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AUGUST 2021

SUMMER OF SAILING

THE TWO OF US...

The appeal of sailing double-handed

Top kit for family fun afloat

CRUISE THE TROPICS

Welcome back to the Caribbean ON TEST

Beneteau reinvents the 55-footer

ULTIMATE EXPEDITION YACHT? Skip Novak on board this new beast

EXPERT TIPS

Tactics for the Offshore race Remote Fastnet finish preparation working afloat

A U G U S T 2 0 21

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DOUBLE THE FUN

Double-handed racing has been the stand-out success story of recent years.

James Boyd discovers why it's so popular

at a glance On the wind

08 Corinthian sailors create their own 'NOSTAR' transatlantic

10 A record fleet for the new-look

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Rolex Fastnet Race

12 Where next for the America's

Cup – will Auckland miss out?

16 Countdown to Tokyo 2020's

32 Max Campbell and crew received a generous welcome when they crossed the Atlantic to the Grenadines

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OCEANIS YACHT 54 ON TEST

By repurposing an existing hull design, has Beneteau just reinvented the 55-footer?

BUILT FOR BATTLE

Is the new Pelagic 77 the ultimate expedition yacht? Elaine Bunting sailed with Skip Novak to find out

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CARIBBEAN WARMTH

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FUN IN THE SUN

Toby Hodges checks out the latest sailing gear and water toys to maximise your enjoyment afloat this summer

Published monthly on the second Thursday of the month by Future Publishing Limited, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP ©Future Publishing, 2021 ISSN 0043-9991

delayed Olympic Regatta

New gear and yachts

62 Electric outboards plus 66 70

inflatable SUPs and kayaks that can double as tenders A range of portable coolboxes and sun protection appraised Performance yachts and exploration vessels

Practical

76 Special report How to work from on board your yacht

80 Extraordinary boats The new Ultime Banque Populaire XI

86 Navigation briefing Tactics

for finishing the new Fastnet

88 5 Tips Dee Caffari on how to get offshore race ready

Regulars 05 20 22 51 90 96 98

From the editor Matthew Sheahan Skip Novak Great Seamanship Yachts for sale Classified advertisements World’s coolest yachts COVER PICTURE Summer sailing on a Swan 58 by Pedro Martinez/Martinez Studio.

Pelagic 77 photo by Paul Wyeth

Online www.yachtingworld.com

YouTube Yachting World

Facebook @yachtingworld

twitter @yachtingworldmagazine

Richard Langdon

SOONER THAN LATER Barely a day goes by without another multinational announcing changes to their return to office policy, or a report on whether our economic future lies in boardrooms or spare bedrooms. One thing is for certain: the culture of work has changed forever.

Now remote working, flexible hours and teleconferencing have become the dominant way of operating for many, the ability to work from anywhere is becoming a reality. And that means casting off for a long-haul bluewater voyage is no longer something that has to wait until retirement.

Top-notch connectivity and ruthless time management are prerequisites for anyone wanting to combine cruising with a career, be

that running a business, consultancy or employment. But as our feature from ‘workaboard’ sailor Phil Johnson on page 76 explains, the rewards can be years of experiences, rather than decades of waiting.

The current travel restrictions may be complicating cruising life, but there is no shortage of sailors wanting to make the leap.

The World Cruising Club recently ran an excellent webinar series (called ‘Cockpit Conversations’) attended by cruisers preparing to set sail from all over the world.

It may never feel like the exact right time to go, but if a bluewater dream lies somewhere in your future, perhaps that 25-year-plan might just become a five-year-plan?

Helen Fretter Editor

JOIN US AND GET YOUR SAILING FIX Subscribe to Yachting World for £19.99 and get FREE JET 2 earphones from Flare Audio worth £39.99 – as well as saving 35% saving off the regular price. See page 50 for details

*Big savings and best price guarantee * Never miss an issue * Treat family or friends 5

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PICTURE THIS

Who said the V065s had had their day? Not only were the ocean one-designs granted a spectacular sunset reception into Alicante at the end of Leg 2 of the Ocean Race Europe, but they also produced needlesharp competition, frequently outperforming the newer, foilassisted IMOCA 60s during the multistage offshore event. See Matthew Sheahan’s column on the race on page 20.

Photo by Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

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ON THE WIND NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE WORLD OF YACHTING

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Corinthians make ‘NOSTAR’ transat

Following the postponement of this year’s OSTAR and TwoSTAR transatlantic races to 2022, a small group of determined solo and doublehanded skippers set off on their own transatlantic challenge in May. The transat was initiated by Charlene Howard, who had entered the 2021 TwoSTAR race on her Sun Odyssey 45.2 AJ Wanderlust with co-skipper Bobby Drummond. When it became evident the official races organised by the Royal Western YC were likely to be postponed for another year, Howard and a small group of other entries decided to cross together: Scottish single-hander Jock Hamilton on his 32-footer Freya, Ertan Beskardes on his Rustler 36 Lazy Otter, and Guido Cantini on his Vancouver 34 Hannah of Cowes.

“We all left together, on the exact day and time that OSTAR/TwoSTAR was supposed to leave.

We were able to get the sailing instructions from the 2017 race just to confirm the course, which is very simple: you leave Plymouth breakwater,

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leave Eddystone light to starboard and then finish at Castle Hill, Newport 3,000 miles later.”

As is frequently the case for the official OSTAR, the NOSTAR fleet faced a tough Atlantic crossing.

“When we left it was blowing quite hard. The decision I made off the south-west coast of Ireland was I didn’t want to go straight into big seas. The unintended impact of that was we got caught in the middle of a secondary low that was not showing on any of the charts, which forced us to go north because it was where we could make the best headway,” explains Howard.

“That helped our race a lot because we ended up skirting above the low pressure systems and getting some tailwinds, whereas the other guys decided to go a more rhumbline route and I think

they encountered worse sea state because of that. We actually had quite a nice crossing for the first 10 days or so because we were above the low pressure systems. We went as high as 56°N, so then we had to climb back down and went through five days of near-gales and quite heavy seas.”

On board AJ Wanderlust they suffered a broken inner forestay, ripped mainsail and a destroyed wind generator, but were able to continue into Newport, arriving after 31 days.

Meanwhile, Jock Hamilton was dismasted.

“Jock got about halfway across the track when he dismasted, and then showed very good seamanship and jury rigging [to sail back to] Scotland,” explains Howard. “Ertan on Lazy Otter had three knockdowns in one night and lost their

‘I love racing because, no matter how slow you’re going, you can’t turn on the engine’

MOD70 record smashing continues

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The ongoing battle for record honours between the MOD70s continues, with Jason Carroll’s Argo demolishing the Bermuda-Plymouth transatlantic record in June. Argo took over 16 hours off the previous record for the 2,870-mile eastbound course across the North Atlantic, crossing in 4d 19h 30m. The crew sailed a total of 3,347 miles at an average speed just under 29 knots.

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Left: Guido Cantini racing Hannah of Cowes.

Below: Charlene Howard and co-skipper Bobby Drummond entered the ‘NOSTAR’ event with AJ Wanderlust in memory of Howard’s mother, Charlotte VO65s head away from Portugal at the start of the Cascais-Alicante leg

First event for new Ocean Race format

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teething problems, including a collision between 11th Hour Racing and a V065 as the two fleets came together at the finish of Leg 1, 11th Hour’s protruding foils making contact with a 65 to leeward.

In a separate incident 11th Hour Racing also narrowly avoided a high-speed collision with an anchored motorboat shortly after the start of Leg 2, apparently hooking the anchor chain with their foil and suffering damage as a result (there were no injuries in either incident).

However, the race delivered close competition, with final placings undecided until the last stages, tactical intrigue through the Mediterranean stages, and the usual supply of high quality onboard footage from both fleets.

The Ocean Race is set to start in the autumn of 2022.

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self steering gear, so they went to the Azores to get sorted out.

“And Guido started with us but was immediately having issues with both his hydrovane as well as his electric pilot. So he returned to Plymouth and then started again.”

Cantini later retired to the Azores, leaving Howard and Drummond the default winners of the inaugural NOSTAR Race.

Howard, who is American but lives on the Isle of Man, is an archetypal Corinthian ocean racing sailor. She has raced some 100,000 miles on her production yacht, which she describes as ‘fairly standard but significantly beefed up’.

“I love racing because, no matter how slow you’re going, you can’t turn on the engine. So you just have to challenge yourself to make 11 tons of boat move in 3 knots of wind. And I love the selfsufficiency of leaving and knowing that it is simply yourself and your sailing partner and your skills that have to get you to the other side.”

The first event run by the new organisers of the former Volvo Ocean Race, the Ocean Race Europe, finished in Genova this June. The Ocean Race Europe started on 29 May in Lorient, France, with stopovers in Cascais, Portugal, and Alicante, Spain before finishing in Italy.

Yoann Richomme skippered the Mirpuri Foundation VO65 to win from Chris Nicholson’s AkzoNobel Ocean Racing, while the IMOCA 60 fleet was won by Robert Stanjek’s Offshore Team Germany ahead of Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team.

The race attracted some big names from the offshore racing world; Nicholson was joined by fellow Volvo veterans Bouwe Bekking and Simeon Tienpont in the VO65s. Meanwhile the IMOCA fleet included Louis Burton on Bureau Vallée, racing with Pip Hare for some legs of the race, Sébastien Josse with Nicolas Troussel on the new Corum L’Épargne, Thomas Ruyant and fellow Vendée racer, Clarisse Cremer on LinkedOut, while British Olympian Annie Lush joined Stanjek on the winning German team.

The race was the first event for the two-fleet format, and also the first test of the IMOCA 60s in a fully-crewed (plus onboard reporter) set up, both of which will be used for the next around the world event, The Ocean Race. There were some

Mirpuri Foundation’s winning VO65 crew

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ON THE WIND

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Les Voiles turns 40

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez celebrates 40 years of the annual French classic this year. The event will run this year with a new two-week format, as adopted in 2020, with the classic and modern yachts racing from Saturday 25 September and the Maxi yachts competing the following week from Tuesday 5 October.

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Enormous fleet ready for Fastnet The Rolex Fastnet Race looks set to consolidate its position as the biggest offshore yacht race in the world this August, with over 450 yachts entered for this year’s 49th edition.

The 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race starts from Cowes on 8 August, returning to its usual dates of the Sunday following Cowes Week, but with a new finish port for 2021 of Cherbourg instead of Plymouth. The course change increases the length of the race from 608 to 695 miles, and will create some additional tactical and navigational challenges for crews, including the final hurdle of tackling the rapid tidal currents of the Alderney Race before the finish (see our expert advice on how to navigate this on page 86).

The change of finish port has been controversial, but was made as Cherbourg’s Port Chantereyne is better able to accommodate the race’s enormous fleet. French participation in the race has been hugely successful – French yachts won nine of the 10 classes in 2019, and overall IRC honours in three of the past four editions of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s biennial event.

The Fastnet race entry has almost doubled in size over the past two decades, jumping to the present tally of 453 from 388 just two years ago.

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No other 600-mile classic offshore races come close to this level of participation.

The bulk of the fleet is made up of IRC yachts competing for individual class prizes as well as the overall winner’s trophy, the Fastnet Challenge Cup. Nearly a quarter of the fleet are racing double-handed, with 92 entered, up from 64 in 2019. They include Shirley Robertson, a two-time Olympic champion and Dee Caffari, the world’s most capped female round the world sailor, while Alexis Loison is back to defend his title in the class, sailing again with Jean-Pierre

Kelbert on the JPK 10.30 Léon.

Monohull line honours contenders are likely to include George David’s Rambler 88, the defending champion, and the brand new, foil-assisted ClubSwan 125 Skorpios. There is also a strong showing of VO70s, VO65s and IMOCA 60s, many of the latter also racing double-handed. Four giant Ultim trimarans will also be competing for the first finish gun – the race record (set over the Cowes-Plymouth course in the last race) went to the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild at 1d 4h 2m.

With travel restrictions between the UK and

ON THE WIND

Teens set first IRC record

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The first recipients of a ratified record from the newly created IRCRecords platform are five teenagers on a venerable David Thomas design. The students from the Greig City Academy/Scaramouche Sailing Trust sailed the Intro 22 Riot around the Isle of Wight in 7h 32m 42 seconds to establish a benchmark IRCRecords time for the course.

Southern Ocean boundaries drawn

Passage and Scotia Sea, constitute the newly acknowledged Southern Ocean, which are characterised by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, rather than defined by a degree of latitude.

By drawing attention to the Southern Ocean, the National Geographic Society hopes to promote its conservation and define areas for its preservation.

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A Southern Ocean passage has long been revered as the zenith of bluewater ocean voyages, but there has been little agreement on what, actually, constitutes the Southern Ocean boundaries.

On 8 June 2021, World Oceans Day, the National Geographic Society formally recognised the Southern Ocean as the world’s fifth ocean, joining the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans. Most of the waters that surround Antarctica out to 60°S, excluding the Drake

The 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race will still begin off Cowes, Isle of Wight, (left) and round the Fastnet rock (below), but will finish in Cherbourg instead of Plymouth

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France changing frequently (at the time of going to press, fully vaccinated British visitors arriving in France were not required to quarantine, but arrivals into the UK from France were), race organisers are preparing to flex the race start and finish arrangements, including allowing French teams to start from Cowes without touching land in the UK. “We don’t know how long these restrictions will last, but we remain hopeful that they will have little impact on the race and how we are able to welcome the fleet in Cherbourg,” said Race Director, Chris Stone.

“Things are changing daily and we are working with our partners in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin and government authorities to create the safest race we can; on and off the water. The team will continue to monitor the situation and advise on issues and alternative arrangements, if necessary.”

For the latest updates on the Covid-19 restrictions, and all race information, visit rolexfastnetrace.com For expert advice on preparing for the race, navigation and tactical tips, and latest reports and videos see yachtingworld.com/fastnet

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ON THE WIND

The future of chase boats?

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Emirates Team New Zealand and Christchurch engineering company AFCryo are working on a prototype hydrogen-powered foiling chase boat. The zero-emissions design is being created to keep up with the foiling AC75s and act as a support vessel. Grant Dalton said he hoped the project would ‘make a seismic shift into hydrogen power’.

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Above: Could Valencia see a return of the America’s Cup to its shores?

Left: Auckland is still not out of the picture to host the next America’s Cup, says ETNZ’s Grant Dalton inittaG onafetS

Where next for the America’s Cup?

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The future of the 37th America’s Cup has been thrown wide open after a $99million funding offer from the New Zealand government was turned down by Emirates Team New Zealand.

The New Zealand Government and Auckland City Council had a three-month exclusivity period to agree terms to host the 37th America’s Cup with the Cup holders. However, the two parties failed to strike a deal, leaving the options wide open for where and how the 37th running of the America’s Cup might take place.

A statement from Emirates Team New Zealand read: “During the three-month exclusive negotiating period between New Zealand agencies and ETNZ, they have not been able to reach a conclusion that works for all parties.

All three parties have worked through these discussions with the best of intentions to see the AC37 hosted in Auckland, and they have not been able to reach agreement.

“Emirates Team New Zealand will now

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commence discussions with other nations to look into options regarding hosting AC37 events.”

It was openly known that the Cup holders had been exploring options to run the Cup overseas – sparking condemnation from some ardent Kiwi fans, and seen as gamesmanship on behalf of team boss Grant Dalton by others, in an effort to increase the financial support levied by the New Zealand government.

Potential venues to host the 37th America’s Cup being discussed range from Cork in Ireland, home to the world’s oldest yacht club, to the glittering metropolis of Singapore. Bids from Middle Eastern venues

ETNZ’s Grant Dalton

potentially include Doha in Qatar, famously associated with the controversial Oryx Quest race; Dubai, the UAE city that has positioned itself as a key venue for massive sporting events; Jeddah in Saudi Arabia – not a country known for its widespread adoption of sailing but another building its profile as a major sports host; and Oman, home of the successful Oman Sail programme for over 12 years.

Likely favourites as alternatives to Auckland will include Valencia, Spain, host to the highly successful 2007 and 2010 events, and the Solent, UK, home to the original America’s Cup back in 1851, and Challenger of Record INEOS Team UK. Organisers have a deadline of September 17 to name the next host venue.

‘It was openly known the Cup holders had been exploring options’

ON THE WIND

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SailGP heading for Plymouth The UK leg of the Sail GP series takes place from 17-18 July in Plymouth.

Viewing is free from Plymouth Hoe (registration required for access to the fan village), or tickets to the Waterfront Premium area cost £30. To watch from your yacht register via the SailGP ‘Bring Your Own Boat’ Program.

See more at sailgp.com/races/great-britain-sail-grand-prix-tickets

Offshore racing out of 2024 Olympics

My other yacht’s a Bentley

Contest Yachts and Bentley Motors have teamed up to create a unique yacht and luxury

securing the ‘Field of Play’ (surely no more risky than an inner-city marathon course?).

The relative costs of an offshore campaign are harder to justify. However, ocean racer Mike Golding believes they could have been greatly reduced using a supplied equipment format, similar to Formula Kiteboard racing will have two Olympic medals at Paris the World Match Racing Tour, 2024, instead of double-handed offshore racing with boats potentially leased out for training.

“The mistake was assuming this was like officer of World Sailing, said, “The World Sailing every other Olympic sport. You don’t select a community selected the Mixed Offshore Event production boat. You select the teams from the and our slate of events gave a true representation racing that’s going on in the local area – could of the depth and breadth of our sport. be IRC, could be ORC. They get sent to the “Throughout this process, the Mixed Offshore event, and are given a one-design boat, strictly Event remained our first choice event. Today’s controlled, to race for the Olympics. That would news will be upsetting for the thriving offshore prevent the costs from spiralling.” community, but we will continue to ensure the He adds: “I honestly believe the biggest losers growth and long-term sustainability of offshore here are the IOC; they’ve missed an opportunity.” sailing.” See our feature on the boom in doubleIn a statement David Graham, chief executive handed racing on page 24.

coupe, matching the styling of a Bentley Continental GT V8 with a Contest 59CS for Russian musician and film director Garik Sukachev. The Contest interior features

hotspur red leather and contrasting linen beige hide to match the luxurious cabin of the Bentley, and panelling featuring Bentley’s signature diamond-in-diamond quilting.

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Proposals to have a double-handed mixed offshore racing event at the 2024 Paris Olympics have been rejected by the International Olympic Committee. Instead there will now be separate men’s and women’s kiteboarding events at the 2024 Games (instead of a mixed relay format).

Opposition to the offshore racing class centred on affordability, ability to secure the ‘Field of Play’, the complexity of broadcasting the event, and the lack of a previous Offshore World Championship. Supporters believed many of those concerns could have been ameliorated.

Shirley Robertson, a double Olympic gold medallist and a highly experienced sailing broadcaster, believes that modern technology would allow engaging 24/7 coverage. Before the announcement she told Yachting World: “The multi-day offshore event should be a mouthwatering prospect for the broadcast offering from the Games, a one-of-a-kind showcasing sailing with imaginative coverage. And tracking – what a massive interactive opportunity!”

World Sailing had proposed a reduction in the size of the sailing area to remove concerns about

ON THE WIND

Peter Harrison 1937-2021

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Sir Peter Harrison, sailor, businessman and philanthropist, has died aged 84. Sir Peter personally backed the GBR Challenge British America’s Cup campaign in 2002/03, the first British entry since 1987. For many years he raced the Farr 50 and 52 Chernikeeff and the 115ft ketch Sojana.

Torpedo mode…

Whoa! This futuristic 63m superyacht looks like something Marvel has conceived for its latest superhero movie. This formidable

flybridge sloop, dubbed ‘Project Fury’, is the collaborative vision of Rob Doyle and Van Geest Design, who say its genesis is ‘high performance, fanatical weight reduction and going full beam on the main deck to maximise

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After a year-long hiatus for most racing fleets, the Swan Tuscany Challenge was among the first events to see international one-design competition in the ClubSwan fleets.

Held in the sheltered Gulf of Follonica, the event hosted 23 owners and crews for four days of racing based out of the Marina di Scarlino.

Covid testing, social distancing and a curtailed social programme all made for a different event than in previous years, but the competition level

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Swan brings back one-design racing

remained high, with big name sailors such as Francesco Bruni, Iker Martinez, Ross Halcrow and Sofia Bekatorou joining the crews.

“This is what you need to do after the AC when you’re coming from a certain world back to a normal displacement world,” says Vasco Vascotto, tactician on Luna Rossa for the last America’s Cup, who calls tactics on the ClubSwan 50 Bronenosec. “I’m excited, very excited. We need to go sailing – owners need to go sailing. We

interior volume’. The pods on either side of the flybridge – sorry, ‘Space Deck’ – are to house the helm stations and guest seating, while the deck itself is twice as big as a similar-sized sailing or motoryacht, says the design team.

need to come back to normality.”

Among the 13 ClubSwan 50s, competition boiled down to a duel between Swan owner Leonardo Ferragamo’s Cuordileone, and Hatari (GER), owned by Marcus Brennecke. Ferragmo came out on top. Racing was much more open in the 10-strong ClubSwan 36 fleet. The class was only established in 2019 and half the teams were newcomers this year with little time to work up the boats last season. The result came down to the last leg of the last race, when Andrea Lacorte’s Vitamina took the win. “The boat is damn fast,” said Lacorte afterwards. “The fleet is very closely matched – you can be first or last.”

The ClubSwan 36 was designed

by Juan Kouyoumdijan, with its main point of innovation being the long, curved ‘C-foil’ that runs through the boat amidships.

Rather than creating flight, the foil provides some lift and a lot of stability.

According to Swan, it mitigates leeway when beating, stabilises the boat when gybing and reduces displacement by about 40% on a reach, enabling the boat to ‘skim’ above 15 knots.

“It’s technical sailing. You have to use that know-how to make this kind of boat fly,” said Giacomo Loro Piana, owner of Sease. “In training in 30 knots of wind, we touched 25 knots, but the boat was perfectly stable – super precise. It was fun. I don’t think there’s any way back from foils. Even regular cruising boats – they’ll change standards of sailing for everyone.”

ON THE WIND

TOKYO OLYMPICS

Who to watch at

TOKYO

The Olympic Regatta will be a high-level experiment in who has spent the past 18 months of pandemic time the most effectively, writes Andy Rice. How much will lack of regatta time have affected the ‘pecking order’ in the 10 sailing events? Here’s our take on who we think is going to be vying for the medals in a venue that could bring a huge variety of conditions, from light and shifty offshore, to huge rolling surf and big breeze.

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49er Men

America’s Cup winners earlier this year, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke go to Tokyo as defending Olympic Champions and remain the favourites to win 49er skiff gold for New Zealand in this high performance class. Their toughest competition is likely to come from Bronze medallists from Rio 2016, Erik Heil/Tommy Ploessel (GER), who always turn it on for the big occasion. Other serious podium contenders are Diego Botin/Iago López Marra (ESP), and Great Britain’s Dylan Fletcher/Stu Bithell, who were 2017 49er World Champions.

49erFX

The 49erFX gold and silver medallists from Rio 2016 – respectively Brazil’s Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze and New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech – will both be back, but face strong competition from Tamara Echegoyen/Paula Barcelo (ESP), who are 2020 World Champions, the Dutch duo of Annemiek Bekkering/ Annette Duetz (NED, 2018 World Champions), and 2020 European Champions Tina Lutz/ Susann Beucke (GER).

Charlotte Dobson/ Saskia Tidey (GBR) are also strong in the breeze.

Nacra 17

The leading contenders in the Nacra 17 foiling catamaran each had to scrape through particularly tight national selection battles.

Ruggero Tita/Caterina Banti (ITA) set the pace when the Nacra 17 went fully-foiling, winning the World Championships in 2018, but 2020 World Champions John Gimson/ Anna Burnet (GBR) have been one of the strongest teams of the past two years. All three medal-winning crews from Rio 2016 – Argentina, Australia and Austria – are also real contenders. Can 59-yearold Santiago Lange (ARG), again with Cecilia Carranza Saroli, repeat his gold medal winning heroics of Rio 2016?

ON THE WIND

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470 M

With seven world titles to his name, Mat Belcher (AUS) is the most successful 470 sailor of all time. Belcher, and crew Will Ryan, are looking to improve on the silver medal from Rio 2016 and are many people’s favourites for Tokyo Gold. Jordi Xammar/ Nico Rodriguez (ESP) have set a new standard in downwind dynamic movement in the 470 470 fleet, with the rest of the world working hard to match their work rate. This year’s World Champions, Anton Dahlberg/Fredrik Bergström, could also become Sweden’s first ever 470 Olympic Champions.

470 W

The Gold and Bronze medal-winning helms from Rio 2016 have both teamed up with new crews for Tokyo, and the fight for the top of the podium in the women’s 470 looks set to be a duel between Hannah Mills, now with Eilidh McIntyre (GBR) and Camille Lecointre/Aloise Retornaz (FRA). But the Olympic Regatta is never clear cut and recently crowned World Champions, Silvia Mas/Patricia Cantero, look well placed to maintain a Spanish tradition in this classic double-hander. World Champions in 2018 Ai Kondo/Miho Yoshioka (JPN) will also be out for a home waters win.

It’s impossible to choose a clear favourite in the single-hander formerly known as the Laser.

Matt Wearn (AUS) beat the reigning Olympic Champion Tom Burton to Australian selection.

London 2012 silver medallist and twice World Champion Pavlos Kontides (CYP) is out to prove that small nations like Cyprus can succeed against the athletes from bigger sailing powers like Elliot Hanson (GBR), Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) and Philipp Buhl (GER). Five-time medallist and all-time greatest Laser sailor Robert Scheidt might yet win a sixth medal for Brazil, even aged 48.

ILCA 6 W (ex Laser Radial)

With silver and gold from the past two Games, Marit Bouwmeester (NED) looks well placed to score a hat trick of medals in the ILCA 6, aka the Laser Radial. The Dutch sailor will be hard pushed to match gold from Rio 2016, however, with Rio bronze medallist Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) looking powerful throughout the Tokyo cycle, winning the 2019 world title. World Champion in 2018, Emma Plasschaert (BEL), is another serious medal contender. Poland, Greece and Japan are also pinning high hopes on their athletes reaching the ILCA 6 podium in Enoshima.

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ILCA 7 M (ex Laser)

Finn

This will be the first Olympic Regatta for almost 20 years when GBR will not be clear favourite to win Finn gold. Defending champion Giles Scott (GBR) is still very much in the frame, but the distractions of the America’s Cup campaign mean he’s no longer head and shoulders above the rest. Josh Junior (NZL), 2019 World Champion, will be considered the marginal favourite with Hungary’s 2018 World Champion Zsombor Berecz not far behind.

Windsurfing RS:X

In the windsurfing fleets, the Netherlands is favourite to take gold in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Strong contenders in the men will come from France, Italy, Poland and China. All of those countries will be competitive in the women’s division, with Israel and Great Britain also looking strong.

WHEN 25 July to 4 August, 2021 WHERE Enoshima Yacht Harbour HOW TO FOLLOW

Find the full schedule and regional broadcasters at tokyo2020.sailing.org For our full coverage see yachtingworld.com/tag/olympic-sailing

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www.twitter.com/ yachtingworld

LETTERS

Letters to Yachting World may be edited yachtingworld@futurenet.com

The Mumm 30 is one of the coolest yachts you can sail, according to many readers.

This is Bouygues Telecom in action

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Mumm’s the word

Yacht designer Mark Mills nominated the Mumm 30 (now Farr 30) as his ‘Coolest Yacht’, plenty of readers agreed that it was a top choice: Couldn’t agree more. It’s been almost 15 years since we had ours, but I can still feel the boat now. A perfect purest design, as others have said, with the fractional rig, non-overlapping jib, no runners, huge masthead kite.

We used to race under ORC in a fleet that included a Farr 40, OD 35, Mumm 36, and Farr 47, and it says a lot that we rated faster than all of them under ORC in both light and heavy air, and the boat performed accordingly. Slippery in the light stuff and first to plane in the heavier.

The thing I most remember is the sailpower combined with lightness meant you could be flying downwind at 18-20 knots and have a light bow person gybe the pole effortlessly provided you drove it properly. There’s an elegance to that which you just can’t get with asymmetrics, of which I’ve owned two since the Mumm 30 (Melges and J/80).

Stellar boat.

Jeremy Smith A yacht for the purist and a bundle of fun.

I recall doing 18 knots under main after a

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www.facebook.com/ yachtingworldmagazine

Holt rowing sculls search

In my research on the history of boat building of Jack Holt, Yachting World and one of its early editors, Captain Haylock, was mentioned. I wonder if [anyone has] any information on single racing sculls built by Jack Holt?

Perhaps I am looking for a needle in a haystack, but I am hoping someone may have knowledge of his building of single sculls. It would help to verify one which has been hanging in my family’s barn for over 30 years. The boat was owned by a Mr Anthony Stout who is now many years deceased. He would have been in his 20s when he purchased it in the UK, and he supposedly rowed on the Thames. He was there when Jack Holt was a young man designing boats.

Margaret Hunter

Stability curves massive wipe-out that washed the wind gear off at a Nationals in Melbourne!

Lee Condell

The cost of adventure?

How much does it cost to cruise the world in a 30ft cruising yacht like an Island Packet 29?

I’m thinking of a five-year trip down the east coast of America from Chesapeake Bay area, Panama Transit, Galapagos Islands, Marquesas, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, top of Australia down the west coast to Fremantle, bottom of Australia to Sydney then Whitsunday Islands to New Zealand.

Apart from harbour dues, food and fuel what do you expect to pay – for example, to transit the Panama Canal?

Are you expected to pay, let’s say, a $5,000 license fee to cruise in someone’s territorial waters like the Galapagos Islands and other Pacific Islands like Marquesas, Tahiti etc?

I thought you were free to cruise (once quarantine checks cleared) lying at anchor in remote bays or pay marina harbour dues if marinas are your thing.

Now I’m not so sure. Looks like you may have to hand over bucket loads of cash just to visit distant shores.

Ian Senior

Would stability curves give a greater understanding to the average yachtsman of a vessel’s behaviour?

First let me thank Toby Hodges for all the wonderful tests and reviews that he has (and continues!) to contribute to Yachting World. Since I’m a little older I still remember the 1979 Fastnet Race and the misfortunes of many yachts.

After this race it became a custom to publish stability curves for yachts as they were tested.

These days yachts get wider and as a consequence of the added form stability, ballast gets lower. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to start publishing these stability curves again?

Mats Ohlsson Toby Hodges replies: Thank you for the kind words Mats. We published stability curves for every test we did (and polar diagrams) until a few years ago when we redesigned our test pages. If readers are keen to see this reintroduced, we would happily do so!

NEXT MONTH

ESTABLISHED 1894 • VOLUME 172 • ISSUE NO 3356

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Best bluewater multihulls

The multihull sector has exploded in popularity over recent years, but with so much choice now on the market, how do you choose the right cat for you? Toby Hodges anaylses the best mutihull options for family cruising, high performance sailing, adventurous exploring and more – both new and pre-loved designs

Cape of Good Hope to Horta

Returning home after an eight-year circumnavigation, Janneke Kuysters and Wietze van der Laan sailed 6,000 miles from South Africa to the Azores.

They share their learnings from this epic Atlantic passage

Boat Show preview

It’s been a while... but boat show season is back. We take a close look at what’s changed and the most interesting new launches to look out for at the shows that’ll be happening this autumn

Traditional values They don’t (often) make them like this any more: Seacwen is a hand-crafted 50ft ketch, designed by Nigel Irens and built at the famous Elephant Boatyard on the River Hamble. Nic Compton went aboard to find out more of the story behind her

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COMMENT

MATT S H E A H A N WHISPER IT, BUT THE DECADE-OLD VO65 MIGHT JUST BE OUTPERFORMING THE FOILING IMOCA 60…

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et against the modern IMOCA 60 trend for wide flat sterns, bulbous scow bows, sunken foredecks, fully enclosed cockpits and, of course, moustache foils, it’s easy to think of the VO65s as being outdated, outclassed and surplus to requirements.

As I write this I’m working as a TV news producer for the Ocean Race Europe, a three-leg offshore race around Europe from Lorient to Genoa, via Cascais and Alicante.

The event is a preamble to next year’s Ocean Race proper (formerly known as the Volvo Ocean Race), where the existing fleet of VO65s will be doing their third lap of the planet. For the first time in a while there’ll be two classes as the contemporary foiling IMOCA 60 speed machines join the action to blast their way around the globe – and in so doing are expected to show us just how far offshore design has moved in a few years.

But the Ocean Race Europe has triggered a discussion about how much the VO65s still have to offer.

It seemed clear before the start that with their ‘conventional’ plain-looking straight daggerboards the VO65s would point higher upwind. And indeed they did.

But what wasn’t expected was that they’d sail lower and faster than the IMOCAs downwind, even with the 60s’ ability to get up onto their leeward foil, lift their bows and smoke off over the horizon.

Instead, the VO65s were quicker, thanks in part to new A4 masthead kites that the fleet didn’t have during the last Volvo Ocean Race. These conventional looking downwind gennakers appear to have added at least one more major gear into the VO65’s transmission. And they’re quick.

In the downhill slide from Cascais to the Gibraltar Strait the VO65s started 20 minutes behind the IMOCA 60 fleet, but caught up and passed all but one of them. No one had expected that.

The other thing that has always impressed me, and I believe is underrated about these boats, is just how robust a VO65 is. Yes, it’s possible to break one, but compared to the VO70s these things are bulletproof and continue to deliver blistering speeds without self-destructing.

So I’m going to claim that the VO65 is

one of, if not THE, coolest offshore boats of the last decade.

But how come the foiling IMOCA 60s find themselves playing second fiddle to these old fashioned fully crewed boats? A recent interview with designer Juan Kouyoumdjian on the Ocean Race podcast ‘Off Watch’ delivered some fascinating reasons as to what is really going on with high performance offshore design in the IMOCA world. In it, Kouyoumdjian explains that the current foiling generation is all about making compromises, quite serious ones.

“Modern IMOCA foils are trying to achieve three things, vertical force [to lift the boat], side force [to act as the daggerboard] and righting moment,” he said. “One example of the compromise is that pushing the foil further outboard provides more righting moment but requires more structure to handle the loads and the bending moment which adds weight. It also creates more drag as a result of the fatter foil.

“Too much righting moment also puts higher loads on the rig.

“In light airs, foils in the water simply mean drag so you don’t want them there at all, but it’s really hard to make the foils disappear completely. Another issue is that downwind in a big sea you need to use the foil to lift the bows, but with the C-section curved foils it’s difficult to get enough foil low in the water to work.”

The bottom line is that creating a competitive IMOCA 60 that will smoke its way around the world non-stop means working within a lot of parameters and compromises. The VO65 is a one-design boat that had none of these constraints. So, while the new IMOCA designs are clearly raising the bar with each lap of the planet, recent evidence suggests that when they are matched against an all rounder like the VO65 you could argue that the IMOCAs are becoming one-trick ponies.

There will be plenty who don’t want to hear this, but it was difficult not to start thinking it during the Ocean Race Europe watching the fleets racing alongside each other. Even more interesting was that no one expected to be having such a searching discussion around a race that was essentially a preamble to the big gig next year.

‘IMOCAs are becoming one-trick ponies’

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COMMENT

S K I P N O VA K IT’S THE END OF AN ERA, AS SKIP HANDS OVER THE KEYS TO PELAGIC AUSTRALIS

P

elagic Australis is sold. You read that right. On 17 May Pelagic Australis was handed over to Greenpeace International in Cape Town and is currently on her way to the Netherlands with skipper Chris, mate Sophie and a Greenpeace crew of three.

The send-off was a carnival affair for the seller (second happiest day of a boat owner’s life...) and the buyer (the first...) complete with Zulu dancers cavorting on the foredeck thanks to Greenpeace South Africa. This was a one-on-one transaction with no brokers involved. DIY, just the way I like things.

Greenpeace seldom divulges specific campaign plans going forward but we can say she will be undergoing a refit in the Netherlands, making ‘green-tech’ modifications and running a competition for a new name. Then she goes into campaign service. So, remember the shape and configuration of Pelagic Australis as a likeness may suddenly appear on the horizon or maybe the AIS (or not!). Rest assured she will no doubt pop up in the media at some point soon, decorated in her rainbow colours.

This was of course a major decision, but not a difficult one. The negotiation began over six months ago while I was desperately conjuring up a southern charter season based from Cape Town. When Greenpeace contacted me and said they needed a small vessel with a lifting keel and rudder for ‘close quarter campaigning’, I had an epiphany.

I had no intention of selling Pelagic Australis, not least of all as I had a full book of clients from our normal season with nowhere to go, that I was in the process of rolling over 2021/22. This was a dilemma to be solved.

But given my age, the vessel’s age and not least of all the ongoing Covid story where uncertainty continues through 2021 and on into 2022, it was the right thing to do, certainly from a financial perspective.

Or in other words, the writing was on the bulkhead.

After 20 years filled with memories and the casts of characters we have hosted, the timing was right to pass her on to begin a new chapter – and what better home

than Greenpeace for this venerable expedition vessel.

Many people have asked, “Was this difficult emotionally to part with Pelagic Australis?” And, “Aren’t you sentimentally attached?” You might make a case in this regard for the original Pelagic, which launched a dream way back in 1987 and still awaits me on the hard in Maine for future arctic adventures. But for Pelagic Australis, not at all. She is metal, wood and fibre (mostly metal). The memories I have are well filed. To steal a phrase, she was, for me, a ‘taxi to the snowline’.

The good news though is I have almost seamlessly gone from one situation to another (the story of my life, various friends remind me). I have just rejoined, after a six month hiatus, the new Tony Castro-designed Pelagic 77, Vinson of Antarctica. She arrived in my old ‘home port’ of the Hamble on 15 May. I’d not seen her since October on my last visit to KM Yachts in Holland before retreating to family in Cape Town for another lockdown. In the interim I’ve have been working on the fit out and sea trials with KM and our sailing crew on WhatsApp and Zoom.

Frustrating? For sure. We already have a long list of minor modifications for when she returns to KM Yachts in September, but nothing substantial so far. Safe to say, 90% of those could have been dealt with had I been on site as was planned. In any event she is up and running awaiting her first big gale and a taste of ice, which will tell if she really is fit for purpose (see our full feature on page 40).

By the time this column piece goes to print we should be in Svalbard on a month’s long science charter with a German university group of geologists. After a visit to the shipyard in September for warranty and modifications she sails south to Port Stanley for a science charter to South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Vinson of Antarctica is a collaboration with my Chilean colleague Nicolas Ibanez and will, to a great extent, take up where Pelagic Australis left off. Our charter focus will be more weighted to science, film and educational projects of high value, but we will also be accommodating, when possible, our usual guests wishing to visit places of high latitudes.

‘For Pelagic Australis the writing was on the bulkhead’

22

Henry Bomby and Shirley Robertson double-handing on the Sun Fast 3300 Fastrak XII

Double the fun DOUBLE-HANDED RACING HAS BEEN THE STAND-OUT SUCCESS STORY OF RECENT YEARS. JAMES BOYD FINDS OUT WHY IT’S SO POPULAR

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If ever the stars aligned to see a sport’s popularity grow exponentially, they did so for the recent story of double-handed offshore racing. Societal changes, a brief hint of a future Olympic Games role, and even social distancing all conspired to make double-handed big boat racing a phenomenon. Add in a high level of competition, plus the increasing availability of purpose-designed yachts, and the growth in the double-handed scene has been explosive.

One of the most surprising developments of the last decade is just how competitive double-handed offshore racers have become against fully crewed boats. Nowhere was this better demonstrated than in the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race when Cherbourg surgeon Pascal Loison and his pro-sailor Figarist son Alexis, sailing their JPK 10.10 Night And Day, won not only the race’s Two-Handed class and the hotly contested IRC 3 class, but also the race outright on IRC against a giant field of 294 boats. Among their opponents were 249 fully crewed boats featuring several top international campaigns.

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RACING

Will Harris and Pep Costa during La Transat en Double on Cybele Vacances

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Above: Blondie Hasler.

Left: Pascal and Alexis Loisin won the 2013 Rolex Fastnet overall in their JPK 10.10 Night and Day. Right: Rob Craigie and Deb Fish race the Sun Fast 3600 Bellino

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FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS So, how has this come about? Doublehanded offshore racing has a longer history than its recent boom might suggest. It was created in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s by visionaries such as Cockleshell Heroes leader Blondie Hasler, born out of a pioneering spirit and a demand for adventure following the end of World War II. Hasler encouraged the Royal Western Yacht Club in Plymouth to run the first Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) in 1960, which by 1976 had become a monster event with 125 boats. But equally stirring the imagination were the RWYC’s double-handed events, and Hasler spurred the club to run the first doublehanded Round Britain and Ireland in 1966 with four stops: Crosshaven, Ireland; Castle Bay, Barra in the Outer Hebrides; Lerwick, Shetland; and Harwich (subsequently replaced by Lowestoft). The inaugural event was won by Derek Kelsall and Martin Minter-Kemp aboard the trimaran Toria, inadvertently also demonstrating the early potential of multihulls for offshore racing.

The TwoSTAR was later created as the double-handed version of the OSTAR, running from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island, and first held in 1981.

However, thanks largely to the notoriety of Eric Tabarly, the OSTAR winner in both 1964 and 1976, French race organisers spectacularly – and in the most magnificently

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Double-handed competition in the Fastnet has now reached the stage where IRC 3 is entirely dominated by double-handers, with nine of the top 10 spots in 2019 occupied by two-man crews in the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s biennial offshore. The class was again topped by Alexis Loison, then sailing with Jean Pierre Kelbert aboard the French boatbuilder’s own JPK 10.30 Léon.

But the most telling statistics from the Rolex Fastnet Race show how massively double-handed offshore racing has grown in popularity. An IRC Two-Handed class was first introduced to the Rolex Fastnet Race in 2005 when it had 20 entries. This grew to 36 in 2011, then to the last race when there were 64. At the time of writing no fewer than 91 two-man crews were entered in IRC Two-Handed for this year’s race, contributing to the event’s recordsized fleet of 450-plus boats.

successful way – hijacked both the sporting and business elements of short-handed offshore racing. On the singlehanded side this kicked off with the Route du Rhum in 1978 and the Vendée Globe in 1989, but there were also significant double-handed events such as the Transat en Double (first run in 1979) and the Transat Jacques Vabre, held biennially since 1993.

Nowadays, top level double-handed offshore racing takes place in France across all the pro fleets from the IMOCAs, to the Figaro class (notably with their Transat AG2R transatlantic race), to the Class 40 (Normandy Channel Race and Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables) and a multitude of events in the Classe Mini.

Today the Royal Western Yacht Club’s short-handed events still take place on the same great courses, but are purely Corinthian. Meanwhile, over the last 20 years in the UK the amateur side of double-handed offshore racing has been growing steadily and organically.

Whereas once it was broadly acceptable to leave work on a Friday lunchtime and not return until the following Monday afternoon, weather beaten and full of rum and tall tales, this is no longer the case. Today’s ‘time poor’ society has resulted in owners of race boats finding it ever harder to muster committed, reliable crew. Racing doublehanded provides a neat solution: fewer crew to organise

‘You’re very much more involved with the boat.

Fully crewed, you are usually sitting on the rail, you aren’t involved, which is a bit dull’ have either laid on specific series for double-handers or allowed them to race alongside their fully crewed fleets.

The pattern is repeating worldwide - Rhode Island, San Francisco and the Great Lakes in the US have thriving double-handed communities, and the cancelled 2020 Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race was set to be the first to include a double-handed division.

THE MEDAL DRAW More recent developments helped an already growing sector of the sport turn supernova. In 2019 mixed offshore double-handed racing was mooted for inclusion in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and proposed to the International Olympic Committee by World Sailing. During the event selection process, which is notorious for its politics and power-mongering, it was rejected earlier this month by the IOC in favour of

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and pay for and a smaller, cheaper boat to campaign.

Rob Craigie and Deb Fish, who race the Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, began racing two-up together in 2012 and are among the UK’s best Corinthian double-handers. Both previously raced fully crewed, and have even tried singlehanded, but settled on racing as a team of two.

The main attraction, said Fish, is the challenge: “You run out of them fully crewed – I’d done the Fastnet, done transatlantics on the ARC a couple of times fully crewed, and the deliveries back. Double-handed is good, because you have to do everything and you are always busy.”

Craigie agreed: “You are very much more involved with the boat. Fully crewed, you are usually sitting on the rail, you aren’t involved, which is a bit dull.”

Over the last two decades, racing for the likes of the Bellino crew has been supported in the Solent by clubs like the RORC, the Royal Southampton and JOG, which

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Above: Kevin Rawlings and Stuart Childerley took 2nd place in the RORC Two-Handed Series with Aries

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more about chasing weather systems, whereas on Gentoo the much shorter courses are more about boat-on-boat tactics and tidal decisions. A 32-footer is vastly more manageable than even a purpose-built IMOCA, but the racing in what is effectively a one design fleet, is far more intense, with much less use of the autopilot.

Caffari explained: “Everything is loaded really well, it is manageable and within reach and there’s nothing that’s too difficult to get out of. It’s all just about getting the procedures so that you know what is required – what wind strength you need to dial down in before you can drop the kite, or ‘in this wind strength I know I can gather it in myself’.”

▲

NEW TOOLS Part of the beauty of double-handed racing is that many owners compete on the boat they already have.

However, as double-handed racing under IRC has risen in popularity, manufacturers – particularly those in France – have responded with new designs specifically optimised for short-handed racing. They notably include Jeanneau, with its Sun Fast range, and JPK. Both have created boats that IRC smiles upon; such as the Loison’s 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race winning JPK 10.10. In 2015 Géry Trentesaux’s won the Fastnet outright aboard a JPK 10.80, which can be configured for racing fully crewed or short-handed.

Nigel Colley heads the UK Jeanneau dealership Sea Ventures, and is a keen short-handed sailor himself. Few have observed the development of these boats as closely.

“It started with the J/105, which is still an excellent shorthanded boat, but then the JPK and Sun Fasts came along.

They don’t race as one designs but they can race on a level-ish playing field under IRC.” For Jeanneau the breakthrough boat was the Sun Fast 3200 launched in 2008. This was purpose-designed for the French Transquadra race, a transatlantic race for amateur over 40-year-olds.

“They didn’t make it extreme – it could have been lighter with a taller mast but they ended up with a boat that was perfect for double-handed and short-handed

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an additional formula kiteboarding medal. It is a huge shame that France, the world’s top nation for shorthanded offshore racing won’t host an Olympic event that could engage a vast number of its sailing fans.

Nonetheless even the possibility of double-handed offshore racing becoming an Olympic sport enticed a whole crop of top flight international sailors to move into the fleet. Titans of our sport such as Ken Read in the USA, Shirley Robertson and Dee Caffari in the UK, and Nick Moloney and Adrienne Cahalan in Australia have all got involved. It has also caused yacht clubs across the globe to start supporting double-handed racing with class events.

Many clubs were further encouraged to increase their support of short-handed racing due to the pandemic. For example, in the UK, due to social distancing restrictions, double-handed racing was the first non-elite aspect of competitive sailing to recover after last spring’s lock-down.

Even without the Olympic factor, double-handed racing looks set to continue explanding.

Dee Caffari says she was initially encouraging members of her Turn the Tide on Plastic Volvo Ocean Race crew to consider the new Olympic discipline before deciding to give it a go herself. The opportunity was spurred when she was contacted by a young sailor, James Harayda, who was taking delivery of a new Sun Fast 3300 Gentoo. During 2020 this led to the duo representing the UK at the EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship, where they didn’t do well, but followed this up with a 2nd place in the Drheam Cup in France, and winning the RORC-organised IRC Two-Handed Nationals.

This year they are entered in the Rolex Fastnet Race.

“The focus was generated by its Olympic potential, but actually I have found it is a really competitive class of racing that has been really good fun to sail, and I have just really enjoyed regular racing,” said Caffari, who raced double-handed in the IMOCA class in two Transat Jacques Vabres and a Barcelona World Race.

The principal differences between the double-handed racing she has done aboard her IMOCA and in Gentoo are scale-related. Transatlantic on an IMOCA, racing is

RACING

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Top and left: Dee Caffari is loving sailing double-handed with James Harayda in the Sun Fast 3300 Gentoo.

They won the RORC Two-Handed Spring Series.

Below: close compeition for double-handed competitors in the 2021 RORC Spring Series

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‘That French IRC designs are leading the way in this offshore sector should come as no surprise’

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UPPING THE LEVEL While the hardware is improving so are the sailors. When it comes to training for offshore racing the Pôle Finistere Course au Large in Port la Forêt has been considered the best in the world for decades, initially for Figaro sailors but now across all the major offshore fleets. Similar centres have started up across France, with training now extending even into the IRC classes.

With the prospect of double-handing going Olympic training for the discipline greatly improved in the UK too, supported by both the RYA and the RORC. Tornado Olympic sailor turned coach Hugh Styles has been

Henry Bomby (right) and Shirley Robertson are a formidable double-handed partnership.

Below: Volvo Ocean Race sailor Libby Greenhalgh racing the family J/97

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racing, which was manageable with a competitive IRC rating,” says Colley.

The genre has evolved further with the more recent Sun Fast 3300 and JPK 1030, as well as the J/99 and Dehler 30. A key factor in their being tailored to short-handing is their inherent stability, gained from hull form and water ballast, allowing them to carry sail without having to reef too often. According to Colley they have high ballast ratios of 40%, while water ballast is modest, 200 litres on the Sun Fast 3300 for example, or “the same as having three people sitting on the side of the boat.”

That French IRC designs are leading the way in this offshore sector should come as no surprise given the huge amount of development that takes place in offshore classes across the Proto Minis and Class 40s up to the IMOCAs. Over past decades this has prompted the development of everything from roller furling systems, self-tailing winches and autopilots to twin rudders, and even the evolution of cockpit layouts with all lines from the foredeck and mast led aft to the cockpit. Another visible influence is the highly effective (but to some eyes rather ugly) scow bows we are more used to seeing on modern grand prix race boats are now adopted by IRC 30-footers.

Sails for short-handed racing have been refined so, instead of having a giant wardrobe spanning the entire range of wind speeds and points of sail, fewer sails can be carried to cover a wider range, including jibs and even spinnakers that can be reefed, to minimise time consuming and potentially risky sail changes.

As boats and their gear are getting lighter they are in turn less loaded. A Sun Fast 3300 weighs 3,500kg compared to the volumetrically smaller Sigma 33 at 4,100kg. The new designs are also much more inclined to plane, rather than ‘dig themselves a hole in the water’, helping to keep loads light.

brought in to help. He provides weather information and analysis pre-race and post-race debriefs. While in Port la Forêt this might take the form of classroom sessions, in the modern locked-down era Zoom debriefing and training sessions have proved just as effective, and in fact work especially well with the double-handed fleet spread across the Solent. It is not only the aspirant Olympians who’ve been keying into this, but all levels.

Double-handed offshore racing in the UK has also benefitted from getting ‘organised’. Leading this is former Artemis Offshore Academy star turned Volvo Ocean Race sailor Henry Bomby, who has been racing with double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson. He has led the formation of the UK Double-handed Offshore Series, which comprises the leading RORC races and Round the Island Race in the build-up to this year’s Rolex Fastnet.

The Series is for boats with an IRC TCC of between 0.990 and 1.055, which covers most of the double-handed fleet.

The group behind it includes Bomby; Stuart Childerley, a former Olympian, Etchells World Champion and world class

RACING

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Above: Doublehanded racing is not just for the pros, the more Corinthian JOG fleet also has a two-man division.

Right: Shirley Robertson joined Jeremy Waitt aboard Jaganda, RORC Yacht of the Year 2020

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race officer; plus 19-year-old Ellie Driver and Corinthian sailor Kate Cope; thus a broad range of double-handed offshore racers are represented. Expecting to get a handful of boats signing up to their Series, much to their surprise 29 boats pitched up to their first event in early May. While the 2021 UK season is fully domestic due to the pandemic and Brexit, Bomby hopes to include French events in the future such as Spi Ouest-France or the Drheam Cup, thereby in turn encouraging more French boats to participate in the UK. Colley also believes that in future there will be more short-handed racing internationally under ORC. Bomby is particularly keen to push the encouragement of youth sailing. Great existing initiatives include Gavin Howe, owner of the J/88 Tigris, lending his boat to an under-25 year old crew to use. “The best model is an owner who pays for the boat and a young guy or girl who puts the boat in the water, trains with them on Friday, races at the weekend and does it again the next week,” says Bomby.

The double-handed fleet now offers the closest offshore racing in the UK. Bomby points out: “This is not the Figaro, but it is close enough that when you’re sailing away from a boat which is the same as yours you know you are going pretty well.” Especially if it has the likes of Shirley Robertson or Stuart Childerley on the helm.

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Caribbean war m t h MAX CAMPBELL AND THE CREW OF ELIXIR RECEIVED A GENEROUS WELCOME WHEN THEY CROSSED THE ATLANTIC TO THE GRENADINES

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We glide down the eastern side of El Hierro and leap into the vastness of the Atlantic. The island shrinks behind us as the sun melts into the horizon, bathing the waning land in soft orange light. It’s early January and I’m joined by Harry Scott and Lily Journeaux, two friends from Falmouth, who shouldered their fair share of toil and graft during Elixir’s (our classic S&S Swan 37) year-long restoration.

It’s their first ocean crossing, and as El Hierro disappears into the pink haze, I ask Lily how she’s feeling.

“I’m not nervous, but I feel something,” she muses, “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s big – kind of like Christmas, but bigger.”

On the first morning, we pole out two big genoas, one on either side. By attaching both sails to the furling gear we can quickly take in sail each time we spot a squall creeping up from behind. The two bulging foresails fill in the steady tradewind, and we accustom ourselves to the downwind romp. It’s not long before Elixir becomes nearautonomous. The sails and windvane working together to keep course, and the solar panels and tow generator labouring to keep our vegetables cool.

There are a few annoying creaks in the saloon, and an orchestra of thumps and crashes accompany each sloppy crest that shoves Elixir onto her rails. There is a lingering smell of spilt balsamic vinegar, and it takes a few days to get over the initial spell of tiredness. During the first week, our reconstructed windvane loses control and threatens to give up entirely. After spending a few hours hanging over the transom, we manage to coax it back into doing its job, and tentatively watch its every move for the rest of the passage.

For 20 days everything is constantly moving, but nothing ever changes. The small, fluffy cumuli are constant, dyed with pink highlights as the sun dips into the horizon. Most evenings we’re entertained with biblical mid-Atlantic sunsets. Golden pillars spill through gaps in the soft cloud, forging a colander of light that falls on the steely sea surface. In the final week, patches of sargassum weed break up the expansive blueness. The

Above: Harry Scott at Elixir’s helm in the Canaries.

Right: Lily and Harry get a chance to relax during the Atlantic crossing.

Both were heavily involved in the year-long restoration of Elixir, a classic Swan 37

wind aligns the mossy weed into rows, creating bluebrown tiger stripes that lead the way to the Caribbean.

We steadily shed layers, and the sun becomes increasingly relentless. The harsh, midday light drains the seascape of all colours, apart from a pale, muted blue.

At nighttime, the same sky offers an abundant harvest of blue-white phosphorescence. During one night watch, an intrepid flying fish surprises Lily by leaping into the cockpit and landing on her lap. It has a little round mouth and wide bulging eyes – we manage to grasp the slimy sea missile and cast it back over the guardrail.

TO U C H A N D G O Coronavirus stopped the world, yet in the middle of the Atlantic little has changed – though the usual white streaks in the sky, tracing the route of transatlantic flight paths, are nowhere to be seen. Days on end of offshore sailing stokes a deep element of human nature. By sailing away from the mental pressures of life on land, intensified by the pandemic, we’ve found a sense of calm.

We arrive in Barbados and, after checking our phones, realise it’s a mistake. Covid restrictions are tightening and a lockdown is imminent. We savour a mug of tea while

‘For 20 days, everything is constantly moving’ 34

and PCR test ahead of us.

Blustery tradewinds whistle along the south coast, and a pair of islands lie a stone’s throw offshore. Between the two, a small fleet of cruising yachts fly their yellow ‘Q’ flags. We join the group and grasp a mooring buoy, curtained behind the teardrop Young Island and the lofty perch of Fort Duvernette.

Compared to the constant pace of the transatlantic, everything becomes slower. The sun takes forever to drag itself across the sky. The tide takes all day to come in, and often, forgets to go out at all. A steady current flows through the anchorage, carrying bright red sea grape leaves and empty coconut husks.

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taking in the bleached island. After three weeks at sea, the land appears alien. But instead of notifying customs and going ashore, we take the easy option – weighing the anchor and heading back out to sea.

The next morning we spot St Vincent. The island is a complete contrast to low-lying Barbados, with deep green hills that tumble into the ocean. St Vincent depends on tourism and, as a result, throughout the entire pandemic its doors have remained open. The island is home to an active volcano that’s showing signs of awakening, yet to us it appears the perfect landfall.

There’s only one port of entry on the island, and despite our 20 days at sea, we still have a mandatory quarantine

Far left: skipper Max Campbell at the chart table.

Left: Elixir’s later Caribbean crew Matt, Beth, Harry and Tegan

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CRUISING La Soufrière

Caribbean Sea

ST VINCENT

PETIT NEVIS ISLE À QUATRE Saltwhistle Bay MAYREAU

BEQUIA

Kingstown

MUSTIQUE

GRENADINES TOBAGO CAYS

Clifton

UNION ISLAND CARRIACOU

N

YOUNG AND DUVERNETTE ISLANDS

0

BARBADOS

Bridgetown

10 20 nautical miles

30

From El Hierro Canary Islands

Atlantic Ocean

PETIT TABAC PETIT ST VINCENT MOPION

GRENADA Above: Atlantic shower for Lily Journeaux.

Left: sailing between the Caribbean islands

St George’s

Stacks of discarded conch shells cascade into the water, and the weathered sections of whale vertebrae scatter the shoreline.

Further south, the long, wild island of Isle à Quatre cradles a lagoon on its southern side. There’s not much colour in the vegetation, a dry, mossy bush; a blend of green and grey. But the colour lost in the land is made up in the water. The lagoon consists of a luscious palette of blues, bottomless cobalt in the deep channel, giving way to the shallower patches of turquoise and the almost teal sections of the reef. A small beach spreads out beneath a line of coconut palms, gazing out over a channel at Mustique – the Grenadines’ most exclusive private island.

Both Beth and Tegan are new to the world of sailing, and it’s fun to see them find joy in the thing’s we’ve long been taking for granted. The slow pace of travelling, watching land drift by from the water and falling asleep every night to the soft trickle of ripples on the hull.

After Isle à Quatre, we skip down to Union Island. In Clifton, a colourful town in the east of the island, we take our first hit of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The nurse chuckles when I asked her why St Vincent offers vaccines to foreigners. “The more people who have the vaccine, the better it is for the whole world,” she says.

With numb biceps, we load up with vegetables and rice before sailing to Tobago Cays. The marine reserve is made up of a collection of small islands, sheltered by a fringing horseshoe reef.

The shallow, seagrass lagoon provides both an anchorage and a breeding site for green turtles. There are four boats, where there would usually be hundreds.

The reef shelves quickly into deep water, and an impossible amount of vibrant reef fish crowd around the sea floor.

Nurse sharks weave between coral fans, and from rocky dens poke the heads of lobsters and moray eels.

Approaching landfall at Barbados

G R E AT E R G O O D Our first stop is Bequia. A generous stretch of turquoise water is enveloped in a sweeping horseshoe bay. The land wraps around the sea, with both headlands straining to touch each other. The deep bay provides shelter from most of the swell, and as a result, is a popular anchorage with cruisers.

To the south of Bequia lie a series of small, uninhabited islands. Petit Nevis, across the channel, accommodates the remains of an old whaling station.

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Eight days after landfall in St Vincent we’re given clearance into the country. We gingerly head ashore, unsure as to whether we’ll be welcomed or turned away.

We’ve convinced ourselves that we’re doing something wrong by escaping the lockdown to go sailing.

The first thing that strikes us is the friendliness of the locals. Despite the sudden exodus of all tourism from the island, we see no desperation. We’re welcomed by every Vincentian we meet, and on inquiring about the previous year, we receive the same notion.

“Sure, it’s been difficult, but this moment will pass.”

Wooden stalls line the lively streets of Kingstown. Tuna steaks lie buried under piles of ice, and lavish piles of coconuts fill the back of trailers. Walking down the high street is a sensory journey. The smell of new spices, the offers of ice-cold coconut water, and the constant hum of hurrying buses and street vendors.

The east-north-east tradewinds make sailing south far easier than sailing north, thus it makes sense to start in St Vincent. We make a quick dash down through the Grenadines, before beating back up again to drop Lily off at the airport. Beth and Tegan, two good friends from Cornwall, fill her place, and with the new crew of four we head south for a second, slower tour of the island chain.

‘There are four boats where normally there’d be hundreds’

Top: Elixir anchored off Isle à Quatre.

Above: off uninhabited Petit Nevis.

Left: poles out to catch the Atlantic tradewinds at sunset

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CRUISING

Windward of the horseshoe reef, a dash of sand provides a platform for a line of palms to dance in the unobstructed tradewinds. Petit Tabac is a painting of a West-Indian island paradise. The island was used as a set for Pirates of the Caribbean and is fondly referred to as Jack Sparrow’s island. We set the anchor inside the sandy lagoon, and enjoy the picturesque island to ourselves.

Downwind of Tobago Quays, Mayreau boasts one of the Caribbean’s most scenic beaches. Saltwhistle Bay is the archetype of Caribbean beauty. A crowd of coconut palms tower over an elongated spit, with a few stretching out over the delicious velvety sand. Again, we’re the only yacht in the bay.

We pick up another crewmember. Matt is a 20-yearold backpacker from Manchester, who we met in the Canary Islands. I remember thinking ‘Who is this (then teenager), out backpacking while the UK is in lockdown?’.

His wide-eyed enthusiasm for adventure is contagious.

After hitching a lift across the Atlantic to Suriname, Matt jumped ship and found another boat heading to St Vincent, before meeting us again in the Grenadines and becoming Elixir’s fifth crewmember.

F I R E A N D B R I M S TO N E The last stop in the long string of islands is Petit St Vincent. The private island is the most southerly and a luxury resort that doesn’t encourage shoestring cruisers.

There’s little need to go ashore, as the anchorage is spectacular and the cloudless, aqua-blue water reveals turtles and eagle rays.

A short distance to the west of Petit St Vincent, a wooden sunshade appears to poke out of the sea surface.

We dinghy over to investigate the small patch of green and yellow on the chart, and find a delicate strip of sand perched on top of a shallow reef. The island of Mopion stretches 50m from shoreline to shoreline and provides sweeping views of Union, Carriacou, Petit St Vincent and Petit Martinique. There’s something special about the tiny island – scarcely above sea level, yet surrounded by an amphitheatre of impressive islands.

Our cruise of the St Vincent and the Grenadines ends

Above: relaxed sunshine cruising between the islands of the Caribbean.

Right: the tiny island of Mopion is barely 50m across

back in Union Island. A convenient customs office in the harbour allows us to avoid the beat back to St Vincent. In the evening before we plan to leave the country, we watch two large catamarans steam out the harbour with an obvious sense of urgency.

The next morning, on our journey to get our passports stamped, we notice a tangible unease in the streets of Clifton. Forty miles to the north, St Vincent’s Soufriere Hills volcano, which has been stirring since before we’d arrived, is showing signs of an imminent eruption. The customs officers watch live streams on their phones, and as the heavy stamp falls on our passport, we’re told of an explosive eruption, and a colossal ash plume billowing from the La Soufriere volcano.

We leave with an uncomfortable sense of helplessness.

The Vincentians, who have been so welcoming to us on their island, were now being evacuated themselves. We have the privilege to sail away, and by lunchtime, we’re anchored in Carriacou. The clouds open up, and we catch glimpses of the folding layers of grey ash towering over everything. The next morning, we wake to a boat covered in volcanic dust. Despite the disaster, there’s obvious solidarity between nearby islands. The neighbouring countries of the Caribbean come together to help.

In Carriacou, we take another PCR test before spending five more days confined to the boat. From the quarantine anchorage, we can make out the distinctive black and

‘We wake to a boat covered in volcanic dust’

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yellow hull of Iron Bark II. The 35ft steel gaff cutter has been sailed extensively by Trevor Robinson, including overwintering, unsupported in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Behind Iron Bark II, we find Trevor anchored in his new boat, Iron Bark III, preparing for a direct, singlehanded passage to Iceland. His tales of Antarctica are raw and inspiring, and he sows a desire for sailing in colder climates. We seriously consider ditching the Panama Canal and changing our course to Patagonia.

Instead, we take a sunny, downwind sail to Grenada, deciding the high-latitudes are best left for another day. The colourful hulls of traditional Carriacou sloops decorate the harbour, and the steep island flanks are blanketed in a layer of dense vegetation. Like St Vincent, Grenada offers vaccinations to cruisers, and we’re generously given our second shot of AstraZeneca vaccine.

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Max Campbell made two Atlantic crossings single-handed in a 22ft sloop before returning to Falmouth to restore the classic S&S Swan 37 Elixir with friends: their aim, to make a circumnavigation... but then coronavirus got in the way.

Follow Elixir’s voyage at www.un-tide.com

drawoH ecilA

JOY OF SOLITUDE The cruising world has adapted to the new circumstances.

The extra rules have forced us to slow down and carefully consider the countries we sail to. We’ve evolved a slower pace of moving, appreciating empty bays that two years ago would have been overflowing with anchored yachts.

In St Vincent and the Grenadines, it was still possible to find the joy of island hopping.

After a short period of boat work in Grenada we plan to head westwards, to Curacao, Columbia and then through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. Coronavirus adds a little complication, yet we’re excited to be part of the slow reopening of the world.

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built for battle IS THE NEW PELAGIC 77 THE ULTIMATE EXPEDITION YACHT? ELAINE BUNTING SAILED WITH SKIP NOVAK TO FIND OUT

hteyW luaP yb sotohP

ytteG/vonsoP rotkiV

Skip Novak on sea trials for the new Pelagic 77 Vinson of Antarctica

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‘The boat has everything needed for the time of your life’

Above: the case for split rigs on a 77-footer was to break up the sailplan into smaller chunks in order to operate all sail control systems manually

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conventional sense. It is a work boat, pure and simple. Maintenance must be as easy as possible. Visible wear and tear that is purely cosmetic is irrelevant.

Nonetheless, Skip appreciates his comforts, as I discovered when I sailed with him in 2013 on a Yachting World expedition round Cape Horn on little Pelagic. We were always warm and dry, exceptionally well fed and watered, slept well, and enjoyed good conversation and fun. His type of boat, tough and uncompromising on the outside, has everything needed for the time of your life. Just nothing more.

Dimensions: LOA 23.52m 77ft 2in LWL 20.40m 66ft 11in Beam max 6.31m 20ft 8in Draught 4.30m-2.15m 14ft 1in-7ft 1in Sail area/displ ratio at full load: 1.05 Tankage: Fuel 8,124lt 1,787gal Fresh water 3,137lt 690gal B/G Water 1,115lt 245gal Utility/waste/oil 943lt 207gal

ALL-MANUAL SAILING It takes a fair bit of grunt to get Vinson’s foremain and mizzen up. There are no push button winches, and no hydraulics. “That’s not my game at all. We wanted manual winches because where we go there are no marine services,” Skip explains. “The other thing is with amateurs on board you cannot let them near electric winches or

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Sailing on the Solent, this 77ft colossus makes every other yacht looks flimsy and destructible.

The designer, Tony Castro, even calls his creation ‘a beast’. As the big schooner heels to the breeze he chuckles gleefully, clawing the air with his fingers like a creature on the rampage. This is a boat designed for the wilds.

Named after the continent’s highest mountain, Vinson of Antartica has been built to meet the world’s harshest conditions. It has everything required for voyages of six weeks or longer to the most remote places, where there are no repair facilities and no medical help.

It was built for Chilean businessman and adventurer Nicolas Ibañez to use for science, filmmaking and sail training voyages, and designed in a collaboration between Tony Castro and sailor explorer Skip Novak.

Although new, it is a boat with a history. It inherits the philosophy and experience Skip has gained from 33 seasons sailing and mountaineering in the Antarctic and South Georgia on his own expedition yachts, the 54ft Pelagic and the Castro-designed 74ft Pelagic Australis (recently sold to Greenpeace, see page 22).

The result is this first of a new marque, the Pelagic 77. It is sized to fit into the MGN 280 code for small commercial vessels of up to 24m, yet be able to comfortably carry 10 guests and four crew (three sailing crew and an expedition leader).

For Skip, a no-nonsense kinda guy, a proper expedition boat is a ‘taxi to the snowline’, not a yacht in the

ytteG/vonsoP rotkiV

Above: moving around on deck is easy on a single level from stem to stern.

Left: one of two Bombard C5s on davits above hinged ‘bomb bay’ doors above stern scoop. Right: heavy 900mm square forehatch.

Below left: cockpit showing winches mounted on coamings. Below right: mid deck area with grinder

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we would probably put halyards out to deadmen on each side,” says Skip.

Beam is carried right aft to maximise engine and machinery space and the saloon at the aft end of the boat, as well as load carrying capacity. “We will have a lot more film teams so we have a big lazarette and afterdeck area so they can hang a [gyrostabilised] Cineflex camera off the back end,” Skip explains.

“These film and scientific expeditions are ever more sophisticated, and there is a case for a bigger boat for dry labs, wet labs and so on.”

The twin rudders are not toed out for sailing efficiency but aligned nearer to the centreline to expose as little as possible to impact with ice. The high hull sides have pronounced tumblehome to protect stanchions when berthed and rolling alongside rough pier walls.

SECURE COCKPIT Barring the mizzen staysail, all Vinson of Antarctica’s sails are permanently rigged, “so we don’t have to rig a storm sail in the middle of a gale,” Skip explains. The three headsails, a 135% high clewed genoa, a 100% high clewed yankee and a bladed staysail that doubles as a storm sail are on manual furlers. The foremain has four reefs (the fourth the size of a trysail), and the mizzen three.

Ullman Expedition sails in woven Spectra and Dyneema have been developed specially with Skip and have reefing points with webbing handles and wide seams with extra rows of triple-step stitching.

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they will wind their fingers in. The boat will be doing sail training, so it has simple systems so people don’t get hurt.”

Manual winch power meant sail area had to be split into manageable chunks, which dictated the schooner rig.

That has the added advantage that the identical mainsail and mizzen are interchangeable.

Where it is headed, this boat is not going to be fighting for light airs performance. “On Pelagic Australis we kept a detailed sail log and the amount of time that we had the full main on was less than 10%,” says Skip.

“We wanted to be able to sail up to 60° apparent,” he adds. “We are playing the weather and not going upwind, not if we can help it – that is not part of the programme.

There is also a lot of motoring in the [Antarctic] Archipelago and a 3-4m swell in the Drake Passage.”

Aluminium was an obvious material to build in, and KM Yachtbuilders in the Netherlands was the clear choice as specialist builders of rugged, expertly fitted out yachts such as the Bestevaer range.

“It comes back to maintenance. There is no need to paint aluminium, it is easy to maintain, strong, and suitable for building a custom boat,” explains Castro.

Construction is in H321 seawater resistant aluminium with increased shell thickness at the stem, and above and below the waterline. The hull, deck and superstructure are insulated with 75mm of blown polyurethane foam.

The boat has a shallow draught fixed keel with a big bulb and a centreboard, so it can access shallow areas and even be dried out judiciously, “but it has to be flat and

ADVENTURE

‘We are playing the weather and not going upwind’

Left: aft saloon and galley. Skip notes: “As the explorer Bill Tilman said: ‘Any old fool can be uncomfortable’.”

Above: at 73 tonnes displacement, best get out of her way!

Clockwise from right: the pilothouse with all safety equipment to hand – here showing one of two stowable ‘granny bars’ – leads to the spacious saloon; kettle on the Refleks diesel stove; seaworthy galley with electric oven and custom hob; lifejacket stowage numbered for each crew

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Left: forepeak with 4m3 of stowage space.

Below: the beam-tobeam engine room is a rare example on this size of boat, with standing headroom and ease of access for all functions.

Below left: workshop doubles as drying room for wet gear

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downs. When the boat is rolling to a big swell, Skip prefers if possible to launch and retrieve the dinghies over the side using a gennaker halyard, rather than from davits.

The anchor is offset so that the boat can be motored ahead into an ice shelf and people can step straight off the bow. A nylon strop is attached to take the weight of the chain when anchored and stop the chain rubbing on the bow.

S E T F O R A L O N G TA C K An idiosyncrasy that comes directly from the previous Pelagics are vangs/preventers on the foremain and mizzen.

These are taken from strops at the boom midpoints to the rail and back to cockpit winches. Politely, they look something of a nuisance. It means two more lines to handle every time you tack, and the lazy mizzen preventer loops right across the cockpit at head height.

Here the height of the pilothouse and the position of the coffee grinder don’t allow for conventional vangs to control leech tension, but Skip says he would always rig preventers anyway.

“A normal preventer for downwind would be from the boom end; we have a compromise with this. In a big swell I use [it] on all points of sail. Otherwise, if the wind is forward of the beam and the autopilot fails, the boat can go through the wind and the boom can wipe out the running backstays, break battens and so on.”

The inconvenience is presumably academic when your tacks are hundreds of miles. “No doubt there is an inconvenience factor,” he says, “but the pros outweigh ▲

The cockpit is flush with the deck rather than sunken, but flanked by substantial coamings. A bank of four winches for furling lines and sheets are mounted on each side of this, so crew operating on the leeward side are well protected.

Within the cockpit there is a table and bench seating, a liferaft stowage box and a large cuddy. Six to eight people can comfortably shelter without needing to put on full foulweather gear. Even on our test sail, most of us ended up gravitating there to sit and talk.

The wheel is centrally placed with a step for the helm position to give a view over the coachroof. A plinth can be fitted to raise the helm higher for conning through ice.

At the aft end is a huge lazarette with dive compressor, 10 tanks, a freezer and stowage, as well as a gas locker big enough to hold 50kg, and a waste locker with sealable barrels to store garbage and food waste that cannot be jettisoned south of the Polar Front.

A large gantry at the aft end has davits for one of the boat’s two Bombard C5 inflatables, though these are deflated, broken down and stored in the forepeak for going to sea. Two ‘bomb bay’ doors at the stern lift up to access the stern platform, where two rope reels contain 150m of floating polypropylene line for tying ashore.

A feature repeated from Pelagic Australis is the mid deck layout beneath the foremain mast. In this safe operating area between two coamings there is a Harken 3-speed pedestal grinder, used for the initial hoist of the main and mizzen. It can also be put to use for warping the boat, taking mooring lines through tunnels in the coamings and snatch blocks, and retrieving the anchor in case the windlass fails – nylon anchor rode is attached to the chain and winched in. Two more rope reels for bow lines are also fixed here, just forward of the pilothouse.

A second Bombard C5 inflatable can be stored inflated in this deck space and ratchet strapped to recessed tie

ADVENTURE The cockpit is Skip’s hallmark feature with plenty of winch power and a comfortable and safe space bordered by high coamings. There is line stowage in the coaming fingers

COMFORTS BELOW DECK At sea, the pilothouse with its lounge and navigation area will be the heart of Vinson of Antarctica. It has seating for six to eight people, and panoramic views from the helm seat and settee. Skip once boasted that he had crossed the Drake Passage on Pelagic Australis without changing out of his slippers or donning foulweather gear, and the crew of this boat will be able to sail in pyjamas if they wish.

Warm, dry and protected, it is also a safe place when rolling at sea. Two full height ‘granny bars’ stored in the workshop can be installed to divide up the space, provide grab rails and sturdy panels to brace feet against.

Forward there are six symmetrical cabins, three each side of a central corridor. The aftermost have double bunks with a hinged single above, while the others are twin cabins. All have big leecloths, boot storage, lots of practical canvas stowage pouches, and are heated by radiators using the boat’s wet heating system.

There are two large heads with rainfall showers. And herein lies the only battle Skip lost with the owner — electric toilets. I agree with him: an extra maintenance chore, and horribly noisy!

At the forward end is a workshop area and huge forepeak used for storing vegetables and fruit, stowage of outboards, dinghies, a chain locker for 150m of chain and 150m of nylon rode, plus barrels that will contain drysuits, hip waders and sharps for climbers such as ice axes and crampons.

The saloon and galley runs from under the cockpit to the transom. This is a comfortable communal area, handsomely fitted out in light honey coloured bamboo joinery. There is seating for 14 people around two tables with leaves that lift to form one, a galley with a super deep sink, high fiddles, a custom made two-burner gas hob exactly sized for a pair of 12lt Lagostina pressure cookers (“all you Designer Tony Castro (left) with Skip Novak

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R E A DY TO G O Vinson of Antarctica will leave the UK in June to go north to Norway, where she will pick up a geological science team and continue to Svalbard. Skip himself will lead this expedition, but the boat’s permanent captain is Kenneth Perdigon. Skip will continue to be involved on occasional expeditions and by introducing guests from his wellestablished charter business.

The collaboration between Skip and Tony Castro has shaped an entire Pelagic range. The Pelagic 56, 63, 74, 82 and a Pelagic 24m motor yacht are all available for owners who want to tap into the pair’s deep experience. They can even offer an owner’s version of this boat, with master cabin and all the push button controls one could desire.

Vinson of Antarctica came to around €3.8m. It is a lot of boat for the money, and comparable to a new top-of-the-line bluewater cruiser of the same overall length. Not that you can compare. If ‘everything with ice’ is all you dream of doing, there isn’t any other boat that comes close.

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the cons and it’s a better system. You do run the risk of breaking the boom if you dip it in, but our mainsails are high off the deck and the reef clews are cut high.”

need,” according to Skip) and electric oven. There is also a gravity-fed Refleks diesel stove, on which a kettle can be boiled, and this has a back boiler linked with the heating system.

The nav area to starboard has two facing seats so that science or film crews can work on laptops, with lots of power and USB sockets at hand. The boat has Inmarsat and Iridium satcoms and a wifi network for guests.

Usually shoehorned into minimal space, the engine room on Vinson is palatial and runs full beam athwartships under the pilothouse. Careful 3D modelling

by Ben Pym of Engineered Marine Systems made sure that every item of machinery can be reached without needing to dismantle anything else.

There are twin 150hp Yanmar engines and a 9.5kW Onan genset to charge the 1,000Ah lithium batteries. The boat runs on a 24V system.

Fuel capacity is over 8,000lt, transferrable between four tanks. A 248lt day tank gravity feeds the engines and is topped up with an electric pump. This, Skip points out, “is not automatic. We want someone to come in here every four or five hours to look around, top it up and fill in the log. It can be amazing what else you see.”

All fuel filters are visible and easily accessed, and KM Yachtbuilders have done a lovely job building two enormous sea chest manifolds for all water intakes and outlets. This eliminates multiple through-hull fittings, and can be opened and cleaned at sea. A Kabola diesel boiler is the heart of the wet heating system and will run 24/7 on expeditions. There is also a heat exchanger on the port engine. “All this stuff is fairly simple and we have asbuilt plumbing and wiring diagrams,” says Skip.

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G R E AT S E A M A N S H I P

WORKING THE BARGES

JIM LAWRENCE’S TALES OF LIFE ABOARD THAMES BARGES EVOKE A FORGOTTEN WORLD RICH IN SEAMANSHIP SKILLS AND CAMARADERIE

A

Memory’s cosy cabin, with hot tea and good grub, preferable to a night in the open

you live with a fender in each hand as lighters shoot off tugs and bang alongside. The only way you can get any peace is to moor a drifting lighter alongside and use that as a fender.

Inside the dock is complete chaos with all the ‘drifters’ piled up along the lock gates. Everything we run our dolly (hauling) line to wants to heave to us, rather than allow us to heave to it. Eventually we fight through and up to our berth; still just as much of a jungle, but at least the grain elevator is alongside, so we can hope for a quick shoot tomorrow. At 5pm the dock goes quiet, and on Friday, at 8am, I am ready to see the ship worker. “Ang on where y’are, sailorman. We’ll give you a shout just after mobile,” which means after their tea break.

INTRODUCED BY It takes about 40 minutes to load 155 tons TOM CUNLIFFE of grain. As soon as we are called, we heave alongside the floating elevator having previously taken off all the hatches. When the golden grain runs into the hold the mate and I are in there with shovels trimming. The dust rises as thick as fog, dry choking dust that gets in the eyes and up your nose. We really should have worn masks; but we did not even think of it.

London Light With a “That’s yer lot, sailorman!” we are A Sailorman’s shoved out, as an empty lighter is shoved in to Story, by Jim take our place. We find the quietest spot nearby Lawrence, to catch a turn, and go up and get our pass, Chaffcutter losing a further half-hour for the Customs to Books, £16.50 stamp it. We hurry back on board before the barge gets broken up in the dockland melee.

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We get underway immediately with the wind straight down, which means tacking up the river to the Surrey Commercial Dock. The river is full of craft, tugs towing six lighters at a time, blowing four-and-two or four-and-one blasts when turning head to tide either to port or starboard, to release their charges or to pick up additional craft. Tankers, ‘flat iron’ colliers, Baltic timber ships, all are rushing up river to save this precious flood tide.

Workboats and police launches are scurrying this way and that to add to the excitement. Then there are coasters getting off their berths, and through this maze of craft we have to tack our barge. There is no question of power giving way to sail; all they can do is hold their course, and we will have to duck and dive. We will make a short one here, under the stern of that one there; trusting that everyone knows their job and trusts us as we trust them; it is only rarely that things go wrong.

It is all hell at the Surrey Dock. Once there,

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nybody who has successfully worked an 85ft, 120-ton Thames sailing barge up and down the estuary and East Coast waters, under 4,000 square feet of canvas with only a mate and perhaps a dog as crew, has to be something special, and Jim Lawrence is one of the last of the line still alive. As a young man in the 1950s he skippered barges carrying cargo in the old-fashioned way. Few now can make such a claim.

Luckily for the rest of us, Chaffcutter Books have had the vision to publish Jim’s autobiography under the title of London Light, referring of course to a barge coming up to ‘The Smoke’ with an empty hold to load cargo for the creeks and rivers downstream. The language of the book is uniquely from another age, rich with the inherent humour of the true sailor.

In this extract, Jim, Mick his mate, and the 100-odd ton barge Memory are moored at Woolwich. Their London broker has found them 155 tons of maize for Mistley upriver from Harwich. The weight is too much for Memory, but being the only freight on offer Jim decides to accept the responsibility, knowing the barge will lie so deep in the water she’ll sail ‘like a pig’. It is mid-winter, and the Memory sets off to load after breakfast.

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Very different to deep laden in a winter gale, in a fine breeze Memory shows her speed.

In fair weather Jim, hand on Memory’s wheel ,and Mick the mate, enjoy a quiet moment

Right, let’s get out of this. Shove her clear. There is a little draught down the dock, so we set the topsail to save heaving. The skipper of a PLA tug calls through his hailer, “Oi, sailorman, you are not allowed to ****ing sail in the ****ing dock.”

I shout back, “I’m not ****ing sailing, I am ****ing drifting!” “What’s that ****ing sail doing then?”

I reply, “I’m ****ing drying it!”

These Cockneys really can swear; I think it was them that taught us bargemen.

Just then the wind drops, and a few minutes later the flag lazily lifts, but straight up the dock. ‘Oh, no – not easterly.’ Now it is my turn to swear. In a miserable mood, we drop the topsail and heave the rest of the way down the dock. We find a comparatively quiet place and cover the hatches.

in Long Reach, run down Halfway Reach, and harden up to turn down Northfleet Hope, making the East Blyth by low water where we bring up.

The afternoon high water is about 4.30pm with a flat calm, oily swell and drizzly rain. Visibility is poor and so it will be bad after dark. I decide not to go, and lay that ebb at anchor. We give the coaming wedges an extra knock in, lash down spars and ropes on the hatches and pull the boat up in the davits.

Before going below I see a skein of black-bellied geese fly in. They have flown all the way from Russia, a sure sign of bad weather and without a doubt from the north-east. The Force 5-6 north-easterly forecast on the radio does not offer much hope either. Well, we can but try. By Sunday morning, 4am, the wind is south-sou-east about Force 4, and the lights ashore are twinkling and very bright. Not a good sign. I think the wind will come easterly.

Well, the glass is beginning to rise; shall we have a go? Yes, come on, we might make the Colne, or if it lays on we can run back to Sheerness. Getting underway, it’s bloody cold; we can only just fetch our course.

We have not been underway for long when the wind falls light and, sure enough, begins to back, with drizzly rain which then turns to sleet. This isn’t much of a look on, because loaded deep as the Memory is, we only make low water at the Maplin Spit. We anchor for the flood tide when a lumpy swell begins to roll in. I know what this means.

Sure enough, a little draught of air picks up from the east, and as soon as there is enough wind to make way over the tide I get under weigh.

The Memory’s decks get full and fuller as the swell picks up with more wind. We could still run back for Sheerness, but let’s try and get through the Spitway; we will then have Colne under our lee. It is dark again by the Whitaker so we ship the lights once more. As we bear away for the Spitway, it is an

Black-bellied geese have flown all the way from Russia, a sure sign of bad weather’

O U T O F T H E H E L L- H O L E There is a lock-out soon after 4pm and we hang onto a tug and lighter and get a snatch out. The sooner we are out of this hell-hole the better. High water at London Bridge is at 4.17pm, so the tide is well away by the time we get clear of the lock. As we tack down the river there is hardly enough wind to keep her sailing as the ebb roars down. It is an exacting job making sure that you use the full width of the river, yet tacking in good time so as not to get caught. It then starts to rain to complete our ecstasy. We ship our nav’ lights in Gallions Reach, but we’ve had enough of it at Erith and go in and anchor, taking the oil side lights out and putting the riding light up before going below. We hope the wind will go southerly tomorrow.

With high water in London at 4.38am, we muster at 0500 with the wind in the south-east, a nice sailing breeze about Force 4, and fetch away. We make two tacks 52

G R E AT S E A M A N S H I P

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Left: Memory is in the dock, threatened by a drifting lighter.

Right: Grain – 155 tons of it – pours into Memory’s hold from the silo

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hour and a half to low water. We can’t get down the Wallet roll a malt sack, which we normally use as a mat under the wheel, and shove it tightly down the pump shaft. in that time... but come on, let’s have a go. Once through, Barges have been lost by ingress of water through the luff up hard; we don’t have to haul the sheets in as we pump hole before. have not slacked off for the Spitway, so perhaps I knew in Once on the new tack with the weather leeboard up, I my mind that we were going to keep trying for Harwich. say, ‘Right, Mick, go and get yourself changed.’ Mick says, The trouble is, once you take shelter, you will be holed ‘I’ve got nothing else to change into, Jim, everything else up for a week or longer. The wind is heading us; it is is soaking wet.’ ‘Right,’ says I, ‘raid my lockers and take nearly a dead punch. Ah well, plug on while we can. By Hollands Low we can see that the tide is flooding; tack off what you want from them.’ Soon, I hear the comforting towards the Gunfleet again. With Mick on the lead I shout, sound of the fire being made up; at least it’s warm down ‘Soon as you get a bottom, Mick, then “bout-oh”; we don’t there. Mick hands me up a steaming hot mug of Oxo, just the thing for washing the tannin out of your mouth after want to risk breaking a leeboard.’ so many cups of tea.

Soon, back on the starboard tack, I said, ‘Try the pump Mick.’ I have great faith in the Memory, she’s a strong TIME FOR A KIP barge, but with the amount of sea and wind, she might Time to tack again. Taking bearings, I think that next be straining. Mick ships the pump, and normally would time on the starboard tack we will fetch round the Naze, have to prime it with a bucket of water, but not tonight but each time the Naze remains stubbornly off the – all he has to do is wait for a big wave to come along the starboard bow. It is a long night, but eventually the tide deck which fills the pump hole and away he goes. The pump is bringing up solid water, and I am a bit concerned eases. At last we clear the Naze and I tell Mick to have a lie-down on the locker. about how much might be in the bilge. I don’t want to With the coming of daylight we roar into Harwich, and wet the cargo. Just then a rogue wave came over the I nip down to give Mick a shake. I can’t help smiling to weather quarterboard and washed down through the steerage, knocking Mick off his feet and leaving him lying myself, as laying there in his wet clothes steam is rising off him with the heat from the cabin. in the scuppers. He simply picked With the wind free we run into himself up and started pumping the Stour and anchor off Wrabness. again. I take no notice, as I am more It will be another six hours before concerned with the water coming we can sail up to Mistley, and it is out of the pump. I say, ‘Here Mick, going to be a fair wind anyway. The catch hold of her and let me have weather can do what it likes now. a go,’ but after a few minutes, air We go below; the kettle is singing comes hissing up with the water on the hob. and I know that the bilge is dry. I am Right! Let’s have that frying pan relieved. A deep-loaded barge can on, double eggs and bacon, and be a wet ship in a breeze of wind. shove four of those sausages in for I unship the pump and stow it good measure. Ah, that’s under the steering box aft, and better; now for a kip on before putting the heavy cast iron Memory, photographed 50 years later, a the locker. tomkin back on the pump hole, I hulk in Tollesbury saltings

SIZ E A B L E GAINS O N

T E S T // BENETEAU OCEANIS YACHT 54

BY REPURPOSING AN EXISTING HULL DESIGN, HAS BENETEAU JUST REINVENTED THE 55-FOOTER?

Tested by TOBY HODGES

Where we tested: The Solent, UK Wind: 12-16 knots sea breeze Model: standard boat with in-mast furling mainsail and optional genoa.

Other options include genset, aircon, tunnel bow and retractable stern thrusters

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Right: powerful, long hull lines but with cruisingfocussed cockpit and coachroof and sun protection designed in Left: compact but smart winch area

REIMAGINING We sailed the First version 18 months ago, describing the all-Italian design efforts of Roberto Biscontini and Lorenzo Argento as perhaps the most elegant Beneteau ever. And while it is an attractive, slippery yacht, arguably more impressive is how well it’s been adapted to suit this Oceanis Yacht’s task of fast, easy, luxury cruising.

This has been made possible thanks to modern hull shapes derived from racing yachts, which have brought about a step-change in internal volume and deck space for production yards.

Viewed from astern the OY54 is a yacht which will stop you in your tracks. Unlike the boxy Oceanis Yacht 62 from 2016, this is all curves in an appealing, potent hull shape.

The 5m/16ft beam is formidable for a yacht of this length, but where the focus may have been on performance and stability on the First, here it is buying all that extra outdoor space in the cockpit and aft ends. It creates an extension to the living area, akin to adding a covered deck or conservatory to your home.

First impressions count at this size and the OY54 stood out handsomely berthed on the inside pontoon of a crowded River Hamble marina – it’s like seeing a Hummer parked amongst the family estate cars at the school drop56

off. The UK’s south coast may not be ideal for a boat of this size, however the thrusters did their job of helping to manoeuvre it deftly in and out of this tight spot.

S P E E D TO B U R N As well as some bragging rights, a benefit of having a hull drawn by an America’s Cup designer is that it’s likely to get places quickly. This was instantly confirmed when we put the throttle down to search out the best breeze in the Solent and saw our speed threaten double figures.

Speed under motor is a relevant consideration for today’s time-poor owner, who will value the ability to get to their chosen sailing area as quickly as possible. The test boat had the standard 80hp Yanmar saildrive and fixed three-blade propeller. Despite having to drag that prop around, the high average speeds continued for the rest of our thoroughly enjoyable time under sail.

We were blessed with one of those rare UK summer ▲

There’s something surprising and quite brilliant about this yacht, which I bet you won’t notice at first. I certainly didn’t. It’s not the powerful looks or performance – anyone who knows the First 53 should expect that this detuned version, which shares the same formidable hull shape, should sail well.

Neither is it the space and volume which that hull design affords, although that is obviously significant.

No, this feature is one you come to appreciate more gradually – once you are reclining in the cockpit, or perhaps after you have moved below decks and realise how easily you got there, and how simple it is to move between key areas of the boat. Essentially then, the brilliance of the Oceanis Yacht 54 lies in the deck design.

Those who have been aboard a range of large yachts in recent years will know many have segregated areas for sailing and relaxing. However, these typically come with a downside: if it’s easy to get around these large spaces and decks when flat, it probably won’t be at heel. Indeed, the First 53 suffers somewhat from that issue. Hence some will place a higher value in designs which have deeper protective cockpits and/or high coamings, yet these can be the very barriers which make for a trickier thoroughfare while stationary.

The OY54 offers a formidable amount of exterior and interior real estate, yet makes it safe and easy to move between them, while somehow keeping the whole package visually appealing.

Steps to the swim platform and garage, which can house a fullyinflated 2.4m dinghy or this partially deflated 2.7m RIB

ON TEST

Clever deck design: the side decks and bulwarks allow you to pass safely around the outside of the cockpit while remaining clear of the bimini structure Below: easy access through the cockpit

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days that was hot enough to sail in tee-shirts and shorts while still appreciating the bimini above our heads, and also to encourage a thermal breeze to kick in and provide a consistent 15 knots. Armed with a comparatively nofrills sail package, a fixed backstay and in-mast furling, it was a challenge to tease much shape out of the sails.

The optional genoa fitted at least helped us to fetch and reach at speed and with some heel angle. The standard self-tacking jib makes sense if you have furling offwind sails as the mast is positioned relatively far aft, leaving a large area for flying a variety of different sized foresails.

A taller mast with slab reefing or boom furler is an option, however, the OY54 seems powerful enough in its standard guise, with serious form stability and a high sail area to displacement ratio (23.3).

E X PA N S I V E The current form for modern, fast, warm weather cruisers with clean decks is to keep things minimalist. That may look sleek, but when you heel it can get ungainly as crewmembers slide off benches and have no real protection from the elements. Aboard the OY54 you notice some key changes over the First 53 which prevent such situations and create possibly the largest, most comfortable and usable cockpit in its class.

When venturing from the cockpit to the side decks, for instance, you realise you don’t have to clamber awkwardly or potentially dangerously over the coamings, 58

Prodigious natural light through the huge hull portholes and coachroof windows. High bulwarks provide some privacy to those below decks

but can walk safely around the aft quarters, clear of the bimini structure. These side decks feel particularly safe thanks to a high bulwark – designer Lorenzo Argento told me they managed to achieve this in comparison to the First 53 by lowering the deck, which also increased interior light.

Large helm seats behind the wheels give a feeling of security to the open transom design. And then there is the staple feature of an Oceanis – an arch to take the mainsheet and support a large sprayhood which protects the cockpit. Rather than the afterthought

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EASY SPEED, EASY MILES The OY54 was quick to power-up and maintain a high average speed while beating and fetching, keeping over 6 knots weigh on through 85° tacks. The instruments only showed GPS speed over ground (SOG) rather than a log readout, so with a strong ebb tide it was hard to gain accurate speed figures. But pointing upwind (40-45°) it clocked approximately 8 knots, which climbs over 9 knots if you free off to 60° to the true wind, and touched double figures frequently when reaching.

Small heel angles are enough to increase righting moment, waterline length and speed. Powering up the OY54 becomes quite addictive. It’s a yacht which makes you want to go longer, further, and tempts dreamy thoughts of a tradewind ocean crossing.

Twin rudders set well outboard made light work of the steering, which remained fairly neutral in those conditions. While that is good for minimising the power draw of an autopilot, there was little helm feedback so owners will need to be careful not to over-canvas.

The mainsail is sheeted onto the arch and led aft to the pair of cockpit winches each side in front of the pedestals.

With good communication it proved relatively easy for two of us to sail and trim the yacht effectively, but with minimal winches mounted close together you have to be tidy with the line tails, coiling and stowing those not in use. There are neat bins for these below the aft part of the cockpit benches.

Blindspots are an issue under sail. I like to be able to constantly monitor the mainsail, which is tricky to do with just two small panels in the test boat’s bimini.

Adding more clear panels would help. You also need to be vigilant about checking if it’s all-clear to leeward. Things happen quickly at these speeds and we found ourselves crossing the Solent faster than expected and hastily needing to put in tacks before we ran out of water.

Plenty of engine access. Removable panels between the aft cabins give access to a large mechanical area for a generator

Spacious galley with curved, fiddled worksufaces and navstation/desk with luxurious seating further forward

Smart indirect and overhead lighting and a modern European design

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Below: If offered either (nearidentical) aft cabin, neither would feel like the cheap seat

Modern hull shapes create signifcant volume in the forward ends. Dividing the heads and shower compartments (above right) to each side also helps open out space in this owner cabin

they can often look like, the bimini and sprayhood are integral to the design and provide a lot of protection without looking overly ungraceful. And they create the ability to enclose all that space. With the addition of side panels it’s the equivalent of a modern covered home extension with bifold doors.

Push a button on the helm pedestal and the transom door opens, revealing integral steps to yet more deck space on the beamy swim platform and aft access to the sizeable garage.

The max beam is taken right aft, which means there is still room for deep quarter lockers. For practical deck stowage, there are shallow lockers below the cockpit benches or helm seats, plus a large, deep liferaft locker in the cockpit sole. Large items such as fenders and toys can be stowed in the garage/dinghy via a deck hatch or in the cavernous sail locker (which is well fitted out in crew cabin guise).

Twin cockpit tables, which can lower to form sunbeds, make it easy to pass through the cockpit while providing some bracing support. Together with the sunpads to each side on the flat coachroof beneath the sprayhood, as well as the long benches, there is a significant amount of lounging space, all of which is kept clear of any sailing systems. An absolute must, however, would be to opt for the cockpit bench cushions which have in-built backrests, as the coamings below are too low to provide meaningful back support.

EASY DOES IT A particularly shallow companionway descent leads you into an expanse of space and natural light and an appealing, open and modern design. Again you start to appreciate the ease with which you can pass from one area to another.

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To its credit, Beneteau has retained the excellent radiused and fiddled furniture of the First. Not only does this look and feel high quality, but it is refreshingly at odds with many production yacht builders who currently favour squared edges. The fiddles, combined with plenty of handrails, are also practical – despite the large spaces to negotiate at heel, there are plenty of points to grab hold of for support.

The layout options include a third heads compartment, which takes up a little of the port aft cabin and some galley worksurface, and a crew cabin instead of the sail locker. That’s it. So when Beneteau says this is its ‘semicustom’ range, it’s not really talking about offering any major bespoke decisions.

The OY54 lacks the indulgent saloon seating area of the First 53, but instead you get a more practical set-up with a proper fixed table which can seat four, or six with the addition of directors chairs, and a dedicated chart table to port. The chaise longue abaft the navstation is a marvel, thanks to a section which can raise beneath your knees for serious reclined comfort.

I also like the myriad stowage space. The usable bilge compartments in the saloon and galley all have sole boards which lift on struts. These panels sit on rubber dampeners and are varnished on the undersides (although the ply is left exposed on the sides).

The galley is more comparable to a kitchen in a modern apartment than a traditional dark snug. It is large, sociable and well laid out, with plenty of worksurface, refrigeration and stowage space, which is why I’d opt for this layout unless you really do need a third heads.

A minimalist design is maintained by hiding things away, including the instrument panel. The systems can be viewed and controlled on a mobile device or an intuitive touchscreen using Beneteau’s Ship Controller system.

ON TEST

B E N E T E AU O C E A N I S YAC H T 54

That impression of space you get on descending the companionway is repeated on entering the forward cabin, which has huge hull ports and twin overhead hatches.

Splitting the heads and shower each side also serves to open up the cabin, and again practical stowage is commendable. The bare teak double seat in the shower is a nice touch, although this and the heads could do with a larger hatch for ventilation and, for this price level of yacht, a heated towel rail wouldn’t go amiss.

The light oak Alpi finish is smart and the fixtures and fittings in general throughout the boat are at a noticeably and consistently higher standard than the Oceanis range, including soft-closing drawers and magnetic door latches, which prevent snagging. It all looks good in showroom condition, albeit a little sterile, beige and in need of some personalisation to make it homely.

OUR VERDICT It’s certainly refreshing to take a new production yacht out, armed only with fairly standard white sails, and enjoy some short-handed fast sailing. In this respect you can think of the Oceanis Yacht 54 as a wolf in sheep’s clothing – under its cruising skin lies the beating heart of a performance boat.

But it would be wrong to merely consider it as a slightly cheaper version of the First with a different interior. The practical space and comfort it offers, particularly on deck, means that it’s a lot more than that. So much so, that it’s actually arguably more relevant than its sistership.

For those looking for a craft to keep in the Mediterranean, which will offer enjoyable fast sailing, a high degree of home-from-home comfort for your holiday aboard and still look stylish enough in the glitzy harbours, this sets a new standard in the 55ft sub €500,000 production yacht sector.

S P E C I F I C AT I O N S LOA 17.12m 56ft 2in • LWL 15.40m 50ft 6in • Beam (max) 5.00m 16ft 5in • Draught 2.50m 8ft 2in • Displacement (lightship) 16,600kg 36,596lb • Ballast 4,500kg 9,921lb • Sail Area (100% foretriangle) 149.3m2 1,607ft2 • Water 720lt 158gal • Fuel 400lt 88gal • Sail area/disp ratio 23.3 • Displacement/LWL ratio 127 • Berths 6+1 • Engine 80hp Yanmar saildrive • Price ex VAT £454,906 (as tested approx £560,000) Design Roberto Biscontini and Lorenzo Argento beneteau.com

RIVA L S Dufour 570 Like the Beneteau, this blends its performance and cruising lines into one hull, yet offers three versions and five layouts. Price: €325,680 ex VAT. dufour-yachts.com Hanse 548 Tops even the OY54 for beam, this is a highly voluminous model with open interiors available in a range of layouts and styles. Price: £389,990 ex VAT. hanseyachtsag.com Jeanneau 54 A comparatively older model now but a very complete, impressive and comfortable yacht to sail and live aboard, with styling by Andrew Winch. Price: €473,160 ex VAT. jeanneau.com

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TOP SUMMER KIT TOBY HODGES EXPLORES NEW GEAR TO MAXIMISE YOUR ENJOYMENT AFLOAT

T

he yacht is sorted, ready and waiting. You spent the winter and sprIng doing all the jobs you wanted to do prior to commissioning, itching to be let out of lockdown and be allowed to enjoy freedom afloat again. Or perhaps you’ve booked a local charter.

Here in the UK it may seem like we have a comically short summer season, but the Brits certainly like to make the most of the sun when it does choose to come out.

While gearing up for your summer cruise or next long weekend in the sun however, have you considered which kit might maximise your enjoyment aboard?

From the bags in which to transport your gear to the yacht, to the floating toys and accessories to use at anchor, we’ve rounded up some of the best of the latest equipment to consider.

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Red Ride 10’6 inflatable stand-up paddleboard is a popular model.

Price: £899. redpaddleco.com

TOYS AND TENDERS

It’s still all about inflatable tech and electric power in the tenders and toys world – and some foiling too of course. Nowadays you’ll likely be the odd one out in an anchorage if you don’t carry a stand-up paddleboard (SUP) or two aboard – and you’ll be missing out on fun, exercise and some adventure for all the family.

This will be our fourth year using our Red Ride 10’6 SUP and for much of the summer it replaces any need for a conventional inflatable tender. My full review of it is on our website (yachtingworld.com) and this remains the most popular all-round and near-bulletproof model available. The Plymouth-based company has since released a 9’6 Compact model, which better suits small lockers.

Meanwhile, we’ve conducted tests on lightweight inflatable dinghies and electric outboards. The results will be published during the autumn but it’s clear that the days of petrol outboards aboard yachts look numbered. ePropulsion’s Spirit EVO range looks particularly appealing.

These are the first electric outboards with hydrogenerating capabilities.

Left: the Spirit 1.0 EVO is equivalent to a 3hp outboard, which can charge while sailing.

Price: €1,845. epropulsion.uk

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YAMAHA SEAWING II

For those who can’t be bothered with flippers... this is the latest in the Seabob-style underwater dragging craze. The Seawing II is licensed by Yamaha and has twin motors that pull to a speed of 5mph (faster than it sounds when submersed). The 10Ah battery pack gives a run time of around 40 minutes and charges in three hours and there is a battery level display. It’s compact and weighs just 3.7kg.

Price: £999.99. seascooteruk.com

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F-ONE ROCKET AIR

There have been two recent explosions in the watersports market: stand-up paddleboards and foiling. So what happens when you fuse the two?

Rocket Air is potentially the best bang for your buck that you can fit in a compact locker space. It can be used as an inflatable surf or paddleboard, or with the addition of a foil, for foil surfing, foil paddle boarding, wing foiling (with an inflatable wing) or just towing behind the tender (it’s amazing how little pulling power you need).

F-One offers a range of board sizes from 4ft 10in through to 7ft 11in, designed around its highly popular rigid boards. The smaller boards better suit surf and wing/kite use and the larger boards are for wing and SUP enthusiasts. The dropstitch construction is ideal for the stiffness required while ensuring a ding-proof toy when moving it around your yacht.

Prices: from £625-£825. f-one.world

ELECTRIC SCOOTER

A growing trend with cruising sailors is to use electric scooters as a mode of transport ashore as they’re much more compact than a folding bike (for stowage and transporting ashore). There are so many available now ranging from around £250£2,500, but as well as price, chief considerations include battery limits, wheel sizes and weight, plus the need to check out the legal constraints of using specific models and speeds in different countries.

There’s a handy guide to the latest here: t3.com/ features/best-electric-scooters Pictured is the popular Pure Air Pro with 500W motor and 50km range from one charge.

Price: £599. pureelectric.com

NEW GEAR

DRY AND COMFORTABLE

PACKRAFT ULTRA LIGHTWEIGHT DINGHY

Packrafting is the latest new inflatable watersport with equipment relevant to cruising yachts that’s rapidly gaining popularity, says Rupert Holmes. It uses ultra lightweight one or two person inflatable dinghies, many of which weigh less than 2kg. These are made of a very lightweight urethane nylon fabric that’s resistant to both abrasion and tears.

It’s also possible to find lower priced packrafts made of a similar PVC to inflatable tenders, though these tend to be somewhat heavier at around 8kg.

While a packraft is unlikely to replace a conventional tender it means there’s no longer a big barrier to carrying a spare dinghy (or two). This can enable crewmembers to go ashore independently or, for example, allow older children to explore a sheltered estuary by paddle.

The Anfibio Sigma TXV (pictured) is a two person model with a transparent floor panel so that marine life can be viewed under the boat. The boat weighs 2kg, while each of the two seats adds a further 250g and this model is 2.6m (8ft 6in) long.

It’s important to recognise there are many different specifications of packrafts available. Some are only suitable for use on lakes and other very sheltered bodies of water, while at the other end of the spectrum others are designed for use in whitewater.

Price: from €789. packrafting-store.de

During May and June we tested a range of waterproof backpacks and drybags. This included bags from many of the marine clothing manufacturers, plus specialist brands Aquapac and Overboard. The full results will be published in a forthcoming issue.

In summary, the roll top style drybags are useful for doing the simple job of keeping some kit dry in the tender ride. But more practical and durable are the backpack and duffel-style bags, which have external and internal pockets and are easier to carry for longer periods. Two of the latest are from Zhik and Red, the latter made 100% from recycled bottles. Red now has a large range of changing garments, bags and food and drink accessories which particularly suit life aboard and on the beach.

ZHIK 30L DRY BACKPACK

Zhik’s new 30lt Dry PackBack is an aesthetically pleasing rucksack/drybag made from heavy duty 600 denier waterproof fabric with welded seams.

Features include a water bottle holder on the outside and a padded laptop holder within. The adjustable shoulder straps are particularly comfortable combined with the back padding and 3D mesh lining.

Price: £69.95. zhik.com

For those going lightweight this electric sculling oar from TEMO is an intriguing solution. The 1.7m long oar contains a 450W electric motor and builtin rechargeable battery, which provides 45 minutes of grunt at full speed, while weighing only 4.9kg.

Price: €1,450. temofrance.com/en_GB

Dryrobes are practical for those who want to get in and out of the sea frequently, helping you dry, change and warm up quickly. Red’s version has a breathable, waterproof outer shell, adjustable long sleeves and a chest pocket to tuck away valuables.

If space is an issue, the Quick Dry Changing Robe (right) might be more suitable. Made from absorbent and antibacterial microfibre towel material, it packs into a stash bag.

Prices: jacket £145, robe £47.95. redoriginal.com

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RED ORIGINAL PRO CHANGE JACKET

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REFRESH

The ability to enjoy an ice-cold refreshment during or at the end of a day afloat is of paramount importance to some, including myself. So much so that keeping things cold can become a somewhat addictive challenge in the summer.

The simple answer to this might be a good refrigeration system, but for those with limited cold stowage, or who want the option of being more portable and beach-ready, a cool box is absolutely essential! A good cooler will keep drinks cold for days, so keeping one in the cockpit during those sunny weekends will leave your fridge space below decks clear for food.

Yeti makes some of the best cooler gear I’ve come across. It puts the product into the hands of fishermen and boaters so they can see just how robust and fit for purpose it is. Granted the price tags may make your eyes water, but when you consider how much your frustration levels are tested when kit breaks and needs to be replaced, then the motto ‘you get what you pay for’ rings true.

PATROL COOLERS

Dometic has launched its answer to Yeti’s hard coolers in a new range of Patrol iceboxes.

Built to last from rotomoulded polyethylene with PU insulated walls, they come in a range of new colours.

They feature leak proof drains and full length hinge pins, are available with rod or cup holders as optional extras, and come in three size options: 20lt, 35lt and 55lt.

Prices: from £171-£319. dometic.com

HOPPER BACKFLIP 24

For those who don’t want a hard cool box, the Hopper is a formidable portable alternative, complete with backpack straps for lugging cold ones to or from the boat/beach. A no-nonsense leakproof zip gives instant clues to the build quality.

Closed-cell foam is used for the insulation.

Check our website for ongoing reviews of these products as the season progresses.

Price: $299.99. yeti.com

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DOMETIC CFX3 25

This is the most compact new electric cooler from mobile experts Dometic. We’ve tested a couple of the larger models in this premium end range in the past and they are impressive mini portable fridges. This 25lt model is small enough to fit behind your seat in the car, which makes a useful option for keeping some key items cool en route to the boat. Downsides? Insulation means weight, so go for the smallest you really need – and they’re not cheap.

Price: £694 dometiccom

WINE TUMBLER

If your plastic glasses don’t do your Côtes de Provence justice, but you don’t want to risk broken glass on board, these 10oz wine tumblers make an attractive yet robust solution which will also keep your beverage ice cold.

Made from stainless steel and available with lids, we’ve found the double wall vacuum insulation really works – clammy hands don’t warm the good stuff inside. They are dishwasher safe and come in funky colours. £24.99. yeti.com

NEW GEAR

ROADIE 24

This is perhaps the most exciting addition to our good ship this summer.

It’s a wonderfully robust compact coolbox. The trickery lies within its densely insulated walls, which are pressure-injected with polyurethane foam to ensure your ice doesn’t melt for days (literally).

The latches give a reassuring clunk as they close, like shutting the door of a German car. Carry handles are integrated into the moulding each side, the strap makes a heavy load practicable and I like the non-slip rubber feet for protecting the decks.

The Roadie doubles as a sturdy seat or step with non-slip coating on the lid, which I have already found useful for reaching the boom and securing the mainsail.

I have tested it against other coolboxes, by placing a set amount of ice in each and the Yeti won hands down.

I then took it aboard for our first truly sunny summer weekend, and despite leaving it baking in the sun in the cockpit, was pleasantly surprised that just one bag of ice kept all drinks perfectly cold.

The 24lt model is 13in high inside to fit a standard wine bottle and can fit 18x12oz/340ml cans. Yeti also makes its own ice packs, which are designed to fit the cooler and to pre-chill it to keep ice frozen for days.

Price: $199.99. www.yeti.com

SUN AND HEAT

Year-round exposure to the sun and the double-hit of rays reflecting off the water means sailors have a high risk of skin damage.

Liveaboards and those who regularly cruise the tropics will know the value of fitting quality biminis and awnings, as well the need for ventilation below decks. For those of us who find fitting biminis for a short summer season less practical, then protecting yourself and each crewmember individually from the damaging effects of UV is a must. The radiation emitted by the sun can pass through clothing and is responsible for 90% of melanoma skin cancers.

LifeJacket, a British sun protection brand (see below), recently partnered with SkinVision, to encourage people to routinely check for skin cancer by offering its customers free, instant skin checks. Its app uses artificial intelligence to evaluate skin spots and moles to provide a risk score which can then be acted upon.

LIFEJACKET SUNSCREEN

British brand LifeJacket Skin Protection stresses that men often aren’t as good at protecting and checking their skin as women and are twice as likely to die of skin cancer. It offers a range of moisturisers and suncreams available individually or in different packs with high (30) or very high (50) levels of SPF that are non greasy, water resistant and reef safe.

It also makes a range of UPF 50+ clothing including tee-shirts and long sleeve shirts and a wide brim sun hat with elasticated cord.

Prices: suncream £14, tee-shirts £28, long sleeve tee £40, sun hat £40. lifejacketskinprotection.com For a guide on hats for sailing visit ybw.com and search for ‘best sun hats’.

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GOSUN CHILLEST

The future in coolers? An off-grid mobile coolbox which includes a lithium battery and solar panel, this is taking coolbox tech to the next level. The 45lt coolbox doesn’t require ice – in fact it can make its own (it has a freezer section) – and has a compressor which lets you regulate temperature between -20 to 20ºC. It includes all-terrain wheels, an interior light and tie-down straps.

Price: £434. gosun.co

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NEW GEAR

YELLOW LEAF HAMMOCK

A hammock is surely the definition of relaxation. And as yachts have plenty of standing rigging to hang one off, keeping an easily stowable quality hammock aboard can make for an instant stress reliever.

Each Yellow Leaf hammock is handwoven by the craftswomen of the Mlabri Tribe – ‘the people of the yellow leaves’ – in the hills of Northern Thailand. So you can relax knowing you are helping to harness their skills and artistry and create job opportunities in an area of poverty. Made from weathersafe materials.

Price: $199. yellowleafhammocks.com

FLORENCE MARINE X UPF

RHEOS FLOATING SUNGLASSES

The crow’s feet wrinkles I can take, but the long term damage to my eyes from glare and UV on the water I find increasingly concerning. So finding and wearing suitable polarising sunglasses which offer full UV protection is essential.

Rheos offers durable, affordable shades for men, women, and children that are made with super light frames to ensure they float. Their hydrophobic lenses are 100% UV protective.

I’ve been trying the Palmetto model in Gunmetal/Marine and have found the lenses wonderfully clear afloat, blocking out harsh reflections and helping to identify what’s below the surface. However, I have found the arms stretch out a little, so they don’t stay put so easily on the top of the head.

Rheos has launched a new line of sunglasses for the summer including this Edistos range (above).

Prices: Palmetto $55, Edistos $78. rheosgear.com

John John Florence, the world’s top surfer and a pretty handy sailor, has developed a new line of apparel badged Florence Marine X. At its heart are products designed for longevity and sourced and made sustainably using almost exclusively recycled materials. Shunning the fast fashion route, its model is ‘one built on adherence to quality, performance and a responsibility to look after the places we explore,’ says Florence.

These UPF shirts caught our eye in particular. An increasing number of sailors in the tropics and short-handed sailors wear hooded garments and full skin coverings. These are made with 100% recycled polyester yet offer UPF 50+ protection and contain breathable and antibacterial panels. The built-in hood and gaiter should prove a blessing for those who feel the rays scorching the back of their necks during long days afloat.

Also available as teeshirts or long-sleeve Ts without the hood, or hooded rash vests Prices: from $60. florencemarinex.com

MEACOFAN 260c

I enjoy the heat of summer, but need it cool at night or in my office. This neat unit arrived on the cusp of a heatwave last year and proved invaluable on land and afloat. My workshop office has no opening windows, so ventilation is an issue. Equally, our boat only has a small overhead hatch above the main berth. This MeacoFan is compact and lightweight at just 490g, so ideal for taking between the two. It is also blissfully quiet – without the loathsome rattle of many fans –

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which means you can leave it running through the night or while working without it driving you to distraction.

The base incorporates a non-slip grip and a low light nightlight. It’s charged via a standard USB Micro C port and has four fan speeds, with the lowest speed providing up to 14 hours use on one charge. I used it for weeks on end at night and praised the gentle breeze it wafted over my face as it regularly sent me to sleep.

Price: £29.99. meaco.com

NEW YACHTS

PERFORMANCE AND EXPLORATION YACHTS PIQUE RUPERT HOLMES’ INTEREST

Grand Soleil 72 Performance

LOA 23.75m 77ft 10in Hull length 22.00m 72ft 2in LWL 19.84m 65ft 0in Maximum beam 6.20m 20ft 4in Draught (standard keel) 3.70m 12ft 1in

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his gorgeous Italian design blends excellent performance that’s optimised for Mediterranean sailing with a very spacious and comfortable interior. The sleek lines and low-profile coachroof have a timeless elegance, yet the hull shape embodies the latest design knowledge, without unnecessary nods to temporary fashion.

“The target was to take advantage of as many aspects of today’s hull shapes as possible to improve performance and also to create a yacht with lots of volume for very comfortable

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accommodation,” designer Matteo Polli tells us.

“The hull shape is different to what we’ve seen in the past,” he adds. “It’s very wide, which gives enough volume for the interior of this boat to be a key feature, but the waterline beam is narrow.”

In conjunction with rounded underwater sections this gives the least possible wetted surface area for the target displacement of 30 tonnes. Performance in light airs is therefore optimised, which reduces time spent on passage under engine. In stronger winds, once the boat starts to heel the high form stability generated

by the wide maximum beam comes into play.

Polli adds: “there’s a huge amount of stability at 20° of heel.”

Despite the optimisation for lighter conditions he expects it to sail efficiently to windward with three reefs in the mainsail and a small staysail in 40 knots of true wind. This heavy weather ability should prove reassuring, whether sailing in the strong winds of the Bonifacio Strait between Corsica and Sardinia, or crossing oceans.

The mast is positioned further aft than is traditional, which allows for an efficient and

was also keen that this boat should have a single rudder. It’s placed well forward, as with TP52s, so operates clear of the disturbed water near the transom, and won’t tend to lift out of the water when the boat heels. Its efficiency is therefore maintained even when the boat is well pressed.

A useful bonus is that this also allows for a larger tender garage.

Construction is of advanced composites with the aim of producing a very light but stiff structure. This allows for the unavoidable weight of the systems and tankage that are needed to

make life on board comfortable, without creating a yacht that’s too heavy for good performance.

Lifting and telescopic keel options are available in addition to the conventional standard keel that has a potentially unwieldy 3.7m draught.

As standard Nauta Design has produced an owner forward four cabin/four heads arrangement with an open full-width saloon and large galley aft on the port side. Customisation is possible, while build quality and the standard of fit-out are intended to match superyacht standards.

Price: €POA. grandsoleil.net

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easily handled choice of headsails, including two sizes of heavy weather staysail, in the same manner as for IMOCA 60s. The decision to draw a plumb bow, rather than a fashionable reverse bow, was a design choice driven by a desire to maximise the length of the foretriangle. “A longer J measurement reduces the centre of effort for a given sail area,” Polli explains. This allows the boat to be pushed harder when racing or sailed at more comfortable angles of heel when cruising.

The in-demand Italian designer, who previously worked with Maurizio Cossutti and Italia Yachts,

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Baltic Café Racer

LOA 20.73m 68ft 0in LWL 20.73m 68ft 0in Beam 5.63m 18ft 6in Draught 4.00m 13ft 1in Displacement 22,800kg 50,200lb Ballast 8,200kg 18,000lb

B

altic Yachts has been responsible for some of the world’s most iconic yachts of the past five years, including the 142ft Canova, which is fitted with DSS foils, the 175ft Pink Gin and the 130ft My Song. The Finnish yard’s latest creation, a 68ft daysailer, is no less spectacular as it’s a cutting edge design that looks to the future by using environmentally friendly solutions throughout.

The concept for the boat is based on a very

clear vision: the name stems from the pared down motorbikes of 1960s London that were optimised for a single task: conveying their riders impressively quickly from one venue to the next. The result is a design that excels in many respects and stands out in an increasingly crowded market place.

Baltic engaged Mallorca-based Javier Jaudenes as naval architect for the project.

“The design develops best performance in

mid-range winds of around 12-14 knots,” he told me. “We wanted to have a powerful sail plan that will also deliver some excitement with gentle breezes.” When in race mode in stronger winds the boat will therefore benefit from having crew on the rail to develop its full potential.

The hull shape minimises wetted surface area at low angles of heel, with rounded sections and relatively low waterline beam aft. However it rapidly gains form stability as the boat heels.

Design Unlimited has created a choice of interior concepts, colour palettes and material choices, including this uber-cool retro motorcycle club theme (far left)

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N E W YA C H T S

The Café Racer uses the latest sail and rig advancements, including Doyle’s structured luff technology and a Marstrom mast with no backstay or runners. Note the integrated solar panels

2nd gen X43

LOA 13.24m 43ft 5in Hull length 12.67m 41ft 7in LWL 11.33m 37ft 2in Beam 3.99m 13ft 1in Draught 1.85m, 2.2m or 2.5m 6ft 1in, 7ft 2in or 8ft 2in Displacement 9,400kg 20,700lb Ballast 3,700kg 8,160lb

shape improves forward visibility.

A taller rig, plus a slightly longer integrated bowsprit fitted as standard, allow larger asymmetric and Code sails to be set. These changes will boost light airs performance and are offset by the additional stability the revised hull shape provides. There’s also an optional, even taller, carbon mast. A choice of three keels is offered – torpedo bulbs with 2.2m or 2.5m draughts, or a shallow L-bulb with 1.85m draught.

The additional beam aft also improves cockpit space. At the companionway the hinged doors and integrated rope stowage first seen on the X40 are fitted.

These offer a neat solution to the perennial problem of stowing washboards and keeping lines in the pit area tidy. In addition to the new design giving wider bunks in the aft cabins, the cockpit sole has also been raised slightly, which increases clearance over the berths.

Base price €344,000 ex VAT x-yachts.com

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Jaudenes says the decision was made to incorporate twin rudders at an early stage to enable owners to enjoy power reaching to the full when daysailing.

A big effort has been made to minimise the environmental impact of this boat. Roughly 50% of the structural fibres are of flax, while auxiliary power is provided by twin 15kW Oceanvolt electric motors. The ultra-sleek coachroof is covered in solar panels, designed into the styling of the deck from the outset to enhance the boat’s aesthetic appearance. The flax fibres used in construction also help to improve insulation, which can reduce airconditioning power consumption by 30%. As a result there’s sufficient battery capacity to run the aircon all night in eco mode.

As befits this yacht, Baltic has sensibly kept weight out of the ends of the hull, yet there’s impressive accommodation volume below decks – enough for an owner to be able to stay on board for several nights in considerable comfort.

The layout is focussed on a generous full-beam saloon, plus a spacious and well appointed forward owner’s suite. There’s also a day head, a small double quarter cabin for guests (or crew) and a reasonable galley.

Launched in May this year, the first Baltic Café Racerwas undergoing initial sea trials when we went to press. €POA. balticyachts.fi

Mark 2 versions of a good yacht are often a lot better than the original, with many small changes that improve ergonomics and collectively make life on board easier and more comfortable. X-Yachts’ replacement for the X43 in its Pure X range goes a stage further, with new hull and deck shapes and therefore promises to be an outstanding yacht. Along with the X60, this was the first model launched in the line back in 2016 and has proved extremely successful, with more than 100 boats sold.

The new design incorporates many of the detailed improvements that have gradually been introduced on other models in the range. It also has more space in the aft cabins, better ventilation throughout and will sail faster, especially in light airs.

The new hull shape has maximum beam further aft and stern sections are wider, with soft chines. A redesigned deck gives the coachroof and coamings a sleeker style, while a modified sprayhood

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N E W YA C H T S

Allures 51.9

Large windows in the hull and coachroof sides create a light and airy interior which has a high level of fit-out

The third generation of the flagship of this French bluewater range retains the brand’s core concepts of a rugged aluminium hull combined with a composite deck that reduces weight and improves insulation, plus shoal draught and twin rudders. However, it’s effectively a much larger boat than the previous Allures 51 and 52 models, with a longer waterline and more powerful broad stern sections, even though maximum beam is only 12cm greater.

An important part of the concept of this boat is also to raise the interior fit out to a higher level.

Larger windows and overhead panels create even more natural light and there’s a 270° view from the generous navigation station at the forward end of the saloon.

Beyond this, the most obvious difference compared to the previous models is in the spacious full-beam aft master cabin that’s sure to be a hit with many prospective owners. The forward part of the accommodation can be arranged with either two equal en-suite double cabins, or a larger double guest cabin with a peninsula bed and more stowage, plus a smaller offset Pullman cabin with two single bunks.

The big aft cabin doesn’t impact on the space

OVNI 370

LOA 11.95m 39ft 2in LWL 11.40m 37ft 5in Beam 3.99m 13ft 1in Draught 0.92 to 3.08m 3ft 0in to 10ft 1in Displacement 9,400kg 20,700lb Ballast 3,000kg 6,610lb

Ovni is another French yard that builds rugged shoal draught aluminium boats. It has recently focussed on larger models, but this 370 brings much of the thinking behind the 400, launched three years ago, to a smaller size bracket.

A key feature of the boat lies in the distinctive coachroof styling. It’s not as sleek as that of most

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available on deck and the cockpit is an impressive 6m long. Key sail handling operations are carried out from the security of the cockpit, making this an easy boat to sail short-handed.

The first example was launched in May and is fitted with an optional hard bimini. After sea trials the first Allures 51.9 will join the 2021/2022 Grand Large World Odyssey 500, taking the southern route via the Magellan Straits.

Base price €706,860 ex VAT. allures.com

more performance oriented designs, but allows for generously sized forward-facing windows that provide the best possible view out. The optional deck saloon layout enables watchkeeping to be carried out from the shelter of the cabin.

Forward hull sections are very rounded, which increases forecabin volume and form stability, while helping to reduce pitching. An optional square top mainsail increases upwind sail area by almost 10% without the need for a taller rig.

Displacement is a hefty 9.4 tonnes, yet the boat is designed to take a payload of almost an extra two tonnes when cruising long term. The first boat is currently in build.

Base price: €272,000 ex VAT. alubat.com

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LOA 15.57m 51ft 1in Beam 4.82m 15ft 7in Draught 1.34 to 2.92m 4ft 5in to 9ft 7in Displacement 18,400kg 40,600lb

PRACTICAL

ULTIME BANQUE POPULAIRE XI • NAVIGATE THE NEW FASTNET • OFFSHORE RACE PREPARATION

rednosgnilias@/nosnhoJ yxoR & lihP :sotohP

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Phil Johnson has proved that with the right connectivity you can work on board from almost anywhere in the world

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Some countries now issue specific remote working visas, including Portugal, Greece, and Bermuda

SPECIAL REPORT PHIL JOHNSON ON WORKING FROM YOUR YACHT

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n late 2018 my wife, Roxy, and I took a 'workaboards' with careers as varied as real few suitcases of belongings and moved estate, engineering, tech start-ups, and even aboard our 47ft Cheoy Lee monohull airline pilots who have taken to the seas when off to start the cruise of a lifetime. So far, a familiar rotation. This is some of the advice we gleaned start to a familiar sounding story. Except unlike on combining cruising with a career. most liveaboard cruisers, we took something REALITY BITES else with us onto Sonder: our careers. We are Picture the scene: you’re walking down a narrow, not sailing vloggers, or working in the marine sandy path, lined with overgrown Bahamian industry, but 30-something entrepreneurs shrubs, heading towards the sound of reggae running a consumer retail business who music. You come upon a beach with a legendary stumbled onto the realisation that we can do rum bar, dotted with a few dozen sun-drenched what we do (running a company making pop-up partygoers dancing around a jumble of tables 3D greetings cards), from literally anywhere. and hammocks strung up between palm trees. It There have been digital nomads working from beach bars and converted vans for years, but the all sounds lovely, except it’s Monday and you’re just there to grab the wifi password and try to combination of improved digital infrastructure concentrate on getting some work done. and huge swathes of the previously office“We learned some valuable lessons,” said based workforce now working remotely has Victoria and Mike Stenhouse about created a unique opportunity for sailors their first season blending work and to take their jobs with them on the 10.9 million cruising life. The Stenhouses run a water. Over the last couple years of ‘digital nomads’ real-estate development firm based cruising, we’ve talked with similar were estimated in the UK and produce a podcast to be working on property investment (Inside worldwide in Property Investing) while cruising in spring 2021 the Mediterranean aboard their 40ft Fountaine Pajot catamaran, Havanesey Day. They moved aboard in 2019 to be able to work from any location of their choosing, but quickly realised that the pace they'd set for themselves in that first year – some 5,000 miles from La Rochelle, circling the Med – simply wasn’t sustainable combined with the day job.

“Trying to move too quickly or see too many places will lead to far more stress than is necessary,” Victoria explained. There’s real value in travelling slower and at a pace more in-step with your work life. It might mean not circumnavigating in a year, but instead you have the flexibility of time to explore the places and cultures you’re sailing to more deeply.

A work-from-anywhere mindset allows for this flexibility, expressly because you’re not taking limited time-off from jobs on land and trying to cram it all in before the money runs out.

“When we moved aboard, we didn’t see it Phil and Roxy Johnson successfully run a business from their bluewater cruiser Sonder

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Self-employed workaboards may be eligible to offset or deduct tax for things like satellite phones, internet service plans, etc

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

“The boat itself can be a full-time job,” was something all of the cruisers we spoke to for this feature said. Dividing tasks between each other to be done independently can help with time management. On Sonder, I tend to manage the yacht maintenance schedules, while Roxy manages more of the day-to-day operations of our business. This works well for us because it gives full autonomy in our own domains, but we still come together for big work projects.

The Stenhouses enjoy the opportunity that passages create to disconnect from work.

“It’s an amazing time to think, plan and just enjoy each other’s company without the usual

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Right and far right: Mike and Victoria Stenhouse run a UK-based property development firm from their 40ft Fountaine Pajot catamaran in the Mediterranean, even recording a regular podcast from the boat.

insidepropertyinvesting.com

Below right: industrial engineer and researcher Greta Höller works full-time aboard ForTuna in the Caribbean

distractions of modern life,” Victoria said.

While offshore, most sailors are limited to satellite-based plain text emails and texts for business communications, so having a friend, relative or office manager filter email and messages can be extremely helpful. We employ a virtual assistant who manages all our emails and customer inquiries, forwarding along only the most urgent messages through our IrdiumGo sat phone which we monitor 24 hours a day.

How does moving aboard affect the employeremployee relationship? “When you work remotely, flexibility is needed on both sides” says Greta. The occasional dropped video call or a rescheduled meeting is inevitable, but with careful prioritising more problems can be preempted. “When we know we have an important call, we’ll move to find the right spot with good cell reception,” she adds.

For longer passages, such as a transatlantic: “We go on holiday – even remote workers can take time off,” explains Greta.

GET CONNECTED

Success as a ‘workaboard’ all comes down to connectivity. There is always the option of going ashore to a cafe or marina for land-based wifi, but for full-time work that’s usually not a practical long-term solution. Hot-spotting a wifi network to your laptop from a phone using local or regional SIM cards is usually the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable data you can get aboard. If your

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as a time-limited project, but as a way of living,” says Greta Höller, an Italian industrial engineer and researcher who works full-time while sailing in the Caribbean on a Beneteau 393, ForTuna.

Her partner, Michael Hofer, also does consulting for startups. “We chose this life because it allows us to travel the world in an eco-sustainable way, on our own terms,” says Greta.

So how can anyone manage to fit sailing in around a job that requires them to be logged on from 9-5? Roxy dealt with this in her previous job when we cruised part-time in the Bahamas.

“It was difficult sitting inside a hot, stuffy cabin on Zoom calls all day, missing out on the best hours of the day for swimming and exploring,” she recalls. Her strict schedule led to some illadvised sunset swims – during, what locals like to call ‘shark feedin’ time’. One solution is to pick a cruising ground in a time zone that allows you to work afternoons and evenings. We know of 9-5 cruisers who plan well ahead to find the best connected and sheltered anchorages, and do all their passages during weekends.

Aboard Sonder we plan around just the most immovable variables – weather predictions and scheduled calls. Even for guests looking to come visit us, we can offer a time or a location, but generally not both. We fit our working time into when it works for us. Sometimes that means working late at night, during rainy days at anchor, or early mornings over breakfast in the cockpit.

For the crew of ForTuna, setting milestones between passages instead of traditional work schedules helps with time management and productivity. “We’ve definitely learned that work gets done much more easily when you’re in the right mood for it, instead of working in a time frame established by someone else,” says Greta.

The pair has managed to combine their work with sailing from Israel to Martinique last year, and are now bound for Mexico and Cuba.

work requires video conferencing or large data transfers, unlimited data plans are a necessity.

However, purchasing and signing up for a contract can be difficult when moving frequently between different countries so it’s good to supplement that with an international data plan.

There are lots of international plans to choose from. Google Fi (for US customers), is the one that we currently use. It has one SIM card that works with partner networks in over 160 countries. It’s not a truly ‘unlimited’ data plan, but we can reliably get connected upon entering inshore waters of our destination well before we can research and find a local solution. SkyRoam (for European and US customers) is another international hotspot solution.

To boost weak mobile signal or marina wifi bandwidth down into the cabin, there are a myriad of signal extenders on the market. Wifi extenders will work anywhere there is a 5GHz or

PRACTICAL Boosters such as Digital Yacht’s 4G Connect Pro (right) and MailaSail’s WiFi Bat (far right) can improve mobile and wifi connectivity for around £350-£550

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broadband speeds, but the hardware costs alone are $25,000-$35,000. Richard Anderson said the reason for this is the active, tracking antennas that use a gyro-stabilized satellite dish to get signal from a moving deck. While you can lease the equipment for around $400 a month, contract fees can run to $1,000 a month or more.

These units are also heavy, power hungry and the service options still have dead zones around the globe, so for most workaboards on a budget, this isn’t a practical option, yet.

Mike Stenhouse is holding out for Starlink, the pioneering new satellite internet service from Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Many of the workaboards I met with are hoping that this is a panacea for internet at sea. The promise? True broadband, low-cost, satellite internet, delivered to even the most far flung regions of the globe. A solution like this could allow working while tucked into tight, remote anchorages, which are typically signal dead zones, or take video conferencing offshore.

The ultimate liveaboard goal is to simply have consistent internet across all cabins.

However, Starlink may take longer than we think, Richard Anderson cautioned. “You have to have a ground station that’s within the view of the satellite AND your boat.” That means no internet connection once you're several hundred miles out to sea. Even if you’re closer to shore, it will be affected by the weather, and will still probably need expensive, gyro-stabilized antennae hardware. So Starlink comes with its own unique set of challenges, but then again, that’s what workaboards are adept at dealing with.

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2.5GHz network, pulling weak signals from far out in a harbour anchorage while using a negligible amount of power.

“For cellular, there are two categories of long range extenders,” says Richard Anderson, owner of SeaTech Systems based out of Seattle, which specialises in communications solutions for sailors. Boosters operate on select frequencies that are region specific, which is why the unit I installed on Sonder stopped working when we left the US. “The other way you can do it is with a dedicated cellular modem and router,” he says. This is basically a fancy hotspot with a multiband antennae on the mast and wifi router in the cabin that can work globally. This setup switches seamlessly between compatible cell networks giving you a more a 'home office' experience, even as far out as 20 miles offshore.

All of the workaboards we talked with found that 4G data plans

cover most of their connection needs, but for data offshore, and in more remote areas like those in the South Pacific, a satellite internet system will be needed. On the market right now are essentially two categories. First, polar-orbiting Iridium satellites operate on a global network, reachable with a passive antennae, but provide extremely slow download speeds (2.4kbps) that limit you to things like plain text emails, or weather-grib files. While Iridium recently launched Certus, its latest generation satellites with 700kbps download speeds, it also carries much higher contract fees and equipment costs.

The other option is highfrequency, geosynchronous satellite networks such as Vsat or Inmarsat. Traditionally used by the commercial industry, these products can deliver true Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service holds promise for yachtsmen – but isn't ready yet

SEIZE THE MOMENT

Combining cruising while continuing a career or running a business can mean you don’t have to wait until retirement to head off on a grand adventure. “People often seem to think the only way to afford cruising full-time while you’re younger is to become a YouTube phenomenon or live off of savings, but that’s not the only way, and we have the receipts now to prove it,” says Roxy.

We are on track to meet ambitious business goals this year while continuing to sail from the UK to the Mediterranean.

There may still be plenty of logistical hurdles to taking your job or business aboard, but the potential freedom you gain, and the opportunity to sail and explore places you’ve only dreamt of, is well worth the effort.

“If you have the opportunity to do something you love now rather than waiting for retirement, jump in with both feet,” says Victoria Stenhouse.

“Figuring out how to make it work for your own circumstances is all part of the adventure.”

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extrao r d i n a r y boats RUPERT HOLMES ON BANQUE POPULAIRE XI

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Banque Populaire Xl is the latest 32m Ultime trimaran for Vendée Globe winning skipper Armel Le Cléac’h

B

anque Populaire is one of the world’s most experienced and successful sailing teams, and was the force behind Armel Le Cléac’h’s 2016 record-breaking Vendée Globe victory. Yet a year after her launch, the previous giant trimaran Banque Populaire lX crashed out of the 2018 Route du Rhum in spectacular fashion, having already capsized once before, and was declared an insurance write off after being towed in broken chunks back to shore.

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Much has been learned from the experience with that boat and the new vessel incorporates radical improvements that put it a big leap ahead of her predecessor in terms of both performance and, more importantly, safety and reliability. Like Banque Populaire lX, this boat was conceived with a single objective in mind – for one person to sail round the world faster than anyone else.

The record to beat is 42 days, 16 hours set by François Gabart in 2017.

Structural failure of a cross beam failing after a collision with an unidentified floating object (UFO) was the cause of the loss of Banque Populaire lX. Her successor benefits from an entirely new concept for structural engineering of the cross beams, plus considerable work on

both the foils and the sail plan to make foiling more stable over sustained periods.

“We have worked a lot on the foils, daggerboard and rudders, as well as with the sails, to go fast and be stable,” Clément Duraffourg, the team’s head of data acquisition and analytics, revealed As a result the new boat’s foils are almost twice the size of those of the previous boat.

A further important plank in the project is a state of the art simulator bought from Emirates Team New Zealand. While the boat was in build this enabled the team to spend more than a year trialling numerous different parameters. As a result, Duraffourg says, even before the boat hit the water they had good base settings for the

PRACTICAL

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Over the past 32 years Banque Populaire has sponsored boats that have broken 17 world records

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Above: helm stations have excellent shelter, without unduly compromising the view out.

Left: both ends of the amas are very fine

SPECIFICATION

foil adjustment across a wide range of conditions. Given the interplay between the main foils, plus the T-foils on the centreboard and each of the three rudders, this task is extremely complex, yet absolutely critical to success.

“The bigger foils, including the rudder T-foils, make the boat more stable when flying and add righting moment, which means increased safety,” skipper Armel Le Cléac’h told me as the boat emerged from the shed at CDK Technologies in Lorient.

This makes it easier to achieve high average speeds, by staying up on the foils for longer, without potentially dangerous and slow splashdowns. “The foils will continue to function up

to around 45 knots of boat speed, and the simulator tells us the boat should be able to make 50 knots,” le Cléac’h added. “But then you start having problems with cavitation.”

AIMING FOR CONSISTENCY

However, achieving these kinds of high top speeds was never a priority. Instead, the aim is to achieve a consistent average speed without significant peaks or troughs. “For me a good 24-hour run would be staying close to an average speed of 35 knots,” Le Cléac’h says. “That would be a super day.”

A key reason that top-end speed potential is academic with these boats is that the upper end

105ft 0in 75ft 5in 16ft 5in 33,000lb 3,770ft2 6,460ft2

is determined by sea state, including swells that may be generated hundreds of miles away, and not by theoretical performance in flat water.

The importance of this was brought home for me during a sail on Giovanni Soldini’s foiling MOD70 Maserati off Lanzarote in 18-22 knots of true wind.

We occasionally hit speeds of 38 knots, but never sustained that pace for long before ploughing into the back of the wave ahead and crashing down off the foils, slowing markedly and fire hosing the whole boat with torrents of water.

It was quickly obvious that the first key to faster and safer passages is to minimise these splash down events, rather than chase everhigher peak speeds.

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Banque Populaire Xl is the result of a colossal 150,000 hours of design and construction work

LOA 32.00m Beam 23.00m Draught max 5.00m 15,000kg Displacement Upwind sail area 350m2 Downwind sail area 600m2 voile.banquepopulaire.fr

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The Ultime class currently includes Banque Populaire XI, Actual-Leader (the former Macif), Sodebo and François Gabart’s new M101, now sponsored by Kresk. Gitana is out of the Ultime class rules, but will be attempting many of the same records, including a Jules Verne, later this year.

Forward pulpit on the central hull offers some security when changing sails

Kevin Escoffier will co-skipper for the doublehanded races

Banque Populaire’s larger foils are intended to enable the boat to safely achieve high average speeds

In addition to Banque Populaire Xl’s bigger foils that improve stability when airborne, the team worked with North Sails to further refine sail shapes that confer better stability when foiling.

Duraffourg says: “These boats are very reactive and very dynamic, so we need a sail plan that won’t induce too much heel. The sail plan is also as close to the deck as possible to benefit from maximum end plate effect.”

At this level most round the world record attempts fail, not because the boat isn’t sufficiently quick, but as a result of a critical breakage. Banque Populaire Xl therefore incorporates a conceptual step-change in the approach to the structural engineering of the cross-beams. These have twin structural

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The boat is currently undergoing an extended set-up phase ahead of the TJV in November

elements, so that if the boat hits a UFO at speed and one element breaks the second should remain intact.

The beams also have a monitoring system that Duraffourg says “helps us to see the condition of the laminate.” The idea is this will allow the boat to continue racing or, if damage is more extensive, to safely make port without assistance.

This fundamentally different philosophy is one that clearly adds cost and weight (the boat is a tonne heavier than its predecessor) but reliability is the over-riding factor. “This is very important for us,” emphasises le Cléac’h.

In a similar vein, there are systems on multiple levels to minimise the risk of capsize.

For instance, the hydraulic ram that controls the mainsheet will release at a predetermined load. In addition there are cleats connected to a pneumatic system that will automatically release if the boat’s heel angle exceeds a specific value.

The autopilot can also be configured to change course to depower the boat if heel angle is greater that a pre-set figure.

AERO FOILS

Externally the most obvious differences are in the aerodynamic shapes that minimise wind resistance. This is a vital factor when the apparent wind speed can top 50 knots for thousands of miles at a time.

Extensive aerodynamic CFD analysis produced

PRACTICAL

Mechanics in Lymington. The main hull is of a new design by VPLP. It’s flat bottomed, with very fine forward sections, then becomes very deep further aft, where there’s also plenty of flare in the topsides, which increases the beam at deck level.

In addition to its adjustable elevator foils, the huge daggerboard includes a pinger intended to warn humpback whales of the boat’s presence.

“We don’t want them to be afraid, but just that they notice us,” says Duraffourg.

The amas are built from the existing moulds from Banque Populaire lX, that were also used for Actual-Leader and Sodebo. These are so fine in the ends that the antifouling stops more than 4m aft of their bows, while the transoms taper away

to the minimum needed to support the rudders.

All three rudders, plus the daggerboard, have elevator flaps that can be set at different angles to control the flight, trim angles and both longitudinal and transverse stability. These are not interfaced with the pilot but some of the trimming is adjusted almost automatically.

The control section is spilt into two areas.

Aft is a covered cockpit with a wheel each side.

Enormous glazed areas and extensive white paint makes this feel almost as bright as being outside, despite the excellent protection it provides.

Further forward is a more sheltered area with bucket seats and additional monitors.

Sail handling systems haven’t changed a great deal from previous maxi trimarans,

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a profile close to that of an aircraft wing – even the doghouse is shaped with this in mind. As well as reducing wind resistance this shape increases vertical lift, giving the foils a small helping hand.

It’s also a shape that gives the central hull enormous inherent stiffness.

To keep weight to a minimum, lightweight fabric is used to achieve the necessary shape for the cross beams in areas where no additional structural strength is required. Duraffourg believes we will see still more optimisation in this area in future: “Aerodynamics are the last brake on performance and we are getting into a new era in this field,” he told me.

Construction of the central hull and amas was subcontracted to Multiplast in Vannes and Fibre

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PRACTICAL

Banque Populaire Xl exceeded 40 knots on every day of its sea trials

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although Harken developed new carbon winches for the team that are exceptionally light. While everything is optimised for le Cléac’h to handle the boat alone as efficiently as possible, the layout also works when sailing two-handed and even with a team of six when training, on delivery and for occasional crewed races.

The aim is to be able to sail at a consistent speed of around 35 knots

The massive daggerboard also features a large foil area

HUGE POTENTIAL

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All sail handling is carried out from the protected aft cockpit, which has a wheel each side

The foil on the starboard ama – these are almost twice the size of those on Banque Populaire lX

Harken developed larger, extremely light carbon winches for the boat

The cabin forward of the covered cockpit has a comfortable seat with all the data needed to hand

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At the time of writing the boat has shown tremendous promise, exceeding 40 knots on each of the first four days of sea trials. “Even we are amazed – compared to its predecessor the boat achieves significant speeds more quickly and with less wind,” says le Cléac’h.

However, we will have to wait to discover the boat’s full potential in solo long distance mode.

After an extended set-up phase this year’s main objective is the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race with Kevin Escoffier in November, where they will take on Thomas Coville’s Sodebo, Yves Le Blevec’s Actual-Leader, and Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier in Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (now out of Ultime class measurement). Therefore a solo record circumnavigation attempt is not expected before 2022. Le Cléac’h will also doubtless be looking closely at the next new Ultime, François Gabart’s M101, which is scheduled to hit the water in June.

The prospect of two state of the art Ultimes simultaneously racing the clock and each other around the globe – and up to five giant trimarans attempting records and races over the next couple of years – will undoubtedly be an incredible spectacle.

n av i g at i o n b r i e f i n g CHRISTIAN DUMARD ON FASTNET FINISH TACTICS

Easterlies in the Channel increasing along the French coast over the afternoon, and decreasing at night, while the opposite happens on the English coast Far left: this shows the optimum route towards Cherbourg in a favourable flood tide. The pink zone is the Casquet TSS

Casquet TSS

Guernsey

T

he new Rolex Fastnet Race course, finishing in Cherbourg instead of Plymouth for the first time this August, offers more options on the way back from the Fastnet Rock with different possible routes.

The course is likely to become more open if the wind shifts, with possible tactical options along the English or French coasts. Meanwhile, the current will be critical around the Casquet and its TSS, Alderney, and the Raz Blanchard (also known as the Alderney Race). You must make a few key choices after rounding the Fastnet and when entering the Channel.

SOUTH OF THE SCILLIES?

The first one is whether to sail south of the three Scilly TSSs, or through the middle of them. Most of the routings tend to take you through the middle. A few routes favour the

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southern option, to avoid light wind zones or, for example, to play a wind shift along a stationary ridge. Routing software will be good at finding the ways through.

The main decisions to be made will usually be in the Channel, where there will be very strong currents a few miles from the finish.

The parameters to be considered are: The wind shifts.

The difference of wind speed, depending on the time of the day, along the English and French coasts.

The current around the Casquet and the Raz Blanchard. It will have a huge impact on the possible options.

•• •

CHANNEL WIND DIRECTION

With easterly winds, the wind tends to decrease along the English coast during the afternoon and

Alderney

Left: in this example the optimum final approach to Cherbourg is north of Alderney

increase during the second part of the night. The opposite happens along the French coast, where it increases in the afternoon and decreases during the night (see above top).

The law of quadrants and its effect on seabreezes, as described by David Houghton more than 30 years ago, works well on both coasts. Timing is critical; the models tend to be good at spotting the diurnal wind variations along the coast, but understanding why the routing takes you in the northern or southern part of the Channel, depending on the time of the day, is important.

With westerly winds, the opposite happens if you have sunny conditions. The wind will increase along the English coast in the afternoon and decrease during the second part of the night. Likewise, the reverse occurs along the French coast.

PRACTICAL

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Christian Dumard is a professional weather router working with many top crews and events, including forecasting for the Volvo Ocean Race, Vendée Globe and the Mini Transat.

He has sailed the Fastnet Race six times.

WHICH WEATHER AND CURRENT MODEL?

Alderney

La Hague

Shelter zones from the current are south-west of Alderney and south-east of La Hague

PLAYING THE CURRENT

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Depending on the time, the current can be more favourable in the south or in the north of the Channel. In this example (see far left) the current is stronger along the southern French coast.

Currents are very strong around the Casquet, Alderney Guernsey Alderney and the Raz Blanchard and can reach up to 8 knots. Anticipating the current will often be the key factor; the current changes quickly and an error of 30 minutes in your timing can ruin a good option. You need to assess the risks of being stuck for five hours if your ETA to the Jersey Casquet is close to the time when you expect the current to reverse.

If the current is favourable south of the Casquet TSS, you need to sail as long as Adverse currents possible in the strongest current before of 6-8 knots through heading towards Cherbourg. In this case the Alderney Race (see left), we see that the route remains will stop even the north, in the main flow, before sailing fastest monohulls south-east towards the finishing line. upwind.

With the ebb, the game becomes more reverses along the island first. complicated, especially upwind. If you can’t If you can make it south make it against the current, you need to position of La Hague, and if the weather the boat at the best place to get some shelter conditions are good, there’s an inshore passage and get the flow first. There are two main shelter along the coast, east of the Gros du Raz zones. The first one is west of Alderney and the lighthouse. The passage is narrow, about 60m second is south of La Hague (see above). You’ll wide. It will require very careful navigation, get less adverse current, and it will reverse first especially at night and with strong winds, but a in those two places. If you can make it, the best few skippers have won a leg of the Solitaire du one is south of La Hague, along the Cotentin (the Figaro after sailing this passage. Others have Cherbourg Peninsula), where you’ll be positioned damaged their boat attempting it. A safer option further east and thus closer to the finish when is to sail west of the lighthouse, where the current the tide changes. is not as strong as in the main flow.

In this example (above right), the route is close Upwind (in easterly winds) the current will to Alderney. The boat gets well sheltered from be at the top of priorities. During the ebb the the adverse current until it decreases and it true wind speed will decrease with the current

• The Arome model (Meteo France) is usually the best model for the area.

When routing from the Fastnet, you can combine it with Arpege (also Meteo France) if the routing does not get you to the finish.

• When using Squid, you need to download Arome HD (Arome 1km) to cover all the Celtic Sea. Arome 2km will only cover the area up to 8°30’W. • ICON 5.5km (German Met Office) is a good alternative if you want to get another scenario.

• Windy will provide you with the ECMWF model which is also good at spotting the local effects with a 9km resolution. It is best to have a Windy premium subscription with a 1-hour time step and an update of the ECMWF model every six hours.

• For the current, you also have a choice. SHOM and Proudman (the highresolution one) are very good. The My Ocean IBI Mercator model is also good.

It considers the tidal stream currents as well as the offshore currents. It is often the most accurate model in the Celtic Sea. Currents are underestimated in the models. When routing, use a 130% coefficient for the current.

• You can download the Arome, Arpege, ICON and My Ocean IBI models with Squid (squid-sailing.com) pushing west. The combination of both adverse current and wind decreasing can be a disaster, as often seen in the Figaro races.

Downwind (in westerly winds) the current will be less of a problem in medium range winds, especially for the faster boats. The adverse current will increase the true wind speed. With more wind, the boat speed will increase and compensate, more or less, for the current.

If sailing downwind with several gybes to the finish, another key point is to anticipate the changes in wind direction due to the current changes. You want to sail on the headed tack.

In some cases, sailing north of the Casquet TSS is an option to play the wind shifts due to the current properly.

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PRACTICAL

5 expert tips HOW TO GET OFFSHORE RACE READY

Offshore skipper and solo ocean racer DEE CAFFARI shares pre-race tips with ANDY RICE

D

ee Caffari believes that getting ready for a big offshore race is a constant process. “It’s all about the preparation and I split my five top tips into three areas; the route, the boat, and the people,” she says.

When you’re building up towards a pinnacle event like the Rolex Fastnet Race, every Channel race and RORC offshore before then is a training opportunity, to identify the gaps in your armoury and to create a plan to fill those gaps. “A lot of this comes out in the debrief at the end of the race, although this is a crucial process that is often overlooked or skimmed over because you’ve just spent two days working really hard and are possibly feeling very tired,” explains Caffari.

“But the debrief is invaluable if you’re going to learn from things you did right. And of course, the things that you did wrong. It’s also really important to acknowledge the things that went really well for you so that you grow the confidence and you build on those activities.”

Dee develops cheatsheets for every scenario, as a quick-reference manual for things to remember in the heat of the moment. “It’s really good to have these cheatsheets to refer to when you’re tired and the pressure is on.”

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Pre-race preparation is vital to put boat and crew in the best possible place for major offshore events like the Rolex Fastnet Race

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WALK THE COURSE

2 3

This year’s Rolex Fastnet Race has a new route (see page 86), but for any race you compete in, don’t just rely on past experience but actually go through the details of the course and plan your navigation well in advance.

You want to know where the Exclusion Zones are, where the hazards are, whether there are any firing ranges, or naval activity. And you want to know what the lights are if you pass them at night.

Then you want to look at the weather: look at what kind of leg each section of the race is and what’s involved. Judge your level of confidence in the forecast as you get closer to the time, and whether you’re going to make those critical tidal gates, because we know that in the case of the Fastnet Race it is all about whether you do or don’t get through those tidal gates.

4

PRIORITISE NUTRITION

5

GET ORGANISED

SAIL INVENTORY

Have you got the right sails for the course? Are we mainly reaching or are we mainly upwind and downwind?

For the new Fastnet route we’ve got that extra 90 miles on the end of the course, taking us to Cherbourg.

So have we got the right sails for reaching as well as for the upwind and downwind?

Before we set off, we want to run all the tapes, check all the packing, check the batten tensions, so that if we need to make a sail change it all happens easily, whether it’s daytime or night, avoiding the possibility of any kind of ‘cluster’ which might catch us out.

RUN SAFETY CHECKS

Go through the safety gear in detail.

Double-check the requirements of the equipment needed.

And it’s all very well having the equipment on board, but people also need to know how to use it. So make sure the crew are familiar and go through your drills. Do they know how to use the VHF? Have you done a man overboard drill? Have you

practised it? Do people know what to do in an emergency? It’s too late to find out when it actually happens.

Take your time, make the effort, practise it, and even write up those procedures so that you’ve got them in a prominent place. If you want people to read them, the best two places on the boat are either by the galley or in the heads. This makes it more likely for people to spend time actually reading through this vital information.

It’s very common for crews to underestimate the impact of food (and hydration). If you want your crew to perform at 100%, keep them well hydrated and well fed.

Make sure there is enough food for people and that they actually want to eat it! Don’t dismiss the impact that a hot, nutritious meal has on performance. The minute you’re a little bit dehydrated, or you’re feeling a little bit under the weather because you haven’t been eating regularly, you’re going to find it really hard to make those critical decisions when it really counts.

Check your personal admin: have you got the right gear to go offshore?

Have you got your head torch? Is it charged or does it need batteries?

Do you know how to use it without blinding your fellow crew when you turn it on? Have you got a trim torch? (Practise using these torches, because there is a knack to it.)

Also make sure you have the right clothing for the forecast. Any idiot can get wet and cold. It’s the bright ones that stay warm and dry, which allows them to perform at their best.

Be diligent with your watch system so you get ample opportunity to rest.

You want to be sailing at 100% at the end of the race, just as you were at the start. Eat, drink and sleep when you need to, so that you can keep up that performance all the way to the finish.

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DEE CAFFARI MBE has completed six circumnavigations and is the first woman to sail solo both ways around the world. After skippering Turn The Tide On Plastic in the last Volvo Ocean Race, she is now focused on double-handed offshore racing alongside team mate James Harayda, aboard the Sun Fast 3300 Gentoo.

WORLD’S COOLEST YACHTS

WE ASK TOP SAILORS AND MARINE INDUSTRY GURUS TO CHOOSE THE COOLEST AND MOST INNOVATIVE YACHTS OF OUR TIMES

‘The 49er is the best base you can have to jump to any other boat’

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TOP TRUMP S RATING

IKER MARTINEZ NOMINATES THE 49ER

segamI ytteG

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to jump to any other boat. If you chose the Laser or the Star class, for instance, you’re going to miss other things.

“With the 49er, you’re not going to be bad at all in any other boat you jump into, because it has some similarities – even with a foiling boat because it demands fast reactions and fast thinking, and also with a displacement boat where tactics and positioning and thinking ahead are important.”

Spanish sailor Iker Martinez made his name in the 49er with Xabier Fernandez, winning gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver in Beijing and Weymouth. They also racked

up three 49er World Championships and numerous European titles. Named joint ISAF World Sailor of the year in 2011, Martinez has also skippered two Volvo Ocean Race entries.

TOP SPEED 25 knots+ LOA 4.99m LAUNCHED 1995 BERTHS 0 PRICE £17,635 ADRENALIN FACTOR 90%

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“I’ve spent more time in a 49er than any other boat.

It’s my preferred one because it is probably the most difficult class right now.

“You really need to sail very well as a tactician – you need to be very good on the starts. And then you really need to have some balls when it’s windy! To try not to capsize, you have to be fast and smooth. To be good you really need a lot of skills.

“I think the 49er is the best base you can have