Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting August 2023 - Sample

FASTNET AT 50

Who will win the bicentennial edition?

SAILING ROUND BRITAIN Lessons learnt on an epic cruise AEGEAN TO THE UK

The ultimate summer adventure

RM 1380 ON TEST Fast cruiser that dares to be di erent

REGULARS

8 News

30 Tom Cunli e

34 Paul Heiney

36 Andy Rice

98 Jess Lloyd-Mostyn

UNDER SAIL

18 Fastnet at 50

A look back at the triumphs and tragedies of an iconic race

24 South coast to Scotland

Part two of Barry Pickthall’s incident packed voyage round Britain

44 Top 10 anchorages

Mediterranean France

48 Fastnet part two

A crew’s eye vierw of a Fastenet charter

52 Ionian to the UK

A long cruise back to home waters

66 Day Skipper in the ionian

Sue Pelling tests her skills abroad

72 Gull’s Eye

Marina guide to Fambridge

76 Cowes Week preview

80 Charter

84 Interview: Alastair Floyd

The man at the wheel of the Tall Ships Youth Trust

BOATS

14 New boat news

16 First look

Shaun Carkeek’s new flyer Ino Noi r

38 Tested: RM 1380

An epoxy ply cruiser/racer

92 Three of the Best

Three of the finest brokerage boats

EXPERT’S FORUM

84 Expert’s Forum

Tips and tutorials

GEAR

60 Buyer’s Guide:

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Skipper’s View

THE MERITS OF EPOXY PLYWOOD CONSTRUCTION AND OTHER STORIES

I THINK IT'S fair to say that many of us are fairly hidebound when it comes to buying a yacht. We want a glassfibre boat with one mast and two triangular sails. Nothing wrong with that but, after testing the new RM 1380 cruiser/racer (see p38) I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic for that more experimental era of yacht design. A period when it was still possible for big manufacturers to produce genuinely bad boats. I am in no way suggesting that the RM is a bad boat by the way - it was excellent - but there will be many who note that she is constructed from epoxy ply and take a sharp intake of breath. I am well versed in this hidebound attitude. Back in 2010 I purchased a Norwalk Islands Sharpie 29. This was a light displacement epoxy ply cat-rigged ketch with unstayed wooden masts. The boat was, let's be candid, interesting. Yet the thing that made most people wince about her was the fact that she was epoxy ply constructed. Well, let me tell you that this was absolutely the least of my problems. In five years I had everything possible go wrong with the boat; from the main boom snapping in two, to the lower rudder pintle shearing in the Needles Channel. Yet one thing I never had a problem with was the epoxy plywood construction. That was fine. Now, i'm not advocating going back to an era when some truly awful boats were produced, but I do have a certain nostalgia for the eccentricities of some boats from those wilder more experimental days of yacht design. The Fastnet Race itself, which celebrates its half century this year, is a great showcase for the good, the bad and the ugly of these years of learning before CAD design smoothed out some of the deeper eccentricities. There is a great magic in the fact that Dick Carter's Rabbit, his first yacht design, and an experimental one at that, was able to take victory in the 1965 Fastnet. The dark side of that was of course 1979 when a number of extreme IOR designs came to grief in part due to inherent flaws in their conception. I guess it is therefore fair to say that, much as I may sigh as I vainly try to find niggly faults in perfectly designed new yachts, it's best that these days yacht design is a little less hit and miss. Still, epoxy/ply remains a hit for me.

facebook.com/ SailingToday

twitter.com/ SailingTodayMag editor@ sailingtoday.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS

chelseamagazines.com

JESS LLOYD MOSTYN is a writer and blue water cruiser who is currently moored in Singapore

TOM CUNLIFFE 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

Captain Mogan

Puerto Mogan is a beautiful, and very sunny, town in the southwest corner of the island of Gran Canaria. Known as the Venice of the Canaries because of its many canals, it also has many lovely white-washed buildings, a fine marina, a sandy beach, good restaurants and bars and some fine views. Most importantly, it’s a great place to anchor and enjoy some tapas.

Photo: Gareth Lloyd Jones

Epic five-year dinghy challenge completed

Dinghy sailor Ken Fowler has completed an epic challenge to sail around every English and Welsh island – all 262 of them – raising funds for charities close to his heart.

Ken’s final challenge was a 13-hour slog around the Isle of Wight in June and he was greeted on the beach afterwards by a group of cheering supporters.

Ken’s unique island challenge began in 2018, aiming to raise £50,000 for Cancer Research and his local Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington. The tally is now more than £64,000 – and the donation pages are still open.

The fundraising was inspired by the death of his father, from cancer, when Ken was 24, and the fact that six of Ken’s close family members have been killed by cancer.

RS Aero sailor Ken, 57, a retired air traffic controller from Dorset, gathered a huge crowd for his talks at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show in February this year. At that point he had 24 islands left to go.

He said: “The other day someone asked me how many miles I’d sailed overall. I worked it out – about 1,200 miles in a straight line. So if I set sail from Land’s End, that would take me across the Channel and almost to the Canaries. In a four-metre dinghy, that’s a vast distance. I couldn’t believe it.

Portsmouth to host Clipper Race start

“I am most proud of the money we’ve raised. The whole thing was about hitting 50k and so for us to be over £64k means it has been a complete success.

“I feel fortunate to have seen the paces I’ve seen. In Wales last month I sailed round Skomer – twice! There were hundreds of Puffins floating in the water around us. You feel super-privileged to have gone to these places. You don’t see anyone else. The following day I sailed around one of the UK’s biggest gannet sanctuaries. It absolutely reeked and looked like a ski resort. It’s just you out there, and that day the tides were ferocious. It felt like I was going very quickly but the tide was going 5kts against me.”

For his final sail, Ken had the luxury of launching and recovering from his home club, Highcliffe Sailing Club. He has already circumnavigated the Isle of Wight in the RS Aero, back in 2015 as part of a separate challenge. (He’s also cycled across the USA and sailed from Land’s End to JOG in a dinghy.)

And the ‘what next’ question? Ken laughs: “My wife has threatened me! Honestly I feel quite drained. It’s been wonderful but I am really looking forward to sitting back and not needing to check the forecast. It’s been a long time. My body and brain needs a bit of r’n’r.”

Donate via yodare.co.uk

The Clipper Race will start and finish at Portsmouth’s Gunwharf Quays. Five days of festivities, beginning on 30 August 2023, are planned for the round-the-world event in which amateur sailors pay for a berth. The fleets departs on 3 September and will return 11 months later.

Close call in Ocean Race collision

A shocking collision marred the start of the final leg of The Ocean Race. These stills, taken from footage released by the race, show the moment that GUYOT environnement – Team Europe ploughed into 11th Hour Racing, which was on starboard tack.

Skipper Charlie Enright was on the helm during the collision and narrowly avoided serious injury as the bowsprit of GUYOT environnement – Team Europe dug into the side of the 11th Hour IMOCA.

Enright and his team retired from Leg 7 of The Ocean Race following the collision, which took place 17 minutes after the start of the final leg in The Hague on 15 June.

The team has also submitted a Request for Redress to the World Sailing International Jury.

Skipper of GUYOT environnement – Team Europe, Benjamin Dutreux, immediately came to see the US team and, clearly devastated, offered his apologies to Enright, saying: “I was helming, and I just saw their boat appear suddenly, and it was too late. The contact was unavoidable [at that point]. I take full responsibility. It is our fault.”

See our website yachtsandyachting.co.uk for the latest on this unfolding drama.

Hannah pitches in

Hannah Mills got to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Chicago Cubs baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in June, before the Great Britain SailGP team, now called Emirates GBR, took part in SailGP’s Chicago stage. Hannah, the team’s strategist, was welcomed on to the pitch by cheering fans at the 40,000-capacity stadium and was named the Chicago Cubs’ ‘lucky charm’ as they went on to beat the Pirates 7-2. Things went less well on the water that weekend, as Emirates GBR, led by driver Sir Ben Ainslie, finished seventh in the SailGP competition.

Female Jules Verne attempt

Vendée Globe skippers Alexia Barrier and Dee Caffari are leading a female crew aiming to break the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the planet, the Jules Verne Trophy.

Whether they achieve the outright record or not, if they complete the course, the new Famous Project will be setting a world-first record for an all-female crew. It was 25 years ago that Tracy Edwards and the team of Royal & SunAlliance attempted to break what is one of the last records left standing for an allfemale crew.

On standby from October 2025, Barrier and co-skipper Dee Caffari, with a crew drawn from around the globe, will race the 100ft Ultime trimaran IDEC Sport on a timed circumnavigation of the planet. The current record, set in 2017 by Francis Joyon on the same boat, stands at 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds.

The current crew are: Helena Darvelid (SWE), 12 world speed sailing records; Sara Hastreiter (USA), round the world sailor and mountain adventurer; Elodie Jane Mettraux (SUI), leading multihull specialist; Joan Mulloy (IRL), offshore solo specialist; Marie Riou (FRA), The Ocean Race winner; and Marie Tabarly (FRA), skipper of Pen Duick VI.

PHOTO: MARIE CORTIAL

Captain Gugg last and third as GGR closes

The final instalment in the Golden Globe Race 2023 came in June as Austrian sailor Michael Guggenberger crossed the finish line in third place, with a time of 249 days.

‘Captain Gugg’, aged 44, was the last of the three sailors to have completed this edition of the round-the-world race, which saw a high attrition rate – 16 sailors started from Les Sables d’Olonne, with 11 dropping out or being forced to abandon. Two are in the ‘Chichester Class’ for those who completed the course but made a pitstop for repairs – one of those, South African Jeremy Bagshaw, still has almost 1,000 miles to go as we go to press.

Guggenberger, however, made no stops and suffered very few issues on board, with no major breakages in 30,000 miles.

Guggenberger joins Norbert Sedlacek as one of very few Austrians who have completed a roundthe-world race. Sedlacek cruised around in the late 1990s and then did the Vendeé Globe on his second attempt in 2008/9.

Guggenberger said: “The GGR has been an incredible voyage. It had already changed me in the preparation leading to the start and it changed me in more ways than I had imagined during the 249 days at sea.”

He learned to sail only 12 years ago and had planned to enter the last race four years ago. His plans changed and he bought a ketch-rigged Biscay 36 for this voyage, named after his sponsor Nuri Sardines

Team manager Stefan Weigel gave a hint as to the preparation, saying:

Yamaha summer trade-in

Yamaha Marine UK is running a scheme allowing you to trade in your old outboard engine for a ‘cash bonus’ towards a new Yamaha model. Customers wishing to trade in their old outboard, irrespective of size, make or model, for a new Yamaha portable (2.5hp to 6hp) or 8hp to 15hp Yamaha outboard will receive the ‘cash bonus’ towards the new engine, in addition to any part exchange value offered by individual participating Yamaha dealers. The bonus amount is dependent on the size of the new Yamaha outboard being purchased and ranges from £80 on a new Yamaha 2.5hp portable outboard to £330 on a new Yamaha 15hp versatile outboard engine. The offer runs from 1 June to 31 July 2023.

“Nuri’s round the world voyage with no major issues is due to the structured preparation of Michael and our concept of enabling him to cope with all possible problems.

“When he reached out for an electric refit, we decided it made more sense to teach him how to do it rather than doing the job for him. It proved a good idea, especially during Covid travel restrictions and worked all the way through Gijon in Spain for the boat’s final preparation.”

Guggenberger sailed conservatively and made good use of the ketch rig – after some experimentation, he improved his daily averages in the south Atlantic by sailing with less sail area and not overly pushing the boat.

To keep himself active and mentally upbeat, he danced on board, playing his favourite tunes on the tape machine that the race’s retro rules allowed.

Don McIntyre, GGR Founder and Chairman, reflected: “While we had a big attrition rate again, the finish proved exciting. We have the first woman to win a solo round the world race [Kirsten Neuschaffer], a competitor coming back after nearly losing his life four years ago [Abilash Tomy] and a sailor from a land-locked country who started sailing 10 years ago [Guggenberger]. All of it for a never seen before podium of South Africa, India, and Austria.”

The next race starts in 2026.

Cowes Week for cruising yachts

Cowes Week has launches a new Weekend Warriors Cup for club cruisers.

Part of the Club Cruiser division sponsored by the Cruising Association, it is part of a successful drive to create a home within the regatta for boats with family crews and without the latest in sail technology.

The Weekend Warriors Cup is a mini- series within Cowes Week, taking place on Saturday 29, Sunday 30 and Monday 31 July, with a separate trophy for the overall winner of those three days.

Cowes Week itself remains the full seven days, but the Weekend Warrior Cup gives you a chance to race for three days at a reduced entry fee of £200 for boats up to 10m and £250 for boats over 10m.

As well as the three days of racing, there is the opportunity to attend the Cowes Week Cocktail Party on the lawn at the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Sunday evening (tickets sold separately).

Cowes Week Regatta Director Laurence Mead said: “We are excited to launch the Weekend Warriors Cup as a way into the regatta for those who race less often. This would, as an example, be a perfect add-on to a boat’s summer calendar if the Round the Island Race is otherwise your sole race of the year.”

Enter via cowesweek.co.uk

Position: Soaked no more….

Dinghy racers are standing up for their rights. Sick of watching

The Ocean Race teams cruise around the world in relative comfort, barely a drysuit needed even in the Southern Ocean as the waves and spray wash harmlessly over the IMOCAs’ expansive doghouses, class associations are now calling for similar developments in small-boat racing. A radical but widely supported proposal would see a transparent dome attached to each dinghy’s foredeck, similar to the windshield on a motorbike, o ering long-overdue protection from the elements. Downwind, the new accessory would o er greater speed, while upwind progress might be slowed but would at least be dryer. The move is being strongly backed by social media commentators, who have expressed fears that being exposed to cold spray and continual soakings might a ect some sailors’ mental health. Meanwhile an opposition group has formed, made up largely of wetsuit manufacturers, who say jobs may be lost if the proposal goes ahead. Nonetheless, the idea gained traction at the 470 Europeans, where even the waters of San Remo in May gave crews cause for complaint.

DIFFICULTY RATING: 5/5

Cold spray and continual soakings might a ect some sailors’ mental health

Dinghy sailors have had enough – they want protection

New boats

A look at the latest launches from around the globe

Befoil 16

Grand Soleil 65

Italian manufacturer Grand Soleil has an admirable reputation for turning out fast cruiser/racers with an emphasis on speed and style. As with so many manufacturers in recent years, its range has been gradually expanding in size. The new 65 is their biggest boat yet and promises a high level of luxury. The company has turned to designer Matteo Polli, who made a name for himself when he penned the lines of the Italia 9.98, a yacht which dominated Mediterranean regattas. He has taken the concept of fine waterlines, flaring out into broad sections aft above the waterline into the 65, and the result is a boat that promises to be fast in light airs with power when the breeze pipes up.

l grandsoleil.net

ClubSwan 43

Back in the day, one design racing was a serious deal but recent years has seen a drop off in fleets as customers are perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer range of yachts out there. Nautor Swan has been one of the few boatbuilders able to successfully retain a healthy one design racing fleet, with large numbers of ClubSwan 50s and 36s pitting their wits against each other on a level playing field. Now the ClubSwan 43 promises to fill the size gap between these two. The new boat is designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian and was initially posited as a 41 footer however, this was changed to a 43 in order to comply with ORC regulations. The new boat is seen as more of a crossover yacht than the foiling ClubSwan 36 and the amped up ClubSwan 50. The boat leans slightly more towards fast cruising, feature in three double cabins. For all that, this promises to be a seriously fast boat.

l Nautorswan.com

The Befoil 16 is a carbonfibre foiling catamaran that has actually been around since 2018. For whatever reason, the company has seen fit to relaunch the boat, however, and it seems only fair to give it a mention. The boat is marketed as the only boat out there that is aimed at making foiling easy for beginners. Part of this is achieved by the fact that this is a catamaran, therefore inherently more stable than a monohull but the boat also has four foils optimised to get up and stay foiling with relative ease. At 17,000 Euros, the boat is relatively affordable for a foiler and certainly looks like a lot of fun.

l Befoil.com

Hanse 410

Hanse Yachts set in motion a minor revolution last year when it split with Judel/Vrolijk, its go to designer of many years and took up with French design team of Berret/ Racoupeau. The result was the launch of the Hanse 460, a yacht that differed starkly in terms of styling from previous models. The boat seemed to point to a new direction for the manufacturer, with a definite step up in terms of quality

PHOTO: CLEMENT PHILIPPON