Tabla de contenidos para September 2017 en SAIL

In a comeback every bit as epic as the one they were on the losing side of in San Francisco, Emirates Team New Zealand made it look almost easy at the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda: thanks to a combination of superb crew work and the team’s radically innovative, bicycle-powered ACC 50 catamaran. For more on New Zealand’s stunning victory and what the future may hold for the “Auld Mug” now that it’s back in Kiwi hands, turn to page 16.…

If the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco represented a cataclysmic moment for a new form of sailing, the 35th Cup not only took “foiling” to a ridiculously refined level of performance, it created an entirely new archetype of professional sailor: high-performance Olympians like winning Emirates Team New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling, who will likely dominate the elite tier of Cup sailors for a generation or more. The remarkably calm and steady Burling even treated the closing press conference as just one more step in a journey, while recognizing, humbly, that he was only part of a bigger team: all sharing the burden—and now elation—of a victory that laid to rest the bitter 9-8 defeat less than four years earlier at the hands of Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA.…

A key British naval port since the early 18th century, Antigua has long been a favored destination for sailors. When I first visited the island in 2012, I fell in love with the place. Strolling around historic Nelson’s Dockyard, I was captivated by the history and grandeur of the 18th century sail lofts, officers’ quarters and capstan house used to careen and repair the navy’s old wooden ships. At that time, I was on a two-week cruise through the Leeward Islands on a 40ft Jeanneau I had chartered from Sunsail in St. Martin. I had just missed Sailing Week, but the aura of this massive yearly gathering of some of the world’s best sailors and yachts still hung in the air. I was running short on my charter, so I…

For the past seven years my wife, Jody, and I have been cruising aboard Blue Pelican, our Pearson 424 ketch. We spent most of those years sailing the East Coast of the United States and the Caribbean, but in 2015 we transited the Panama Canal and sailed Blue Pelican across the Pacific to Brisbane, Australia. In reviewing our sail plan prior to our Pacific crossing, I recalled having once read about the concept of a nylon mainsail. A lightweight mainsail for light airs—how useful that would be for long stretches of light wind, such as would most likely be encountered at some point while crossing the Pacific. You know how annoying it is when you have just enough wind to fill a sail, but then you get that slapping sound…

Are you out there sailing, cruising and living the sailing life? Share your experiences with other readers. Send your photos to sailmail@sailmagazine.com And don’t forget to sign up for our free eNewsletter, Under Sail, via our website sailmagazine.com I was out for a daysail on Marielle, my Bellona 23, when I took this shot of a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 35 in the Stockholm Archipelago. — Ted Heinz, Stockholm, Sweden It was late afternoon in Chaumont Bay on Lake Ontario, a favorite for American and Canadian sailors alike, when this American Sail 14 caught my eye. – David Siver, Chaumont, NY I had just bought Umpqua, a 1984 Starwind 27, in Mamaroneck on Long Island Sound and needed to relocate her. My wife and I tied up for the night in…

So you wanna be a sailing video star, and sail around the world funded by people living vicariously through your experiences? All things are possible... In the five years we have been making sailing videos—vlogs—we have watched the industry change dramatically. What was once shaky handycam footage with poor audio has evolved into videos that rival Hollywood productions. Sailing vlogs are no longer just something creators do in their free time, but have become sources of income significant enough to fund adventures around the world. Where did this change come from? One word...Patreon. A crowdfunding website designed for artists that regularly release free content, Patreon has completely revolutionized the sailing vlog industry by allowing creators to make money from their productions; Patreon has given the motivation and means for improvement.…

This past summer no fewer than 53 inflatable Tiwal dinghies competed in the fourth-annual Tiwal Cup on France’s Gulf of Morbihan, a regatta that clearly pegged the fun factor at “11.” Amazingly, the event, which has grown five-fold since its inception, once again drew participants from not only all around Europe, but from all over the world, including New Zealand, Hong Kong and the United States. As in past years, the regatta began with an “assembly challenge,” in which Grégory Prelat and Mélanie Vial set a new doublehanded inflation and assembly world record of 6 minutes 28 second (Gilles Bajolet took the solo win with a time of just under 11 minutes). After that came racing on the water for sailors representing a wide range of abilities and ages, including…

LOOKING SHARP I got my first Wichard sailing knife, complete with ultracool glow-in-the-dark handle, more than 30 years ago, and carried it through a couple of decades and a few boats before it vanished, as these things do. The French company’s new Offshore range proves that even as styling and colors have changed, the essentials haven’t; sharp, serrated blades, a secure blade lock, an optional shackle key with bottle opener—well, why not? The soft-touch handles can be had in blue, red and, I’m happy to see, fluorescent lime green. From $49.95. Wichard Inc, wichard-usa.com TRAVEL ON Plenty of good old boats are still going strong but have worn-out deck gear. Mainsheet travelers are especially prone to the ravages of time; tracks get chewed up, cars and sheaves wear out, and…

At its most basic, a “snubber” is a short length of non-stretchy cordage attached to the anchor chain and to a strong point on a yacht, with the aim of taking the load off the windlass or to stop the chain rattling on the bow roller. A windlass is not designed to take snatch loads, nor, typically, is the deck to which it is attached. More commonly, the term describes a long piece of cordage that cushions the boat from snatch loading. Typically, nylon rope is used for a snubber. Nylon stretches about 40 percent at breaking point, but about 10 percent is considered the safe working load limit (WLL). The more cycles above 10 percent of WLL, the shorter the life. Nylon’s elasticity is a function of weight—the thinner…

Winner of the first-ever round-the-world yacht race, the 1968-69 Golden Globe, on his 32ft teak sloop Suhaili, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is one of the greatest living sailors. In the years following that solo epic, Knox-Johnston and fellow legend Sir Peter Blake set a Jules Verne Trophy record for the fastest ever crewed circumnavigation, Knox-Johnston started the successful Clipper Round the World Race for amateur sailors, and he crossed oceans using only long-forgotten navigational techniques. Oh, and he raced an Open 60 alone around the world at the age of 68. Andy Schell caught up with Sir Robin at a recent boat show. You made a name for yourself being the first person to sail around the world, but there was life before that. How did you get started? Were you…

A casual onlooker could be forgiven for wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them this past summer in Newport, Rhode Island as meter boats of all sizes descended on Narragansett Bay for the Metrefest Regatta: an event that featured everything from 2.4mR singlehanders to the storied 12s of America’s Cup fame. Here the 6-Meter Lucie struggles to stay ahead of the 12-Meter Laura’s wind shadow. Good luck with that! For more on the regatta, visit metrefest.com.…

Getting a good night’s rest is important on any cruising boat. Back in the early days, a sailor was lucky to have a canvas hammock strung up in the bow of a ship to sleep in. Thankfully, today’s boaters have things a bit better, but getting a good night’s sleep aboard your boat is still not always easy. Being gently rocked to bed is all very well, but if your mattress is not comfortable, that gentle rocking can turn into a nightmare. Although boatbuilders are slowly making improvements in their bedding, most bunks are nothing more than a slab of foam rubber over a plywood base. This may be OK for an occasional weekend cruise, but for anything more, the old foam slab simply does not cut it. Although we…