacht that is well able to stand up to her generous sail area. SPECIFICATIONS LOA 12.50m (41ft 0in) LWL 11.20m (36ft 8in) BEAM 3.86m (12ft 9in) DRAUGHT 2.0/2.15m (6ft 7in/7ft 1in) DISPLACEMENT 8,500kg (18,700 lb) DESIGNER Karl-Johan Strahlmann BUILDER Finngulf Yachts, Finland OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION n/a She also points like a demon but remains easy to handle with a small crew thanks to a pragmatic deck layout and…