Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Yachting Monthly

Award-winning global charity The Magenta Project, created to foster equity and inclusion for women at the higher levels of competitive sailing, has appointed several high-profile board members with a wealth of experience from sailing and business. Soco Núñez de Cela (ESP) and Holly Cova (GBR) have been appointed co-chairs of the board, while Bruno Dubois (FRA), Cole Brauer (USA), Rosalin Kuiper (NED), Annie Lush (GBR), Ayme Sinclair (NGR/USA) and Jane Millman (USA) join as board members. Soco Núñez de Cela, a seasoned marketing executive with a background in international brands, leads as The Magenta Project’s new chair of the board. Joining Soco as co-chair is Holly Cova, team director of Team Malizia, one of the world’s leading offshore racing teams. Holly brings her extensive expertise in managing high-performance sailing teams…

Zara Lachlan has made history as the first female (and youngest person) to row solo, unsupported and non-stop from Portugal to French Guiana in 97 days, 9 hours and 20 minutes, arriving on 1 February. She is only the second person in history to complete the 3,600-mile voyage from mainland Europe to mainland South America, and did so despite injuries, encounters with orcas and sharks, vicious weather that rolled her boat, a broken oar, and a near collision with a large vessel. Zara is fundraising for Team Forces and Women in Sport. She said: ‘It seems like an extreme way to inspire other women to get into fitness, but I want people to realise their potential and if I can do something that I find scary then other women can…

Maxus sailing yachts have been around for less that 20 years, but the Northman yard draws on impressive technical expertise in fibreglass boatbuilding in Poland – many larger yards get their hulls moulded there and then fit them out in their own factories. The 31 was one of the most interesting yachts at the show for me as, like the Beneteau First 30, it gets under the £100k mark for the base price with a finished and taxed boat likely to be possible for £150k. It is also a proper little cruising boat, and while it may feel a little more cramped than other new boats out there, very few yards are building a boat this comprehensively fitted out in the size. Beneteau’s Oceanis 30.1 would be a rare comparison.…

X-Yachts claims the Xc 47 is the best cruising boat it has ever built. The cruising boats (compared to X-Yachts’ Performance, Pure and Racing ranges) are defined by deeper, more rounded hulls for better load carrying and a more forgiving motion, while the subtle hull chines and wider stern of the Xc47 increase her ability to stand up to her canvas when heeled. This is the first semi-deck saloon that X-Yachts has built and it has pooled its creative resources for a stunning boat. Innovations include jib car tracks that are hidden under hinged panels to give access for running lines – lines which are then led aft through straight tunnels. Those tunnels cross the deck saloon windows, making them stronger and reducing friction. In the cockpit, the helm pedestals…

Gabriel Heyman used his vast design and sailing experience to create a boat that defies both neat classification and current mainstream thinking. The PPH in its name stands for pocket pilothouse, given that this is smaller than most other new pilothouse yachts out there. This is a boat unlike any other 42-footer you will step aboard. Starting with the hull shape, she has been drawn with the twin purpose of achieving a shallow draught, along with a comfortable motion at sea without compromising a respectable boat speed. To do this, the bow is much finer and deeper than most high-volume cruising boats, with the volume required to support her displacement added further aft. The keel is located for optimum handling, then continued well aft in a long-cord fin to support…

Gasping for air I read the diesel bug article in the December issue, which was very well written. There is another reason why diesel engines stop: insufficient airflow to the engine. I have experienced this myself when motor-sailing back from Amsterdam in my Albin Vega in 1985. Sailing there was no problem with prevailing winds but coming back was a different story; constant headwinds and a fairly tight schedule meant that the engine was used for long periods. However, after about 40 minutes the Volvo diesel engine would stop, no reason could be found, it just kept stopping, but could be restarted after a few minutes. During a stopover in Dunkirk, checking everything, it became clear that I had sealed the cockpit lockers with rubber foam tape to stop water…

Disney princesses may not be the first thing that come to mind when sailing in mid December, but as we stepped aboard, the boat’s stereo was belting out Elsa from Frozen singing ‘Let it go, let it go, the cold never bothered me anyway’ in an oddly appropriate moment of radio serendipity. A fine drizzle, threatening to morph into snow, fell from a leaden sky and we wondered about the wisdom of our decision to go ahead with the test of Beneteau’s new First 44. The forecast of wind, however, and the absence of both 50-knot storms and rain seemed like as good a prospect as any for this time of year. I had admired the lines of the First 44 earlier in the season when testing the Oceanis 37.1,…

Swellies quandary: go at low or high water? Q Nick and Judy own a 9m bilge keel yacht with a draught of 1.2m. They are on a voyage up the west coast of Britain and are now in the Menai Strait. Having spent the night on a mooring buoy, their intention is to pass through a narrow section of the Strait called the Swellies, continuing to the harbour at Amlwch on the north coast of Anglesey. It is their first trip to the Strait. The tidal stream in the Swellies can run at eight knots during spring tides. There is a transit and other navigation marks to help the navigator to keep in the channel, but there are numerous rocks on either side. The Almanac says that it is best…

1 LINE HANDLING Take extra care to keep your hands safe when handling lines, including when winching, to avoid trapping your fingers. Ensure you secure lines firmly, whether in a jammer or self-tailer. 2 USING WINCHES When using a winch handle, get your bodyweight over the winch. A fist-over-fist method pulls the line in by hand while keeping fingers safe. When you’ve sheeted in as much as you can by hand, put four turns around the winch and secure it in the self-tailer. Ensure the winch handle is in its pocket when not in use. 3 SAIL HANDLING When handling the jib, ensure all team members are ready before pulling on or releasing winches and releasing and securing the furling line. Remembering that ‘a flappy sail isn’t a happy sail’…

Six of the world’s most accomplished women sailors recently raced solo around the world on giant, 60ft foiling IMOCA monohulls in the Vendée Globe, hitting speeds of up to 40 knots, shattering records and stamping their mark on the sport. Justine Mettraux was the first woman to cross the line, finishing eighth out of 40 competitors, closely followed by Clarisse Crémer (11th) and Samantha Davies (13th). Mettraux is now the fastest ever female solo monohull sailor around the world and her record 76-day circumnavigation beat the previous record by 12 days. The world of offshore sailing has traditionally been a male-dominated arena, but with only six women in a field of 40, we must ask, are the barriers to women’s participation in elite sailing still too high? How can we…

www.yachtingmonthly.com/books Lukasi drives the snowmobile cautiously over Wakeham Bay, but the wind chill – minus 5°F – numbs my face and extremities. I’m almost completely covered in layers of wool, fleece, goosedown, and heavily insulated boots and gloves. Only a small wedge of skin around my goggles is exposed, which burns in the cold. We skirt the edge of the bay, slowing several times as Lukasi studies the piled-up ice and snow marking the intertidal zone. On this side of the bay, the intertidal zone is a wide, gradually sloping transition between land and sea. In summer, low tides expose miles of seaweed-covered boulders which provide excellent shellfish gathering. In winter thick layers of ice accumulate, anchored to the shore. Twice a day the incoming tide forces the ice to…

Leading marine trade associations the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), European Boating Industry (EBI) and National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) are joining together to develop a global recreational marine lifecycle assessment (LCA) framework. This partnership establishes the first-ever global collaboration to assess, measure and report the industry’s environmental performance of recreational boats. EBI and NMMA recognise that ensuring the long-term resilience of the recreational marine industry requires forward-thinking sustainability strategies that balance business growth with responsible practices globally. ‘Developing a standardised LCA, a continuation of the industry’s Propelling Our Future initiative, is an important step in advancing this work, ensuring there is a consistent path for measurement and self-regulation across our industry,’ said Darren Vaux, President of ICOMIA. ICOMIA, EBI and NMMA will complete an extensive review of…

The Barba project is inviting competent sailors to join the next marine conservation expedition in northern Norway in early March to study whales in the Arctic Circle. The community of ocean conservationists and explorers is led by marine biologist and former navy diver Andreas B. Heide, twice nominated for the prestigious Shackleton award, with a mission to generate results that advance the protection of Arctic waters through storytelling and scientific exploration. The team will sail from Stavanger on 37-foot yacht Barba. Expedition leader Heide says one of the project’s main aims is to highlight the issue of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which accumulate in the food chain, and are predominately found in mammals at the top of the food chain, such as whales. Over the 2025 winter, the Barba project…

Dragonfly trimarans have long stood out as almost the sole proponents of medium-sized cruising trimarans that can fold to fit into a normal marina berth. Multihull alternatives are either huge fixed trimarans such as Neel, or one of the many large cruising catamarans, while the nearest folding tris tend to be small trailer-sailors such as Tricat or Astus. For monohull sailors, the feeling of sailing is far more satisfying on this style of boat than most other multihulls, with the downside that accommodation space tended to be limited. The new 36 fills a gap for Dragonfly between its flagship 40 and the smaller 32 (with smaller 28 and 25 models also in the current range), and stepping aboard, the space they’ve found is impressive – not that far off a…

Saffier Yachts in the Netherlands builds some of the most refined, fast and achingly modern luxury day-sailers on the market from 24ft to 37ft (plus a couple of more traditional little hulls), all of which have beautifully fitted-out but minimal accommodation on board. So for the yard to build a 46ft cruising boat is something of a departure. The founding brothers, Dennis and Dean Hennevanger, grew up blue-water cruising, however, so they know a thing or two about what makes a good cruising boat. The SL46 is in many ways a scaled-up version of the smaller Saffier boats, identified by her low freeboard, twin wheels pushed well forwards, and vast expanse of aft deck for sunbathing and socialising. Displacement has been kept light and performance, along with the ability to…

Ever wondered where your old drinks cans and tin foil go? This is it – the impressive new 54ft go-anywhere aluminium beast that is the Bestevaer 54 from KM Yachtbuilders in the Netherlands. Apparently over 60% of the aluminium used is recycled. What is brand new, however, is that this is a custom-built expedition yacht called MicMac, designed for German owners, with the aim of heading to some of the world’s furthest flung corners, and to do so in comfort and safety. We don’t normally cover bespoke projects, but if you wanted (and could afford one), I’m sure KM would be happy to oblige, as aluminium yachts aren’t built in a mould, so every one is more or less a one-off anyway. That said, this boat is based on its…

Thirty years ago this spring I had my first novel published, Casting Off – apprentice-work, a bit chick-lit at times, but at least it was nautical. Inspired by watching couples bickering on marinas after stressful weekends, I had my heroine simply untie the boat and storm off out to sea, leaving her poor husband to decide whether to report a stolen boat or a missing person. Or both. The publisher, reading a couple of chapters, said, ‘Ah, a BOH book!’ and explained that this was a fashionable genre, the ‘boringold-husband’ novel. I was shocked, since in the end my couple happily got back together. My reason for the plot was quite different. It was bred of fascination with the fact that over 20 years cruising, before marinas were everywhere, I…

…FROM OUR FAMILY CRUISING CORRESPONDENT The engine coughed, then spluttered, then died, and I had a brief moment to reflect on chaos theory, which notes that ‘the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state’. In fact, no I didn’t. I was too busy trying to get the sails back up, figure out which buoy we were going to attempt to stem, and how we were going to avoid the rapidly narrowing (and exhilaratingly rocky) banks of the River Dart as they closed in on us on either side. Fortunately I had a phenomenal crew – much more hairy bummed than me – who basically took charge,…

Team prepares for Orkney 2025 Games For the first time, Orkney will field a full sailing team of four athletes in the 2025 International Island Games, a significant milestone for the Orkney islands, which are hosting the Island Games for the first time. The 20th edition of the International Island Games, in its 40th year, is on 12-18 July bringing together athletes from 24 island groups to compete in 12 sports, including sailing. The International Island Games Association has 24 members: Orkney, Shetland, Saint Helena, Faroe Islands, Ynys Mon, Menorca, Saaremaa, Hitra, Aland, Alderney, Bermuda, Gozo, Greenland, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Froya, Gibraltar, Sark, Gotland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Isle of Wight, Western Isles and Guernsey. John Orr, a member of the Orkney 2025 Sailing Organising Committee said: ‘Hosting the…

‘MY BOAT WAS NEAPED IN MUD – SO I SHIFTED MY TROT MOORING INTO DEEPER WATER’ DIAGNOSIS: Typical of a purchase driven by the heart, the reality of buying a long keel cruiser struck home immediately when I tried to keep Swedish Lass on the drying mooring I had at the time in Alresford Creek, off the River Colne in Essex. The mud wasn’t deep enough to take her, so she spent a great deal of her time lying on her side. Trying to justify the mud marks across her topsides as anything other than an occasional touch on the putty became a lost cause. I eventually found a more suitable spot for her at Wivenhoe, which had enough mud for her to at least sit upright. However, the strong…

To utilise radar properly it’s imperative that you learn how to interpret the information displayed. Many objects produce such a poor echo they don’t show up on the screen. Fixed and floating markers and buoys usually show up quite well but shadows and indistinguishable echoes can be a problem. Remember as well that the coastline and configurations of islands may appear totally different compared to the chart. Blind spots due to mast and superstructure can also pose a problem. False echoes can often occur in conjunction with blind spots, while interference from other radars can disturb the display as well. Therefore, take every opportunity to practise interpreting what you see on your radar display. You should do this in daylight and clear weather by comparing what you see on the…

Montenegro has reintroduced duty-free fuel for foreign private and commercial yachts in 2025, a move that reaffirms its position as one of the premier yachting destinations in the Mediterranean. Tony Browne, marina director at Porto Montenegro, commented: ‘The reintroduction of tax-free fuel in Montenegro is a game-changer for yacht owners and operators. ‘Not only does it offer considerable cost savings, it positions Montenegro as the ultimate refuelling hub in the Adriatic. Montenegro is proud to be at the forefront, ready to welcome yachts of all sizes and provide a world-class service to our clientele.’…

The RYA has launched ‘Reflections on Water’, a dynamic new campaign highlighting the influences and people shaping the world of water in the UK, while encouraging collective action to create a more inclusive, accessible future. Sara Sutcliffe, RYA CEO says: ‘The Reflections on Water campaign is a powerful opportunity for us to shine a light on the people and communities who make our waters so vibrant while addressing the barriers that prevent others from joining in. ‘By celebrating progress, sharing stories, and listening to diverse voices, we can create a more inclusive, accessible, and thriving future for boating and watersports. Together, we can ensure that the water truly reflects the nation.’ Reflections on Water builds on the Together on Water initiative in 2023 and will be a year-long campaign filled…

Not before time, the industry finally seems to be waking up to the need to build new boats that are not massive and that don’t cost the earth. Sure, the €100,000 base price is still a fair bit of cash to find down the back of the sofa, but it is a significant mark that they’ve managed to get a boat down to that price, especially if she’s genuinely competent. Now, Beneteau claims to have invented a new category of boat: the ‘planing cruiser’. That might be a bit of hyperbole, because small, cruise-capable boats such as Pogos, Djangos and other mini-Transat derived boats have been doing that for years. Doing so in a package that is easy and uncomplicated to sail, even at speed, and to do it for…

One of the stand-out best sailing boats I’ve tested recently is the J/45. She may not have been the largest, the most spacious, or even the most luxurious boat of her length, but the feel on the helm as she effortlessly powered along at full speed is hard to match. She also came with a punchy three-quarters of a million pound price tag. J/Boats have gone back to the amazingly reliable drawing board of Alan Johnstone to work the same magic, but this time five feet shorter and over £300,000 cheaper. Replacing the hugely popular J/112, of which over 200 were built, is no small task, and J/Boats, which prides itself on timeless designs, only wanted to build a successor if she was going to be both a more comfortable…

A 22ft trimaran is never going to be palatial, and you’ll have to not mind about the Porta Potti only being usable in the middle of the saloon/cabin/galley. With just one space for everything, this is definitely closer to dinghy cruising or camping than a luxury floating apartment. Otherwise the fit-out is very simple but nicely done, with small areas for sink and hob, and a few stowage pockets. The cruising spec will add on more creature comforts, while the basic version gives you the bare minimum to get you sailing. But if it’s the best boat speed for your buck you’re after, then a lightweight cruising trimaran has got to be at the top of your list. €63,000 all-in will easily get you 15 knots, and maybe almost up…

It’s not often that a boat completely rethinks a well-worn format and comes up with something new. The Wauquiez 55 is a centre-cockpit bluewater cruiser with the helm under the protection of a large biminicum-dog-house – nothing new about that, although it does offer a remarkably safe and protected place from which to sail and keep watch, closely connected to the comfortable and sociable cockpit space. The hull shape, however, with its marked tumblehome is designed to reduce excessively open deck spaces, making going forwards safer at sea, and the reverse sheer means that cockpit is well above the water, while sunbathing pads and access to the water become progressively lower aft. Most remarkable, however, is how the concept of the owner’s cabin has been rethought, so that the steps…

There’s nothing like planning, and of course, it had all been planned a year in advance. Application forms filled in, a berth allocated, pilot book purchased. Documents of competence, proof of insurance and passport numbers all posted to the harbour authorities in Brittany. The Brest Festival… how we were all looking forward to it. Then came the armchair passage rationale: if the wind was offshore, we’d sail along the coast to Falmouth, where good friends waited. From there, we’d sail south to the west side of Ushant. If the breeze was anywhere from the east, we’d go straight there. Even if it was south-west, which was likely, we could fetch across from the Needles to the Channel Islands and make our way port-hopping along the Breton coast… it was going…

Q Thank you for the recent tip on not making assumptions based on AIS. I would like to suggest an expanded article concerning AIS and what mistakes or assumptions might be made. One of the biggest oversights of AIS Class B transceivers is the inability to switch your status between under engine and under sail. This propulsion mode fundamentally changes the Colregs priorities of vessels. In poor visibility, it is vital to both receive and send correct vessel status unless you ignore any AIS information and keep clear of everything. In these conditions many yachts may be motor-sailing or just motoring but still transmitting their ‘sailing’ status – they should be under motoring regulations. It is probably more important for a pleasure vessel to be able to easily switch between…

I had pictured a champagne-sipping lifestyle, people lounging in boat shoes When I signed up to improve my sailing knowledge via an RYA Competent Crew course, I didn’t realise it would involve gasping at fins breaking through the water. As I stood on a Dufour 382 yacht watching the sun on dolphins’ bobbing backs, the commission to write an article about the experience was far from my mind. Leaning over the guardrails, I watched two dolphins disappear under the keel. I wasn’t just there for dolphin watching, however; I wanted to learn to sail and perform well as a yachting crew member. It was a sunny Tuesday in May on Devon’s south coast. We had motored out of Brixham harbour towards Dartmouth on board Orion, owned by Torbay Sea School,…

PLUS DIGITAL ACCESS TO 130+ ISSUES CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE PRINT + DIGITAL MAGAZINE ONLY £16.21 every six months by direct debit Digital access to 130+ issues when you subscribe to print + digital** SAVE ON NEWSAGENT’S PRICE FREE DELIVERY to your door SUBSCRIBE TODAY www.magazinesdirect.com/XYM/DJ23S or call 0330 3331113 AND QUOTE CODE DJ23S DIGITAL MAGAZINE ONLY** ONLY £16.21 Every six months by direct debit SAVE ON THE NEWSAGENT’S COVER PRICE INSTANT ACCESS anytime, anywhere TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Offer closes 20 October 2025. Direct debit offer open to new subscribers only. Offer is available to UK subscribers only. The subscription rate of £16.21 (print magazine) and £16.21 (digital magazine) is payable by six-monthly payments via UK direct debit. This price is guaranteed for the first six months and we will notify you…

NAUTITALK BOSUN SAILING HEADSETS www.sena.com Designed to make sure your crew are always on the same wavelength, these light and compact intercom headsets were originally developed for, and distributed to, all crew taking part in the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race to guarantee clear and reliable exchanges – between helm, bow, and nav station, as well as during rig checks while in port – as they sailed through some of the world’s most demanding seas. With the simple touch of a button, multiple Nautitalk headsets can be linked for immediate open comms, allowing hands-free communication with other Nautitalk users up to half a mile away. The system can support nine channels, with users able to switch between different groups on different frequencies. The headsets are equipped with Bluetooth…

DELPHIA 29 Although in reality only a few inches longer than the Parker 275, the Delphia 29 has the feel of a much bigger boat. For a start, the high topsides and the high cockpit floor means there’s room below decks for a double cabin aft on the port side, and a fully enclosed heads on the starboard side, both moulded around the cockpit floor. By contrast, the Parker 275 has a slightly inaccessible double berth to starboard and a large locker, accessible from the outside, to port. The interior fit-out of the Delphia 29 is a lot more elaborate too, with a solidly built wooden chart table and companionway steps, a well-designed galley and generally a lot of wood on show. Below decks, the boat has a generally more…