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Beneteau’s turbocharged First 36SE on test
BRITTANY OR BUST How the best laid passage plans can go wrong ALL DECKED OUT? What’s new in synthetic decking
TAKING THE PLUNGE Essential tips for planning an offshore trip
WIZARD OF OZ? Seawind’s 1170 cruising cat put through its paces
COTE D’AZUR Cruising Billionaire’s Alley on a shoestring
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10 News 16 Paul Heiney 18 Andy Rice 28 Tom Cunliffe 98 Jess Lloyd-Mostyn
UNDER SAIL
20 Planning an offshore cruise Bluewater veteran Jenevora Swann provides vital pointers
32 Ocean Race Europe
20
A look back on an action-packed dash across Europe in IMOCA60s
36 The best laid plans... Clive Loughlin narrates how his trip to Brittany got blown off course
42 Interview: Stride Forward Georgie Corlett -Pitt chats with Stride Forward‘s Holly King and Stuart Childerley
54 Rockin’ Around the Clock Sue Pelling reports on the WLYC 24 Hour Race revival
58 Rig for victory? A reassessment of modern Bermudan rigs
60 French Riviera Sam Jefferson sails off in search of Elton John, Bono and Brigitte Bardot
68 Gull’s Eye
46
36
Marina guide to Lymington Yacht Haven
86 Scaramouche Sailing Trust A look back on a highly successful season
90 Charter Adventure sailing charter holiday ideas
BOATS 14 Boat News
32
The latest launches
46 Boat Test: Beneteau First 36SE Plane sailing on Beneteau’s new speedster
76 Boat Test: Seawind 1170 An innovative Aussie cruising catamaran
94 Three of the Best Three of the finest brokerage boats
GEAR 74 Launched The latest kit tested
82 Buyer’s Guide What’s new in synthetic decking
Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting DECEMBER 2025
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EDITORIAL EDITOR
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Skipper’s View
ART & PRODUCTION EDITOR Gareth Lloyd Jones WRITER AND SUB EDITOR Sue Pelling
AS THE NIGHTS DRAW IN, WINTER PROJECTS REAR THEIR UGLY HEAD
PUBLISHER Greg Witham greg.witham@chelseamagazines.com ADVERTISING ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Mark Harrington 07715 631379 mark.harrington@chelseamagazines.com ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE George Wilson 07731 344261 george.wilson@chelseamagazines.com MARKETING HEAD OF MARKETING Seema Bilimoria MARKETING EXECUTIVE Loulou Easton ACTING DIRECTOR OF COMMERCIAL REVENUE Simon Temlett HEAD OF SALES OPERATIONS Jodie Green ADVERTISEMENT PRODUCTION Allpoints Media Ltd allpointsmedia.co.uk CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Vicki Gavin MANAGING DIRECTOR Marie Davies Published by: The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd CMC, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0SR © The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd 2025, part of the Telegraph Media Group. All Rights Reserved. ISSN 1367-5869 (print) ISSN 2059-9285 (digital) No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission in writing. Every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information in Sailing Today, but no responsibility can be accepted for the consequences of actions based on the advice portrayed herein. The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd makes every effort to ensure that the advertising contained in this magazine is delivered from responsible sources. We cannot, however, accept any responsibility for transactions between readers and advertisers. For the Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd full set of terms and conditions please go to chelseamagazines.com/terms-and-conditions
AS WINTER REARS its rather moody head, it's time for most of us to pack our boats up and ponder a few months of maintenance. If you're anything like me, this generally actually involves forgetting all about your yacht until spring is once more in the air and thoughts turn to actually getting back out on the water. At this point, panic sets in and I start trying to do any number of jobs at the same time and generally not getting very far at all. This year will be different, I tell myself and I fervently hope so even if I don't fully believe it. Whenever I do step onboard and start pondering actually doing something practical to improve my boat, I am always put in mind of a set of Twister owners who were based in Emsworth back in the early 2000s. I had my own boat there for a couple of seasons, and winters were spent balefully looking at all the work I should be doing and feeling daunted. Inevitably, whenever I actually tried to make a start on something, it would start to rain. Yet the Twister owners were serene. This was because their boats seemed to have been maintained to such a high level that there was virtually nothing for them to do; whenever they emerged from their carefully stitched fitted covers, the boats were simply immaculate; gleaming varnish, snow white teak decks and perfect paintwork. I was always fascinated by the owners, who would be there most weekends working on some project to improve their already perfect yacht. While I would be frantically running around trying to replace something fundamental - a rudder pintle or a defective skin fitting perhaps, they would be whittling a decorative belaying pin or some such just to make sure that their boat was completely perfect. I always swore to myself that one day when I was older and wiser, I too would be in the position to fashion a teak holder for my can opener or some such. Yet, as I contemplate a winter of ripping out head lining and sanding glassfibre, the prospect seems a dim one. My only consolation is that I always felt the the Twisters never seemed to actually leave Emsworth Yacht Harbour. they were extremely constrained by their draft for one thing. So while I battle with multiple projects over the winter months, I'll console myself with dreams of another sailing season to come.
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Annual subscription rates: 12 issues a year UK/ROW: £69, Europe: €81, US: $94 Email: sailingtoday@subscription.co.uk Online: sailingtoday.co.uk Post: Sailing Today, CDS Global, Tower House, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF Manage your subscription: account. chelseamagazines.com Back Issues: chelseamagazines. com/shop
JESS LLOYD MOSTYN is a writer and bluewater cruiser who is currently moored in Singapore
TOM CUNLIFFE is an author, journalist and TV presenter, and one of Britain's best-known cruising sailors
ANDY RICE is a journalist and veteran dinghy racer who has won championships at both ends of a skiff
Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting DECEMBER 2025
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Gunning for glory The Rolex Middle Sea Race is the final conclusion to the Mediterranean racing season and it is a tough race that starts and finishes in Valetta, Malta. Here competitors take the gun at the start of the 2024 edition. Photo: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
Crossing Continents The Bosphorus Cup is held In late September with the city of Istanbul providing a spectacular backdrop. This year, British-flagged Rossko Racer scooped IRC 1 following a hard fought battle Alen Photography/Nikos Alevromitis
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