Sailing Today March 2013

SAILING TODAY

191

MARCH 2013

GROUP TEST: 13 LED TORCHES MY MARINA: WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA

MARCH 2013 ISSUE191

CRUISING: SPANISH RIAS

NEW

POLISHED

• MY MARINA: WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA

PERFORMER FASTER, EASIER, SMARTER WITH THE HANSE 345

•

SAFETY GEAR

NEW: HANSE 345

THE LATEST IN COMMS, AIS, PLBs AND LIFEJACKETS

• USED: OYSTER 49PH

• 13 TOP TORCHES TESTED

CRUISING

SPANISH RIAS PORT HOPPING WITH A TAPAS TWIST

YAC YACH

TESTED

OYSTER 49PH

CHELSEA ARINE M MAGAZINES

CHE A M MAG

WWW.SAILINGTODAY.CO.UK

CLASSIC BLUE-WATER CRUISER FOR COUPLES

WWW.SAILINGTODAY.CO.UK

£4.20

BUYERS’ GUIDE: HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST NEW SAILS FOR YOUR BOAT

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CHELSEA ARINE M MAGAZINES 23/01/2013 14:07 11:18 21/01/2013

YAC YAC

CHE A M MAGA

news & views

Sailing newS from around the uK

Rallying Together

T

he first ever Oyster World Rally is underway as 28 examples of the Oyster range set sail from Antigua on 6 January. Participants will spend the course of the next 16 months completing the circumnavigation, almost entirely in the southern hemisphere.

Conditions at the start were said to be spectacular, with 20 knots of warm Trade Winds and brilliant sunshine. Each boat will have their own story to tell of the fantastic voyage, including Eddie Jordan of Formula One fame, sailing Oyster 885, Lush together with his wife, Marie. Eddie is evidently a dab hand at the drums and gave an impromptu gig along with a sensational guitarist on the eve of the start.

After leaving Antigua, the rally is en-route to Panama with a group rendezvous organised for all participants before entering the Panama Canal to cross into the Pacific. All yachts taking part are fitted with Yellowbrick trackers, which will remain on for the duration of the 16-month event.

Perfect Positioning?

First we had the Heart of England Offshore Cruising Association (HOEOCA), based near Coventry, now a new yacht club is opening in the heart of the country, the Chipping Norton Yacht Club.

The new club is in the Cotswolds, famous for being one of the highest points in Oxfordshire. So why create a yacht club on a hill miles from the coast?

“We may be on a hill miles

from the sea, lack moorings, have no dinghy park or river frontage but in the Cotswolds there are hundreds of people with a keen interest in boats and sailing,” says Trevor Taylor, who originally had the idea to form the new club.

CNYC members will get together to share experiences, hear interesting speakers, find crew and enjoy social meetings and indulge in general ‘scuttlebutt’ at the bar.

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Send your StorieS to newS@Sailingtoday.co.uK

oPEN

chatham Marine’s Managing Director, Philip Marsh, has won the Scott Deverell Young Business Person of the Year award at the Marine Trades association/Boating Business dinner.

The 32-year-old, joined the sailing footwear brand in 2008 as Marketing Director and became Managing Director two years later.

Since then, the company has grown year on year, despite difficult economic circumstances. Under his direction, the company has expanded into new markets across Europe, as well as widened their distribution.

“I can’t take all the credit, as everyone at chatham has helped make 2012 a fantastic year for us and they too deserve a great deal of recognition,” Marsh commented.

Oman Sail – a national initiative established in 2008 to contribute to the development of Oman and Omanis through sailing – has welcomed the public to celebrate the official opening of Mussanah Marina and showcase the new facilities on offer for recreational sailors and families at Mussanah Sports City.

The Marina – located 85km along the coast from Muscat – has become a busy complex, complete with boatyard and workshops, round the clock security and changing areas for owners and visitors.

The opening of the Marina marks the start of another busy calendar for Oman Sail this year. From hosting world championships to local community programmes and events for the public Oman Sail plans to expand its commercial activities and encourage the public to engage in fun water activities along the beautiful coastline of Oman..

Further Afield

Opportunities to export to countries like china, Brazil and South Korea must be grasped by the British marine industry to help deliver growth, Business Minister Michael Fallon has said.

Speaking at the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show, Mr Fallon made the statement as he unveiled a joint Government and

DON’T MISS OUR SISTER TITLES IN MARCH’S yACHTS & yACHTINg Make this your best year yet

■

Tribute to a legend

Issue #1659

The really wild side of the Vendee

03

Globe

9 770044 000205

www.yachtsandyachting.co.uk

Ocean Safety, has signed a two-race contract with clipper Ventures Ltd. to be an official supplier of the race. Ocean Safety will supply the full range of safety equipment to each of the 12 brand new 70ft (23m) competing yachts, which recently arrived in the UK from the construction yard in china.

The company will also be providing training for safety and survival and will supply a service package. Ocean Safety has already supplied the past four clipper races over eight years. The new clipper yachts were revealed for the first time at St Katharine Docks in London during the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show.

Classic Boat MARCH 2013

£4.50 US$12.50

CHELSEA M ARINE MAGAZINES

Colonel Whitbread’s Yacht – the boat which inspired the first global yacht race Rum – the first boat built to beat the CIM rule, Whitbread’s original used for classic handicapping since the late 1990s Carlo Riva – the legendary designer at 90 Results of our long term varnish test Central London address – Living on a barge in the city Cruising Association: as valuable to yachtsmen today as it was when founded in 1908

T H E W O R L D’ S M O S T BEAUTIFUL BOATS

CHELSEA M ARINE MAGAZINES

Radical new classic Built to beat the fleet

YACHTS YACHTING

CHELSEA M ARINE MAGAZINES

YACHTS YACHTING CHELSEA M ARINE MAGAZINES

Carlo Riva at 90 A living legend

■

Yacht that inspired an ocean series

thingS yOu ShOuld knOw abOut Sir ben ainSlie

www.yachtsandyachting.co.uk |

■

Moth world champion shares his secrets

210 | Warm kit

■

£4.30 ISSUE N°1659 MARCH 2013

guru| Flying Moths | Test: Elan

■

Vendee drama | Match racing

■

FREE Official RYA Dinghy Show Guide Sail like a hOw tO Sail like a winner - Moth world champion shares SuCCeed winner in 2013 his secrets Ocean trials - the inside stories from the most 8 testing moments of the Vendee Globe 'Mr henri' lloyd Planning a campaign - learn from the Ocean trials organisation of others to make 2013 your best season yet Plus new boats, including a test of the lovely Elan 210, the latest events, news and comment

Patnerships Persists

www.chelseamagazines.com/shop

IN MARCH’S CLASSIC BoAT March 2013

■

industry-led plan to enhance the global competitiveness of British marine business.

The UK Marine Export Strategy identifies some of the most promising sectors for British companies to target, including offshore oil and gas, naval defence and leisure boats and equipment.

The strategy features eight recommendations for growth, and also includes analyses of emerging and mature economies across the world that present the best opportunities for exports.

i

officially

Young MD Recognised

■ ■ ■ ■

Varnish test Our long term findings

CATALAN CLASSICS

Battle in Barcelona

CRUISING ASSOCIATION TODAY

Going online at sea

CENTRAL LONDON ADDRESS

Living on a barge

03 9 770950 331134

March 2013 09

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HANSE 345

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New boat test

Hanse 345 Duncan Kent sails the new Hanse 345 to see if she performs as promised.

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sPanisH Rias

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Closehauled under Costa Verde sunshine.

The rewarding

Rias We had travelled nearly as far south in one passage as we did in the whole of the previous year.

Crossing the Bay of Biscay is a daunting voyage for most cruising sailors but, as Ann Rowe and Andy MacKellar discovered last year, the reward of then being able to explore the stunning Spanish Rias makes meeting the challenges of this passage well worthwhile.

W

e began our second year as full-time liveaboards by day sailing from our winter berth in Brittany to La Rochelle.

Our original plan was to make our Biscay crossing in early June from La Rochelle to Bilbao. This decision was based on the fact that it would involve only one overnight, avoid the Landes Firing Range and the shallow port entrances on the inshore route, enable us to see the Guggenheim and experience Basque food and culture.

Over three weeks later and still waiting for a suitable forecast, we changed our planned landfall port from Bilbao to Gijon to allow us to claw back lost time and linger longer in the rias. It meant two nights at sea, but after all the preparation we’d done, we weren’t fazed by this prospect.

setting sail foR sPain We bid a melancholic and apprehensive goodbye to our friends Tim and Karen, dropped our lines and set off from La Rochelle after morning coffee.

The swell was greater than forecast but we were making good progress and began our pattern of lone two-hour night watches at 2300.

There is something special about night sailing, particularly in pleasant conditions. Being on watch on your own allows time to contemplate life, the universe (quite literally) and why the gas bottle only ever runs out when you are using it, usually at night.

Watching in awe as the moon rises on the horizon, a mysterious and luminous amber spinnaker, is another marvel.

The next day we had numerous visits from schools of common dolphins and, on one occasion, a pod of pilot whales. As the second evening at sea progressed the wind freshened and an unpleasant quartering sea developed. We repeated the pattern of night watches, but found sleep difficult due to the continual rolling and noise. Fortunately, we had both got sufficient rest the previous day when conditions had been much calmer.

As dawn broke, we caught our first glimpse of March 2013 25

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Oyster 49PH

49 Pilot House

Could this be the perfect cruiser for couples? Toby Heppell gets to grips with this rare Pilot House Oyster.

Oyster

O

yster yachts around the 50ft mark are often hailed as some of the finest bluewater cruisers on the market, particularly for couples. Typically, they are solidly built providing a stable platform for ocean passages and long distance cruises.

The size of just such a boat tends to mean they perform at their best in conditions associated with ocean crossings – at least 10-15kn breezes. It was then, a slight disappointment to step aboard Oyster 49 Blue Elixir II on a sunny Friday morning and discover the lightest of zephyrs tickling the rigging.

Undeterred we had a look round the boat and managed to find enough wind in patches of Southampton water to get a reasonable idea of what she was like to sail.

The Holman and Pye designed Oyster 49 Pilot House may be a boat unfamiliar to many in large part due to its relative rarity. The boat is actually the hull of the popular Oyster 46, extended somewhat and re-decked with the Pilot House layout, to allow cruising from indoors, making them a more attractive motorsailing style option. This set-up also allows for two large double berths fore and aft.

AbOut tHe Owner

Dick Long is an engineer by trade and has sailed for most of his adult life. Previous boats have included dinghies, sportsboats and cruiser/racers. He and his wife bought Blue Elixir II with an aim to cruise across oceans with the boat providing a happy compromise between sailing and luxury. The Oyster has been extensively re-fitted under their stewardship after the previous owners left her on the market for three years with little work.

Blue Elixir II is for sale and can be found at: www.oysteryachts.com/brokerage

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used boat test

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mYMARINA

Historic Harbour and convenient staging post

Beautiful coastline, surrounded by history makes Wells-next-the-Sea an ideal spot to visit. But can it be practical? Toby Heppell investigates.

t

he Port of Wells was sparkling and beautiful in the weak mid-winter sunlight, but by God was it cold. If you sail out of Wells and continue due north you will not make landfall until you hit the Arctic! It was clear from the light breeze I could feel on my face exactly where this weather had come from.

It is testament to the beauty of the small fishing town that I remember it so fondly, when the cold was so fierce and the drive such a dire experience. Wells is only two-hours from the M25 but it feels so much further. The second half of the trip – down single lane roads, through villages and behind a selection of tractors – sees the mind wander to the myth of Sisyphus, rolling his boulder uphill for all eternity.

Wells is a huge summer tourist destination and holiday home town – the winter population of 2,300 swells to something approaching 13,000 in the

summer, apparently. This makes it a slightly odd place to wander during the winter.

The pretty streets abound with fancy delis and organic butchers providing all sorts

of posh nosh. However, during our visit they were all but deserted. I imagine in the summer Wells buzzes with middle class chatter but on this day it was all but silent.

The new outer harbour where the wind-farm boats are kept.

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PORT OF WELLS

BERTHING AND FACILITIES

LOCAL BERTH HOLDERS BERNIE PHILPOTT – COLVIC WATSON 34

Bernie Philpot and his wife have held a berth in the Port of Wells for a number of years. They do not live locally - their home is actually near Cambridge. However, many factors contribute to this being the chosen home for their boat.

A major factor in their selection of Wells is the strong community spirit exhibited by most of the other berth holders and sailors.

“I don’t like some of the bigger marinas where it always seems so many people have a boat there but rarely go out sailing,” Bernie explained.“In Wells there is a strong sense of community. For the Queen’s Jubilee we had a procession of boats on the water and tables out along the edge of the harbour.”

A recent addition to Wells Harbour has been an artificial deep-water, outer harbour for work boats, working on a nearby wind

farm. Initially we imagined this would be seen as an inconvenience by berth holders. But this is not entirely the case.

“Since the wind farm boats have been here, the harbour has seen a significant rise in visitors,” confides Philpott.“They dredge the channel regularly giving us a more even depth and extending the times we can head out to sea by up to an hour either side of low tide and have improved the buoys marking the channel significantly.”

Finally, in addition to the community spirit, Bernie is quick to praise the welcoming and helpful nature of all the harbour staff. It is clear as we chat he is going to be content here for a long time.

LEISURE MOORINGS: Running mooring Drascombe type Fore and Aft Swing Pontoon Berth

£62 per year £79 per year £134 per year £358 per year

HARBOUR DUES All vessels over 4.57m £26 p/m per year Visiting Vessels – Pontoons or Quay Wall 6.09 - 7.62m (20 to 25ft) per night £18 7.92 - 9.14m (26 to 30ft) per night £20 9.45 - 10.66m (31 to 35ft) per night £22 On mooring buoy 50% of rates above On own anchor per night (max 1 week) Free Visiting vessels over 10.66m (35ft) at the Harbour Master’s discretion.

One acre of outdoor winter storage area winter storage only (October to May) 15 metres of quayside for craning/hard standing Slipway for launching and recovery Tractor for trailer launching Boat hoist (7.5 tonnes) – plans to have a 50 tonne hoist by the end of 2013 Security lighting Electricity and water Regular surveillance

Have any Norfolk travel tips?

Let us know on Twitter @SailingTodayMag

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McMurdo Smartfind S10 c. £199

Standard Horizon’s hand-held DSC VHF

SAFETY GEAR Duncan Kent looks back over the past year to see what equipment improvements have been introduced to make our lives safer at sea.

The last year has seen the

introduction of a large number of both personal and boat mounted safety items, which could help make offshore sailing safer. Although no replacement for common sense and experience, some of the devices could help save a life or a yacht in distress, or maybe prevent the incident from happening altogether. in this feature we present some of the latest safety devices to be launched, explain what they offer in terms of improved safety on board and tell you from where they can be obtained and at what cost.

EmERgENcY cOmmS

REScUE LOcATION

HAND-HELD DSc/vHF RADIO: A significant

PERSONAL AIS REScUE BEAcONS:

improvement to marine safety equipment came in 2012 with the introduction of Standard Horizon’s hand-held VHF with integral DSC functions – clearly an ideal addition to anyone’s emergency grab bag to take on board a liferaft.

The HX851E VHF is a 6W, fully submersible, floating portable marine VHF transceiver with a built-in 12-channel GPS and full Class-D DSC facilities enabling it to be used for distress calling via the IMO’s SOLAS GMDSS system.

In addition to emergency position indication, the integral GPS also enables the unit to be used for simple navigation, with storage for 100 alpha-tagged waypoints.

The radio also boasts some clever new visibility features such as a luminescent gasket strip around the casing for easy location at night, together with a high-power LED strobe light that can be programmed to flash in an SOS configuration – greatly improving a MOB’s chances of being rescued quickly.

Two new personal AIS beacons were launched last year by the same manufacturing group, Oralia. The McMurdo Smartfind S10 and the Kannad Safelink R10 are both manually activated (although the R10 can be attached to certain selected lifejackets in such a way as to be activated on inflation) and incorporate an AIS/GPS transmitter that will place an AIS MOB target icon on any nearby (up to 4nm approx) AIS receiver display, pinpointing the MOB’s actual position in the water. Both are fully submersible and therefore ideal for lifejacket attachment or grab-bag use.

LIFE gUARD: Digital Yacht also launched a potentially life-saving product last year called AIS Life Guard, which works in conjunction with both the devices mentioned above, and any other AIS rescue beacon. All it requires is connection to an AIS receiver and you have a fully operational AIS-based MOB retrieval system.

In the event of an AIS beacon being activated

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Safety Special

Mobilarm Crewsafe V100 From £499

within range the AIS Life Guard detects the transmitted distress message, sounding an internal 95db alarm and displaying a red warning light to help alert those on board to the MOB. When used in addition to a visual AIS display or AIS-enabled chart plotter, this will not only give you audio-visual warning, but also show you the precise location of the victim in the water.

mOB LOcATION vIA vHF: Ideal for busy sailing areas, Mobilarm’s Crewsafe V100 is a water-activated Maritime Survivor Locating Device (MSLD) that transmits accurate and regular GPS coordinates of a man overboard directly to rescuers via VHF radio.

This palm-sized radio distress beacon can be integrated with a lifejacket or PFD, clipped to webbing or harness, or carried in a pocket and secured with a lanyard.

When its water sensors detect the wearer has gone overboard, the Crewsafe V100 automatically transmits a ‘Mayday, man overboard’ distress alert using VHF DSC on channel 70. It can also be manually activated.

It quickly acquires a GPS lock and then transmits its GPS coordinates to all DSC VHF receivers in range.

The distress alert is also broadcast on the VHF marine radio emergency channel 16 in a synthesized voice to maximise the number of people who can receive

Digital Yacht AiS Life Guard £239.95 McMurdo Fast Find 220 pLB c. £270

the alert and respond to the emergency. Distress messages are repeated at regular intervals for up to 12 hours and the device also has a strobe light to assist with visual homing.

PERSONAL LOcATOR BEAcONS (PLB): McMurdo has also extended its range of emergency PLBs with the launch of its Fast Find 220 – a stylish and versatile 406MHz emergency beacon with built-in GPS enabling a typical positional accuracy of ±60m.

The Fast Find 220 also benefits from retro-reflective detailing for improved visibility in low light, a six-year battery storage life and a floating pouch as standard.

Pocket-sized and waterproof down to 10m, the FF220 can operate in temperatures as low as -20º, alerting the search and rescue authorities using the COSPAS SARSAT satellite rescue system.

With its 5W power output, once activated it transmits continuously on 406MHz and 121.5MHz simultaneously for a minimum of 24 hours, as well as MARCH 2013 45

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Gear & equipment

GROUP TEST

SPECIFICATION MAKE

MODEL

PRICE £ 1 100400C HD BUsHnELL £53.00 2 Fan-1 CLULItE £99.60 3 ML7 CLULItE £31.20 4 ML8 CLULItE £78.00 5 HP7 Coast £54.95 6 HP14 Coast £64.95 7 X2 EXPosURE £199.99 8 MaRInE PRo3 £199.99 EXPosURE 9 tX4.0 GERBER £44.99 10 MYtoRCH RC £99.95 nEXtoRCH 11 PIonEER Ea4 nItECoRE £59.95 12 Mt2C nItECoRE £39.95 13 HV-FL8 UnILItE £65.99 *InCL Batts ** HIGH BEaM

WGT* G 278 460 136 236 220 365 124 120 295 212 260 120 168

SIZE L X DIA MM 234 X 32 140 X 125 130 X 26 160 X 25 141 X 32 213 X 35 128 X 37 134 X 37 200 X 27 156 X 26 117 X 40 125 X 25 136 X 32

MATERIAL BODY/LENS aL/GL aL/PL aL/PL aL/PL aL/PL aL/PL aL/PL aL/PL aL/PL aL/PL aL/GL aL/GL aL/PL

VOLTS V 6.0 4.8 3.7 3.7 6.0 6.0 3.7 3.7 4.5 3.7 6.0 6.0 6.0

BATTERIES 2 X CR123a 1 X nIMH 1 X 18650 LI-Ion 1 X 18650 LI-Ion 4 X aaa 4 X aa 1 X LI-Ion 1 X LI-Ion 3 X aa 1 X 18650 LI-Ion 4 X aa 2 X CR123a LI 2 X CR123a LI

MIN DURATION** HRS 1.5 3 3 3.5 5.75 4.75 1 1 9 1.25 1.75 3 2

BATT IND Y CHG onLY n n n n Y Y n CHG onLY Y n n

MAX LUMENS 165 300 125 250 251 339 700 975 75 550 860 360 560

RANGE M 155 500 150 250 196 175 n/a n/a 78 168 283 155 185

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1

2

3

4

5

6

waterproof led torches Duncan Kent tests a range of the latest LED torches to see just how much they have improved since their introduction.

It is astounding the brightness, range and complexity of these torches today Sometimes to the detriment of the designs. after all, a yachtsman probably needs a torch in a hurry and when he/she grabs it and hits the switch they expect it to come on – preferably at full tilt, right away.

We chose a fairly wide range of LED torches to look at, all of which are available for under £200 and most below £100. That

as a young pre-teenager two things got me really excited – penknives and torches – and obviously I wasn’t the only one. When a batch of torches arrived in our office for testing everyone wanted a go.

To be honest, had I had anything vaguely resembling one of these modern, high-power LED devices in my youth I would have been king of the jungle – or woods as was my ‘patch’ in those days.

might sound a lot of money for a torch, but many of the more expensive models are so good they can double up as searchlights.

PRODUCTS 1. Bushnell hd torch £53 a rugged torch manufactured from anodised aircraft-grade aluminium with O-rings to ensure watertightness.

This torch has two buttons – one on the tail end and another on the body. The former switches it on/off and also has a simple green/red glow to indicate battery level. The second cycles through the two simple light modes – on or flashing.

in the box:

●

Torch

accessories:

●

●

but after a while you start to see the advantages. The torch has one brightness level only, of 165 lumens, but it appears considerably brighter. This is thanks to a clever acceleration reflector tube which allows light to fill the square beam it projects at the same intensity – no tapering off or ‘soft’ edges. This makes it an excellent choice for tracking distant channel marks and buoys.

2 x cr123a cells

Lanyard

Verdict

2. clulite fan-1

Where this torch really differs from any other we tested is that it has a square beam. at first this feels really weird,

£99.60

The largest torch on test and confusing at first. In the box is a mains charger with

LEVELS

LEDS

SOS

STROBE

BEAM ADJ

LANYARD

W’PROOF

WRTY

1 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 20 5 3 2

1 1 X CREE 3W 1 X CREE 3W 1 X CREE 3W 1 X CREE 3W 1 X CREE 3W 2 WH/1 RD CREE 3 1 1 X CREE 3W 1 X CREE XM-L U2 1 X CREE XP-G R5 1 X CREE XM-L

n n n n n n Y Y n Y Y Y n

Y Y n n n n Y Y n Y Y Y Y

n n n n Y Y n n n n n n n

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y n Y Y n

Y Y Y Y REs REs Y Y REs sUB sUB sUB sUB

2YRs 1YR 1YR 1YR 5YRs 5YRs LIFE LIFE LIFE LIFE 10YRs 10YRs 2YRs

a jack plug that fits into the back of the torch. Ditto the cigar lighter 12V lead. however, also supplied is a universal power supply/regulator. It isn’t clear in the instructions (all plugs are the same type) that you must plug the charger into the regulator first, then the latter into the torch.

It has a 2.2ah NiMh rechargeable battery, which should last 600 cycles minimum.

The body is plastic, but with a rubberised ring around the head and a handle above. It also has a leaning stand.

This torch only has Low/high/Strobe modes, which are selected using a switch on the back. The torch is then turned on or off by a push button on the handle.

in the box: ●

12V charger

● ●

Torch ● 240V charger Shoulder strap.

accessories:

●

Spare battery.

Verdict More miniature spotlight than small torch, but light and small enough to fit in the cargo pocket of a sailing jacket. It’s easy to use and we liked having the two separate switches so you can select mode separately to on or off.

The main beam is very narrow and concentrated, which is part of the reason it has such impressive range. at close range the brightly lit area is too small and the flood beam not very bright.

Great for spotting buoys a long way off, but not so good for deck work.

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