Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Yachting World

I an Walker, double Olympic Silver medallist and winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, has been appointed director of racing at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). Walker takes over from John Derbyshire, who held the position for 16 years, and now heads up racing at British sailing’s national body. Walker, 47, first won a Silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Savannah, crewing in the 470 with John Merricks. After Merricks was killed in a car accident the following year he paired up with Mark Covell in one of the Games’s most striking partnerships, this time helming the Star after Covell’s own helmsman, Glynn Charles, had tragically died in the 1999 Sydney Hobart race. The hugely popular pair won a Silver medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. For the following…

In April the Whitbread maxi Maiden returned home to the Hamble. It was from here she set off on the round the world race in 1989 with skipper Tracy Edwards and an all-female crew. The 58ft maxi went on to win two legs and finish 2nd overall in the race, and the crew made headlines when they sailed back into the Solent in May 1990. Almost 28 years on, the yacht has changed hands several times and ended up abandoned in the Seychelles, where Edwards tracked her down in 2014. The yacht arrived in Southampton by ship and was towed round to Hamble Yacht Services, where she will be refitted in time to take part in the Volvo Ocean Race Legends regatta from Gothenburg to The Hague in June next…

I f Jimmy Spithill had been invited to step into a time machine ten years ago to catch a glimpse of what his future looked like, even his famously cool head would have exploded with what he saw. Flying about the water at 50 knots in catamarans? It would have seemed like pure science-fiction. Ten years ago Spithill had never even sailed a multihull. The young Australian was plying his trade as one of the hottest match racing helmsmen, employed to get the best out of Luna Rossa’s Version 5 keelboat at the 2007 America’s Cup. No Version 5 ever exceeded much more than 10 knots, upwind or down. Now he pilots a craft capable of almost five times that speed. As Spithill sits at the wheel of a foiling spaceship…

A small fleet of boats lies alongside a shed that seems abandoned. Seagulls pick their way past fishing pots and nets. In this part of the outskirts of Lisbon, by the banks of the River Tagus, the only clue that something more is happening inside the building is a sign over the door saying simply: The Boatyard. This is were the Volvo Ocean Race one-design fleet has been undergoing a comprehensive €8 million refit, designed to bring the boats back as close to mint condition as possible. It has been a tight schedule to get the fleet ready for its second round the world race, which starts from Alicante in October. And this race could be even tougher than the last: it will mark a return to the epic Southern Ocean…

T he bitterly cold wind is cutting through my four layers of technical clothing as though they are made of mesh and I can actually feel my lips chapping on a second-by-second basis the moment I lift my chin out from the collar of my jacket. The instruments tell me the water temperature is 4ºC, something I well believe when clutching the steering wheel with numb fingers. I’m aboard the new and comparatively modern Hallberg-Rassy 44, conducting a two-day test during the Swedish winter – but despite the Arctic conditions, looking at my surroundings it is impossible to feel hard done by. We are tanking along under full sail, weaving our way through endless pretty pink islands, achieving 7.5 knots of boat speed to windward. I hand over the helm to…

In 2015 Grand Soleil decided to produce its first cruising yacht in over four decades and introduced the 46LC (Long Cruise), it proved an inspired decision. Featuring a more voluminous shape than previous performance-based Grand Soleil models, its deeper hull sections and higher freeboard provided not only more generous accommodation and tank volume, but also a softer motion. The 46LC proved easy to manage, but when we tested her (December 2015), she retained the enjoyable sailing characteristics for which Grand Soleil is known. Unsurprisingly, the 46LC won the European Yacht of the Year award for best luxury cruiser. The all-Italian collaboration between Cantieri del Pardo, designer Marco Lostuzzi and Nauta Yachts has now been reunited to produce this larger sibling and at first glance, the 52LC looks to be another…

THIS MONTH Foiling mini 6.50 • eFFects oF tide on wind • storm sailing set-up • spinnaker drops PAuL HEINEy on writing a pilot book S ailing slowly down the South Atlantic, heading for Cape Horn, I had with me a constant and unfailing companion: Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle. It reveals Darwin’s meticulous examination of the natural world, which planted seeds in his mind that later flowered into his theory of natural selection. Not a bad result for what must have been a testing five-year cruise. However, figuring out how the birds and the bees came to be was not the main purpose of the first two voyages of HMS Beagle. She was sent to chart and survey waters where little was certain. The Admiralty was seeking detailed knowledge…

PICTURE THIS An exciting ride T he Blue Peter carves into the seas off English Harbour, Antigua as she fetches into perfect 17-knot tradewinds during Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta in April. The 65ft Alfred Mylne-designed cutter, which dates from 1930, was racing in Vintage Class B against yachts such as the 77ft Fife yawl Latifa and Anne Marie, a 57ft Harris-designed gaff yawl. Antigua Classics this year attracted almost 50 yachts and besides some great racing off the island its highlights include a lay day with cream teas (and women wearing extravagant hats) at the Admiral’s Inn, and gig racing – sculling, rowing and sailing. Photo by ELWJ Photography. PICTURE THIS Would you dare? H ow about this for a tight squeeze? This is Wally 78 Carrera threaded into a cove on…

Ipswich-based modern classic builders Spirit Yachts has started construction on its largest project to date, a 34m sloop, Spirit 111. The project will be one of the largest single-masted wooden yachts ever built in the UK and sees the yard’s first partnership with interior superyacht design specialists Rhoades Young. Like all large Spirits, the 111 will be built in wood epoxy composite on stainless steel space frames, and there is a strong focus on it being as eco-friendly as possible. An electric drive system powered by four lithium battery banks that regenerate when under sail will enable the owner to spend long periods of time onboard using minimal fuel. Spirit says that air conditioning, generators and water heaters will be set up to reduce power consumption. “We are delighted to…

A t first glance, the teams’ AC50s may look similar, but out of sight within the hulls and under the water lie significant differences in foil designs and control systems. The margins to be found in these will be key to winning (or losing) the Cup. Nick Holroyd is technical director of SoftBank Team Japan and previously worked as technical director at Emirates Team New Zealand on NZL2 and NZL5, the first foiling AC72 catamarans. He explains: “This is a very, very long way from a one-design environment. It really is a full development class. Having the hulls and cross structure as one-design is a benefit as it lets you focus on the stuff that makes you go fast.” Since foils were first introduced to America’s Cup racing in San Francisco…

A red-footed booby landed on our pulpit and hitched a ride as we approached the Galapagos Islands. As dawn broke, it flew off, and the light revealed a pod of orcas swimming nearby. Cruising in the Pacific is a different world. Nothing really prepares you for the abundance of nature in the Galapagos Islands, even when you are ashore. Here, sealions crowd the sidewalks and benches and you struggle to avoid tripping over iguanas. After crossing the Atlantic in the ARC in 2015 and making a short cruise in the Caribbean, we returned to the UK to go back to work, leaving our Wauquiez Centurion 40s, Taistealai, in Grenada for nine months. We had heard horror stories about mildew and termites reducing the woodwork to dust, but they were no more…

£220 What is it? A lifejacket with integrated harness that will tow you backwards Who is it for? Anyone sailing offshore, at night or short-handed T here has been lots of innovation around lifejackets over the past decade or so, which has significantly improved comfort and ergonomics. And the integral lifejacket harness means it has never been more convenient and comfortable to sail clipped on to the boat. However, none has addressed a critical point: that a person wearing a conventional harness can’t breathe if they are being towed face-first through the water at anything above two knots. With this in mind, solo ocean racer Oscar Mead has spent the past few years developing his BackTow lifejacket and now has a type-approved product for sale. “After the tragic death of Christopher…

ancastayachts.com/OY62 ancastayachts.com/Rita ancastayachts.com/BarongB ancastayachts.com/CrazyHorse ancastayachts.com/Osprey ancastayachts.com/Isobel ancastayachts.com/Leo ancastayachts.com/SkipNBou ancastayachts.com/Sedna Contact: Ancasta Yachts Tel: +44 (0)2380 450 000 Email: enquiries@ancastayachts.com WWW.ancastayachts.com…

A new one-design for the next editions of the Volvo Ocean Race is to be unveiled in May. In a surprise announcement in April, race CEO Mark Turner said that the designer had been chosen following a tender process, but not the design itself. It has left up in the air a widespread debate about whether the race should stick with a monohull or move to a multihull. “The tender process produced some radical proposals and some very different ideas – it was a fascinating process,” said Turner. “Monohull versus multihull is a very difficult question and I have had hundreds of opinions. There are amazing things happening in monohulls and multihulls out there so you could argue it both ways.” Without finally deciding which option to choose, Turner and his…

T he Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its findings into the investigations of two accidental deaths aboard the Clipper Race yacht CV21, IchorCoal, during the 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Race. The 73-page report raises some pertinent safety issues that apply to all sailors, notably on the subject of clipping on with tethers and the use of preventers. In particular it highlights how using splices and knots in modern ropes can reduce their breaking strains. Andrew Ashman, 49, died during the first leg of the race after being knocked unconscious during two uncontrolled gybes 122 miles west of Porto, Portugal on 4 September 2015. Sarah Young, 40, was washed overboard from the same yacht while mid-Pacific Ocean during the long transpacific leg between Qingdao in China to Seattle on…

Photos courtesy of Channel 4 W e staggered up the beach in a remote part of Timor, our weary legs gave way as each of us collapsed onto the pebbly shoreline. Tears of relief ran down our cheeks as we sat motionless for the first time in over 60 days taking in our strange surroundings. I felt oddly numb. Looking back out to sea at the tiny 23ft wooden boat that had been our world since leaving Tonga, I suddenly wanted to be back on board. Cameras, interviews, people, hassle – surely Bligh didn’t have to contend with this. Maybe he did? He certainly did not arrive to a hero’s welcome. His men were half dead and most would die within a few weeks of their arrival. This was to be…

T he 55ft to 60ft sector is a versatile and increasingly popular size for those looking to sail long distance, but for Oyster to announce two new yachts so close in size, simultaneously, is an eye-opening display of confidence. Of course, few builders know this size bracket better. The 575, which we tested in 2011, has proven a very popular size for the British company; together with the previous 56, over 120 have been sold. But that is a seven-year old model now – things at Oyster have moved on very quickly in that time. Indeed its entire range of large models has been redesigned. This stemmed from the extensive R&D work Humphreys Yacht Design and Oyster did on the 885 in 2011. The resultant shape and style spawned a sixth…

I n the dead of night and as the wind gets up, there’s always work to be done on deck. Far out to sea the darkness can be like a blanket enveloping the boat. It’s hard to see the end of your arm, yet you have to make sure that you grab the right lines, open the right clutches and get the boat, sails and equipment set up just right. Put simply, that means you need a good head torch – and the best quickly become a prized possession. It’s not complicated, but it is hard to find. Look for one that’s waterproof, has a powerful red light and that the red light comes on first. To our mind, it should then have as few other features as possible. Just ask…

Aerodynamics on the 49erFX This photo of the Swedish 49erFX crew was taken just before the start of the first of three medal races at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta in Mallorca on 1 April. Moments before, a wave washed the crew, Rebecca Netzler, overboard (she is in the lower left corner of the image). Skipper, Klara Wester, tried to keep the boat under control while Netzler fought to get back on board. Finally, moments before capsizing, Wester had to jump. The race ended up being a demolition derby, with five broken masts and the whole fleet capsized. None of the ten boats were able to finish the third scheduled race. yachtingworld magazine #ywbackfire…