Tabla de contenidos para March 2018 en SAIL

In the curtain call of an Atlantic crossing that had proved frustratingly slow for many of the 186 participants in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), the 37ft classic wooden sloop Trimley Maid crossed the finish line in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, on Christmas morning, over a month after the start from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. The Hillyard 9-Tonner had been delayed more than a week by rigging problems and her doublehanded crew pushed the venerable vessel as hard as they dared. In the meantime, she had been voted Most Beautiful Yacht at the ARC prizegiving, a fine consolation prize. For most of the other boats in the ARC and ARC+ (Las Palmas-Cape Verdes-St Lucia) fleets, arriving had been consolation enough. A lowpressure system camped on the rhumb…

There are few things out there that’ll ruin any game faster than not following the rules. Not only that, but when it comes to a game like sailboat racing, not following the rules can also get people hurt, or even killed. I found myself thinking these thoughts while reviewing video of the port-starboard incident between Wild Oats XI and LDV Comanche shortly after the start of last December’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. In the end, Wild Oats XI was penalized 60 minutes for not adequately giving way, which in turn, caused the team to forfeit both its dramatic come-from-behind line-honors victory over LDV Comanche and a new race record. This, of course, elicited a storm of wailing and gnashing of teeth, including apparently by at least one member of the…

Every boat design strives for something new. But a new kind of racing? In fact, that’s exactly what designer Alan Johnstone and the rest of the folks at J/Boats set out to do with their new J/121 one-design. In the process, they also just happened to create a boat that is both drop-dead gorgeous and sails like a witch—two reasons why it won SAIL magazine’s 2018 Best Boats award in the 30 to 40ft Performance category. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION At the heart of the J/121’s design brief was a desire to create a shorthanded speedster that can be competitively raced with just five sailors—as opposed to the eight to 10 normally required to race a 40-footer—in the interest of making things easier logistically for today’s busy skipper. Also on the…

We were 1,100 miles from the nearest land when we received a text message on our Iridium GO: “Rudder gone. Water in bilge. Worried pumps can’t keep up. Please call!” We had been in contact with the owners of Rosinante, a 38ft Island Packet, since they had first announced over the Pacific Puddle Jump net that they were having problems with their rudder. We were only 60 miles from them, so we let them know our position and gave them our Iridium Go number in case they needed assistance. Two days later, they did. We sailed as quickly as we could to their position, making room onboard in case the crew had to abandon ship. By the time we arrived, though, they had the boat under control and were making…

And don’t forget to sign up for our free eNewsletter, Under Sail, via our website sailmagazine.com A sunrise seen from my slip in Dana Point Harbor where I keep my 1972 Ericson 35, Two Weeks (as in that’s how long the next boat project is going to take). — Erik Vader, Dana Point, CA The wind died aboard Water Musik, a Sabre 36, just as everyone was turning toward the upwind mark and heading for home during the last sail of our summer racing series. — Brad Vomacka, Portsmouth, NH Manhattan skyscrapers reflect the summer sunset as a sailtraining sloop appears in front of the new World Trade Center. — Paul Kisala, Nyack, NY Here is our lovely 47ft ketch Sequana in the far north of New Zealand. Whangaroa Harbor…

This is a story of how mistakes are made and judgment is dulled to the point of catastrophe. It is also about how prudent planning, good equipment and a bit of luck can bring you back from the brink. We departed Norfolk, Virginia, on December 15 bound for Jacksonville, Florida, aboard Averi, our Bristol 41. I was up at 0530, getting prepared, and in making my checks, I missed something—something that would turn out to be critical. After motoring out of the Chesapeake and past Cape Henry, we raised sail as we turned south. That afternoon the wind became southerly, and soon we were again under engine after only four hours of sailing. It was then that my wife, Nicola, began to show flu symptoms—fever and chills that came on…

This new full-size performance cruiser from Hanse replaces the successful Hanse 575, and includes updates and improvements developed with the help of input from active owners. With an extremely malleable interior (encompassing 72 possible variations) and a vast array of color, fabric and trim options, this is one massproduction boat of which it can honestly be said there are no two alike. The boat’s layout flexibility, thoughtful improvements, enhanced finish quality, fine sailing performance and aggressive price point all helped earn it a 2018 SAIL Best Boats award in the Flagship Monohull category. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The hull is a balsa-cored fiberglass sandwich laminate set in polyester resin with its exterior layer set in vinylester for improved osmosis resistance. Areas around the chainplates are reinforced with carbon fiber, and interior…

“After spending so many years sailing the Caribbean, I was frankly astounded at how much more I enjoy the Mediterranean,” says Scott Farquharson of charter brokers Proteus Yacht Charters. “The culture, the history, the food, the weather, friendly people, crystal-clear water— there is just so much more to it.” He’s right, of course. The Caribbean’s the place to go in winter for its sunshine, great sailing breezes and laid-back vibe, but if you truly want a summer sailing holiday that takes you into a whole new world of experiences, the Med will provide that. FIRST THINGS FIRST Before you start planning your charter, and even before you settle on a destination, you need to get your paperwork in order. Most European Union countries will require the skipper to have an…

Cruising from Guadeloupe to Grenada, heading more or less south with the wind east-northeast, basically on the beam the whole way—yup, sign me up for that! That’s how I approached a recent delivery charter of 12 days and 400 miles, including a few loops and harbor hops. With only three of us aboard a 43ft cat with a full-sized fridge, that made ice, what was there not to love? The genesis for the trip was the fact that Dream Yacht Charter in Guadeloupe needed to move a Bali 4.3 to its busier base in Grenada. The one catch: it was the last two weeks of October (hurricane season) and Maria had just stomped over Guadeloupe’s Les Sainte Islands, devastating Dominica, our first stop. Of course, I didn’t know this when…

The classic Olin Stephens-designed yawl Dorade, which first made its mark winning the 1931 Transatlantic Race, passes Tasmania’s “Organ Pipes” during last December’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Ideal reaching conditions offshore made it a dream ride for the bigger boats in particular, with no fewer than five of the maxis beating the previous course record (notwithstanding the usual calms in the Derwent River). Alas, the race was also marked by controversy, thanks to a port-starboard incident shortly after the start between Wild Oats XI and LDV Comanche. See page 22 for details.…

It’s almost become cliché, expressing amazement at the latest feat of offshore sailing achieved by yet another intrepid Frenchman. But how else are sailing fans to react to the latest solo round-the-world record of 42 days 16 hours and 40 minutes set by François Gabart aboard the maxi-tri Macif this past winter? To put Gabart’s accomplishment in perspective, the time to beat was 49 days 3 hours 7 minutes, a mark set by countryman Thomas Coville aboard the maxi-tri Sodebo only a year earlier. Coville, in turn, had beaten the 2004 record set by yet another Frenchman, Francis Joyon, by a little over eight days. Before that, the record as set by British sailor Ellen MacArthur in 2005 was 71 days 14 hours 18 minutes. In other words, not only…

Having had maximum use out of its Cruiser line of Farr-designed hulls, Bavaria Yachts is in the process of renewing its entire range. The first of the new-look Bavarias designed by Mario Cosutti, the C57, debuted at Boot Dusseldorf last year and has now been joined by two new models, the C45 and C50. The two boats share similar styling which, from the renderings, looks very sharp indeed. They also share a number of key features, including a choice of self-tacking jib or overlapping genoa, clean deck layout with all lines led aft through galleries to the helm stations, built-in wet bar and grill in the cockpit, large drop-down transom platform, a dinghy garage under the cockpit and digital switching that allows you to control and monitor most of the…

It was a father’s dream: my recently wed daughter, Lena, and her “mate,” Fred, wanted to crew for me in the Mediterranean. An experienced sailor, back in 2011 Lena survived seven days close-hauled from the Azores to Gibraltar—the toughest passage I’ve ever made. Now the Med, with its warm seas, short distances and exotic ports, presented an undeniable reward. Lena’s ulterior motive was to also try to infect Fred with the sailing bug, thus finessing future choices between Dad and hubby—something she wanted to be sure and do before the inevitable baby arrived to further complicate future passages. In this, Fred was a willing accomplice. An outdoorsman with a penchant for camping, he was born to a German father and a Mexican mother. He thrives on foreign food, languages and…

A If a roller headsail jams and won’t come down, try hoisting lines on a halyard and wrap them around the sail. Or replace the sheets with a short line, lock the drum and motor in circles, letting it flap back around the foil. B If it will unroll completely, go on a beam reach to keep the flogging canvas away from the deck and drop the sail. In high winds, some people copy Francis Chichester and dump it in the sea—then haul it in with the sheet. C The halyard can wrap around the foil and jam it if the halyard angle is too shallow and the top swivel is too low down on the foil. D To increase the halyard angle, some people rig a wire pennant above…