BOAT TESTS CHATHAM MARINA Kent's hidden gem 9 7 7 1 3 6 7 5 8 6 1 4 8 1 0 SAIL GP PLYMOUTH World's fastest regatta SOLENT DAY OUT Plan your perfect day sail BOAT TESTS with OCTOBER 2022 £4.95 AD SDFHRE PLUS10THETOREASONSVISITSHOW EXCLUSIVE: SOUTHAMPTON INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW TICKET OFFER SAIL THE DREAM Hitch-hike around the world by boat Hanse pumps up the volume with new 460 THINK BIG WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? One man’s four yearGlobeGoldenRace WHICH WINCH? Expert advice on the latest kit HYÉRES WE GO Sailing paradise on the Côte d'Azur BOAT TEST
REGULARS 10 News 18 Paul Heiney 20 Andy Rice 40 Tom Cunli e The shocking demise of the paper chart 114 Jess Lloyd-Mostyn UNDER SAIL 22 Solent day out Clive Loughlin lines up a Solent based trip for September 24, 2022 26 Cowes Week review A look back on this iconic regatta 34 Golden Globe interview What took Mark Sinclair so long to finish? 44 Îles d’Hyères Sam Je erson goes hungry on a trip to Porquerolles on the Cote d’Azur 54 Baltic Sea Race A look back on an intriguing tactical battle 58 Ionian wine tour In search of the finest Greek wines 80 Gulls Eye Chatham Maritime Marina, Medway, Kent 92 Sail GP review Thrills and spills from the Plymouth event 96 Hitch hike under sail Regina Meyer on thumbing a lift on boats 109 Class charter best of six European charter options with instruction BOATS 16 New boat news The latest launches and projects 62 Tested: Hanse 460 A family cruiser turned spaceship 106 Three of the Best Three of the finest brokerage boats EXPERT’S FORUM 85 Expert’s Forum From race tactics to cruising conundrums GEAR 72 Southampton Boat Show Ten reasons to visit this year’s show 98 Buyer’s Guide Winches and blocks 104 Launched Our picks and reviews 442692 109 98
JESS
is an author, journalist and TV presenter, and one of Britain's best-known cruising sailors ANDY RICE is a journalist and veteran dinghy racer who has won championships at both ends of a ski twitter.com/ SailingTodayMag editor@ sailingtoday.co.uk EDITORIALEDITOR Sam Jefferson 020 3943 9261 sam.je erson@chelseamagazines.comGROUPEDITOR Rob Peake ART & PRODUCTION EDITOR Gareth Lloyd Jones WRITER AND SUB EDITOR Sue Pelling PUBLISHING CONSULTANT Martin Nott PUBLISHER Simon Temlett simon.temlett@chelseamagazines.comADVERTISINGADVERTISEMENTMANAGER Mark Harrington 020 7349 mark.harrington@chelseamagazines.com3734SENIORSALESEXECUTIVE Charlene Homewood 020 7349 charlene.homewood@chelseamagazines.com3779GROUPSALESDIRECTOR Catherine Chapman HEAD OF SALES OPERATIONS Jodie Green ADVERTISEMENT PRODUCTION Allpoints Media Ltd allpointsmedia.co.ukCHAIRMAN Paul Dobson CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Vicki Gavin MANAGING DIRECTOR James PublishedDobsonby: The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ Tel: 020 7349 3700 © The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd 2020. All Rights Reserved. ISSN 1367-5869 (print) ISSN 2059-9285 (digital) No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission in writing. Every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information in Sailing Today, but no responsibility can be accepted for the consequences of actions based on the advice portrayed herein. The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd makes every e ort to ensure that the advertising contained in this magazine is delivered from responsible sources. We cannot, however, accept any responsibility for transactions between readers and advertisers. For the Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd full set of terms and conditions please go to chelseamagazines.com/terms-and-conditions Also part of the Chelsea Marine Magazines family: Subscriptions and back issues Tel: +44 (0) 1858 438769 Annual subscription rates: UK £70 ROW £90 Email: sailingtoday@subscription.co.uk Online: Did you know you can manage your subscription online? Oversee your print and digital subscriptions online today simply by signing up at yourupsubscription.co.uk/chelsea/Solo/.https://www.Staytodatewiththelatestissues,updatepersonaldetails,andevenrenewyoursubscriptionwithjustaclickofabutton. Post: Sailing Today, Subscriptions Department, Chelsea Magazines, Tower House, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street Market Harborough LE16 9EF chelseamagazines.com 5Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting OCTOBER 2022
CONTRIBUTORS Skipper’s View WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT YEARNS FOR A PAST UTOPIA AND THE GOLDEN GLOBE IS THEREFORE A TRUE RACE FOR OUR TIMES TOM
Welcome
ANYONE WHO thought that the 2018 Golden Globe race would be a one o quirk must think again. As you can see from our preview piece on p34, it's very much alive and kicking. For the uninitiated, the event is a retro round the world singlehanded race paying homage to the original event in which a selection of eccentric men battled to become the first person to sail solo singlehanded around the world. Given that the race concluded in 1969, the same year that man stepped foot on the moon, one has to conclude that the reason it took so long to achieve this feat is because it is not a lot of fun for most sane people. Yet nostalgia sells in the sailing world and the 2022 edition of the race sees a waiting list of people patiently hoping others will drop out so they can take their place. This is far from from inexplicable. You could argue that the mere act of getting aboard a boat and putting up the sails in order to get from A to B is, in many respects, anachronistic so any sailor, even with the most cutting edge boat is indulging in a sport that harks back to a di erent era. The Golden Globe perhaps just ratchets that up a bit. Yet perhaps the most arresting feature of the race is the fact that you have to navigate by sextant. This is the bit that made me sit up and think because I must confess to being absolutely beholden to the GPS. I recall doing my Yachtmaster prep back in 1999 and, as we approached a fairway buoy in fading light and a Force 7, a scared crew member sneakily handed me a new-fangled, handheld GPS device like it was contraband. I have been hooked ever since. I must confess to frequently navigating by phone alone. Yet, despite this, the news that the UKHO is planning to ditch paper charts from 2026 is shocking (see Tom Cunli e's column on p40 ). It's all very well using a mobile phone to navigate but nothing gives you an overview of where you are like a paper chart. It's the same with pilot books; having recently cruised the Îles d'Hyères, many happy hours were spent thumbing through Rod Heikell's guide to the area and this can never be replicated with a phone. Meantime, let us hope that the UKHO sees sense and changes its mind on a matter that goes beyond nostalgia into the realm of safety and practicality. facebook.com/ SailingToday LLOYD MOSTYN is a writer and blue water cruiser who is currently moored in Singapore CUNLIFFE
“Today’s world is unrecognisable to the one that existed in 1795, when our organisation was founded. Back then, mariners navigated by the stars using a magnetic compass and surveying with a leaded line marked in fathoms. They could fix where they had been, but not where they were,” the UKHO said. “Withdrawing from paper chart production will allow us to increase our focus on advanced digital services that meet the needs of today’s seafarers.”
How to report your UK arrival and departure
10 OCTOBER 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting ISTOCK
Derek Lumb, President of the Cruising Association, said: “The Cruising Association has been liaising with UK Border Force for a number of years on this project with a view to ensuring that the new system fits the needs of the cruising community.
There was dismay from UK sailors as the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) announced it would be stopping paper chart production by 2026. The “sunsetting” process will begin this year, starting with larger scale charts.
The UKHO said its digital charts could be updated “in near real-time, greatly enhancing safety of life at sea (SOLAS)”.
The RYA’s Richard Falk said: “It is important to highlight for those who wish to continue navigating using paper charts and more traditional navigational techniques, there are other providers of paper charts within the market. The RYA will continue to teach both traditional and electronic navigational techniques through its range of courses, although over time it is right to expect the weighting of emphasis to shift towards more digitally based techniques.”
EVENTS | NEWS | TALES FROM THE SAILING COMMUNITY Ebb and flow UKHO to withdraw paper charts News
“The change to a new online service delivers a far more accessible and user-friendly experience, making it easy to log new and alter existing passages.”
“Together with the RYA, British Marine and other marine organisations, CA representatives have attended and been active in discussions at the General Maritime Leisure Sector Liaison Meetings in order to influence a positive outcome for cruisers.
Chart publisher Imray said they had no plans to withdraw paper charts: “Our focus is the leisure and small craft sector, which has different conditions and requirements to the UKHO’s primary commercial shipping market. There is still strong demand from leisure customers for paper charts.” See Tom Cunliffe’s column on page 40.
The plans affect the UKHO’s portfolio of Admiralty Standard Nautical Charts (SNCs) and Thematic Charts “in response to more marine, naval and leisure users primarily using digital products and services for navigation”.
The UK Government has launched a new website on which sailors can report their UK arrival and departure.
The new digital reporting service is being called ‘single Pleasure Craft Reporting (sPCR)’, which sailors are asked to use “as the preferred method when leaving or entering the UK on passage to EU countries, the Channel Islands or the rest of the world”. There has long been a requirement to notify UK Customs of your voyage plan to destinations outside the UK and arrivals into the UK, including travel to and from the EU since Brexit. This is now being “actively enforced”, the Government says. The new online service – at spcr.homeoffice. gov.uk – will replace the old ‘Pleasure Craft Report Template’ e-C1331 email form and C1331 postal form. The website was in ‘beta’ (testing) mode as we went to press. For the time being the UK Border Force says sailors can use the new website or the old forms. Note that the e-C1331 email form has been renamed ‘Pleasure craft on non-UK voyages: leaving or arriving in the UK (pleasure craft report (sPCR) fallback template)’. Users are asked register their boat on the new website for ease of use.
Richard Gates, Falmouth Town Manager, said: “It’s a welcome return for the Tall Ships Races, after it was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions. Our town’s history is intertwined with these magnificent vessels so you could say they are coming home. We’re really excited to be the venue for the start of the races. As always, we look forward to the truly awe-inspiring spectacle of the tall ships as they sail into the harbour.”
Falmouth Harbour has begun trials of a unique eco-mooring system, designed to protect the seabed from scouring by mooring chains. The MooringAdvancedSystem (AMS) in place off Flushing Beach has been designed by naval architect engineeringandfirm Morek, with Falmouth Harbour’s marine operations team, using floats along the length of the chain to lift it off the seabed.
Britain’s oldest shipwreck
Tall Ships will return to Falmouth
Manager Vicki Spooner said: “We’ve put the trial AMS within one of the scour patches left by a traditional chain mooring – one of 11 removed by us in 2021 to allow the seagrass bed below to recover. Ongoing monitoring of the scour patches by the University of Exeter shows the seagrass is regenerating itself, which is fantastic, and if the AMS functions as well as we hope with a yacht attached, we potentially foresee using them in environmentally sensitive areas, or on the fringes of these Falmouthareas.”Harbour, which sits within the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation, gained £3,000 backing for the trial from an EU-funded venture.
Britain’s oldest shipwreck, dubbed the ‘Mortar Wreck’ has been located on the edge of the Swash Channel in Poole Bay, Dorset, writesJohnGreeves. The wreck was first identified by divers from Bournemouth University who were investigating a known obstruction spotted by Trevor Small, of Rocket Charters. Trevor’s dive boat showed an unusual reading from the Dorset seabed but it wasn’t until several months later that the 54-year-old dive charter operator asked a colleague to take a look. Within minutes a medieval copper cauldron appeared at the surface and Trevor knew he had stumbled on “something special”. Historic England and an archaeological team from Bournemouth University were called in. Analysis of the hull planking soon indicated the ship’s rarity. The Irish oak tree timber had a fell date of 1242-1265, during the reign of King Henry III. The initial survey by Bournemouth University divers discovered many of the timbers were under threat from marine boring organisms, so exposed features were protected with sandbags and Terram (a robust geotextile).
The harbour is now monitoring how a yacht attached to the AMS sits in the water, in all weathers and tides, to gauge how safe and practical the system is for wider Environmentuse.
Falmouth eco-mooringstrials
Falmouth in Cornwall will host the start of the Tall Ships Race from 15-18 August next year. It will be the first time in nine years the race has visited the harbour and the sixth time Falmouth has hosted it since 1966.
Visitors will have the opportunity to board some of the historic tall ships as they will be sited within the A&P Falmouth Docks. Tickets to access these ships will go on sale nearer the time and will be priced at £5 for adults and £2.50 children. The race itself starts on Friday 18 August 2023 and will be preceded by a stunning Parade of Sail and several days of shoreside events. The tall ships will race from Falmouth to A Coruna in Spain, then onward to Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, before finishing in Cadiz, Spain.
The vessel founded while outward bound with a cargo of grinding wheels, plus two immaculate Gothic gravestones. The finds so far include a large cauldron for cooking soup and mugs covered in concretion. Tim Cousins, one of the Bournemouth University archaeologists working on the site said: “Very few 750-year-old ships remain for us to be able to see today and we are extremely lucky to have discovered an example as rare as this.”
11Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting OCTOBER 2022 WILCOXRICHARD
FREEAPP Cannes Yachting Festival, one of the world’s major boat shows, runs from 6-11 September, with everything from superyachts to wooden dinghies on show in the French Riviera town’s packed marina and old Aroundport.550 exhibitors are expected to be present with around 640 boats. The show’s focus on sustainability continues this year with a ‘Green Route’ o ering advice and an ‘Innovation Village’ for newer companies. Sylvie Ernoult, festival director, added: “Little by little, the nautical industry is improving its environmental footprint and we too are following suit by developing our own eco-responsible commitments within the framework of the exhibition.”
Cannes Yachting Festival
CEO of British Marine Lesley Robinson said: “The results of the survey show there is a real appetite for people to get on the water in the UK, as an industry our job now is to look at ways we can continue to encourage people to take to the water in the UK and build on the momentum of the previous two years. However, the survey results are very encouraging with people now making the decision to invest in their own boats, indicating a potential commitment to getting out on the water more regularly.”
The boom in boat ownership since the pandemic looks likely to continue, a survey by British Marine has confirmed. Twenty three percent of respondents to the survey said they were likely to purchase a ‘new boat or watersports craft’ within the next 12 months, with most interested in sailing yachts (32 per cent), motor cruisers (25 per cent) or trailerable powerboats (19 per cent). Meanwhile the survey shows that nearly a quarter (24%) of participants had their first experience of boat ownership or simply getting afloat in 2020. Most popular have been what the survey calls ‘gateway’ boating activities, such as paddleboarding and kayaking.
The Vieux Port, one of the oldest on the Côte d’Azur, plays host each year to a glamourous line-up of yachts between five and 45m loa, of which 80 (less than 10m loa) will be exhibited on land. The organisers say: “The Palais des Festivals has a large area devoted to luxury yachting players: shipyards, architects and designers, internal layouts, ready-towear, accessories, tourism institutions and marinas, service companies, while the Tender and Toys areas presenting the latest innovations can be found outside. The Luxury Gallery, located in the heart of the Palais, is dedicated to luxury, craftsmanship and the art of living and each year brings together an exclusive selection of famous and more exclusive brands presenting their new products and expertise to visitors who appreciate beautiful objects.”
Sailing boom set to continue Today with Yachts & Yachting 30 000 anchorages and marinas & 200 000 photos and comments... It's free and it fits in your pocket!
BORLENGHICARLO 12 OCTOBER 2022 Sailing
British Marine’s latest Boating and Boat Ownership survey aims to provide its members with key market data, trends and insights on participation in watersports in the UK. Sponsored by Navigators & General, the survey focuses on a number of key areas including participation trends, training, charter and this latest report, for the period 2020-2021, investigates the impact of the pandemic on the sector. Boat sales are said to have increased by 9 per cent in 2020 and a further 2 per cent in 2021.
The cost of e-tickets for visitors start at €19. There are also VIP options, including a six-day package costing €1,166 for two people, with ‘exclusive services’ including a courtesy car service provided by Bentley. cannesyachtingfestival.com
INOVPHOTO News
Among those featured are Eilidh McIntyre, Hannah Mills, Luke Patience, Stu Bithell, Chris Grube, Dylan Fletcher, Tom Squires and Emma Wilson. Watch it at olympics.com
Aiming to win the Women’s America’s Cup
The rollercoaster journey of the British Sailing Team and its Tokyo 2020 athletes has been laid bare in new behind-the-scenes film, Chasing Tokyo. The 90-minute documentary charts the highs and lows that Team GB’s athletes faced from the moment the pandemic derailed their plans in March 2020, to the aftermath of the most uncertain Olympics in history. Shot over two years, the Olympic Channel documentary charts the team’s physical and mental preparations as they get ready to compete, set against the backdrop of uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
The race was inspired by the Newport-Bermuda offshore race (first held in 1906) and US entries have remained strong. Notable US winners include yacht designer Rod Stephens Snr with ‘Dorade’ (1931 and 1933); Dick Nye with ‘Carina II’ (1955 and 1957); innovative designer Dick Carter with ‘Rabbit’ (1965) and ‘Red Rooster’ (1969); CNN founder Ted Turner’s ‘Tenacious’, which won the infamous 1979 race; and, most recently, David and Peter Askew on ‘Wizard’ (2019). The race has always attracted a powerful entry from the continent and especially France, with the great Eric Tabarly winning on board ‘Pen Duick III’ in 1967. France has also won four of the last 10 races.For a second consecutive occasion, the 2023 race will finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin with a 695-nautical mile course via the Fastnet Rock. Entry opens on 11 January 2023, with places expected to sell out in less than five minutes.
British sailors have been waiting patiently to win the America’s Cup since 1851, but a new initiative led by Ben Ainslie and Hannah Mills has raised the possibiilty of British teams also lifting the Women’s America’s Cup and Youth America’s Cup in the same year. The newly launched Athena Pathway Programme aims to “fast-track the development of female athletes into highperformance foiling sailing”. The ultimate goal is to compete in the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup events in Barcelona from September to October 2024 on 40ft AC40 foiling monohulls.
TOMLINSONRICK MASONCLIVE
Sir Ben Ainslie said: “Through the Athena Pathway, we hope to be able to offer significant experience and opportunities, at the highest level of our sport, to further achieve our ambition of bringing more diversity into the marine industry in this country.”
Mills said: “Sailing has made great strides forward in gender equality in recent decades, led by the Olympic side of the sport where gender equality has now been reached on the water, but the professional side, particularly in highperformance foiling sailing, is far behind where it needs to be. “We as a sport are uniquely placed to drive huge global change when it comes to gender equality. High-performance sailing has no major barriers to physical entry and through the Athena Pathway we will create a gender equal pathway for all, with sustainability at its heart. “I am incredibly excited to be teaming up with Ben on this project to change the landscape of professional sailing in the UK. Young girls are already coming up to me excited by the potential opportunities within the America’s Cup, SailGP and beyond as they get older, which is amazing to see. Equally, however, the knock-on effect this could have in terms of growth within our sport as more females see career opportunities within the marine industry could be huge”.
50th Fastnet next year
Chasing Tokyo film
Setting sail from Cowes on Saturday 22 July 2023 will be the 50th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race. For most of its life the Fastnet Race has been held biennially, however from the first race until 1931 it was held annually and three editions were lost due to World War II. It gained a special standing in the years when it was part of the Admiral’s Cup. The first race, then simply known as the ‘Ocean Race’ and held on a course from Ryde to Plymouth via the Fastnet Rock, took place in 1925 with seven starters. A dinner immediately after the finish, resulted in the Ocean Racing Club being established with Lt Cmdr EG Martin, owner of the first race’s winner, ‘Jolie Brise’, appointed commodore.
Mill added: “Throughout my career, I have been incredibly lucky to have travelled the world competing on a global stage in my sport. However, I have also witnessed how bad the pollution crisis has become and the severity of damage to marine life – entirely caused by us. Seeing this devastation ignited a passion within me to use my platform as an athlete to raise awareness and encourage greater scale change within sport and beyond sport. We are seeing more and more how powerful the voice of athletes can be in driving real change and it’s crucial we educate the athletes of the future how best they can use their voice.”
DWILKO
13
OCTOBER
Appy for a place at athenapathway.com
The team has purchased a 26ft ‘Easy to Fly’ foiling catamaran, training primarily on Portland harbour. Initial recruits include Hattie Rogers, the SailGP Inspire x WASZP champion, and Sophie Heritage on the shore side.
Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting 2022
Celebrations for RORC continue in 2025 when the club will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Position: The Boy Scout Time to re-assess www.noblemarine.co.uk on 01636 707606
your kit bag... Quote and buy online at
The Boy Scout comes prepared – really prepared. Not many sailors, it must be said, have the courage to take an umbrella on board. A spare rudder, needle and palm, batteries for the GPS – yes, these items and myriad more will make it into the experienced sailor’s o shore kit. But an umbrellla? It’s hard to disguise an umbrella. Not even the most capacious sailing bags will hide one. The sailor who foresees use for a brollie at sea must be open about his or her intentions. In this, the brollie-user should be advised against strolling on board with said parasol slung casually over shoulder. This attempt at foppish panache does not wash with the foredeck crew. Rather, establish the brollie as an essential piece of your o shore armoury. Pack it with the same earnest and meticulous care that you pack the generator spares, or the A2. lf snorts of derision are heard from neighbouring boats, then perhaps they’ll be quieter once the temperature heats up, the wind dies and they catch sight you well-protected at the helm, as demonstrated handsomely here by the crew of ‘Pen Duick VI’ in the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race. No foppish attire here, just the rugged look of the seasoned o shore racer – and a brollie. A true Boy Scout.
14 OCTOBER 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
DIFFICULTY RATING: 1/5Not even the most capacious sailing bags will hide one
After racing 40,000 miles around the world, the Clipper Race fleet and 180 crew arrived back in London for a parade of sail along the River Thames and a welcome ceremony at the Royal Docks with a huge crowd of family, friends, partners and spectators creating an electric atmosphere. This edition of the race started in 2019 and was suspended in March 2020 as the pandemic struck, with crews flying home from Subic Bay in the Philippines. It restarted, after a week of crew re-training, in February this year, with the remaining legs from the Philippines across the north Pacific to Seattle, then down the west US coast to Panama, before transitting the Panama Canal and racing on to Bermuda, New York, Derry-Londonderry and the final sprint back to London. The race overall was won by ‘Qingdao’, skippered by Chris Brooks and representing the Chinese city of the same name. Crew member Jody, from Michigan, USA, who completed the circumnavigation on board ‘Qingdao’ said: “It’s been an incredible lifetime achievement. An amazing thing to experience.”Jacqueline Kavanagh, from Ireland, who circumnavigated on the Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam yacht, said: “It feels so fantastic to be back in London. I’ve not seen my husband since February! My children are here, there are former crew members here and it’s a great atmosphere.“Withouta doubt, the best part for me was the camaraderie between the crew. You come up on watch and there will always be someone saying something ridiculous or funny. Yes, there has been amazing sailing and racing and we won some races, but the friends who are behind me now are what I will take away and cherish for the rest of my life.”
Emotion as crews finally finish Clipper Race
Visit clipperroundtheworld.com to sign up to the next race.
or call us
LM 46 The LM 46 is an interesting new design from the drawing board of Kevin Dibley. Long term readers may recall that this Kiwi designer penned the lines for the Kraken 50, a very seaworthy blue water cruiser. The LM 46 is a somewhat different proposition, as it is cold moulded using Douglas fir and Cedar, which makes for a light, rigid boat. The boat looks suitably slippery, and she is definitely a looker with her relatively low freeboard, towering rig with square topped headsail and sympathetically curvaceous lines.
Slovenian boatbuilder Elan has enjoyed something of a split personality for many years now; on the one hand it turns out quite flashy cruiser/racers and on the other it produces solid, reliable cruising yachts as part of its Impression range.
Elan Impression 43
New boats
Aventura 44s
The boat is built in the US by Lyman Morse, a Maine-based boatbuilder and, as you’d expect from an American design, creature comforts down below abound.
l lymanmorse.com
l aventura-catamarans.com
Aventura Catamarans is based in Tunisia and has a long history of producing small, relatively affordable cruising catamarans. The Aventura 44s is its latest and largest yacht and the company claims that it is the cheapest 44ft catamaran on the market. The lines were drawn up by the Lasta design studio and the result is a yacht that looks reasonably stylish while also offering a good amount of volume.
A look at the latest launches from around the globe
The company’s new Impression 43 is definitely the latter and this Rob Humphreys design is big on volume and cruising comfort. Like its predecessors, the 43 features the distinctive curved coachroof, which Elan describes as a ‘semi deck saloon’. The boat features twin rudders and, to add to internal volume, the beam has been increased compared to previous models.
16 OCTOBER 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
l elan-yachts.com
The boat is definitely angled towards cruisers given that it features a stepped hull and stub keels as opposed to daggerboards, however, the manufacturers maintain that performance will be very good. The boat also features a flybridge and the standard interior configuration will be three double cabins with two shower rooms.
Bali Catsmart Bali Catamarans rank among the masters of building high volume, comfortable cruising catamarans that cater for both the charter market and private owners. The new Catsmart stays true to those principles but she is the companys smallest boat to date, measuring in at a little under 36ft. Given that this Xavier Fay design still has all those classic Bali attributes such as solid front deck and flip up ‘garage door ‘ style rear entrance, this is bound to be a hit but there are significant differences from her bigger sisters. Perhaps most notably, there is no fly bridge, with twin helms on the sponsons being used. The sail area is also the same as its bigger, heavier older sister, the Bali Catsmart, pointing to improved performance.
Standard layout features twin doubles with ensuites. l bali-catamarans.com
The new 70 is, however, a real mould breaker just in terms of scale. The boat is designed by German Frers and features twin rudders, a powerful rig and, yes, a lot of internal volume. l hallberg-rassy.com
Hallberg Rassy 69 Swedish manufacturer Hallberg Rassy is synonymous with blue water cruisers with a reputation garnered on decades of turning out smart, solidly built boats. In the past, its yachts were generally in the 30-50ft range but recent years has seen a sea change and the company has experimented with bigger boats such as the 64 in addition to twin rudders and aft cockpits.
17OCTOBER 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
