Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Yachting Monthly

The Yachting Monthly Cup is a handsome trophy. It is presented annually to the winner of the YM competition for Vane ‘A’ class model yachts. If, even for a moment, you question the appropriateness of such a large trophy for such relatively small yachts, please think again. Firstly, the yachts are not so small. At over 6ft high, they are not toys. A room full of vintage examples – as seen recently at Gosport Museum – is an impressive sight. Watching them race is genuinely exciting. They comprise the International ‘A’ class, the classics among model sailing boats. The true significance of the YM Cup is as an encouragement to good design and innovation. Yachts are designed within the parameters of a formula which includes sail area and load waterline…

SPECIFICATIONS MAKE/MODEL J-Boats J/45 PRICE FROM £450,000 ex VAT DESIGNER Alan Johnstone BUILDER J-Composites, France Moving water is hard work. A big, foaming wake might look impressive, but it’s not fast. Glide through the water with as little disturbance as possible, however, and the chance are it’ll be a quick boat. Sleek and slippery hulls are something that J-Boats does very well. The US-based and (mostly) French-built J-Boats has a phenomenal reputation for racing boats that are amazingly fun to sail, fast and extremely competitive on the race course, both under IRC and in one of their many one-design fleets. Nor are they extreme boats. More than capable of taking a family cruising, they are also easy to sail, to at least 90 per cent of their potential, without breaking…

There is a time and a place for spinnaker flying. In benign conditions mistakes can be easily remedied. Sheltered waters and a Force 3-4 is a good starting point; enough to keep the sail inflated but not so much that you’ll be overpowered. We had a forecast of 7-8 knots for the training day, which was just enough. There are several factors to consider when choosing a location. The main concern is any hazards to leeward. It’s easy to underestimate how fast you’ll travel towards a lee shore with a spinnaker up. You’ll need to think through the true and apparent wind angles and project your likely course onto the chart. In the light winds of our training day I estimated a sailing envelope of 120°-150° true. With a southeasterly…

Stunningly beautiful yet infinitely tricky, with Atlantic weather fronts rolling in, variable winds that veer around outlying islands, tide races, rain showers and bursts of sunshine through racing clouds. These are the ingredients of a unique race series that moves port steadily up the west coast of Scotland – the West Highland Yachting Week. As the regatta changes port almost daily, the races pass many miles of spectacular coastline with islands, mountains, lochs, castles and lighthouses and the chance to glimpse a sea eagle, seal or dolphin. This year West Highland Yachting Week (WHYW) celebrated 75 years and over 100 yachts turned out from around Britain and Ireland for a mixture of passage racing – between Craobh Haven, Oban and Tobermory on the island of Mull – and around the…

Old Gaffers unite to celebrate 60th Jubilee Over 100 classic yachts and working boats with 320 skippers, crews, family and friends arrived on the River Orwell on 2 August for a four-day Jubilee celebration to welcome the return of 15 OGA60 Round Britain Cruise boats and to celebrate 60 years of the Association for Gaff Rig Sailing (OGA). ‘It was fitting that the Round Britain Cruise should end up in the Jubilee Party on the East Coast. After visiting eight Party Ports and many other harbours and anchorages all around the coast, we completed our voyage in the area where the OGA was founded 60 years ago,’ said Mike Beckett, OGA president and participant in the cruise. The Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor Lynne Mortimer, welcomed the 15 returning skippers with…

TEMO 1000 £2,500 Due to be launched at Southampton Boat Show (stand J296), this new French-built unit, producing 1,000W of silent power, is ideal for dinghies and sailing boats up to 8m (26ft). Designed to fit any transom with its fast-fit universal mounting bracket, it’s easy to lift and carry, weighing just 10kg plus its 5kg removable battery. www.marine-products-direct.com EPROPULSION SPIRIT 1.0 £1,875 The first electric outboard with hydrogeneration capability. Waterproof and weighing 20kg this 1kW (3hp) unit fast-charges fully in just over three hours, allowing you to travel around 22 miles at a 4.5mph, or simply troll along for most of a day. Five-year warranty. www.epropulsion.com TORQEEDO TRAVEL 1103 £2,049 Pioneering German electric outboard designed for boats up to 1.5 tonnes. Waterproof (IP67) and ultra-quiet, it weighs as little as 17.3kg, depending…

The process of buying a sailing yacht can sometimes be long-winded and stressful, especially if it’s your first time considering boat ownership. To avoid it being too daunting the first step is to think the whole thing through very carefully and then make a proper plan. First and foremost, decide what type of sailing you will actually do, as it will be an important indicator as to what size and type of boat you should aim to buy. If you’re still learning to sail then it’s advisable not to buy too big a boat as the bigger it is the more problems and costs you will acquire. It’s often better to buy a used boat that you can practise in and make mistakes on, as accidents can be expensive in…

A psychiatrist who has sailed 2,100 miles around Britain in a Laser dinghy, raising over £16,000 for charity, has arrived back on the beach at Gosport, Hampshire, where he started out 19 weeks ago. Dr Andrew Hill-Smith, who calls himself ‘the shrink in the drink’, left Stokes Bay, Gosport, for his solo adventure aboard his 4.2-metre (14ft) dinghy HMS Betty on 16 April. He arrived back on Sunday, 27 August where he was greeted by supporters who cheered him all the way. During the journey, Dr Hill-Smith, originally from Surrey, endured storms and a few capsizes as well as having to repair his boat. He was helped by the RNLI in July after getting into difficulties off the coast of Blackpool where he broke his mast in Force 7 winds.…

The new Global Solo Challenge (GSC) began on 26 August with Welsh skipper Dafydd Hughes crossing the starting line in A Coruña, Spain, aboard his S&S 34, Bendigedig (which means ‘fantastic’ and ‘blessed by fate’ in Welsh). The Global Solo Challenge, organised by seasoned sailor Marco Nannini, combines the thrill of competition with the adventure of a solo, non-stop, round-the-world circumnavigation. Hughes, the first of 19 skippers to depart, set off in 15 knots of wind under a blue sky. He will be at sea for at least 200 days and sails with the support of a meteorological team led by Simon Rowell. The initial strategy aims to follow a very traditional route that takes into account the position of the Doldrums at this time of the year, but, as…

The Rolex Fastnet Race is of course a race – it’s in the title. But lightly scratch the surface and it quickly reveals itself to be much more than a competition, for it is also a test. A test of boat, a test of crew and a test of dogged persistence well beyond the experience of many offshore sailors. To win you have first to finish and finishing in many cases is more important than the result. This year’s 50th anniversary of the Fastnet, with one in four of the entrants falling by the wayside, will go down in history as a tough one. Its appeal was far and wide, drawing in 32 nationalities from 12 to 80 years of age. The fleet, ‘like a box of chocolates’, ranges from…

Check guard rail fastenings The guardrail is the wire or Dyneema line that runs between the pushpit at the stern and the pulpit at the bow. It is a very important safety feature of a yacht, and many people rely on it heavily for support, keeping children on board and securing fenders. However, about one in every 10 boats I’ve safety inspected has a split ring missing from a clevis pin on their guardrail. This means that the pin keeping the wire in place is simply held there by friction. It would only take one instance of leaning heavily on the guardrail and it could give way, making it more dangerous than not having it at all. The answer? Electrical tape. Either just tape the split ring on the clevis…

You won’t have failed to notice the familiar whine of a drone buzzing over an otherwise peaceful anchorage as these machines become an ever more affordable cruising accessory. Annoying as it may be, a drone is an excellent tool for photographers and video makers to add an extra dimension to capturing their boats while under way in open seas, or at anchor in beautiful settings. They can also be extremely helpful for pilotage when away from well-charted areas; even around the UK there are plenty of spots that look dubious on paper, but are waiting to be explored. A view from above lets you nose your way past rugged outcrops, coral reefs or leads in an ice flow. They’ve even been used for rig checks. In recent years, the drone…

Sitting at anchor was a pattern we were becoming accustomed to – waiting out one or more low pressure systems before having an all too brief respite in which to set sail and explore a more remote, less visited but often more exposed location. We had been voyaging along the Outer Hebridean chain of islands from south to north for almost two months now and summer had so far eluded us. While the rest of the nation baked in often unbearable heat, we had seldom experienced temperatures in excess of 14°C and it was already mid-August. On more than one occasion during the preceding weeks, we had positioned ourselves in a suitable location from which to make the westward hop to the famous St Kilda group of islands (110 miles…

They say ‘do something that scares you a little bit every day’, and while we weren’t looking for fear, we did seek new challenges. Late to the sailing life, we learned the ropes on dinghies and completed our Day Skipper courses before buying Kimara, our Beneteau 323. And with it, our perspectives began to shift. Our first ‘passage’ to Yarmouth was abandoned after just three uncomfortable hours. We knew we could do better so the Isles of Scilly became our season’s objective. Definitely no certainty, as plenty of yard conversations with other skippers ensured our expectations remained tempered. After a series of successful shake-down sails to the Solent, we began our first cruise. Having harbour-hopped as far as Cornwall’s Helford river, the weather wouldn’t settle, and after three weeks, we…

EZRAFT TOUGH TRIMARAN DINGHY www.ezraft.com Using high-tensile fabrics developed for kite-surfing, this new Dutch design is claimed to be half the weight of a conventional inflatable dinghy but with greater strength and durability. The patented three-tube profile reduces drag while increasing both flotation and stability, and allowing those on board to sit above the waterline. Easy to lift and carry, it’s very compact when packed at just 75x30x30cm, and weighing no more than 10kg. The material joints are sewn together to make them more robust, and easier to repair, than the glued or welded joints found on traditional inflatables. There’s no need to worry about forgetting or losing the telescopic paddles as they can be stored inside when it’s deflated. Three sizes available: 250cm, 280cm or 310cm. Electric pump included.…

Getting to know a boat you haven’t met before can be a true voyage of discovery. And in the case of Andy Iyer and his family, with their Grand Soleil 34.1, Bella Donna, it has been a most agreeable voyage. Many of us have long known of Grand Soleil’s reputation as ‘the poor man’s Swan’. It’s not a bad reputation to have. Like Swans, Grand Soleils have never been slow, small or basic; always performance-orientated designs from the mid-30ft range upwards, and nicely finished too. The more recent models have been even sportier than their predecessors and perhaps rather more minimalistic below decks, whereas the earlier ones are more in the mould of the cruiserracer as we used to know it. The classic cruiser-racer appeal of the 34.1 is one…

American solo skipper Jay Thompson has set a new west to east Atlantic crossing record in a Mini 6.50, taking 17 days, 9 hours, 57 minutes and 43 seconds. Thompson sailed Speedy Gonzales from Ambrose Light, New York, to Lizard Point off Cornwall, arriving late in August. The skipper was particularly happy as he had to abandon a previous attempt in 2022. Whilst thousands of Mini 6.50s and their skippers have sailed east to west across the Atlantic during the biennial Mini Transat Race, no sailor has ever successfully set a west to east Atlantic crossing record in the 6.5m/21.3ft boat. This is subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. The crossing was not easy. The boat was pounded by a low pressure near the start and…

The Novara One Planet sailing research project has sailed 2,500 miles in its first four months, from Poole to Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, to the Outer Hebrides before heading south to France for the next phase. The project has engaged with eight coastal communities in Scotland (Dunoon, Campbeltown, Lerwick, Hoy, Stornoway, Raasay, Barra, and Islay) on climate adaptation and had more than 100 visitors on board Novara to discuss climate action. The Novara One Planet project aims to connect people to the impacts of climate change through science, education, art and adventure.…

The Southampton International Boat Show runs 15-24 September with 300 exhibitors showing the latest and most innovative marine products. Yachting Monthly is sponsoring the Foredeck Stage this year with a range of fascinating talks. YM will announce the winners of the Brian Black Memorial Award on Friday 15 Sept, followed by a move to the Guinness Bar. Meet the editorial team there at 1700 for a drink and a chat. Some of the speakers at the Foredeck are as follows, please check the times: YM Editor Theo Stocker, Dee Caffari, Duncan Wells, Stokey Woodall, Olympian James Peters, Sam Whaley, Ben Sutcliffe-Davies and John Burbeck from the Cruising Association speaking about orcas, among others. A Women in Marine event is on Thursday 21 Sept, with Captain Sandy at 1045, Swallows &…

‘I NEED SPINNAKER TRAINING THE KITE PUTS ME IN A FLAP’ ‘I have a confession to make,’ said my friend and fellow sailing instructor, Liz Le Mare, ‘I need spinnaker training.’ I was confused, since she’s often racing around the Solent as a regatta skipper. ‘The first mate does the foredeck for me,’ she explained, ‘I’m always at the back of the boat.’ It sounded to me like a bad case of backstay hugging – which afflicts all instructors – and that she needed to show the forestay some love. I agreed to an afternoon of training on her family boat, a Westerly Konsort, Bifröst. Her mother, Juliet, and husband, Richard, volunteered to crew. DIAGNOSIS: Liz is not alone: spinnakers make many seasoned sailors quake in their seaboots. The big,…

Having a breakdown at sea, and especially in the Bristol Channel, would be extremely scary, with very strong tides, navigational hazards and shipping movements, but we were suddenly confronted with a serious, and uncommon problem. Jiggers, our 43ft Bruce Roberts Mauritius, is ketch rigged and built in steel, with two 500-litre steel fuel tanks built into the hull. The fuel has always been clean, clear and there’s never been any sludge or bug in the filters. I’ve added bug treatment for preventative maintenance, according to the instructions. Our diesel engine is a Volvo Penta MD22 60hp and we have never had an issue with it. It has always been regularly serviced and doesn’t miss a beat, starting first time every time. I’m pretty certain the fuel we took on board…

Easter Island (or Rapa Nui) is the most remote inhabited island in the world. Sailing there confirmed it for us. True, we took a detour, sailing north for a few days from Robinson Crusoe Island because a high-pressure system was blocking the direct course. By circumventing this windless area, we hoped to reach the zone where easterly trade winds would blow us westward. Yet for the first few days, light southerly winds barely filled our gennaker. With a daily average of 80 miles our progress was slow, but the calm seas provided comfort on board. Just when we reached the latitude of the trade winds, the wind abandoned us. Frustrated, we lowered the light-wind sail to avoid damaging it. Drifting, we waited for wind. Our patience was tested for several…

www.yachtingmonthly.com/books Peter Nichols’ marriage has foundered and he is sailing their jointly owned yacht across the Atlantic to sell. A small leak worsens dramatically and he realises that the Cascover sheathing has peeled away leaving open seams extending along the length of the hull. Toad is gone. I know this absolutely as I sit here in the cockpit on what is now becoming rather a nice day. The sun is out, the sea is going down. Knowing this, I look at the boat around me, the teak vent boxes I built on the cabin roof. The stainless-steel guardrail stanchions I installed. The winches, the rigging. The new compass Martin and I hooked up. The slight imperfection beneath the paint on the cabin side that I know is my plug of…

The fuel system on a yacht comprises everything from the boat’s fuel tank to the engine’s fuel injector or injectors. There are two distinct parts of the fuel system: that installed by the boatbuilder and that attached to the engine. The tank, primary filter and all the pipework to and from the engine are designed and installed by the boatbuilder. From the lift pump onwards, it’s a complete unit from the engine manufacturer. On older boats, you may find modifications to this part of the system, so investigate yours thoroughly to see if you need to bring it up to scratch. One of the biggest problems is leaking pipes, usually caused by vibration. Generally, however, apart from routine servicing and wear and tear, there should be little trouble from the…

FINNGULF 33 Sporty cruisers in the same size range and from the same era as the Grand Soleil 34.1 include the Elan 333, Dufour 34, Dehler 33 and Beneteau First 34.7. Of those that also stand comparison in terms of build quality and interior finish, the slightly-larger Maxi 1050 is one example, together with the X-332 and Finngulf 33. The Finngulf 33 was one of the second-generation Finngulfs, designed by Karl-Johan Stråhlmann. This range started in 1999 with the Finngulf 28 and was followed by the 41, 33, 46 and 37. All are fast, well mannered, carefully built and very nicely finished, with lead keels, hand-crafted interiors and attention to detail that sets them well apart from mainstream production cruisers. They’re also likely to last well when it comes to…