Tabla de contenidos para December 2023 en Yachting Monthly

The Women’s Sports Group (WSG) is joining forces with global racing league SailGP to supercharge its game-changing Women’s Pathway programme, designed to drive gender equity within the sport of sailing. Together, SailGP and WSG want to capitalise on a surge in engagement and investment to support SailGP’s ambition of creating a gender equitable league where the best athletes can compete together on a hydrofoiling F50 catamaran. SailGP is an international sailing competition that features high-performance F50 foiling catamarans, where teams compete across a season of multiple grands prix around the world. While fast foiling boats are now at the centre of all high-performance racing, the majority of racing has been predominantly male-driven, resulting in an extensive experience gap. Dame Heather Rabbatts, WSG co-founder said: ‘SailGP is a championship that places…

Hearing a tale from the Rolex Fastnet Race had me contemplating the unglamorous safety strop. Many of these reflections came from bashing our way into the Southern Ocean with hanked on headsails in the British Steel Challenge. I like to have a strop long enough that you can stand up with a little slack. The clip must feel robust and be easily unclipped with a heavily gloved hand. The webbing strop should be florescent and of course come with a test certificate. When not in use it should have both clips fixed to the lifejacket (when choosing a lifejacket make sure this is possible) with the strop draped around the neck. This stops it snagging as it often does when left hanging. Some people like to have a double clip…

How do you negotiate a fleet of dinghies? Q Alan is returning to his mooring up a tidal river after a day sail in his 9m yacht Starburst. He has one crew member, Jack, who has sailed with him for years Alan is an experienced sailor, first racing dinghies before buying Starburst about 10 years ago. Starburst is in the channel with the wind, about 13 knots, directly aft and the main out on starboard tack. The jib is goose-winged, held out by the pole. The height of tide is 4m and has started ebbing. Starburst draws 1.5m. The channel is marked with lateral buoys which are laid in a charted depth of 2m. Outside these the depth gradually decreases to drying heights about a cable outside the channel. The…

Brittany offers rewarding cruising grounds with many islands, estuaries and safe harbours. This coast is where the French passion for sailing was born, raised and honed. The Imray and RCC pilotage foundation publication (updated in 2021) Atlantic France by Nick Chavasse is a must for this coast, along with Imray’s charts C10, and C36-41. We also used Navionics downloaded to three separate devices. Some calculations are required for the Chanal du Four and Raz de Sein. Sarrion Transport, based in La Rochelle, took Equinox across France and organised everything from road closures to escorts and spoke English. www.sarrion-transport.fr/transport-exceptionnel. 0033 5 46434444. Be prepared for some intense boat handling, fendering and docking by the two ribs in Le Palais, Belle Ile. If sheltering from south westerlies, face into them. Eating out…

SAIL IONIAN is a family-run business offering yachts and catamarans from 32ft to 57ft for bareboat, skippered or flotilla charter. The group offers assistance and informal training for charter clients as well as formal RYA training. Sail Ionian is dedicated to turning green with solar panels, electric outboards, lithium batteries and more. CLIMATE June is an idyllic time in the Ionian with long days and sunset around 2100. The air is a balmy 28°C and the sea warm. There is little or no wind in the morning but fills in from the northwest during the afternoon, Force 3 to 5. The islands are quieter in this period as many of the schools are not yet on holiday. That said, if you want a spot alongside a restaurant it is worth…

Canal & River Trust awards volunteers The Canal & River Trust has announced the appointments of Sir James Bevan, former chief executive of the Environment Agency, and Chris Fellingham, former head of Manulife Asset Management, as new Trustees for an initial three-year term. The unpaid appointments come as the Trust works to keep canals in England and Wales open and continuing to offer their many public benefits in the face of government funding cuts, challenging weather events and a nature crisis. The Trust, together with the Marsh Charitable Trust, also announced its annual volunteer awards to teams and individuals who look after the 2,000-mile network of waterways, highlighting the tremendous importance of the volunteers in keeping the 250-year-old waterways open. ‘We could not maintain our waterways without the passion, commitment,…

The potential of hydrogeneration has been well understood for decades, but it’s only over the past 15 years that the idea has started to become properly commercialised. In essence, it’s a very simple concept: the boat’s motion through the water turns an alternator which generates electricity to recharge the onboard batteries. ‘Every yachtsman owns a sophisticated wind energy machine in the form of the yacht itself,’ explains Peter Andersen of Eclectic Energy, which manufactures the Sail-Gen and Duogen hydrogeneration systems. ‘Hydrogeneration provides a simple way of converting a small part of the power harnessed by the yacht’s sails directly into electricity.’ Because water is a much denser medium than air, a small hydrogenerator fitted to the transom of a yacht can potentially produce a great deal more energy than if…

If you want to tell us why you love your boat, get in touch by email yachtingmonthly@futurenet.com or by post Future PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6JR Owning a boat that can float in knee-deep water opens up all sorts of possibilities. Whether that matters to you depends on the sort of sailing you do, but for some people it’s fundamental. In fact, shallow draught is so fundamental to so many that some boatbuilders, such as Parker, Southerly, Alubat (with the Ovni range) and Allures built (or have built) their names and reputations on the ability of their boats to go where few others can. In the case of Southerly, for a long time their ‘wedge-of-cheese’ keels and shallow single rudders meant compromises in performance, so they mostly found…

British sailor Mark Ashley-Miller has completed his epic five-year, 9,000-mile Harbour Master Sailing Challenge around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, raising more than £25,000 for The Seafarers’ Charity. He sailed his 34ft Nauticat, Good Dog, around the UK and Ireland (including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) visiting 310 harbours and meeting 256 Harbour Masters. In late September, Ashley-Miller sailed up the River Boyne into Drogheda, County Louth, on the east coast of Ireland where he was greeted by the port’s Harbour Master, Captain Laurence Kirwan, concluding his extraordinary challenge that began in 2019 in Dartmouth. ‘The thing that will stay with me is just how incredibly welcoming and supportive of my mission the Harbour Masters I’ve met have been,’ said Mark Ashley-Miller. ‘In Newlyn, Capt. Rob…

A new project has been launched to detect and identify undiscovered Allied shipwrecks lost during the Dunkirk evacuation of Allied soldiers during the Second World War. The research mission is being launched by DRASSM – France’s Department of Underwater Archaeological Research – in partnership with Historic England. Operation Dynamo was a key event in the early stages of the war. It involved the evacuation across the Channel of 338,226 soldiers. From 26 May to 4 June 1940, military, transport, fishing and pleasure craft, were used as part of the operation. Over a 1,000 ships were involved in the nine days of the evacuation. More than 305 vessels were lost. Research in 2021-2023 by Claire Destanque of Aix-Marseille University has revealed new details about the location of the 37 wrecks that…

Like something from Back to the Future, this is a boat that is designed to turn heads and divide opinion. You may love it or you may hate it, and that’s just fine by Andreas Schöchl, the third generation at the helm of this family boat-building business nestled on the shores of Matsee in the Austrian Alps. While the company has been known for building high-end blue-water cruisers up to 53ft, when Andreas took over the reins in 2019, he took the boat back to what he saw as the yard’s core expertise of small and medium-sized dayboats, weekenders and cruisers – ideally suited to the Alpine lakes, the Med, and now, potentially, to UK coastal waters. He also wanted to stop making what he saw as generic white boats.…

Having reached Bora Bora, I was about to set off on the next leg of my circumnavigation, covering the 1,850 miles to Fiji on my own. There followed a series of unfortunate events which made the passage much more challenging than I hoped or imagined. Four days before my departure from Bora Bora we moved the boat by hand along the jetty, with four lines and four crew. The crew took a mooring line each and walked the boat towards the new berth. I was urging the crew to slow the 17-tonne boat down, when I made a very inadvisable move to stop the boat going too far – I dropped my stern mooring loop over a mooring post but was not quick enough to remove my thumb from the…

When laying up for the winter, it’s important to prepare your diesel engine so it won’t suffer while remaining unused for an extended period. It helps to make a list of everything you do when laying up the engine, then using that list when you recommission the engine to ensure everything is reinstated correctly. Remember to keep the fuel tank full in the winter to minimise condensation, and carry out a full service of the engine and gearbox before lay-up, giving them a quick run so the new, clean oil coats all of the inside moving parts. COOLING SYSTEM If you have indirect cooling, it’s a good idea to flush the seawater part of the system. Disconnect the hose, put it into a bucket of fresh water and antifreeze, then…

PARKER 325 In some respects the Parker 325 is the closest alternative from a different yard to the Southerly 32 (and the same applies to the Parker 335, which is essentially the 325 with some minor tweaks). The Parker is near enough the same length as the Southerly, also designed and built in England, and she has a keel that retracts to leave extremely shallow draught. In this case it’s only just over 2ft (0.63m), which is less than the Southerly even though the vertically-lifting stainless steel keel shaft has a lead wing on the bottom that inevitably sits a few inches below the hull. The Parker can happily dry out on the wing, with the prop clear of the ground and protected by a small stainless skeg. The single…

German sailor Martin Daldrup was rescued from the South Atlantic after spending 18 hours adrift in a life raft when his Bavaria 34 Holiday, named Jambo, suddenly started taking on water following a loud bang. Sailing YouTuber Daldrup was sailing single-handed from New York to South Africa. He was picked up by a freight carrier, Alanis, and received treatment for mild hypothermia. ‘I had to abandon Jambo due to a severe water break,’ he wrote on his Facebook page. ‘I’m guessing an underwater collision tore the rudder apart and also a hole in the hull.’ Daldrup said that at first he couldn’t detect anything. ‘I looked into the living room and the water was already above the floorboards.’ He said he immediately turned on the bilge pump and added a…

Iconic UK boatbuilder Southerly Yachts has been saved from an uncertain future by its recent purchase by Concept Yachts, a British firm with more than two decades of experience in building custom yachts. Established in the early 1970s, Southerly Yachts was celebrated for its innovative and high-quality sailing yachts with lifting and swing keels. The new collaboration brings together the rich heritage of Southerly Yachts with the modern expertise of Concept Yachts, promising to usher in an era of innovation and growth for the Southampton-based firm.…

Two more competitors Louis Robein and Philippe Delamare, both French, have set off on the Global Solo Challenge around the world, joining Welsh skipper Dafydd Hughes and Belgian Edouard De Keyser in the non-stop circumnavigation race via the three great Capes. The French skippers set off from A Coruña, northwest Spain, hours apart on 30 September with a light breeze from the southeast, clear skies and a temperature of 25°. A small French community celebrated their departure and Delamare treated spectators to a blast of music from Queen, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now.’ Robein, aboard his X-37 Le Souffle de la Mer III, and Delamare, aboard his Actual 46, Mowgli, are chasing Hughes, who had been at sea for over a month, and De Keyser, who had been sailing for two…

Age comes to us all, and with it a certain softening of our midships. After almost 40 years of the Sun Odyssey line, you could be forgiven for thinking Jeanneau’s cruising boats are looking rather tubbier than they did in their younger days. Certainly, the usual dressing tricks have been used to disguise their growing beam – topside chines below the gunwales, bold hull stripes, and a rakish inverse bow all work their magic. Far from trying to hide their boats’ newfound width, however, Jeanneau is proud of the amount of beam they’ve managed to squeeze into the new Sun Odyssey 380, just as they have with her larger sisters, the 410, 440 and 490, all from the pen of the late Marc Lombard. You would also be wrong to…

Q I keep my boat in a fresh-water marina in Cardiff Bay. In fresh water, magnesium anodes are recommended. However, I spend a lot of the year sailing in salt water where magnesium anodes are expected to wear out a lot quicker than zinc anodes. How long can I expect magnesium anodes to last in the salt water before I should have a lift out to check them? Peter Guinan A Vyv Cox responds: Magnesium anodes have a very short life in sea water, perhaps as little as one month. I suggest they should only be used for vessels kept inland that never venture into salt water. Zinc anodes are satisfactory for both fresh and salt water but in fresh they develop a coating of zinc hydroxide that inhibits their…

The RYA started examining Yachtmaster candidates in 1973 but in fact the very first Yachtmaster certificates were awarded much earlier. In 1938 at the request of the Admiralty, the Board of Trade began to hold examinations for Yachtmasters primarily for Royal Navy reservists but also for amateur yacht skippers. It was prescient of the Admiralty to consider a military need for a fleet of competent yachtsmen as that is exactly what was required two years later at Dunkirk. In the early 1970s the RYA took over the administration of the exam after a protracted negotiation led by Commander Bill Anderson, who had recently left the Royal Navy and had been appointed RYA Cruising Secretary. It was an innovative idea for a sports governing body to run a Department for Transport…

Jacob, my 15-year-old son and I made it to France in July 2021, still a time of Covid, to start the 400-mile journey from Port Bloc at the southern entrance to the Gironne Estuary on the west coast of France, back to Plymouth. On our arrival at Port Bloc, we discovered a new deadline – the owner of Port Bloc was selling! We now only had two days to get Equinox ready for launch, including re-stepping the mast. We also faced the amusement of having to remove a well-established wasp nest. So after finishing the antifouling, refitting the propeller, anodes and cutter and replacing batteries, she was ready to be craned in. The mast followed and Jacob spent a few sessions up it re-reaving a number of halyards and the…

Arriving in Meganisi, we were greeted by shouting and waving from the jetty. What had been one or two people had grown to five as those docked gathered to watch us reverse tentatively into the narrow gap between the two yachts on the pontoon. Now the beach restaurant owner at Spartakhori came down, waving violently and shouting loudest of all: ‘No, no, no!’ This was the first evening of our family sailing holiday. Not only did we need to sharpen up our stern-to mooring, but perhaps our navigation too – were we in the right place? ‘No space!,’ the restaurant owner shouted with a final gesture, turning around to stride up the gangway back to his guests. Not long off a plane, we were a little fazed by our welcome…

SUNSAIL Sunsail has two charter bases in Croatia; one in Dubrovnik in the south of the country, and another at Marina Agana, not far from Split, half way up Croatia’s extensive Dalmatian coast. Boats range from 34ft monohulls up to 46ft catamarans for bareboat, skippered, and flotilla charters, plus RYA training. A host of itineraries cover the many options from both bases, including round trips, charters between the two bases, as well as ‘food and wine’ flotillas. 1 CLIMATE AND SEASONS The wind during our week in June was fickle, rarely blowing consistently for more than an hour or two, though this changes with the seasons. The summer is dominated by warm southeasterlies, with average temperatures in the high twenties (Celsius) from May to September. Winter is colder, wetter and…

www.yachtingmonthly.com/books In the second leg of Sam Llewellyn’s Whitbread-tribute novel, the skipper of the British entry, Chinamite, has suffered a heart attack. The yacht has hit a whale and the rudder is broken. They are in the big waves of the Southern Ocean and the crew must act fast. Cole said to Eason, ‘Set up the welding gear, that’s a good man.’ He dived down the hatch and ran to the forepeak. The welding gear locker was already open. The acetylene bottle was there but the oxygen was gone. He ran back into the body of the yacht. Bones was still kneeling beside Harper. He had the oxygen bottle wedged against the bunk and a tube to Harper’s face. Harper’s face looked pinker, as far as it was possible to…

SWELLPRO SPRY+ WATERPROOF DRONE FROM £1,020 www.swellpro-uk.co.uk Waterproof drone that featured in YM April 2023, when Graham Keating explained how he used it aboard his Vancouver 38 Pilot, Maunie of Ardwall, on a three-month voyage from Dartmouth to the Hebrides. Its Sony camera delivers excellent still images, which helped Graham capture great shots of beautiful anchorages and his boat under way. The Spry+’s chunky controller has a built-in screen, which means there’s no need to attach your iPad or smartphone. Includes internal GPS so you can simply press the ‘Return Home’ button to bring it safely back onboard. RESCUEME PLB3 PERSONAL LOCATOR BEACON FROM £508 www.oceansignal.com Small yet powerful unit combining AIS, GPS and a 406MHz Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), which won last year’s prestigious DAME Award. Just 20cm long and…