GARDA!
Tangled up in blue
THe Roles Maxi World Cup is all about spectacular sailing in stupendous l,ocations and they don’t get much more beautiful than the L:a Maddalena archipelago o Sardinia.
Photo: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi
IWASZPS SWARM TO WEYMOUTH
n a week of mixed wind conditions peaking at 28-30kts on the first day, and then ranging from 1213kts to the low 20s for the rest of the week, the WASZP Games at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) – which saw a record-breaking 248-strong entry – was deemed a huge success. After an immensely close-fought series, it was Italian sailor Federico Bergamasco, and American Pearl Lattanzi who stole the show to take overall wins in the Men’s and Women’s Gold Fleet finals respectively, thus deeming them the 2025 WASZP Games overall champions. In the Gold fleet Bergamasco also proved that consistency was the name of
the game because he won the title without winning a single race!
Commenting on his overall win after the final race, a delighted Bergamasco said: “It’s been an amazing week with super racing. There was a lot of pressure on today [final day] because we all wanted to win. Staying in the top five was everything, so I had to fight with these amazing guys – Pablo [Astiazaran PérezCela], Antonio [Gasperini], and Gavin [Ball] – to stay on top.”
Lattanzi chatting about her overall win, added: “I’m so happy. I don’t even know what to say. It doesn’t feel real now. The qualifying was pretty windy for me, so I was so happy to qualify
ABOVE
And they’re off... one of the many action-packed starts in Weymouth Bay
for the Gold fleet. It was the most boats I’d ever raced against in a fleet and it was really competitive racing.” With three main classes –determined by rig size – 8.2, 7.5 and 6.9, plus a smaller 5.8 (WASZP X) – the event attracted a huge, diverse fleet ranging from foiling demons including youngsters, women, to 50+ Super Masters. Each fleet raced early rounds to qualify for the finals within the Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets, so effectively there were three overall champions within the fleets. Andrew McDougall – the WASZP designer, and a Super Master 50+, flying the flag for Australia – fought off some equally tough competition to take the Bronze
With nearly 250 boats on the start line, the WASZP Games in Weymouth this summer, now stands as the largest single class foiling event ever writes Sue Pelling
championship title with three wins to count, from British sailor Pia Raber (Junior Under 19). Another top British finisher was Ben Harris (Core 21-29 year old) who sailed impressively to take second place overall in the Silver fleet. It was good to see so many women taking the plunge to compete equally with the men. A total of 18% of the fleet were women and it was another Italian – Olivia Castaldi – who won the 6.9 division overall, while Lattanzi secured her overall win by finishing a creditable 34th in the final 70-strong Gold fleet. The top British-placed woman was Chloe Collenette who was 44th in the Silver fleet.
In keeping with the WASZP class’ ethos of inclusivity, there was also a category for total foiling beginners – the Green Fleet – with 10 in the fleet ranging from a 12 year old to 60+ club sailors enjoying a fun week of coaching and racing. Some of the youth sailors progressed so fast in the first couple of days, they made the decision to join the main 6.9 fleet for the rest of the week.
Martin Evans – WASZP Class Manager said the ‘Green Fleet was a huge success: “It helped newcomers to the fleet experience the Games with the chance to step up to the main fleet. The daily debriefs, tech talks, yoga, music and socials added real value and made the whole Games a fun and rewarding place to be.”
ABOVE
A full house at the WPNSA. A total of 248 teams from all around the world took part
BELOW
Immense concentration from the super-fit young competitors
As an older sailor new to the WASZP, Derek Stannett (Super Master division 50+) said he found the Green Fleet experience invaluable. “It got me onto the water in an environment that was directly linked to the main event where I could learn from experienced coaches as well as observe other sailors, both in the Green fleet and beyond…My confidence improved dramatically during the week, heightening my enthusiasm for future events. It was also fantastic to make a group of new friends who I will hopefully see at future events and progress with.”
At the other end of the age spectrum, Alice Pope (18) another new-comer said the Green Fleet was
THE BRITISH YACHTING AWARDS 2025
THE NOMINATIONS
The nominations are revealed for the 2025 British Yachting Awards. Now it’s over to you to decide who wins
The British Yachting Awards celebrate the finest of both the cruising and racing worlds. This year it offers recognition at the end of an extraordinary year, which has seen sailing deliver an astonishing breadth of world class events, stories of personal heroism, not to mention providing a mouth-watering array of new boats and gear.
Our expert panel had a tough time whittling down our longlist to the exceptional shortlist
here. Now it is down to you to decide who wins each of the 12 categories. This is the only awards event in the sailing world where the winner is decided by you, the reader - so your vote really does count. Your winners will be revealed in the January issue of Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting, and each will be presented with their British Yachting Awards trophy. Voting on our dedicated website could not be easier. Choosing, however, may be more difficult...
CRUISING YACHT OF THE YEAR
JEANNEAU SUN ODYSSEY 415
Jeanneau is revamping its popular Sun Odyssey range the new 415, a Marc Lombard design that replaces the very popular 410. The new boat is slightly lighter than her predecessor and promises to be a versatile performer.
BENETEAU OCEANIS 47
This is the eight generation of the Oceanis brand. The 47 is the successor to the Oceanis 46.1 and is designed by the Finot/Conq design team which has worked regularly with Beneteau over the years.
HALLBERG RASSY 370
Hallberg Rassy is rapidly becoming an institution. With the 370, the manufacturer goes back to its roots. The 370 blends cruising comfort with surprisingly sprightly performance thanks to slippery German Frers designed lines.
DUFOUR 48
The Dufour 48 takes the concept of using fuller bow sections to boost volume and this Umberto Felci design is simply huge inside. Despite this, the boat boasts impressive performance in both light and heavy airs,
SWAN 51
Nautor Swan is arguably the most iconic and evocative name in the sailing world. The new 51 comes from the drawing board of long time design partner German Frers and the boat is an seductive blend of speed, comfort and style.
MULTIHULL YACHT OF THE YEAR
SEAWIND 1170
Seawind’s new 1170 blends performance, comfort and simplicity of design. To this end, this is not a yacht with foils but it does have twin helms set outboard for better feel while sailing. The interior has a good level of comfort.
LAGOON 38
Lagoon's new 38 will be the smallest boat in their range. As you’d expect, the emphasis is on comfort and ease of handling and there is a generous amount of interior space given the relatively diminutive size of this boat.
FOUNTAINE PAJOT 41
Fountaine Pajot brings a massive amount of experience and know how into the game when it comes to building multihulls. The new 41 is the smallest boat in the range but still offers an impressive amount of space and comfort.
BALANCE 580
Balance is a South Africa based boatbuilder which specialises in performance catamarans. The new 580 distils many of the qualities found in their earlier models with it’s blend of high performance combined with comfort.
EXCESS 13
This is a stylish cruising cat that eschews the expense of daggerboards but provides more of a focus on performance thanks to twin helms on the sponsons, careful attention being paid to weight saving and a generous sail area.
CURE 55
Cure's 55 is a performance cruiser built out of carbon fibre which keeps the weight down to 15,000kg which is pretty modest for a 55’ catamaran. Marry that to a big rig and you have a recipe for sparkling performance.
A NORTHERN ODYSSEY
Harald Hart took even himself by surprise on a trip to the Faroes and back by stretching the voyage to a rounding of Iceland in what became a solo sixmonth adventure as Mike Owen relates
In conversation, Harald is a modest, mild-mannered man and to hear him outlining his 2022 cruise is the perfect expression of that.
“It was mid-May that I left Medemblik for Den Oever and then to Texel.” Sounds quite normal to this point, doesn’t it? “But I didn’tstop, I went straight on to the Orkneys.”
Think on this. Harald, turned-70, single-handing just a typically specified 15m Contest 50CS Steppingstone right up through the North Sea and beyond into the high Atlantic, alone.
In Harald’s tone there is nothing that suggests this might perhaps be a little unusual. “I had wanted to go straight to the Faroe area but there was a storm coming up between the Faroes and Orkneys, so instead I sailed into Kirkwall in the Orkneys, stayed a couple of days, and after continued north to the Faroes.”
Reykjavík
ICELAND
SCOTLAND
Double distance
The unanticipated jump to Iceland was, according to Harald, quite impulsive. “When I left Medemblik my plan was to sail only to the Faroes which have always fascinated me, with these people living out in the North Atlantic.
“I wanted to know: what are you doing there, how are you living? So, I was interested in that, to have a look. It hadn’t been my plan to sail all the way to Iceland, or then onto Norway either. It all just came on my path.”
Arriving in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, Harald also hadn’t at first intended to round the vast land mass of Iceland itself, either. But things change! “I just didn’t want to go back the same way,” he calmly explains in a hint as to the evolution of his extended, eventual October return to his home port of Medemblik having taken in, after Iceland, Lerwick in the Shetland Isles, Stavanger, Bergen and Namsos of Norway! Six months and many thousand miles with, for just a few midsummer weeks in Norway, the
ABOVE
A route map of part of Harald's voyage
BELOW
Harald's Contest
50CS Steppingstone moored in Reykjavik
FACING PAGE
Approaching Isafördur, Iceland
company of his long-time, co-boatowning and very understanding wife for a period of gentle, more relaxed coastal cruising around Bergen.
“You can only have this freedom and this kind of remote support if you have the right home situation,” Harald says. And as might be said in Icelandic: algjörlega … absolutely!
Home from home
Home for Harald and Marion is first in the Netherlands, with a second in Norway, so this passing between nations is well practised, and regular readers of Contest's own magazine, Context might recall how on a previous return trip from Bergen to Medemblik, Harald, again singlehanding, turned right instead of left for a west-about circumnavigation of the UK mainland before docking back in the Netherlands. Never the simplest route for Harald!
“I like the thinking that good navigation requires,” he says, “and sailing alone I never feel lonely.”
A 50-footer can be thought a fair-sized vessel to handle alone on long, challenging passages but, of course, modern systems, electric winches and furlers for a start have much eased short-handing, and aids from multi-function chartplotter, radar and AIS to smart autopilots equally simplify pilotage. But safe watchkeeping too holds top priority in personal protection.
To that end, Harald’s career in medicine with decades of sleepdepriving duties has trained him well for solo sailing. “I can sleep on the spot, any moment!” he laughs.
“You check the chart, horizon, your AIS, radar, then set the phone alarm, and I’ll be asleep in two minutes!
Kirkwall
Faroe Islands
Lerwick (from Medemblik) (to Norway)
John ‘Woody’ Winning
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