Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting December 2022 - Sample

ISLAND

Brittany, France

Dinan Marina is on the beautiful Canal d’Ille-et-Rance – the inland waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean and English Channel. Located in town of Dinan, and home to a 14th-century castle, this is a real beauty spot to explore when transiting the Canal.

Photo: Gary le Feuvre/iStock

Swan and only

Dramatic styling combined with a dramatic turn of speed make for a photo that captures the power of a fast boat, hard driven. In this case it’s the ClubSwan 80 My Song being pushed hard on her sea trials. The boat is owned by Italian businessman Pier Luigi Loro Piana.

Photo: NautorCommunication

Ebb and flow

Join us at the British Yachting Awards

Voting is still open for our British Yachting Awards until midnight on Sunday 6 November – and Sailing Today with Y&Y readers can book limited tickets to the event via a link below.

We organise the awards annually with our parent company Chelsea Magazines to celebrate the best of the racing and cruising worlds.

It’s up to you to decide the winners – you can cast your votes after persusing the nominations, listed online at britishyachtingawards.com.

THE BRITISH YACHTING AWARDS 2022

There are categories for the best new boats launched in the last 12 months, the best pieces of new sailing kit and clothing, the best marinas, as well as categories that recognise personal sailing achievements.

The winners are announced and trophies presented on 28 November, at an exclusive ceremony at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge. Limited tickets for this event will be released for sale nearer the time – watch this News section and online. The winners are also revealed in our February issue, published on 30 December in the UK.

Among the nominees are 16-year-old Cal Currier who sailed solo across the Atlantic, the 22-year-old White triplet brothers who won

Pantaenius supports Sailor of the Year

Marine insurance specialist Pantaenius is sponsoring the Sailor of the Year category in the British Yachting Awards.

Pantaenius supported the category last year, when octogenarian Murdoch McGregor won the vote after having sailed solo around Britain.

Simon Hedley, Pantaeniuis’ Head of Commercial Partnerships (pictured left), said: “The Pantaenius Group has been at the heart of sailing for over 50 years, and we are proud to sponsor theSailor of the Year award. The dedication and commitment of the nominees must be collectively celebrated and promoted to inspire others.”

Nominees in the 2022 Sailor of the Year category are: 83-year-old Kenichi Horie who sailed solo across the Pacific; 20-year-old Ellie Driver who completed the Round Britain & Ireland Race, with her father Jim; the crew of Ziggy, for their Cowes Week performances on a budget; the crew of Dark n Stormy, for their summer of racing success at Cowes Week, the Round the Island Race and elsewhere; Richard Palmer and Rupert Holmes on Jangada for winning the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race.

silverware at Cowes Week, and the school-age crew of Embley, who won the Round the Island Race’s ISC category, beating more than 500 entries – as well as the best boats, events, marinas and sailing kit of the last year.

Group editor Rob Peake said: “There are always some great stories among the British Yachting Awards nominations and 2022 has come up trumps with a series of heart-warming and impressive personal and crew achievements on the water. The industry, meanwhile, never ceases to innovate and evolve and our shortlist reflects that.

“We are proud to have seen the British Yachting Awards become a highlight of the marine industry calendar. It’s a moment when we can pause and take stock of the greatest achievements in the sailing world. The category shortlists are put together by our editorial team and expert panel of contributors.

“Now it’s up to you, our readers, to decide who wins.”

Vote at britishyachtingawards.com and book your ticket, including a champagne and canapés reception, for £90, via sailingtoday.co.uk

Cruising celebration

The Centennial Celebration of the Cruising Club of America was held at Newport, Rhode Island, in September.

The esteemed yacht club invited all its Blue Water Medal recipients to attend, including our correspondent Bob Shepton, who was given the medal for a circumnavigation he completed with a crew of young people some years ago.

Others included Jean-Luc Van Den Heede who has sailed six circumnavigations, and Randal Reeves and Steve Brown, who completed figure of eight voyages round the Americas via the NorthWest Passage and Cape Horn. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston gave an entertaining talk on his life at sea. There was also a talk called Heavy Hitters on Heavy Weather, by Sail Magazine, combining the wisdom of Randall Reeves, Rich Wilson, Jean-Luc, Steve Brown, and chaired by Frank Bohlen, Emeritus Professor of Marine Sciences, on ways of combatting heavy weather.

Bob Shepton presented a talk about the late Bill Tilman, also a Blue Water Medal recipient, called Tilman’s Legacy in the Modern Age. Bob said of his own exploits, sailing in high latitudes: “It was Tilman’s innovative vision to sail to remote regions and climb mountains from the boat. Maybe we were taking his vision to extremes.”

14th

Co-organised by our columnist Andy Rice (see page 20), the 14th edition of the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series kicks o with the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash on 19-20 November.

Seldén is back for the fourth year as title sponsor of the series, which since 2009 has aimed to provide “the fairest possible handicap racing for small boats in the UK”.

Founder Andy said: “Seldén has stayed with us through a very tough couple of seasons and we’re hoping that this will be the first season since the pandemic to be completed without any hitches or setbacks.”

As ever, the series aims to appeal to as many classes as possible, with typically almost 100 di erent types of boat represented across the season, from fleets as diverse as the traditional Norfolk Punt and National 18, to niche classes like the Hadron H2 singlehander.

Some fleets choose to use some of the events as their class championship, such as the RS Aero, which typically brings up to 50 boats for the concluding event of the season, the Oxford Blue. Contact Simon Lovesey if you’re interested in choosing one, some, or all the events in the series to form your own class championship, at simon.lovesey@sailracer.co.uk.

Brits set to go in Route du Rhum

There have never been so many IMOCA entries in the famous two-week transatlantic race, now called La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, which sets o from Saint-Malo on 6 November. With 37 boats set to take the start line, there are more podium contenders than in any previous edition. The British sailors include Pip Hare on Medallia, Sam Davies on a new Initiatives Coeur 4, and the young James Harayda on Gentoo (pictured).

The 2018 edition saw a dramatic finish with Paul Meilhat taking the IMOCA title. He returns with a new boat in the colours of his new sponsors Biotherm. His is just one of seven new IMOCAs which have been launched over the last four months. There are four pairs of sisterships now, creating some fascinating races within the race. Vendée Globe winner Yannick Bestaven’s new Maitre Coq V is a Verdierdesigned sistership of 11th Hour Racing-Mâlama, while Sam Davies’ new Initiatives Coeur 4 is sistership to the Sam Manuard-designed L’Occitane en Provence Three boats come from completely new moulds. There is the Verdier Holcim – PRB by Kevin Esco er, Manuard’s Charal2 by Jérémie Beyou and the VPLP designed new Malizia – Sea Explorer of Boris Herrmann.

Kévin Esco er (Holcim - PRB) believes that the “new boats will not be favourites, it is will be the boats of the 2020 generation that are more reliable that will have the advantage”. The dominant Charlie Dalin (APIVIA) and Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) both have new IMOCAs in build and this will be their last race with their current monohulls. Dalin, second in the Vendée Globe, is the recent winner of the Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race and June’s Vendée Arctic race and remains undefeated this season. But he has never competed in the Route du RhumDestination Guadeloupe, while Thomas Ruyant, who won the Transat Jacques Vabre last year is also a contender for the win.

There are also 13 rookies, including Swiss sailors Justine Mettraux (Teamwork. net) and Oliver Heer (Oliver Heer Ocean Racing), the Chinese Jingkun Xu (China Dream-Haikou), and James Harayda.

Match racing

Juliet Costanzo of Australia and the crew of Easy Tiger Racing take a cooling leap overboard as they prepare for the Corfu round of the Women’s

Match-Racing Tour – the 2022 EUROSAF Women’s European Championship. Twelve of the world’s top women’s match racing teams were in Corfu for the event in October. The Tour claims to be the “world’s first and only professional sailing series for women”. Also competing was British skipper Sophie Otter with her Otter Racing Team of Scarlett Anderson, Amy Sparks, Hatty Ward and Hebe Hemming. womenswmrt.com

PHOTO:

OLIN

PHOTO: FELIX DIEMER

PHOTO: CAMILLA BACH

Barcolana win

Wendy Schmidt and the crew of Deep Blue won the 54th edition of the Barcolana presented by Generali, which was held in Trieste in sunny conditions and 25kt gusts, with a fleet of 1,614 boats taking part. It means the Barcolana Cup is heading to the New York Yacht Club for the first time. Deep Blue crossed the finish line in just under an hour, after completing the course in the bay of Trieste. Wendy Schmidt, who is also behind the 11th Hour Racing Team, said: “Thank you, Trieste. Everyone has been absolutely wonderful here and it was a pleasure to sail and enjoy this beautiful natural landscape. Now I get why everyone loves taking part in this regatta in this city.”

Speaking of an award she received for female leadership, she said: “There are so many great, passionate, smart, talented female sailors. Sailing is a wonderful sport that knows no gender, age, or barriers. I always encourage people to sail because we are all linked to the ocean: whether we know it or not, we are all part of its future.”

METS opens its doors

The major international marine trade show known as METS opens its doors in November after last year partially blighted by the pandemic. The trade event takes place in Amsterdam with the celebrated DAME award as its centrepiece.

Niels Klarenbeek, Director METSTRADE, says: “The industry is eager to be back at the world’s largest B2B leisure marine industry event after an extraordinary 2021 edition. We have created a balanced layout with key points of interest in every hall in close co-operation with our partners such as ICOMIA and the Exhibition Committee. This allows us to accommodate METSTRADE’s growth with more exhibitors, more space, more focus and an enhanced visitor experience. We cannot wait to see everyone return to Amsterdam in November.”

Udo Kleinitz of industry body ICOMIA said: “Following the pandemic’s challenges, key industry stakeholders and associations are telling us it is more pivotal than ever for suppliers and buyers to connect with their industry peers. METSTRADE is the leading platform for leisure marine professionals wanting to stay relevant and up-to-date in the industry. With the entire sector present from across the full supply chain, it is the best place to source, connect and learn to help your business grow.”

Q&A

PHIL DOLLIN, INSPIRATION MARINE

Multihulls have become incredible living and cruising platforms, o ering more space than many first homes! Have we reached a zenith in design and build?

At any single point, it is hard to imagine what can be improved and what we can expect next, but the designers always amaze us with what can be achieved. For example, introducing a full-height door through to the forward cockpit has single-handedly transformed what can be achieved in terms of living space. As technology and material improvements continue to advance, we can expect even more ways to enhance life on board.

Multihulls are billed as the ultimate bluewater cruisers. What sort of trips are your customers doing? Despite being designed and built to go anywhere, we have several customers who simply want the finest catamaran that is available on the market, even if their sailing plans don’t require such remarkable build quality. Those who do choose to set their sights on the horizon are often drawn toward the Pacific Islands.

Is there an average multihull buyer in 2022 and how do they use the boat?

Our most recent deliveries have been to newly retired people, who plan to explore the globe with family and friends joining them en route. This group tend to make up the majority of our owners but there is also an increase in younger couples and families looking to achieve similar things, often inspired by YouTube vloggers or the desire to live ‘o -grid’.

How has Privilège maintained its position in such a competitive market? Privilège to catamarans is very much what Oyster is to monohulls and a much-envied position. The brand ethos is to continue to build the strongest,

safest, most reliable and highest quality catamarans available, which is a remarkably unrivalled section of the market, as the volume builders strive to supply the charter market.

To what extent can an owner customise their new Privilège?

A significant amount is the short answer. Recent projects have included a jacuzzi, dedicated bike storage and a dive equipment room.

The Signature 580 gives direct access to the owner’s cabin from the forward cockpit. Any other superyacht touches?

This has been one of the biggest recent design advances in the range and really well received by the market. Privilège interiors are designed by Franck Darnet, who has built his reputation with superyachts and you can see a lot of influences from his larger yacht projects.

Is the perception still true that the multihull market continues to do better outside the UK?

Yes – there are plenty of UK-based buyers, but they generally intend to keep them in the Med or Caribbean. Most of this is driven by how they intend to use the boat, spending longer periods onboard but this is also amplified by the lack of appropriate marina berths in the UK. Even if UK marinas could re-configure their spaces to accommodate multihulls better, the drive is still to take them to sunnier climes.

How can the marine industry weather tougher times?

There will always be peaks and troughs, but sailing appears to be less a ected than power, as a sail boat tends to be a more considered purchase, often tied in with a life event such as retirement. We find that it takes a lot to derail peoples’ long-term plans and dreams and in some cases, global upheaval often drives people to achieve their dreams sooner.

inspirationmarine.co.uk

PHOTOS: PAUL WYETH, MARTIN ALLEN/PWPICTURES.COM/ ROB PEAKE

Southampton International Boat Show celebrates

More than 83,000 people visited the 53rd Southampton International Boat Show in September, with more than 14,000 people getting afloat on the show’s Try-a-Boat stand and other initiatives that allowed visitors to try paddleboarding, sailing and motorboating.

Lesley Robinson, CEO, British Marine, said: “Visitors have also been able to get out on the water onboard a selection of fascinating and historic craft including the Morgenster tall ship, F8 landing craft, motor gun boat 81, and the high-speed launch 102. I would like to o er my thanks to Rockley Watersports, Flexisail and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for making the on the water experiences such a huge success.”

The show boasted more exhibitors, debuts and boats than ever before – a total of 685 stands and berths across the event’s 70,000sq m footprint. Over 650 craft were on display, with 300 in the marina.There were 126 new companies this year and the show hosted 167 UK and world debuts.

Lesley said: “There has been a fabulous atmosphere at this year’s show and the feedback we’ve received from exhibitors from across the industry has been exceptional, with many indicating very strong sales. The show has put a real smile on everyone’s face with a fantastic mix of products, talks, entertainment and refreshments, plus our stunning new VIP experience. We’ve welcomed everyone from boating newbies to seasoned sailors and watersports enthusiasts, and the wide choice of sailing yachts, motorboats, accessories, paddle boards, kayaks and services has been incredibly well-received.”

British Marine said the three days of national mourning and the closure of the show for one day as a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth II had impacted visitor numbers but declared the resultant nine-day event a huge success.

A new addition to the 2022 show was a Quayside Club VIP experience, which proved popular.

Saint-Tropez foiler

This new foiling boat, FlyingNikka, in the style of an AC75 used in the America’s Cup, stole the headlines at Les Voiles de SaintTropez in October. Designed by a team led by Irish designer Mark Mills, the 19m posted speeds in excess of 40kts. She was built in Valencia at the King Marine yard. Team manager Alezio Razeto said: “The owner, Roberto Lacorte, was keen to have a thoroughbred race boat, built for speed. We’d witnessed the development of foils on the IMOCA class sailboats and the America’s Cup yachts, so we said to ourselves: why don’t we have articulated foils on a race boat in the Mediterranean? It’s Roberto Lacorte, the owner, who helms the boat. The crew largely has an America’s Cup background. Helming a foiler isn’t the most di cult aspect. The real di culty lies in trimming the sails and the foils. There are a huge number of elements which need configuring to get her up on a plane, airborne and nicely balanced, especially given that the pressure in the sails is never constant. Adjusting the foils is the most complicated element, particularly when you’re flying along at over 30 kts!”

The event attracted around 250 modern and classic yachts, including 46 Maxis, with 2,800 sailors. This year was the 160th anniversary of the organiser, the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez.

Sail surfing

a new meaning to sailing high or low

A new sport called Sail Surfing is taking o in the dinghy classes, swapping surfboards or windsurfers for something with a sail and tiller. The sport can trace ancient origins in the Pacific islands, where the fisherman’s ability to surf his sail-powered multihull into the beach, carrying a boatload of fresh fish, was a skill on which the welfare of the entire island depended. Fast forward several centuries and it took root again among surfers in California. Tired after long days standing on their boards, they would use the last few waves of the day surfing more comfortably in Lasers, Aeros or even the Flying Dutchman, whose 20ft loa became known for its wavecatching ability. While the sport began in beach wave conditions, regattas have now spread across the world with competitors utilising big wind-over-tide conditions to similar e ect. As well as the round-the-buoys race, marks are given for how high above your opponent’s head you can get your boat. Judges on the racecourse measure this using altimeters. It gives an entirely new meaning to the terms sailing high and low.

Marks are given for how high above your opponent’s head you can get your boat...

PHOTO: DAVID BRANIGAN/OCEANSPORT