Yachting Year 2014 Annual

THE

YACHTING YEAR £5.99

2014 ANNUAL

WITH Your 2014 yachting calendar

The very

Best of sailing

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l Contemporary and classic boats America’s Cup l Record breakers l Fastnet l From fire to ice - adventurous destinations

13

FEATURING Robin Knox-Johnston Griff Rhys Jones l Carlo Riva

“I wanted freedom, fresh air and adventure.

I found it on the sea.�

Old Salt on So Fong during the 1970s www.oldsaltsailing.com www.oldsaltsailing.com info@oldsaltsailing.com sarah@oldsaltsailing.com epi@oldsaltsailing.com (+34) 696 (+34) 679 076 866700 030

MALLORICA

EDITORIAL

WHAT A YEAR!

CHELSEA MAGAZINES Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ EDITORIAL Editor Sam Fortescue +44 (0)20 7349 3752 sam.fortescue@chelseamagazines.com Senior Art Editor Peter Smith +44 (0)20 7349 3756 peter.smith@chelseamagazines.com

IF YOU’RE LIKE me, then the winter season is a time of tinkering about on the boat and readying her for the spring. It’s also a time for daydreaming about sailing.

Dreams run from the kit (wouldn’t it be nice to have a broadband radar I can control from a new multifunction display in the cockpit) to the boat herself (where couldn’t we go with a steel hull?); but mainly, it’s about destinations – elaborate and perhaps unlikely plans for a cruise to Antarctica or up to the north of Norway, or in search of Mediterranean sun.

You’ll find plenty of dream fodder in these pages. We’ve combed through Sailing Today, Classic Boat and Yachts & Yachting to find the most interesting tales and lavish images from the last year. Through our monthly titles, we’re used to bringing readers the very best sailing action from across the globe, so for sheer wow-factor, The Yachting Year is hard to beat.

It helps that it’s been such a humdinger of a year on the water. Numerous speed records have tumbled, including the outright world speed sailing record,

Features Editor Toby Heppell +44 (0)20 7349 3753 toby.heppell@chelseamagazines.com ADVERTISING Advertisement sales executive Harry Wathen +44 (0)20 7349 3746 harry.wathen@chelseamagazines.com ST Advertisement manager Jayne Bennett +44 (0)1489 585 200 jayne.bennett@chelseamagazines.com Y&Y Advertisement manager Freddy Halliday +44 (0)20 7349 3744 freddy.halliday@chelseamagazines.com CB Advertisement manager Edward Mannering +44 (0)20 7349 3747 edward.mannering@chelseamagazines.com

taken by the radical Vestas Sailrocket II. We’ve had a blistering summer of sailing, with the most popular ever Fastnet Race and later, the gluttonous sail fest that was the America’s Cup in San Francisco Bay. It’s been a bumper year for cruising sailors, too. The Oyster World Rally got off to a good start in January and is making its way to Madagascar as I write.

Meanwhile, there’s been a real explosion in the number of transatlantic rallies on offer this year, as more sailors than ever set off on the voyage of a lifetime.

And as the sailing market springs out of the economic doldrums, manufacturers are gearing up as well. We were hard pressed to winnow down our favourite new equipment and latest boats to a handful of pages.

So, whether you have your own boat, charter someone else’s or simply like dreaming about the life afloat, put your feet up by the fire and dip into the best of sailing. There are boats, destinations and races to explore, as well as our picks of the best new gear. Or you could plan the coming year with our events guide – 2014 looks set to impress.

“it’s been such a humdinger of a year on the water”

Advertisement production Allpointsmedia +44 (0)1202 472781 allpointsmedia.co.uk Published by: The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd Managing Director Paul Dobson Deputy Managing Director Steve Ross Commercial Director Vicki Gavin Publisher Simon Temlett © The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd 2013.

All Rights Reserved. ISSN 2052-5982 No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission in writing.

Every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information in The Yachting Year, but no responsibility YACHTS can be accepted for the consequences of actions based on the advice portrayed herein. The Chelsea CHELSEA Magazine Company Ltd makes every effort to CHELSEA ensure A R I NEES A RZ II NN EES M M M A G A Z I Nin M A G Ais that the advertising contained this magazine delivered from responsible sources. We cannot, however, accept any responsibility for transactions between readers and advertisers.

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AMERICA’S CUP EXCLUSIVE

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AMERICAN FOCUS

2014 Awards

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CHELSEA ARINE M MAGAZINES

Top boats, clubs, sailors, events and innovations

HOLIDAYS

Caribbean cruising with gold medallist Helena Lucas

GIFT GUIDE

Christmas present ideas for keen sailors

DESIGN FOCUS Behind the scenes in the Swan 60 class

ON TEST

RS Cat 16: Fast, forgiving and competitively priced

29/10/2013 12:42

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FEATURING Griff Rhys Jones l Paul Larsen l Bob Fisher Carlo Riva l Robin Knox-Johnston l Francis Joyon THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 3

with Runabout Moonphase & Riva Historical Society The glamorous, powerful wood-hulled motor boats - so popular in the 20’s and 30’s - were the inspiration for the Runabout Moonphase, a timepiece designed to evoke passionate images of magnificent crafts and roaring engines, racing across the white-capped waters of pristine lakes. Frederique Constant proudly supports the Riva Historical Society. Available in two limited editions: £ 2,060 in rose gold plated, £ 1,750 in stainless steel.

Contact Argento Fine Products, T.020 7722 2438, info@agfineproducts.com w w w.frederique-constant.com

MIKE POWELL

10

The year in pictures From Antigua to Hurst, the pick of the pics

16

On the edge in Antarctica Exploring the last great wilderness in a GRP boat

32

Griff Rhys Jones

46

Round world record

JO RHYS JONES

Meet speedster, Paul Larsen

Is this the finest yacht in the world?

Fife 15-Metre Tuiga gets the nod

Sinking boats Down Under

VINCENT CURUTCHET/DPPI/VENDEE GLOBE

26

24

Fastest sailor

ACEA / PHOTO ABNER KINGMAN

NIGEL PERT

C/0 VESTAS SAILROCKET

CORY SILKEN

CONTENTS

38

Biggest America’s Cup comeback Oracle seals one of sport’s biggest ever fightbacks

Youngest, fastest winner THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 5

PPL

HOWARD STEEN

CONTENTS

Skiing and sailing in Norway’s Lofoten Islands

56

Robin Knox-Johnston picture hoard See previously unpublished images of RKJ during the Golden Globe race

NIGEL PERT

HENRI THIBAULT

50

On the Viking trail

78

Chartering a dream boat on the wild north coast of Mallorca

Meet the man behind the iconic Riva runabout

Atlantic crossing in five days Francis Joyon’s astonishing Atlantic record

82

C/O PENDENNIS

KURT ARRIGO/ROLEX; EMILY HARRIS

72

Far from the madding crowds

Carlo Riva

JEAN-MARIE LIOT/DPPI/IDEC*

62

Looking at the radical rule-bending ‘classic’, RùM

DAN HOUSTON

66

Something old; something new

Fastnet 2013 To The Rock and back

6 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

88

New on the water The year’s best new boats

94

Gear of the year Top new gadgets for sailors

100

Events guide 2014 Next year in yachting

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North Technology Group subsidiary Southern Spars, the world’s leading composite sparmaker, fabricated wings for Team New Zealand and Prada.

EC6 carbon rigging from Southern Spars was used on every AC 45 and three of four AC 72s.

Emirates Team New Zealand photo by Chris Cameron

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THE YEAR IN

PICTURES Special

MARTINEZSTUDIO/RC44 CLASS

Team Aqua blasts downwind at the RC44 Sweden Cup

For the first time 5 J-Class race together at St Barths

10 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

TIM WRIGHT

Gang of five

The super maxi was built in the Antipodes as an EU flagship

ROLEX/KURT ARRIGO

Esimit Europa

The Alexandra Shackleton completes an authentic re-enactment of Shackleton’s epic voyage of 1913

THE YEAR IN PICTURES

ALL PICTURES: CORY SILKEN

Antigua Classic Week

C/O SHACKLETON EPIC

Epic Voyage

TOP ROW: Spirit of Rani; crew on Stormvogel; bowmen on Bounty BOTTOM ROW: Carl Linne; Sumurun’s crew collects the Panerai trophy; Sumurun

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 11

An extraordinary ocean race to a most extraordinary island The Governor’s Cup is an exhilarating downhill dash from Simon’s Bay, South Africa to James Bay, St Helena Island.

THE NEXT RACE IS DECEMBER 2014. " THE GREATEST OCEAN RACE YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF." Yachting World

"Start planning immediately and get prepared for three holidays of a lifetime, all in one – the race, the beautiful island and its delightful people, and the luxurious voyage back on the RMS St Helena."

Billy Leisegang, Manager, False Bay Yacht Club

For more information: Tel: +290 22158 Email: enquiries@tourism.co.sh www.sthelenatourism.com

Action from Cowes

TOP ROW: GUIDO CANTINI; BOTTOM ROW FROM LEFT: RICHARD LANGDON; RICK TOMLINSON

THE YEAR IN PICTURES

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Plenty of sun at Panerai British Classic Week; winners celebrate; recovering the spinnaker; view from the Squadron; Kuala Lumpur Express cuts through the XOD fleet; The inaugural Cowes Week Sailing Today cruiser trophy is awarded to the crew of Skyhunter II

Capsize

The Oyster Rally gets under way in the blue water off Antigua

Speed trial IMOCA60 triumphs over the windsurfer and foiling Moth

RICK TOMLINSON

MARK LLOYD/ROUTE DES PRINCES

The MOD 70 Spindrift capsizes while racing off Dublin

Wreck The Tall Ship Astrid agound on the Irish coast near Kinsale

PRESS ASSOCIATION

C/O OYSTER RALLY

Oyster Rally

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 13

Olympian

THE YEAR IN PICTURES MAIN EVENTS FOR 2014

THE YEAR IN PICTURES

Success

NIC COMPTON

Francois Gabart celebrates winning the Vendee Globe

Fife Regatta

MARC TURNER

JEAN MARIE LIOT/DPPI

Olympian Cathy MacAleavey races a Shannon One Design

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Latifa thunders up the Kyles of Bute; Astor’s birthday; classic rowing skiffs; Astor in the flesh; Ayrshire Lass meets the Waverley paddle steamer; Shirley Robertson on Truant

The Old Gaffers Association celebrates 50 years by sailing round the UK. Here are Witch, Mary Ritchie and Bonify off Osea Island at the start

14 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Rou nd th e Island

Ben Ainslie sets a course record of less than 3 hours in his AC45 BAR

IAN ROMAN

EMILY HARRIS

OGA at 50

mlindberg 1231 · Patented

visionary Eddie Jordan at the wheel of “Lush” during the Oyster Round the World Race 2013

CRUIsING ANTARcTIcA

INTO TH E ICE WILDERNESS To Steve Powell, Antarctica was the last ‘real’ sailing adventure. He ventured into the ice in a GRP yacht sToRY STEVE POWELL PHoToGRAPHs MIKE POWELL

16 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Is. CRUSING Livingston ANTARTICA

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Canaries ARC

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Atlantic Ocean A N TA R C T I C A

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few days after competing in Cowes Week in an RS Elite, I slipped quietly Livingston Is. out of Lymington in my Oyster 62 Uhuru for what was to become an Smith Is. adventure of a lifetime. Three years and Deception Is. 35,000nM later I sailed back in escorted it by friends and family I felt like Low in Is. our own little flotilla. ra St a hero, and all because of a blog. d l i ethe thought terrified Strange things, blogs. Initially sf n me, but after sharing soB many miles, thoughts and ra experiences with people all over the world. I came to realise that it was the blog that defined this trip, and Cape Herschel d I had made the experience for me totally unlike anything n Brabant Is. a done before. I wasn’t sailing to Antarctica, wel all were - it was just that some of us couldn’t physically be there. m Enterprise Is. a TheAnvers first Is.year saw us cross the Pond with the Atlantic h Rally for Cruisers (ARC), cruise the l Orne Harbour a Caribbean and ride e Port Lockroy r nn ha season at Newport, out the hurricane Rhode Island. But G eC r i a it wasn’t until m we began our journey back down the east e L Scharcott coast ofPort the US in autumn 2009 that we started to pick up a following on the blog.

Turning south

Gliding by crabeater seals as the crew use ice poles to fend off growlers

We sailed into Manhattan down the East River from Long Island Sound. The pilot book describes this bit of river in the following fashion: ‘The East River’s reputation as a tricky passage is well deserved. It’s not, and never will be, a popular spot for casual sailing. In fact the East River is not a river at all. It’s a 14-mile long tidal gate that’s narrow and twisty with eight bridges and a tide that runs at up to 6 knots. The waters seem to boil at Hell Gate, where the river bends and the Harlem River joins from the northwest.’

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 17

CRUSING MALLORICA

‘Antarctica... felt to me like one of the last true challenges available to a sailor without massive sponsorship’

18 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

We had timed the East River perfectly, goosewinging the whole way. After gybing in Hell Gate and being spat out at 11 knots alongside the Wall Street traffic jams, we sailed majestically under Manhattan Bridge and passed the Statue of Liberty. Now everywhere we went, as we sailed south through the Delaware and the Chesapeake, past Annapolis, Charleston, Savannah, Cape Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale and Key West, we gathered more blog fans as we were asked: “Where are you going?”

“South,” I’d say.

“To the Caribbean?” came the reply.

“No, ALL the way south; proper south. We’re on our way to Antarctica.”

Boy, that’s the way to pick up fans. From that moment on we had a major blog following. Now I started to feel as if we really were going in the right direction. Ever since deciding to buy an Oyster and have her built and modified for high latitude sailing, I’d had this goal of Antarctica and the Chilean Channels. I’d read a great deal about the history of the area and other sailors’ stories abounded. It felt like one of the last true challenges available to a sailor without massive sponsorship, and teams of backup and support. This simple goal was true adventure sailing.

We spent another season in the Caribbean, this time Cuba, Jamaica, Bonaire and the usual spots. Great fun; but in reality I was waiting, and learning. Waiting for my eldest daughter to finish university in the hope that she could join me for the Antarctic leg. And learning as much as I could about Uhuru and what to expect when I got there. I had now identified January 2011 as our target date and booked Richard Haworth from High Latitudes to join us as our ice guide.

Hurricane surfing Clockwise from above: In the lee of the first monster berg we saw; fine conditions courtesy of the ‘Uhuru High’; a pod of curious Orcas trailed Uhuru down the Gerlache Strait to Port Lockroy

On 1 October 2010, we left Grenada just as the island was shutting down for Hurricane Otto. Knowing we had about 400nM upwind, and against the prevailing current, to make our first stop in the mouth of the Essequibo River in British Guyana, we motored hard, straight towards Otto for 24 hours.

There was zero wind as the storm had sucked it all from its southwest quadrant. So the moment we felt wind coming from the northwest, we bore away and ran. We had the perfect start, bouncing off a hurricane, which put us far enough east to allow a comfortable sail down south to Guyana.

One of the many reasons for heading south from Grenada, which is definitely not the ‘proper’ way to do it, was because I wanted to go up a rainforest river and visit Devil’s Island. Other than ‘doing the Amazon’, which poses a lot of problems and is a fairly major expedition in itself, the Essequibo River offered everything I was looking for: challenging waters, lots of local colour, rainforest and Bartica, an old mining town about 75 miles upstream.

When we arrived, all the local dignitaries insisted on coming out to the boat to ‘inspect’ her for contraband.

But in reality it was to drink my gin and tonic and take pictures of themselves at the helm. Uhuru, we were assured, was the largest sailing boat ever to make it up to Bartica.

After our little excursion upriver, we had to put some serious miles in. The next leg was 2000nM

CRUiSiNG ANTARcTIcA

Wildlife chinstrap penguins, Pygoscelis antarcticus Only found in a narrow band of the Southern Ocean, and considered the most aggressive species of penguin.

Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans Its 2.5m to 3.5m wingspan is the largest in the world, but it is a vulnerable species, with only 8,000 breeding pairs left. crabeater seal, Lobodon carcinophagus Found only in Antarctica, these 2m seals mainly inhabit floating pack ice and are the world’s most abundant seal.

upwind and against the prevailing current to get us round South America’s right shoulder. Then the winds and currents split, and we would be back into normal sailing routes. We also had quite a tight schedule to get down to the Falklands before Christmas and fit in some ‘family’ cruising.

So apart from one short stop in Devil’s Island, of Papillon fame, we put in a long, hard leg, crossing the equator on 24 October and arriving in Salvador on 6 November. Family joined us and we had a wonderful couple of weeks cruising down the Brazilian coast before waving them off to fly back home in Rio. Now things would get serious, we were heading into the South Atlantic.

Pirate pursuit

Other than being chased by pirates on our second day out from Rio, it all went pretty well. The pirates could have been innocent fishermen trying to sell us shrimp 75nM off the Brazilian coast, of course, but I doubt it.

Fishermen don’t chase you for three miles directly out to sea. Fortunately, my engine was bigger than theirs! We arrived in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, on 20 December after being hit by three separate gales on the crossing from Uruguay. But we were in time for Christmas.

Christmas and New Year in Port Stanley was a joy, singing carols under the Whalebone Arch and many a lively evening in the Victory pub, just like home. Very friendly and helpful locals took a genuine interest in what we were planning. But mainly, we were there to make our final preparations for heading south.

Below left: Uhuru at rest among fragments of ice in Orne Bay Below right: A crabeater seal rests on the ice

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 19

CRUSING ANTARTICA

‘I struggled daily to try to come up with new and interesting superlatives’ UHURU Oyster 62, 2008 LOA: 63ft 4in (19.3m) LWL: 55ft (16.8m) Beam: 17ft 8in (5.4m) Draught: 8ft 11in (2.7m) Displacement: 73,300lb (33,250kg) Sail Area: 1,844sqft (171m²) Fuel: 440gal (2,000lt) Water: 285gal (1,300lt) Berths: 8 (4 cabins) Engine: 187hp Perkins Sabre M85C Top mods: Extra fuel tank; higher cut foresails; heat exchanger on SeaFresh watermaker intake; high output inverter Top gear: Forward looking depth sounder, remote control windlass; ice light; Spade 200 anchor

20 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

The team for the Antarctic leg arrived, consisting of me and Chris Durham, skipper and first mate, the only permanent crew. Also on board would be my brother Mike (photographer, climber and diver), Richard Haworth, (ice guide, climber and diver), and a good friend and racing partner Al ‘Buzz’ Keck, (sailor). Plus, of course, several thousand blog fans, who all seemed to be sending emails of good wishes.

Iceberg to starboard

After a relatively easy trip across the Drake Passage, our arrival in Antarctica was astonishing, and from that moment on I struggled daily to come up with new superlatives to describe our experiences. The sight of our first towering iceberg was breathtaking, so much so that we heaved-to and launched the tender for pictures.

We spent the first night at anchor in Deception Island, an anchorage inside a volcano that had erupted as recently as 1976. We managed a few very important maintenance jobs in the morning then spent the afternoon on the beach with the penguins. Yes, there are beaches, albeit black lava sand, and the penguins love it because the hot spring water, seeping out of the still active volcano, gives a waterline of hot water for about 18in (46cm) out.

We set out very early the next morning in near perfect conditions: sunshine and wind. The moment we came out of Deception Island through Neptune’s Bellows, the aptly named gap in the crater wall, we were greeted by whales and more penguins. The rest

Top: Mike, Chris and Buzz set off to climb Spigots Peak to get pictures of penguins and Uhuru from above Right: Extreme cold complicated simple tasks on deck

of the day whales entertained us. And icebergs; there were hundreds of them, and nasty little ‘growlers’ – large chunks of ice, often weighing several tons, that have broken off an iceberg and are floating just on the surface where they’re very hard to see. Any one of these small bergs could easily rip the bottom out of Uhuru. Which is a rather sobering thought while you are on watch; tends to focus the mind.

We spent a lot of time pinching ourselves. We just could not believe this place - Antarctica was truly out of this world. How do you adequately describe the feeling of sailing along under a deep blue sky, with the wind whistling through the rigging, little penguins ‘hopping’ alongside, birds circling constantly, whales popping up every now and then, all with the “ever present danger of growlers”? It doesn’t matter who you are - every now and then that very deep and dark thought will creep up on you: ‘We are at the end of the world down here, and if anything goes wrong…’ Well, let’s not finish that thought, but I am sure everyone who has ever come down here must have had it.

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CRUiSiNG ANTARCTICA

Climbing Pico Luigi

by Mike Powell Uhuru’s climbers. Rich and I were captivated by the bulk of Pico Luigi and his seven sisters.

We’d braved excess baggage and irritable airline checkers to bring mountaineering ski gear, and we were determined to use it. We had a chance to do a peak that was just on the edge of unsure, in a place where most peaks rarely get climbed.

Main: Richard Haworth uses crampons and ice axe to scale the last part of Pico Luigi Below: Ice guide Richard (left) with author Steve Powell at the helm

After visiting a number of other anchorages including Enterprise Island, where we had been rafted up against an old wrecked whaler. We set out at 5am one morning – Friday, 14 January 2011, to be precise. Words cannot possibly begin to describe that day. The weather was perfect, with blue skies and little white fluffy clouds. A strong and stable high had settled over the Graham Land peninsular, which later became known as the “Uhuru High” by the local charter skippers.

Ice cream climbing. On the ridge, we got into some steep snow climbing - like getting lost in a billion gallons of ice cream. Up steep ridges, over crevasses, under giant waves of snow and ice. Every time we turned a corner, we found another reason to go on, despite dry mouths and wobbly legs. Finally, after sneaking under a perfectly formed 60ft Hawaiian wave, I climbed a few more metres and there was nowhere else to go but down in all directions. We had reached the summit.

A chilly menagerie

We started off with the usual escort of penguins and terns, and then we had a full display from a pod of humpback whales. As we eased our way into Orne Bay, a pair of crabeater seals obliged by posing on a berg right next to us. Mike, Buzz and Chris then went ashore to climb Spigot Peak to photograph the penguins and get a picture of Uhuru creeping through the ice below.

As we left, we came across a leopard seal basking in the sun having just finished a snack, evidenced by the blood still on his chin. Then a large pod of orcas (killer whales) followed us for about 30 minutes as we gently cruised down the Gerlache Straits towards Port Lockroy.

By this time, there was a very distinct holiday atmosphere on board as we were running around the boat snapping pictures here and there, like kids in a sweet factory. For the next few days, we were based in Port Lockroy, an old British ice station that is now a penguin research station and ‘tourist stop’ for the large expedition boats that visit. We did a lot of diving, climbing and exploring from there. Mike and Rich successfully climbed Pico Luigi (see right), a 1530m peak behind the port.

22 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Skinning up. As we crested the first ridge, we had a reminder why the route we would travel up was called Thunder Glacier.

A huge avalanche broke free of Luigi’s face and swept right across our path. We skinned up the slope roped together and four hours later, we were up on the ridge swapping skis for crampons and ice axes.

Anywhere else on Earth, this place would have been crawling with mountain enthusiasts.

Our journey continued south down through the Lemaire Channel and Port Charcot, 65°S, where the ice was now becoming thicker and the going got slower. We had reached the safe limit – safe being a relative term of our glassfibre boat and the weather was turning. We’d had a fantastic time, climbed peaks, dived wrecks and whale graveyards, seen more wildlife than we could have hoped for, all in the most beautiful and remote setting in the world. It was time to head north again.  Follow Uhuru’s latest exploits at blog.mailasail.com/ uhuru

Powder turns. On the way down, adrenaline kicked in and we skied the big glacial bowl putting perfect turns down the face in silky spring snow, then a high speed straight line for miles across the Thunder Glacier till our thighs screamed for mercy. One last slog up the final hill, then we could see Uhuru and call for a pick up and long dreamt-for food and beer.

A great day in mountains that rarely give you the privilege.

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INTERVIEW PAUL LARSEN

ROCKETMAN

Polymath or passionate sailor who likes a challenge? We speak to record breaking speedster and adventurer, Paul Larsen sToRY TOBY HEPPELL PHoToGRAPH MARK LLOYD

24 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Mallorica

I

“

’m always scared when I take on these challenges – I was never the reckless or brave kid in school,” says Paul Larsen when I meet him in a Southampton hotel, rain lashing the windows. “I like to break things down and see how the problems can be solved. That is the kick for me and that is how it has always been.”

Larsen is probably best known for hammering along at 65 knots in the World Speed Sailing Recordsmashing Vestas Sailrocket. It came as something of a surprise, then, when we heard he was to follow this by taking part in the recreation of the infamous Ernest Shackleton rescue voyage, navigating at roughly 3 knots from Elephant Island to South Georgia.

He became inspired to build the speedster after reading The 40 knot sailboat, written by Bernard Smith in 1963. “When I first read it my immediate reaction was, ‘why has no-one done this?’ The more I started looking at all the other boats around me, the more I just started thinking ‘my god, they are all flawed’,” he explains, with a smile.

This revelation was the start of a long journey for Larsen and his team. A significant frustration was that the revolutionary nature of the boat made it difficult for those looking on to comprehend his confidence. He was sure that her cutting-edge hydrofoils and aerodynamics would help propel her to 60 knots plus, but many in the speed-sailing world were less convinced.

The doubt was, in some eyes, vindicated during the work-up of Vestas Sailrocket Mk1, when the boat flipped (the video is easily found on YouTube).

However, Larsen maintains the Mk1 boat was impressive, particularly when you consider it was a first go; it would have been surprising had they gone out and broken the record.

Since smashing the record – the team eventually beat it by the greatest margin in history – the derision that had come from some quarters, particularly after the crash of the first boat and another big crash in the Mk2 boat, dried up. Companies came out of the woodwork offering money.

“It’s great that they want to work with us, but there is a small sense now that we are done. I am also very wary of commercialising Sailrocket; it wouldn’t really do much for the world if it just becomes another toy for the human race to go and abuse.”

Larsen is known for being up-front about his projects – read his blog at www.Sailrocket.com to see

more of the boat’s history in his own words. This outspoken nature comes across when he voices concerns about commercial prospects for the boat, and it is clear the affable Aussie struggles with the moral maze of sponsorship. “As soon as someone comes along offering millions, you can start to prostitute yourself,” he explains. “You end up saying, ‘yeah we can bend it so that the petrol, cigarette and pizza markets can be covered, there is an obvious correlation’. It’s total rubbish, of course.”

Commercialism is an area that has, perhaps, the greatest correlation with the Shackleton story. “[Shackleton’s] version of events absolutely stands up 100 per cent and I don’t want to belittle what he did. However, there was a definite element of showmanship in the telling of it,” Larsen explains. Though the journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia is often referred to as the greatest navigational feat in history, Larsen says he found the experience easier than imagined – or than is made out in the recounting.

The recreation was half funded by the Discovery Channel, so there was a sense that, although the navigation was easier than expected, they could not just finish the thing, shrug and say it was easy on film.

In truth, they only managed a decent noon-sight on the sextant four days into the journey, but Larsen thinks they could have made it on dead reckoning alone.

Despite the navigation being easier than expected, the hardships felt by the crew were very real, however.

Much of the difficulty was self-imposed, as the team insisted on trying to recreate the voyage as closely as possible. This led to many complications from the cold and wet, such as trench foot. “After a few days you realise your feet are really cold,” Paul recalls. “It is cold I have never felt before and they won’t warm up. You feel the cold getting deeper, getting into the bones. If you can imagine your feet being lumps of dead meat from a supermarket, which you can sort of feel attached – that is what it was like.”

Aside from the challenge of navigation and cold, there was one more reason Larsen took to the freezing Southern Ocean in a lifeboat: to reflect and plan. “It was a chance to sit out there and watch wind and wave patterns. The next plan might well be to build an offshore speed record breaker and if we are going to do that then it is good to sit and watch those things,” he concludes tantalisingly.

MARK LLOYD

‘Imagine your feet being lumps of dead meat from a supermarket’

read more at www.sailingtoday.co.uk

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 25

IS THIS THE FINEST YACHT OF ALL TIME?

It’s a slightly bizarre question, but after much deliberation and quite a bit of arguing, the decision was only going to go one way… sToRY DAN HOUSTON

26 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

FINEST YACHT Mallorica TUiGa

W

EMILY HARRIS

e’re sitting around a table after lunch, small black coffee to hand, and the idea comes to mind that for our 300th issue, Classic Boat should feature the ultimate classic boat. And of course the idea is a bit mad – ah, I admit it was mine; how can you take one boat, one design, from out of the pantheon of so much beauty and floating grace and say she’s the best? To those who love working boats it will be different to those whose predilection is for a small steamboat.

But while this issue celebrates the diversity of classic boats of all sizes and provenance we are going to say that for us, at this point in time, the 1909 Fife design Tuiga – well she’s got to be the all-time classic. The 15-M gaff cutter exudes a grace under sail that can take your breath away and her lines in harbour perform some kind of massage to the eyes; her lofty rig all about the transference of power into speed; her deck furniture and the simplicity of fittings there – no winches – speak of the seamanship of a bygone era. In fact it’s the very simplicity of her look that draws you in. It seems to have a narrative quality as you stare and begin to work out how it would be to sail such a boat.

Of course many boats have these attributes; an Essex Smack will create similar feelings. But Tuiga is here not just for her superlative looks. She was one of the first boats to be restored to sail at a time when plastic yachting had all but taken over. She has stood as a bastion of living history that says it doesn’t all have to be of the modern age; she helped to create the breadth of the classic boating movement. There was a kind of collective gasp around the world when she came out of the yard at Fairlie Restorations on the Hamble in 1993. How could so much beauty be resurrected? She was perfect, she was strong – to prove it she soon had Eric Tabarly, scion of both the old and new worlds of sailing, holding her tiller in places like Cannes and Monaco, racing her like a thoroughbred.

“She was perfect... to prove it she soon had Eric Tabarly, scion of both the old and new worlds of sailing, holding her tiller in places like Cannes” THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 27

FINEST YACHT TUIGA

FRANCO PACE

Tuiga appeared in magazines from Yokohama to the Costa Brava, proclaiming to a wider audience of would-be aesthetes that something was afoot. And of course, photos of her were soon zinging through the soft optical cables of the newly established internet and it all became a bit more democratic.

It’s also that very accessibility that brings Tuiga to the fore. After all, she is one of four 15-Metres, along with The Lady Anne, Hispania and Mariska. Tuiga was restored by the visionary classic car and yacht enthusiast Albert Obrist. She was the first boat to be restored by the newly-founded Fairlie Restorations – but Obrist passed her to the Yacht Club de Monaco after two years and since 1995 she has been sailed by club members. This means that technically there has been easier access to her than other boats of her like.

It’s hard to think of any boat which has been run like that, and has had such an impact over such a period.

Tuiga celebrated her centenary in 2009 with celebrations and felicitations, which included some paintings by Jack Vettriano and a lavish square book

by Drs Daniel Charles, William Collier, John Leather (posthumously), and Ian Nicolson. In it, Albert Obrist relates his appreciation of craftsmanship: “I still don’t know anything about sailing, but what I like is the beauty of an object,” says the Swiss billionaire.

NIGEL PERT

Gracing the Nioulargue

FRANCO PACE

Above: The forward berths Left: Tuiga’s spartan saloon

28 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Obrist had already restored Altair, the Wm Fife schooner credited as starting the classic yachting renaissance in the late 1980s, when he came across Tuiga, then advertised in Yachting World for a ‘quick’ sale, in Cyprus in 1989. By then she had a bermudan rig with a furling headsail; she had belonged to a Greek couple whose planned circumnavigation had stalled. The boat was tired. She already had a very long history, including time being owned by the yacht fittings designer JS Highfield in the 1920s, renamed as Dorina. Highfield used her to perfect his famous lever, for setting running backstays correctly, equipping just one side to compare its advantages on the older block-and-tackle system.

William Collier recalls meeting Albert Obrist after he had bought Tuiga. “He wanted me to meet Duncan Walker (now heading Fairlie Restorations) but at that stage he was stormbound on the Portuguese coast!”

Extreme Cutter

Tuiga was rebuilt at Fairlie by craftsmen from the Southampton Yacht Services team which had restored Altair. She is a “desperately important” boat according to Collier, who now runs GL Watson in Liverpool. “Albert Obrist thought she was the only 15-M left in existence but we knew about Hispania and The Lady Anne – so that started the dream, which recently came true, of reestablishing the 15-Metre class. For years she was the only big cutter around apart from Moonbeam III. “And she’s an extreme cutter. We had to learn to sail her without winches [it takes the whole crew – often 16 people – to hoist her 2,066sqft (192m²), 397lb (180kg) mainsail] and people were astonished when they saw

Mallorica

that; it really did have a huge impact. Then I think Eric Tabarly said she was his favourite boat and it went on.

“Another important aspect of Tuiga’s restoration is that she is semi-composite and no-one was proposing restoring boats like that back then. She has a steel frame for every two out of American red elm. People thought we were mad, and suggested laminating in wooden frames, but Obrist was a purist and so she had all new steel frames. And 20 years on she’s proved that it could be done and it was worth doing,” Collier adds.

Tuiga was the star of the 1993 Nioulargue race, where she slid past the fine-lined Moonbeam III. And later with the Yacht Club de Monaco, she has taken her message of classic purism further afield. “She’s been a wonderful ambassador for us,” says Bernard d’Alessandri, YCM’s manager, who often helms Tuiga in races.

“She combines a conservative image with something more dynamic and sporting which makes her a good choice for the club. And she’s not as expensive as a modern boat to run. We don’t change the sails every year, as with a modern boat – she doesn’t need new experimental keels… For maintenance she comes out of the water for a month every spring. And then we sail her every week from the end of April until after the St Tropez regatta in October.

“She has a permanent paid captain (Nicolas Rouit) and is sailed by members of the club who can commit some time, but she’s a dayboat for us – we don’t use her offshore or for cruising. But we can take her anywhere; four years ago she went to Rouen and Cowes; last year we shipped her out to the Antigua Classics, just for the week of racing and then back, and of course we took her to Cowes for the America’s Cup Jubilee in 2001.

TUIGA loa

76ft (23.1m) length over SParS

92ft (28m) lWl

49ft (14.9m) beaM

13ft 6in (4.1m) Draught

9ft 5in (2.9m) Displacement

38 tons

sail area

4,380sqft (407m2) THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 29

NIGEL PERT

MALLORICA FINEST YACHT TUIGA

That was one of my favourite experiences with her. To be among so many (208) fine classic boats was an incredible thing.”

NIGEL PERT

The sheer, sheer beauty

Main: Tuiga’s Yacht Club de Monaco crew on board at Monaco Classic 2013

30 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Unfortunately Tuiga is didn’t go to the Clyde for the fourth quinquennial Fife Regatta last June. But organiser Alastair Houston, marine artist, and very likely a distant relation, has known her since her relaunch: “I think she has the most beautiful sheerline of any boat afloat,” he says. “White Heather II had that same look, which is a sheerline with just that right amount of curve. Most Fife boats have it and it’s what makes them so special, but Tuiga’s is just a little more accentuated. She has just a toerail, there’s no bulwark in place to detract from the line of the deck meeting the hull planks. It’s the most vital ingredient and it makes her look almost organic. It’s what makes people stare.

“They don’t know why the boat is having that effect, but I do and it’s all because of the perfect clean sheerline – that carries everything. And then you have the details, like the beautifully proportioned deckhouses on top of that and it creates the effect.”

Being lucky enough to helm The Lady Anne at one of the Fife Regattas I think the memory will go with me into my box. The boat felt alive with energy, her deck seemed to carry a small hum, as though some fabulous propulsive machinery were at work down below, and she surged forward to any increase in wind pressure. One could sense the water sluicing past the rudder, deep below in the darkness of the Clyde, and how a nuance of touch would send her head easily up to, or off, the wind.

And Tuiga, from what people say, feels the same. For Bernard d’Alessandri the fact that she can now race with other 15-Ms has made a huge difference: “It’s like match

racing and we don’t know who will be the winner because tactics are so important now,” he says. “For me, racing the four 15-Ms together at the Monaco Classics in 2011 was just an incredible situation. It was the first time anyone had seen anything like that in more than 100 years.

With the relaunching of Hispania in 2010 and Mariska earlier, there were four to race at Monaco Classics in 2011. For while The Lady Anne was restored in 1998/9 she was quickly banned from racing (in the Med) because she had carbon fibre laminated inside her hollow wooden mast.

The Lady Anne’s carbon was blamed for giving her too much power, evidenced by how she sailed away from Tuiga in some races and she had to cut her rig down and reduce somewhat before she was allowed back into the fold, 10 years after cruising in the wilderness or racing at the Fife Regattas in 2003 and 2008. Most experts agree that of the three 15-Ms, Mariska is the least original: “She’s re-engineered into a Third Rule shape to be three tons lighter,” dismisses Duncan Walker. The Lady Anne is very original in terms of her lines but she is basically an all new boat; Hispania had a new hull but her interior is probably the most original. And Tuiga is probably somewhere in between with some of her original interior but the layout being modified in her restoration.”

One aspect of the 15-Ms that seems to gain everyone’s respect is how few crew – typically eight – crewed the yachts in their heyday. Today, with upwards of 16 hands on deck, things can get hairy once the wind is up. Dr Patrice Clerc makes this point in the book, citing how a gybe with Tabarly at the helm led to the mainsheet trimmer, none other than Prince Albert, Monaco’s monarch, losing the skin off his palms as the mainsheet broke free and tore out off his hands while sailing at the Cannes Film Festival. “Tuiga is a wild bronco who can’t be fooled,” he quips. Yes and she’s utterly fabulous.

SPIRIT

YAC H T S

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GRIFF RHYS joNES IN AUSTRALIA

SURVIVAL INSTINCT

Griff Rhys Jones was guest of honour at the 2013 South Australian Wooden Boat Festival. Sounds simple, but first he had to get there on board a paddle steamer. Here he recalls the extraordinary journey SToRY GRIFF RHYS JONES PHoToGRAPHS JO RHYS JONES

S

teve was direct: “You had better know this, Griff. We’ve won this thing twice in a row.” He gripped me by the shoulder with a meaty paw. “How handy are you exactly?”

There is a moment when bravado slides like custard off the plate. “Exactly?” I paused.

This was that moment. “Not at all.” I replied.

“No, but you can handle a screwdriver and nails and that?” Not for the first time on my visit to Goolwa, South Australia, I found that television seemed to have exaggerated my maritime accomplishments.

“No.” “No?” “No, I am afraid I’m not really capable at all.” I gulped. “If you want to win the Rough and Ready Build a Boat in Two Hours Using Nothing But Some Cable Ties and Sikaflex, I would recommend that you phone around your mates.”

Steve’s bulk was a shadow against the overly bright Australian night starscape, but I sensed he was absorbing the information steadily, as only big men can.

“Ha, ha, ha! Very funny. But we have to win this, you and me.” He clapped me on the back. “And we will.” He led me away, legs quivering, to discuss tactics with Dave, on his motorboat moored further up the wharf.

It was the night before the grand South Australian Wooden Boat Festival. I was there as honoured guest.

Three Men in a Boat the television series (not the better book of the same name) features me, Dara O Briain and the tireless Rory McGrath. The last two know nothing about boats. They hold warps like expired invertebrates.

They stand idly by during imminent collisions. You know the type. As a result, even I come across as an authority. It’s an illusion of the plasma age.

32 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

But it got me to Goolwa. Goolwa is aboriginal for elbow. Or maybe bend. Or perhaps wind. I heard several versions during my stay; though not from aboriginals.

But Goolwa is not in Adelaide. This is an important consideration. “Have you seen our county town?” I was asked, at the pre-launch cocktail party. And to be honest, though I had flown in there, and though I had been efficiently shaken down for dodgy fruit or processed foodstuffs, I had seen nothing of the town. It was dark and humid, a few buildings flitted by and Adelaide was left way behind as we sped on the road to Goolwa.

Not a suburb of Adelaide

I hadn’t read the instructions. It’s a flaw. Middle-aged men (and I am teetering on the far edge of that one) like to work our toys straight out of the box. And it was the same with this festival. I had assumed that Goolwa was a suburb of Adelaide. I had assumed that they wanted me to wave a ceremonial boathook by a couple of palm trees on the Adelaide beach.

I had also assumed there was probably not much more to South Australia than Adelaide anyway. Yes, I am lucky to be alive to write this account, but then I never voiced that thought. Adelaide is the big, noisy city. “You don’t want that, Griff.” Goolwa is, according to several of its forcefully opinionated citizens, the toppermost place in the whole of Australia. “You want this, Griff.” They may be right. It is way across the Fleurieu Peninsula (named to remind the English that the French did a little bit of exploring around the southern coast of Australia too).

Set amongst yellow hills and shaded trees, it is small, but it is exquisite and it is a boating paradise.

I woke in a cottage in the heritage area of a small river port at the mouth of the Murray River. And I woke early.

The first birds began whistling like steam pistons outside

Mallorica

“There is a moment in every sailor’s life when he has to recognise that the vessel he is in is more water than vessel...”

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 33

GRIFF RHYS JONES IN aUSTralia

Above: the South Australian Wooden Boat Festival at Goolwa always draws a sizeable and appreciative crowd Below: Griff and Steve’s self-made boat breaks up, bringing their efforts to an unfortunate end

my window at 4am. These were magpies. When the galahs joined in, I got up and went for a run. I was in a green, tidy, watery place. Here was the settled collection of decent houses – architect-designed curvilinear abodes taking over from the tin-roofed bungalows. There was a great expanse of calm water, with the odd small marina, and a fetching green tin shed called the Armfield Slipway, and all around me these pale grey cockatoos, flashing their pink tummies were croaking and whistling and flapping. Ahh.

a gentle river cruise

The Murray River is a natural phenomenon but a modest one. It happens to be more than 3,750 miles (6,035km) long all in (with the Darling too), putting it up there to rival the Nile and the Amazon and the Mississippi, but it reaches the Southern Ocean in a series of heroic, shallow 50-mile-wide puddles and one gigantic sand dune.

They built a port in 1853 but, after 12 shipwrecks in as many years, they decided that they had better build another one, in a more sheltered spot, further up the coast. That was Victor Harbour. They linked it by railway, and all the river traffic carrying Australia’s cotton and wool from way up-country disembarked at Goolwa, to make a final, short land crossing for getting back to Blighty and other markets. But the railway doomed the river; all gone now, as has so much river traffic all over the world. Here though, enthusiasts have kept the place open, restored the steam train and provided something for the visitor to see. Every two years they gather all the wooden craft on the lower river in Goolwa and run up the Lower Murray River pennant – a beguiling mix of blue stripes, white stars and navy jack – and that’s the basis for the festival.

I got to know this old man river quite well during my journey. We drove up to Mannum and boarded a paddle steamer for a three-day journey

Mallorica

between the levees, chugging past parakeets and galloping cows. Marion had been built to carry wool, with a shallow steel hull, side paddles and a teetering cake of a superstructure, which had been amended over the intervening years to carry passengers. You can go on her yourself if you get down that way. There are well-appointed hutches masquerading as cabins.

Marion had lain in the dry dock as a museum exhibit, once her working life had ended, and then the locals decided they had to get her back on the river. It meant a ground-up restoration, once they got her off the ground that is. Some of them were with us now as volunteer crew.

We waltzed out into the muddy river, turned in a graceful arc and powered off in a haze of wood smoke.

Despite her tall stacks she kept a comforting bonfirenight smell hanging about the passenger decks throughout the entire journey: past low, willow-clad banks, past the occasional settlement high on the cliffs to avoid the flood waters, and past dozens of raft-like floating houseboats moored up against landing points.

Stoking the fires

Marion’s engine is a monstrous beast, sitting low on the hull but exposed to the air and flanked by the wheels, enclosed in separate bulkheads. She gobbles up wood at the rate of half a ton an hour. Heavy stuff too.

“Have you got asbestos hands?” asks the engineer.

“Er… no.”

“Then you’ll need gloves.”

The latch is tiny: the round door swings open and inside is the inferno of light and flame, which flickers and dances about like a captured spirit. The logs are plain enough in serried rows. That’s the trick: to lay them squarely one above the other in a stack of chips, so I naturally lob in mine, over-excitedly and inexpertly, so it sits across, instead of on, the pile, and I have to reach for the poking stick and poke it into place. It sits placidly alongside the others while this will-o’-the-wisp blast of flame cavorts around the boiler interior. And of course it’s so bright you can see every rivet and bump, the whole cavernous interior

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 35

GRIFF RHYS JONES IN AUSTRALIA glowing with light. Though why I imagined it would be dark in there, God alone knows.

The towns are quiet. Murray Bridge was little more than that – a long iron bridge and a few shops and a massive new shopping centre, but mostly a bridge.

Further up the river, we made the mistake in Wellington of asking for the high street. “Well, there’s a service station just up the road that way,” replied the startled woman in the café.

When we returned to our boat we had been joined by other paddle steamers, smaller ones, rounder ones, more like shallow plates with stern paddles.

Amphibious, a new-build with a fine dining room and sweet stained-glass-windowed accommodation, had been keeping station all the way. Early on our final morning, as we chugged off to cross Lake Alexandrina, we were a flotilla of paddle-powered magnificence.

So now we were signed on as volunteer crew for insurance purposes, standing by to man the bilge pumps if the teetering construct should start to ship water, but the skipper had timed his passage well. The fearful lake was a millpond. “People exaggerate,” the engineer told me as another ton or so of Australian gum tree came off the log piles and into the boiler. “In the old days these ships would simply moor up by the bank and cut their own fuel. But the council owns her now so we never lack the stuff.” The town council of Mannum has to chop down overhanging branches and clear garden waste for its citizens and now it is all recycled and sent down to the wharf to fuel their floating pride and joy.

We navigated the shallow creeks round the back of Hindmarsh Island, in the lower reaches of the Murray. We were now six paddle steamers. Each blew very impressive steam whistles. If we’d tooted in sequence we might even have been able to formulate a tune, but otherwise this was magnificence. And I observed that the rest of the festival had now pretty well assembled in our absence, as Marion cautiously sat waiting and calculating her approach to the shallow waters by the dock.

I hurried down to perform my official duties. A thunderous roar from rattling cups of macchiato in the harbourside café indicated that a wooden planing powerboat, driven by some sort of truck engine and

36 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

built in the late Sixties to break speed records, was charging up and down the harbour. I never saw the thing. But I heard it.

I talked about my boats in the theatre. I bought raffle tickets for a wooden dinghy built at the Armfield Slipway and then gave them away. (I once won a pig at a Suffolk fête, by bowling recklessly. It was a Wicker Man moment and best not repeated.) I admired the model launches made with real silver dorades and planked decks. And then I entered the boatbuilding competition.

A sinking feeling

We had a transom. We even had a bulkhead. I did my bit with the drill. I clamped cable ties around our length of ply. We manufactured paddles and a sturdy mast. I even fashioned a lug rig. All this, and I slipped in an interview with Adelaide local radio. It seemed a sturdy enough vessel to me.

We launched her off the beach the following day and strictly adhered to the rules, unlike some of our fellow contestants. There was supposed to be a sailing leg, so I persuaded Steve to sail out. With Steve in control we caught a wind. I thought we were going slowly and then I discovered that we were towing the Goolwa firemen. But when my sail filled we bounded away, though not in the direction that we should have been bounding. She was not an easy boat to steer or put about. And then she sank.

There is a moment in every sailor’s life when he has to recognise that the vessel he is in is more water than vessel. It is particularly disconcerting to be paddling a totally submerged plywood barque in the very water in which you are sitting. Steve was undoubtedly right. Had we paddled out and sailed back we might have been in better control of our fate. But I had probably made too many holes and tied too many cable ties for that to happen.

We stepped ashore to warm congratulations and cold beer. Luckily another Brit won (Alec Jordan, there to sell Iain Oughtred boat kits).

And there’s always next year. Well, not exactly.

The South Australian Wooden Boat Festival is a biennial event. They’re hoping to get Rory McGrath over for the next one. God help them.

Above: PS Oscar W navigates her way down the Murray River Below: stoking Marion’s massive wood-fired boiler

AbNER KINGSmAN, C/O ACEA

AMERICA’S CUP

WINNING WAYS After triumph and tragedy, Oracle Team USA won the most thrilling America’s Cup match ever. Here’s how they did it STORY BOB FISHER

T

he America’s Cup – the Holy Grail of sailing – more than justified its status as the sport’s most coveted trophy. The 34th America’s Cup provided a dramatic and thrilling battle worthy of its history.

In all honesty, the event didn’t get off to a promising start. First the challenger series, overshadowed by the tragedy of Andrew Simpson’s death earlier in the year, proved to be something of a damp squib. Emirates Team New Zealand was in a league of its own, and the other teams were underprepared and few in number – the costs involved just too prohibitive for too many nations.

38 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Still, the boats looked amazing, and as always, the America’s Cup itself brings its own special excitement.

The Kiwis looked on good form, but who knew what would happen when they met the defender, Oracle Team USA, in the final. Would one boat be significantly faster than the other?

Just days before racing started, Oracle Team USA was put on the back foot following the findings of the international jury over allegations of cheating by illegally modifying its AC45s for the America’s Cup World Series. The team was penalised its first two wins in the match and the primary wing trimmer banned outright from racing in the Cup.

Above: Oracle Team USA’s tactician, Ben Ainslie, takes a celebratory swig from the ‘Auld Mug’ Right: The battle for the America’s Cup was far closer than most believed it would be

GILLES MARTIN-RAGET/ACEA

AMERICAS CUP

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 39

AMERICA’S CUP

Kiwis start style

USA’s tim e out

Race 5 USA -1; NZL 4

Emirates Team New Zealand began its assault on the America’s Cup in a perfect manner on the opening day. Scoring two wins by fairly comfortable margins was beyond the team’s wildest dreams. As many predicted, the pre-starts were full of fireworks but each time, Dean Barker, steering the Kiwi boat, got the better of OTUSA skipper Jimmy Spithill. This was unexpected – Spithill is otherwise known as a “pitbull” for his pre-start tactics. ETNZ was noticeably faster upwind and she went on to a 36-second win.

The second race was extremely close all the way to the leeward gate – Barker having shaken off Spithill at the start – then began the change as the Kiwi boat began to slowly stride away and gained 39 seconds to weather. With courses being completed in 23 minutes, a winning margin of 52 seconds is huge.

Oracle roundly failed to win the fifth race of the series after leading from the start to the second turning mark.

Here, it all turned to a ball of chalk for the Americans.

They were nine seconds ahead as they approached the leeward gate and from a goodly distance out, tactician John Kostecki was heard to say: “We’ll go for a foiling tack,” – a difficult manoeuvre they had practiced the previous day in training.

OTUSA went into the mark on a very fast reach and plopped into the sea as she tacked. ETNZ went behind the wallowing Americans, got to the course boundary and split tacks. It worked for the Kiwis, who were still faster upwind at this stage and they led by 74 seconds at the weather gate and went on to an easy win. Oracle then called for a postponement after the race.

The following day, a non-race day, Oracle Team USA went out on San Francisco Bay for practice with a sly change in the crew. Taking over as tactician from John Kostecki was Britain’s Ben Ainslie, wearing Kostecki’s kit.

Best race so far

Kiwis closer, yet

Day two delivered the best racing seen so far. It had everything – passing, penalties, different winners and winds gusting close to the limit for racing.

Dean Barker led off the start line in the first race, but Oracle had an inside overlap, Barker failed to give the Americans sufficient room to round the mark and received a penalty. The American boat stretched out to an 18-second lead by the downwind gate, where she came off the foils, burying her bows spectacularly.

Barker, on advice from tactician Ray Davies, split tacks with OTUSA, going towards Alcatraz Island. When the boats met, the gap had closed and after a couple of tacks the initiative was with ETNZ. At the weather gate the Kiwis were 29 seconds ahead and never looked back.

The second race went the way of the Americans.

Spithill’s start was immaculate and he held the lead to the leeward gate, where the two teams split tacks.

Gone, it seemed, was the Kiwis’ upwind superiority.

It seemed that even the appearance of Ben Ainslie as tactician couldn’t save the American team. Emirates Team New Zealand moved two steps closer to winning the 34th America’s Cup with wins in both races.

The damage to the Yanks was performed on the upwind leg each time. The Kiwis were now superstrong favourites to win, even Spithill admitted: “If these guys lost from there, just think of that.”

Race 1&2 USA -2; NZL 2

Race 6&7 USA -1; NZL 6

Turning a corner Race 8 USA 0; NZL 6

What a turnaround Saturday’s racing proved. Oracle Team USA won a race, almost by default, before the 23-knot wind limit stopped the day short. The first race almost saw the end of the challenge of Emirates Team New Zealand and it hung (literally) in the

Below: Oracle Team USA drops off the foils at the first mark in race 19, the winnertakes-all race

RICARDO PINTO/ACEA

Race 3&4 USA -1; NZL 3

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Best match racing Race 9&10 USA -1; NZL 7

Today the naysayers were finally put to the sword.

Those who had said that match racing would be impossible in AC72 catamarans had to eat their words after the second race of the day, held in west-south-

GILLES MARTIN-RAGET/ACEA

GILLES MARTIN-RAGET/ACEA

balance towards the end of the windward leg. ETNZ had led from a perfectly timed start and were approaching the end of the third (windward) leg when Oracle was closing on starboard tack.

Instead of crossing, as he clearly could have done, Barker opted to tack to leeward of Oracle’s line and something went catastrophically wrong. The hydraulic system that inverts the wing through a tack failed, the boat was caught by the wind and heeled almost to the 45° limit; it hung there before smacking back into the water and impeded Oracle. The Kiwis received a penalty and Oracle sped away to an easy victory.

Things didn’t look too good for the American team when Barker won the start of the second race of the day. However, nearing the end of the second leg, with ETNZ in front, the wind exceeded the mandatory limit and the race was abandoned.

westerly breezes close to the 23-knot limit. The sparks flew as first one and then the other team led on the third leg and even then the race was not over.

Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA won the start and the first race, slowly capitalising on that starting advantage. It was one-way traffic, with Ben Ainslie providing the strategic information, and it gave the home team its first points on the scoreboard.

Dean Barker confounded the attentions of Spithill at the second start and when OTUSA momentarily came off the foils as they went for the first mark, the Kiwis rounded the buoy ahead. Emirates Team New Zealand stretched slightly downwind, but then came the shock.

Eleven seconds behind at the leeward gate, the Oracle team began to make inroads on the Kiwis’ lead.

Oracle went ahead, ETNZ recovered the lead and that happened seven times, but the crucial move was orchestrated by Ray Davies of ETNZ. He called for Barker to sail high and slow when on their final port tack. Then he called for the bear-away and dip of the American boat’s sterns and headed for the right-hand mark at full speed and to the better wind on that side of the course.

While OTUSA rounded a second ahead, ETNZ was faster earlier and led by 11 seconds at the last mark and 17 at the finish.

Above: The ‘American’ team celebrates.

Although in the end there was just one American sailor on the boat, it was an American’s money that brought them together

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 41

BAlAzs GARdI/ACEA

AMERICA’S CUP

Race 11 USA 1; NZL 8

This was a thriller. Barker and Spithill scrapped in the pre-start with the Kiwis claiming the tactical advantage to leeward and ahead as they reached for the first turning mark. That was critical as the gap between them at the end of the three-mile run was only six seconds. There the two split tacks, with Oracle heading offshore and ETNZ going for the City Front.

At the first cross, the Kiwis were still ahead, but halfway up the beat the American boat went ahead on the GPS-based positioning. When the two came together, ETNZ was able to cross and tack to windward and led by 17 seconds around the weather mark. Down the run, aided by a big windshift, OTUSA was rapidly closing the gap, but Barker’s better line into the final mark gave the Kiwis a 15-second victory.

But for a knot or two of breeze that took the wind above the safety limit, the Cup would almost certainly have been in New Zealand’s hands tonight. They needed one more victory and Dean Barker had set up his team’s AC72 in prime position to lead around the first crucial mark when the order came from race director Iain Murray to abandon the race.

The disappointment around the Pier 27 finish line was palpable – there were as many New Zealand supporters gathered there as there were for the home team. Barker and his team accepted the situation stoically; Jimmy Spithill and the Oracle team with some relief, although they still had to win eight races before the Kiwis won another to retain the Cup.

Com eback kids Race 12 USA 2; NZL 8

An unusual slip by Emirates Team New Zealand in the pre-start sequence opened a door for Oracle Team

USA with a much-needed victory to put a second point on the board. This was to be the start of the biggest-ever comeback in America’s Cup history.

Dean Barker appeared to mistime his run in to the start and had to slow the Kiwis’ boat. That provided Jimmy Spithill with the opportunity to set up to leeward and luff ETNZ almost to a standstill, while still maintaining reasonable pace on the American boat. Then he bore off and left Barker trailing.

There was little in it all round the course, but it was noticeable that Ben Ainslie often left the grinder handles to better construct the strategy upwind. He repulsed the advances of the Kiwis and while Oracle only led by 11 seconds at the end of the beat, Ainslie had positioned the boat perfectly to round the right-hand buoy and begin the run in less adverse tide.

Oracle Team USA sailed to a 31-second victory, most of her gain due to an early wind shift on the run. The west-south-westerly breeze that had been between 17 and 19 knots for the first race, increased to be beyond the safety limit imposed on the racing and the next race, the 13th, was abandoned.

Above: Emirates Team New Zealand’s near capsize in race eight showed just how close disaster could be. Had they taken a tumble it would have been game over. As it was, the race it cost them could have given them the Cup Below: Ben Ainslie joined the crew after the fifth race and grew more vocal in his key role as tactician as the event progressed

Cru el wind Race 13 USA 3; NZL 8

Races must fit into the 40-minute envelope demanded by the television companies, and in the first race of the day, in 9 to 11 knots of breeze with the AC72s reaching more than 22 knots, an abandonment came after 40 minutes. With Emirates Team New Zealand about to round the final mark and over 1km ahead of her rival, this would have clinched the Cup for the Kiwis.

The next race saw Dean Barker win the start, but Jimmy Spithill take the lead for OTUSA at the leeward gate by more skilful positioning on the approach. Once ahead, the Oracle boat stretched her lead to win by the greatest margin, 84 seconds, so far in the match.

GIllEs MARTIN-RAGET/ACEA

One win away...

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 43

AMERICA’S CUP

USA on Fire!

Race 14 &15 USA 5; NZL 8

With two stunning wins, Oracle Team USA gave its supporters a much-needed boost. The American boat had speed to spare following continued work every night by designers and shore-crew.

Skipper Spithill remained confident Oracle could win the Cup, and attributed much of the day’s success to tactician Ainslie and strategist Tom Slingsby. But it was Spithill’s well-known forte in the pre-start that set up the victories. In both he started to leeward and in the first sailed his opponent high and right out to the course boundary, so that when they gybed he had extended his lead. From there he sailed away to win.

In the second race, the start was key to winning once again and the lead it gave Oracle proved insurmountable. As in the first race, the Kiwis closed the gap but then, somewhat surprisingly, gybed away.

Each sealed the fate of the team that still needed only one win to take the Cup…

Five on th e trot Race 16 USA 6; NZL 8

A week earlier, no one would have given Oracle an earthly chance of success, but suddenly just three more wins would see the defenders triumph.

The big turnaround in the fortunes of the American team came down to three factors – the starting skill of Spithill, the combination of Ben Ainslie and Tom Slingsby working with him, and the technical improvements the design and shore teams continued making to the AC72. Suddenly Oracle was the faster boat, marginally. But that is all that is needed after a perfect start like the one Spithill pulled in the single race held on day 17. His timing was perfection and he led from start to finish.

Tension mou nts Race 17 & 18 USA 8; NZL 8

No America’s Cup match had previously gone on longer than this. The 34th Cup match had reached a

44 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

climax that few would have had the temerity to predict. Day 18’s two races were very different. In the first, ETNZ was left for dead at the start, having to lose two penalties before chasing OTUSA around the course. It was a bad mistake by Barker to be caught on the ‘hook’ to leeward by Spithill and he paid the price.

Then in the next, Barker won the start and was within an inch of inflicting a penalty on the American boat. The Kiwis led for two legs but made two mistakes. They went to the wrong buoy at the leeward gate and then, when Oracle had closed the gap from 200 to 45 metres, tacked ahead and to leeward. Spithill bore away slightly and Oracle went up on her foils and the advantage went out of the window. Oracle sailed to a 54-second win and put the score at eight points each.

It would go to a final ‘winner takes all’ showdown.

Th e decider

Race 19 USA 9; NZL 8

The final day provided the greatest climax the America’s Cup has ever known in its 162-year history. After 19 days of racing, the longest in the history of the event, the 34th America’s Cup was finally over. Oracle Team USA staged the biggest comeback in any sport by winning eight consecutive races to defeat Emirates Team New Zealand, who had been on match-point for a week.

Spithill constantly repeated his belief that the team could win and he proved it. His tactician, Ben Ainslie, said that winning the Cup felt “pretty good”, and that “it almost seems a shame that there has to be a loser...”

The Kiwis can return home with their heads held high. They battled in the final race, winning the start and leading for the first two legs, but it was the superior boat speed of the home team that made the difference. Once around the leeward mark the gap narrowed and at the second cross the American boat was ahead.

From there it was one-way traffic and OTUSA finished 44 seconds clear to the roaring of the crowd at the finish on Pier 27. The Cup remains in the USA – and in San Francisco, if Ellison can persuade the City fathers. Meanwhile, the Golden Gate YC has already received a challenge from Hamilton Island Sailing Club in Australia. The America’s Cup rolls on.

Above left: The winning skipper Jimmy Spithill celebrates his second America’s Cup victory, having won in 2010 Above right: A jubilant home team celebrates with fans - for the Kiwis it was a gut-wrenching finish

“This is a Boat.”

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YA C H T S They do still exist – wooden jewels. We create traditional yachts using traditional craftsmanship methods and nothing but wood.

Replicas of classic yachts, restorations and individual new builds. The most famous projects from our shipyard are the 12-metre yachts Sphinx and Johan Anker’s final draft No. 434, which remains unnamed, various classic 6-metre craft, and the Robbe & Berking Commuter, a tribute to the legendary motor yachts from New York in the 1920s.

W W W. C L A S S I C S . R O B B E B E R K I N G . C O M

INTERVIEW Francois GabarT

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TOP SPOT Mallorica

François Gabart stunned the racing world by winning the Vendée Globe at the first attempt, aged just 29 sToRY aNDi roBErTSoN

“Gabart cranked the 24-hour solo record up several more notches to 545 miles”

vincent curutchet/dppi/vendee globe

E

xhaustion, elation and overwhelming emotions are etched on the faces of the skippers who sail back into the famous canal of Les Sables d’Olonne. To finish a Vendée Globe is a lifetime achievement, but this year saw sailing performances that were truly incredible. Francois Gabart, winning the world’s toughest solo race at the first attempt, aged just 29.

Eyebrows were raised when race director Denis Horeau revealed his hopes for a 76-day record. Before the start, he explained that Michel Desjoyeaux had taken only 82 days to go around in 2008, sailing back into port soon after starting. He reckoned it was possible to shave at least four days off that if everything went well. He was proved right, as Desjoyeaux’s protege François Gabart completed the course in 78 days, two hours, 16 minutes and 40 seconds.

Throughout the race Gabart was sunny, chatty, unruffled. But as he acknowledged the deafening applause which welcomed him back to dry land, Gabart looked, for the first time, a little off guard – emotions were clearly running high for the ultraprofessional. “I am still surprised I won. I did not start the Vendée Globe thinking I would win. Of course, I did all I could to make sure I had a chance, but never thinking I would. All I wanted to do was sail a good race,” he explained after the finish.

“Armel le Cléac’h and I did a lot of training together

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 47

JEAN-MARIE LIOT/MACIF

INTERVIEW FRANCOIS GABART

“I learned from Michel Desjoyeaux to listen to the boat and stay relaxed” Above: Gabart and le Cleac’h hooked into a favourable weather system in the Southern Ocean which catapulted them 500nM ahead of the pack

from Port-la-Forêt,” he recalls. “In fact we were like the star pupils there because we never missed any sessions, we were the two best kids at school, maybe along with Vincent Riou on PRB. But all the training we did there was certainly important in our taking first and second on the Vendée Globe. It was a tough race but we had spent the last two years training together for. Often we would go out offshore for 24-36-48 hours and just race together and it was usually down to five, 10 or 15 minutes between us all.”

After the early retirement of Safran with keel loss, Gabart jousted with Armel le Cleac’h on Banque

2013 VENDEE RESULTS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th

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Macif, François Gabart (FRA) Banque Populaire, Armel le Cleac’h (FRA) Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson (GBR) Virbac Paprec 3, Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) SynderCiel, Jean le Cam (FRA) Gamesa, Mike Golding (GBR) Mirabaud, Dominique Wavre (SUI) Akena Vérandas, Ardaud Boissières (FRA) Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM Projets, Bertrand de Broc (FRA) Initiatives-coeur, Tanguy de Lamotte Team Plastique, Alessandro di Benedetto

Populaire and competition became a match race across the Indian Ocean. Both sailed their VPLP designs close to 100 per cent of their performance capability, but it was Gabart who canked the 24-hour solo record up several more notches to 545nM in the Southern Ocean.

“The boats are very close in terms of set up. Macif was built after Banque Populaire (ex-Foncia) and so there are some improvements. I think I was faster downwind when it was windy and Armel was just a little bit faster upwind. The sails we have are very close in design – all from North – although I had my blast reacher, which Armel did not, and with our Code Zeros there were tiny differences.”

Gabart reckoned that his friend Armel had benefited from doing the race before. But there was more to it than that. “One of the real keys to the Vendée Globe is not to lose energy. And I think I was good there. I learned from Michel Desjoyeaux to listen to the boat and to stay always relaxed and not stress. When your average speeds are above 20 knots, that is so important.”

He had to deal with lots of small breakages, but was never forced to stop in order to deal with them. “The tack line on the gennaker went a few times and that is a very difficult thing to fix because you have to go on the bow when the boat is going very fast. And in the first week I had to fix the engine. Michel Desjoyeaux really taught me how to be relaxed and the way to behave when there are problems.”

CRUISING LOFOTEN ISLANDS

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SAIL & SKI Using his Vancouver 27 as a mobile refuge, Howard Steen skied and sailed the Lofoten Islands of Norway sToRY AND PHoToGRAPHs BY howard steen

Main: At 20m above sea level, the Svartisen Glacier has the lowest snout in mainland Europe right: pausing on the way down from Varden Far right: Author’s painting of Martha anchored by the Jokelfjord Glacier

L

ying in my sleeping bag with the cabin temperature barely above freezing, I wondered if my friend James would be the first to get up and put on the kettle. Sadly, the lack of activity from his bunk suggested he considered this to be the skipper’s duty.

We’d arrived in Tromsø the previous day, 6 March, enjoyed a fantastic first display of the Northern Lights but after a bitterly cold night, the sea was icing up in our corner of the harbour and the small fan heater struggled to dispel the deathly chill. A priority that morning was to re-commission the diesel cabin heater!

I reminded myself that at this time of year most other sailors have very sensibly left their boats to a long undisturbed winter sleep, but here we were in the freezing Arctic, aiming to use the boat as a sailing base for several weeks of ski mountaineering activities. We didn’t plan to sail south for Bodø until May.

Long in the making

The 2,500nM to Tromsø from Baltic Germany were sailed over the previous two seasons, assisted by family and friends as crew. We’d enjoyed the fascination of sailing along the scenic Norwegian coastline using the ‘inner lead’, a series of sheltered channels protected by layers of off-lying islands. My early fears of Norwegian sailing – deep fjords with unfathomable anchoring depths, unpredictable winds, a hazardous rock-strewn coastline – had been

pleasantly dispelled during the first season, so I was happy to take novice crew on some of the voyage.

As a sailor who also enjoys both mountaineering and being able to sketch and paint, I’ve found that sailing in west and north Norway is hard to beat. The unique atmosphere of the Arctic region with its spectacular Lofoten Islands, glaciers which almost reach sea level, midnight sun in summer and the Northern Lights in winter is a good enough reason to make the effort to push this far north, though few yachts do.

Wintering afloat in the west and north is practical because the Gulf Stream ensures the sea does not freeze at the coast. However, the boat must be protected from snow. Tromsø can get up to 2m, so I’d constructed a strong cover of reinforced plastic to keep snow off the decks. During heavy snowfall we could hear from below the reassuring sound of miniavalanches sliding off the ‘roof ’. The side decks became a good place to store skis and when the sun rose high enough to strike the boat, the cockpit ‘conservatory’ became a welcome extension to our living space.

arctic winter delights

A lively university town of some 60,000 people, Tromsø enjoys the accolade ‘Paris of the North’, perhaps due to its large selection of bars, cafes, museums and galleries. Set on a small, low island on the inner lead, superbly sheltered by large islands and surrounded by mountains on all sides, it is a

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 51

CRUISING LOFOTEN ISLANDS

Wildlife notes Sea eagle Haliaeetus Encompassing eight different species, these birds can weigh up to 9kg (20lb) Reindeer Rangifer tarandus Widely hunted, they have also been domesticated to pull toboggans in Lapland Sea otter Enhydra Lutris They have recovered from extinction but are still on the endangered list

52 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

deservedly popular destination for exploring and enjoying the local area. An extensive network of floodlit cross-country trails on the island lies only 15 minutes walk from the harbour, while a short bus ride across to the mainland side accesses downhill skiing with lifts and a huge area of backcountry and mountain skiing terrain can be reached via bus.

A succession of skiing and sailing friends joined me to sample the Arctic winter. All were amazed by displays of the northern lights and we had many bright, windless days, which made for excellent ski touring onto the high tops. The bad weather days were easily filled by Tromsø’s entertainments. Living on board in the harbour was surprisingly comfortable, with access to bathrooms at a hotel situated right next to the pontoon.

By late April there was a hint of spring in the air and I decided to remove the snow cover. Katherine, a British friend and Nordic skiing guide, was arriving for her first visit to the Arctic and I wanted to try sailing to the Lyngen Peninsula, an area of ruggedly steep and glacial peaks which has become popular for ‘sail and ski’ trips.

However, my actions had clearly offended the weather gods and the next day we awoke to a cockpit full of snow and an unsettled forecast. Sailing was cancelled.

When finally we could get onto the mountains, a pleasant discovery awaited us; all the rain and sleet

falling in Tromsø had accumulated as powder snow on the high tops. This provided some of the best skiing of the trip with fantastic mountain and fjord views to match. Back on the boat it was now warm enough to lounge in the cockpit in late afternoon sunshine. Things were looking up!

Leaving Tromsø

Mid-May, and the snow in Tromsø still lay at sea level!

After developing a way to store my skis while sailing, I departed for Narvik where James would join me for the journey to Bodø via the Lofotens.

I was single-handing this 130nM leg and would not see another sailing yacht for six days. I felt a thrill of anticipation leaving Tromsø, passing under spectacular white peaks flanking the inner lead. The wintery scene looked a world apart from when we’d sailed north on this same stretch the previous summer.

Happily, I had only light headwinds to motor against and dropping the hook at Kirkeholm after the second day, I could relax a little with 56nM covered.

Next day, a NNW wind at last promised some sailing while crossing 15nM of the open Vågsfjorden to Harstad.

The boat speed touched over 6 knots, confirming the effect I’d read about that cold dense Arctic air packs a heavier punch than its speed would suggest.

Norwegian sailing Anchoring

Winds

There are numerous scenic sheltered anchorages along the Norwegian coast • Anchoring depths are rarely greater than 10m • Expect to anchor in solitude in the north • Few (but some) anchoring bays in the deep fjords

Often resolve along the coastline, following the contours of navigation channels.

Expect some good consistent sailing winds on the coast but beware of the fallvind (katabatic gusts), which can occur off high, steep ground

Mooring up Great choice of inexpensive harbours and marinas with excellent facilities (large cities more expensive)

‘cold Arctic air packs a heavier punch than its speed would suggest’ There was plenty of time for more exploring on skis on the wooded fells above Harstad harbour while three days of near-gale conditions passed through, leaving us somewhat stormbound. Then a short sail from Harstad through the Tjeldsund brought me to Selfa Arctic shipbuilder’s yard at Rødskjær. It was cold work but I managed to complete the antifouling and spent a night on the boat suspended in slings. I then had a tortuous 7nM passage through the narrow and strongly tidal Ramsund into Ofotfjord at whose head lies the industrial town of Narvik.

Above: View of the Lofotens from the mountains above Kabelvag Above right: The aurora over Tromsø harbour in March

DOWN THE WEST COAST

Explored on skiis Anchorages

Tirpitz BARENTS SEA

Ofoten and Lofoten

James arrived from Edinburgh confessing to an uncomfortable night spent on a bench in Oslo airport.

He appeared not too much the worse for wear, but was blissfully unaware of his next ordeal. A strong WSW wind was forecast to blow up the 25 miles of open Ofotfjord for the next two days and our only escape route was right into it.

The Vancouver 27 has excellent sea-keeping qualities, however, with her long-keeled hull and a cutter rig, pointing high on the wind is not her forte.

Leaving Vassvika harbour, our progress was depressingly slow, tacking against short steep waves.

After 12 miles, we’d had enough and anchored in a

Tromso

Harstad LO FOT E N I S L A N DS Litl Molla

Kabelvag

Below left: Uhuru at rest Kirkeholm among fragments of ice in Orne Bay Below right: A crabeater seal Ofotfjorden rests on the ice Narvik Vallebukta

Tysfjorden Vestfjorden

Valsvaer

Lofoten Islands

Nordfolda NORWAY North Sea

Bodo

UK FRANCE

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 53

Author’s drawing of Henningsvaer - the very essence of the Lofoten Islands

CRUISING LOFOTEN ISLANDS

‘It was warm enough to sit out and sketch the quintessentially Lofoten views’

MARTHA MARIA Vancouver 27, 1979 LOA: 27ft (8.2m) LWL: 22ft 11in (7m) Beam: 8ft 8in (2.7m) Draught: 4ft 6in (1.4m) Displacement: 8,960lb (4,065kg) Ballast/Disp’l ratio: 39% Fuel: 25gal (120lt) Water: 123gal (220lt) Berths: 3 Engine: 21hp Nanni diesel Builder: Pheon Yachts Owners Association www.vancouver.org.uk

54 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

sheltered bay to recover. So it continued for another day, but the slog finally got us out of the clutches of the Ofotfjord and into the shelter of Vallebukta anchorage – an enclosed bay at the mouth of the Efjorden.

Windy conditions were forecast all the next day, but we were relatively sheltered in the lee of Valletinden, a fine Ofoten peak rising above us. We rowed ashore in the morning and set off carrying skis, emerging on the 832m wind-blasted summit for fantastic views of the 60-mile Lofoten ‘Wall’ stretching away to the west and Stetinden, Norway’s iconic national mountain, to the southeast. An exhilarating ski down brought us back to the dinghy just before heavy wind and rain lashed the anchorage.

We lay secure and stayed cosy and warm below decks, then things got even better when James produced a bottle of my favourite malt whisky!

Sailing on west towards the Lofotens involved another day of beating. Early experience with Martha Maria’s cutter rig had taught me that smooth tacking is achieved by releasing the Yankee sheet first and letting the sail slide around the still-set staysail. We had this technique well honed and took satisfaction at our steady progress. We found shelter among islands at the former fishing community of Risvær, its houses empty, awaiting summer occupation.

Approaching Svolvær, the modern capital of the Lofotens, skiing goggles were needed to see through a sudden blast of dense, driving snow. Apart from having a good marina and being on the Hurtigruten ferry route, we felt there was little to interest us so pushed on a few miles west to Kabelvåg, a small town with a

pleasant pub and Wi-Fi. Showers would be available in two days, when the hotel opened for summer on 1 June!

Lofoten Cathedral, on the outskirts of town, stood imposingly against a backdrop of fine snowy peaks which enticed us to make a last ski tour. Following a good track through wonderful miniature alpine scenery, we climbed to the 700m ridge of Varden. The views were something to savour as we gazed out over the Lofoten islands and a sparkling Vestfjord to the mainland peaks and our route to Bodø.

From the island of Skrova, a 14 mile passage across the open Vestfjord would bring us to the mainland coast. A good breeze gave great sailing touching 6.8 knots. These were just the kind of conditions where Martha Maria settles into a groove and is light on the helm. Engaging the Aries self-steering left us free to relax and enjoy our last Lofoten views.

Securely anchored in the Valsvær archipelago beside the mainland coast, we explored our last stop ashore and watched sea eagles soar. Then we reluctantly departed knowing that Bodø was just a couple of days away, and a unique ‘ski and sail’ Arctic winter experience was at an end.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Introduced to sailing in ‘88, Howard Steen always wanted to combine sailing and mountaineering. He retired in 2008 and has cruised the Baltic in Martha Maria ever since.

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KNox-JoHNSToN ARCHIvE

THE UNSEEN PHOTOS

For more than 40 years, a collection of images chronicling Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s record-breaking voyage has remained untouched.

Until now. Here, in a world exclusive story, we reveal some hidden gems SToRY BARRY PICKTHALL PHoToGRAPHS BILL ROWNTREE/PPL

56 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

MALLORICA

A

Main image: With a welcome bottle of champagne in hand, RKJ returns to Falmouth as the triumphant winner of the inaugural Sunday Times Golden Globe Race Top right: After 313 days at sea, RKJ takes his first few steps on dry land

n archive of more than 3,000 negatives – many of them never published before – taken during Sir Robin KnoxJohnston’s pioneering solo, non-stop round-the-world voyage in 1968/9, has been saved for posterity.

The valuable archive had been gathering dust in the Sunday Mirror Library, and was about to be dumped in a skip, when the London newspaper moved from Fleet Street to Canary Wharf. By pure chance, Bill Rowntree, the staff photographer who covered Knox-Johnston’s departure and return to Falmouth in the famous self-built 32ft (9.7m) ketch Suhaili, happened to be in the building the day of the clear out.

The pictures cover RKJ’s early preparations in Surrey Docks in 1968, the shakedown sail to Falmouth, his departure, including long-lost photos of his parents bidding him a tearful farewell, and all the pictures of his momentous return 313 days later as the only finisher in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.

Bill, now 73, recalls: “The picture library manager poked his head round the door and asked me if I had any use for them.” Rowntree put the box under his arm and took it home, and there the negatives may have lain, had it not been for a particular picture request from Henri-Lloyd, which supplied Knox-Johnston’s original oilskins, to mark their 60th anniversary celebrations this year. It was my call to Rowntree to see if he still had the negative for Henri-Lloyd that prompted the question: “What should we do with the other 3,000 pictures I have here?”

We organised for Bill and Robin to meet at the agency to go through the forgotten archive, and as the two reminisced, it soon became clear that we had found many historic pictures, and many more that had never been published before. Each fresh picture found led to another story as these two yarned the day away.

The Sunday Times race was spawned from interest generated two years before by exclusive coverage given to Francis Chichester’s solo circumnavigation. The newspaper executives were sold on fostering a non-stop sequel, seen then as one of the last great

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 57

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58 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

KNOX-JOHNSTON ARCHIVE

challenges left to man. Needing money to prepare, Knox-Johnston approached the rival Sunday Mirror for sponsorship, which resulted in the event becoming as much a battle between the Sunday papers, as it was for the nine starters that set out during 1968 to capture the Golden Globe trophy, and the £5,000 prize purse.

The first that photographer Bill Rowntree and Australian journalist Bruce Maxwell got to know about it, was a call from the editor’s office. “We went into Mike Christiansen’s office and he introduced us to his guest,” recalls Bill. “‘Bill. Bruce. This is Robin KnoxJohnston. He’s going to sail round the world non-stop, single-handed, and you two are going to help him.

Okay, off you go’.”

Fit for purpose

The three of them then went to have a get-to-knowyou drink on one of the entertainment ships moored along the Embankment, where Robin told them a little about his previous life in the Merchant Navy, how he had built Suhaili during his time in India, and how he had sailed her back to London. “We found all this very impressive until a tug passed by on the Thames, and Robin was thrown off his stool by the motion. The question both of us thought, but didn’t dare ask, was: ‘If Robin couldn’t keep his balance on a ship moored in the Thames, how would he cope alone at sea?’.”

Bruce remembers: “The first thing Robin told Bill and me, is that we had to sail Suhaili from Surrey Docks to Falmouth to get her ready and sort out things like provisions, the radio, and other bits and pieces. I think he saw us as free-and-willing labour.”

Robin’s perception was that Bill did nothing but take photographs. “I had to tell him that there were certain activities in the confined quarters of a yacht that I just would not let him photograph!”

The trio then discussed roles. “Against my suggestion, Bruce was appointed treasurer because he and Bill felt that having collected the subscriptions, I might not return,” says Robin. “Bruce muttered darkly that the newspapers were full of stories of defaulting loan-club treasurers around Christmas time. I had to agree that since the treasurer was automatically in charge of the beer kitty, it was a natural job for any Australian like Bruce. I had to be content with being President instead.”

Above: After finishing the race and still wearing his Henri-Lloyd oilskins, RKJ enjoys a pint of beer aboard Suhaili.

Below right: A final farewell to his parents before departure, Below left: Welcome home after his record-breaking voyage

Hold the front page

The rivalry between newspapers for Robin’s story on his return to Falmouth in April 1969 was intense. On the one hand, there was the Sunday Times, loftily lauding it as their race; the Sunday Mirror, which had sponsored him; and the Sunday Express, which was trying to scoop their two rivals. Bill recalled one

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 59

KNOX-JOHNSTON ARCHIVE

Above, left to right: A press photographer on board a Cessna 172 captures the first pictures of RKJ returning to Falmouth;

below decks preparing for the start of the race and the famous radio while in working condition; RKJ (right) with his brother, Chris (left), on board Suhaili

Below: Celebrating with friends in the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club

60 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

episode: “Cliff Pearson, our assistant editor, had established himself in the Green Lawns Hotel, Falmouth, to plan our coverage of Robin’s return.

The Sunday Times were desperate for a sighting of Robin, but Cliff was not going to help them. That morning, with deadlines looming, there was a call over the hotel intercom during breakfast. “Urgent phone call for Mr Pearson, urgent phone call for Mr Pearson.”

Cliff picked up his papers and charts and went to the phone booth in the lobby, pursued by rival reporters.

They watched as Cliff had a long conversation. As he left the booth looking preoccupied, a slip of paper fell to the floor. The moment he turned the corner out of sight, the Sunday Times’ reporters grabbed the paper.

On it was latitude and longitude reference numbers.

One reporter immediately drove to the RAF base at St Mawgan, where the photographer was waiting with a chartered twin-engine plane ready to fly out to sea.

The pilot, photographer and reporter all leapt on board. “Just head southwest and I’ll give you Suhaili’s position as soon as we’re in the air,” said the reporter.

A few minutes later he handed over Cliff ’s piece of paper, and the pilot got out the chart to do his

calculations. Very soon after, without a word, the pilot turned the plane around and headed back to base.

“What’s wrong?” The pilot looked pitifully at him and said: “This is the lat and long for Birmingham. Game, set, and match to the Sunday Mirror!”

Picture perfect

Out at sea, Bill and Bruce, together with a group of technicians, were stationed off the Scilly Isles aboard the MTB HMS Fathomer, playing ‘ducks and drakes’ with the passenger ferry Isles of Scilly, chartered by the Sunday Express. Bill recalls the sequence of events: “Shooting the pictures was the easy part; getting them back to the editor was the tricky bit! Back in 1969, there was no equipment made to carry out these difficult tasks at sea, but my two mates worked out how to transmit a picture using a Muirhead wire machine, normally used at football matches, via an HF link through Niton Radio station on the Isle of Wight.

Making a print requires great skill on land, let alone bobbing around in a small boat on the ocean. Without their enthusiasm and initiative we would never have got the pictures back in time. It was, I believe, the first time anyone had successfully wired a picture from sea back to a newspaper desk.”

The Isles of Scilly, which had a bigger radar set, had been tracking Fathomer, and alerted by the open-radio communications with Suhaili, was soon on the scene.

The Sunday Express team had one advantage over both the Sunday Mirror and the Sunday Times – they had Robin’s parents and family on board, but no wiring facilities. The Sunday Times had neither, having relied on the aircraft to get the first pictures.

In the end, the Sunday Times had to beg the Sunday Mirror to use their picture, which they had to publish with a Sunday Mirror credit on their front page.

It took two more days for Robin to reach Falmouth, where his first unsteady steps ashore on the Royal Cornwall’s landing were later marked for posterity with an inscription chiselled into the stone. It was only a few years ago that someone noticed that Knox-Johnston had been spelled without a ‘t’. Four decades on, and now with a knighthood and three further circumnavigations to his name, every sailor knows of Robin’s remarkable pioneering feat – and how to spell his name!

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INTERVIEW CARLO RIVA

GENIUS STILL AT WORK The master builder of Riva runabouts is still fighting business battles at 91 sToRY GERALD GUETAT PHoToGRAPHs HENRI THIBAULT

62 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Mallorica

O

n the shores of Lake Iseo, set between Milan and Venice, at the foot of hills planted with cypresses and crowned with medieval villages, where the road to Sarnico makes a slight detour away from the banks of the lake, stands a small abandoned building. It marks the original site of the shipyard founded by the Riva brothers around 1860; by the 1900s the building had become a trattoria run by another member of the family, grandmother of the industrial and artistic genius destined to transform the family name, and the image of leisure motorboating.

Carlo Riva is still, at the age of 91, involved in the boating industry. He was born in Sarnico in 1922, and in the early 1950s built the striking, white industrial centre that was to house the adventure of his life, and mark the break with the old ways of his father Serafino. As Carlo explains: “I lived in total opposition to him, who I saw toil bitterly to produce one boat at a time. The work was hard, dirty and produced very little income, especially when making speedboats for wealthy gentlemen who rarely appreciated our efforts.”

In Italy after the Second World War, Carlo read and reread all the American yachting magazines, dissecting one by one the coloured advertisements for yards such as ChrisCraft, which produced motorboats like Cadillacs.

Serafino Riva’s son knew he could never succeed his father without provoking disputes over the traditional crafts of a boatbuilder: “I was convinced that there would soon be a market here for high quality and very safe boats, but industrially produced.”

So he built this new ultra-modern plant, buying his engines in America. In 1954, he inaugurated with pride, tinged with a little apprehension, the first phase of the splendid boatyard which remains, even today, an example of daring architecture and rationality. But to do this, he had to borrow a lot of money at a time when, in Italy, one could still end up in prison for debt.

A dreamer and an idealist, but also a hard worker and extreme perfectionist, Carlo Riva now had the tools for the job. He was always ready for the challenge of a business risk. “I was very lucky to get away with putting myself in so many potentially very difficult situations,” he admits. “I wanted to improve traditional construction, which was long and expensive. So I tried to transform one of my first models with a marine plywood bottom, but it was much too thin and it sank during a sea trial at Portofino. There was more fear than harm, but to me, whom everybody laughed at because I was born on a lake, it was an embarrassment and a new challenge.”

With the motto “there must be a solution”, he founded Marine Plywood in 1956 with an engineer

specialising in prefabricated plywood panels, to enable his boats to safely confront the waves. Marine Plywood spearheaded, for many years, progress in the manufacturing of wooden Rivas.

A year later, Riva created the RAM company in premises adjoining his large production site. The object was to give his network of dealers the necessary know-how to properly maintain the boats. It also lavished care and attention on the customer, through the many expert hands that made up the “Boat Service”, a chain of reference shops distributed initially between Italy and the French Riviera.

The Monte carlo tunnel

However, Riva the entrepreneur could not be satisfied by simply delegating his power or knowledge. Believing the saying “one is never better served than by oneself ”, it was in Monte Carlo that he wanted to establish his new Boat Service. He found the space to store, repair and refurbish his boats by digging a large tunnel more than 100m (328ft) long below the property of Prince Rainier.

This fabulous cavern, like a precious wine or cigar cellar, was inaugurated in 1959, after amicably replacing many windows of the Grimaldi palace, blown out by explosions caused during the construction.

This opening onto the Mediterranean led to the next phase: building a true motor yacht with living space. “Freddy Heineken came to me at the 1960 London Boat Show. He convinced me to go and build my yacht projects in his native Holland. So, I went to de Vries and I was immediately impressed by the honesty and seriousness of this great nation of navigators who built their ships in steel.”

The hulls were designed in the Netherlands while the superstructure and furnishings were designed in Sarnico. Thus, with large yachting in its infancy in Europe, the first Caravelle was delivered in 1961, as elegant and refined as a Riva, and as robust and seaworthy as a de Vries. Seven models, from 71ft 6in to 73ft 10in (21.8m to 22.5m) and powered by Rolls-Royce engines, were launched through to 1965.

By the mid-1960s, Riva knew that he would sooner or later have to evolve his sports boat range using glassfibre. American competition was becoming too strong. At the Genoa Boat Show in 1966, his stand had a huge model of the futuristic new buildings that would house the assembly of a new era of Rivas.

Reference models purchased from two yards in Miami were put to the test. “I was amazed by the poor quality of the Magnum, so I used an axe to break up the interior and redo everything in a style worthy of my firm. I also wrote to [builder Don] Aronow to tell him

‘I was convinced that there would soon be a market here for high quality and very safe boats’

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 63

INTERvIEw CArlo rIVA

Above: Carlo, aged 90, at the wheel of a Riva Aquarama, with his futuristic 1953 boatyard in the background Below: Carlo aged 3 on Lake Iseo

my thoughts; it almost all went wrong.”

In 1969, Italy suffered a violent new social movement which was to change Riva’s destiny. Carlo has a great capacity for empathy towards those for whom he is responsible. But he does not tolerate what he believes to be betrayal. When his 250 well-paid workers went on strike under pressure from local unionists, his reaction was sharp. At the time, the American company Whittaker, owner of Bertram of which Riva began to produce two models, was proposing to take a small equity stake. Disgusted with the attitude of the unions, Riva told the Americans, “It’s all or nothing”. Two weeks later, the Riva yard came under American control.

The business changed hands several times (including a decade of British ownership with Vickers), before it returned to the Italian flag in 2000 as part of the Ferretti group. In 2012, control of Ferretti passed to the Chinese state-owned Shandong Heavy Industry Group in a move which it is hoped will end periodic lay-offs and introduce a new era of stability for the 200 workers at the Sarnico yard.

As for Carlo, after building more than 4,000 boats in less than 20 years, he set up the Carlo Riva Yachting Corporation in 1971 for the design and construction of large yachts. He also retained ownership of the Boat Service group which employs about 100 people, selling and servicing boats from the most prestigious brands

64 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

– including Riva. Their most important location is Monaco, but there are branches on the French Riviera at Cannes and St Tropez. In Italy, there is of course RAM in Sarnico – and Porto Carlo Riva in Rapallo.

Battles over the marina

This marina, built on the model of Port Canto in Cannes and completed in 1975, was the very first private marina in Italy. Carlo modestly admits, “I did not want to give it my name but Pierre Canto told me that it was essential to gain the confidence of the clients.”

Today, it is the fate of his marina that most preoccupies Carlo. Its building required some heroic battles with local authorities, and now a retroactive tax system is threatening to strangle the company. Carlo fights tirelessly against administrative dogmatism, but this is, undoubtedly, the worst storm that he has had to face throughout his career. So when we talk with him about his next vacation, he makes a wry face: “That’s what the doctor keeps telling me, but he has no idea what it is to create a business and especially to defend it against the ignorance of bureaucrats.”

Achievements honoured

Carlo’s exceptional achievements were honoured in 2012 when Italy’s President Napolitano formalised a new national educational programme in tribute to the excellence of Italian style in the applied arts and design, with Carlo sitting prominently alongside such other living symbols as the master jeweller Buccellati and the famous textile designer Missoni.

Carlo, 91, continues to come and work every day at his office in the Carlo Riva Yachting Corp. He finds some time to answer the many letters from all over the world with emotional testimonies from grateful Riva owners.

He also keeps an eye on what is going on next door at RAM. A small connecting door allows direct access to its vast hangars full of varnished mahogany wonders, and the restoration workshops themselves. A way, perhaps, to measure the long and successful path made since 1953, paved with hard work, optimism and love for things done right at the right moment.

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NEW YACHT RÙM

FUSION YACHTING

A radical classic? We look at the successes and setbacks of a controversial new design sToRY RON ValeNt PHoToGRAPHs NIGel PeRt

E

veryone present will remember this magical moment for the rest of their lives.

During the feeder race from Cannes to Saint Tropez, the mighty J-Class Shamrock V slowly bore down on a cluster of smaller yachts from an earlier start. Just as she was about to overtake them, one of the gaff-rigged yachts managed to break free from the others and, unbelievably, paced Shamrock – 80ft (24.4m) longer – boat for boat, for several minutes.

On Shamrock her 35 crew started trimming to rid her of this tiny challenger. On the small boat her five crew did the same and astonishingly, she pulled away and slowly but very steadily sailed off leaving Shamrock and her amazed crew in her wake. I doubt if they will ever forget the name on her stern: RùM. All the top naval architects of the world are currently competing for the purses of wealthy clients, not in the lucrative mega-yacht market but with expensive daysailers that combine classic looks (but bermudan rig) with modern materials.

Joining the fray with a striking vessel is a young Dutch designer who approached the concept from a different perspective to most. A high-tech design but with a simple finish, gaff rig, wooden masts, wooden blocks, narrow-panelled, classically-cut Dacron sails, manual winches – and no interior. A true daysailer.

Meet the D&D 43 RùM, a fusion yacht that brings the style of the past and the technology of the present together and does so extremely well. D&D (ignore the ampersand) stands for Danel Design and she is a 43-footer. Oh, and RùM is not the naval alcoholic refreshment but an island on the Scottish west coast.

This is Theo Danel’s first launched design and from the start he realised that if you want to cause a ripple in the sleepy classic boat scene, you have to come up with something new, exciting but at the same time familiar. The result is RùM, a yacht that looks like a replica of a design from one of the Rater Rules of the late 19th century.

66 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

an 8-Metre on steroids?

Amazingly Danel has succeeded beyond expectation in all aspects of his design brief. She certainly looks like a classic. Many people, and not just dockside punters but experienced yachtsmen as well, have asked if she is a gaff-rigged International 8-Metre, albeit one that received an overdose of steroids at her birth. Lying alongside the beautiful Bjarne Aas-designed 8-Metre Anne Sophie in Saint Tropez, RùM looked of a kind.

An added challenge for Danel was that she should be easy to transport. This was addressed by keeping her length down to 43ft (13.1m), which fits nicely into a pallet container that can easily be shipped to any location in the world with a dock, while her gaff rig keeps the spar lengths inside those measurements as well. Her 2½-tonne fin keel is attached by a single bolt and, when removed, the complete hull becomes an easy-to-handle, lightweight, slightly oversized canoe.

When RùM showed up in France this year for the Régates Royales and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the event organisers didn’t really know what to make of the boat or where to put her, so she ended up in the Spirit of Tradition class.

The reactions of fellow yachtsmen in the classic fleet, though, were the best compliments Danel could have hoped for. In Cannes after the racing, experienced professionals who had seen her out on the water earlier trotted to the dock in droves to admire her and were unanimous in their judgement: “In the bay she looked like an old design; it’s only up close you can see she is new! They should let her race with the classics!”

Asked about his influences when designing this yacht, Danel said: “If any it would be the Godinet Rule from 1892. Basically, it was an ideal formula for designers as you really had total freedom to draw a beautiful yacht – there were few limitations in the hull form.”

The Godinet Rule produced a series of very fast yachts of which two still exist: the 5-tonner Bona Fide designed

by Sibbick and built in Cowes in 1898, and the 3-tonner Phoebus II. Bona Fide won the gold medal in her class at

Mallorica

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 67

NEW YACHT RÙM

Above: The view of RùM which startled the crew of Shamrock V Right: First trials on the IJsselmeer

the Paris Olympics in 1900 and since her restoration in 2003 has cleaned up in the Med. Danel has plugged RùM’s specifications into the Godinet Formula and she actually comes out as a 5-tonner like Bona Fide.

Danel adds that he was also inspired by the Swedish Skerry cruisers, which he always admired for their simplicity and light construction in combination with their pure speed. His years of racing in Metre Class yachts will explain RùM’s narrow beam and slab-sided hull. Lastly he mentions the traditional Dutch racing Lemsteraken – heavy displacement craft but with their flat bottoms and easy lines they are remarkably fast and close-winded.

RùM is built in composites with a foam-cored sandwich hull, which makes her light but also incredibly strong. Her spars are not of the expensive and light Sitka spruce but of Oregon pine. All part of Danel’s ‘keep it simple and keep it affordable’ philosophy that is also apparent in the foam-core, painted deck, stainless steel deck fittings, and the fact that the whole yacht can be taken apart and made ready for transport in an afternoon’s work.

Moments of blistering speed

Sailing in Cannes was a steep learning curve for Danel and his crew. Designed specifically for

68 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

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Norfolk Smuggler 25

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NEW YACHT RÙM relatively light Mediterranean sailing, and having only had three days of sailing on the IJsselmeer in 5-knot breezes before she was shipped there, the week of the Régates Royales was a major challenge.

Not only were Theo Danel and myself the only crew who had been on board before, the winds averaged 15 knots with gusts of over 30 knots and heavy showers on two of the days, with all racing cancelled on the last day. After five days we concluded that the biggest reef was too small and the smallest jib too big.

A problem that is easily fixed. But we had also experienced moments of blistering speed when we flew downwind at 13 knots and surfed like a planing dinghy. Whenever the wind dropped, she took off and showed her true potential.

no class to race in

Saint-Tropez offered RùM the conditions she was designed for but there was no class for her to race in.

Danel and his stylishly attired crew followed the classics around the Bay of Saint Tropez, pacing them wherever possible without interfering with their racing. At the end of the week he had proved his point.

RùM is beautiful, blisteringly fast, fun and easy to sail and above all a yacht that blends in with the classics and somehow should find a place there.

Sadly, RùM is probably never going to race in Saint Tropez as the organisers have dropped the Spirit of Tradition class. Danel asked to participate with the classics with a highly penalised CIM rating. This had the blessing of a large number of owners and skippers, but the race committee were unwilling to allow it.

When Theo Danel heard that the Fife cutter Iona on which he had been skipper for 13 years wasn’t going to be present either, he boldly parked RùM in her reserved spot in front of the Capitainerie and so managed to slip into the event after all. A fact the organisers only caught on to after the regatta was over and were extremely displeased about. French sense of humour obviously can’t handle Dutch cheekiness.

But is she a true classic? Naval architect Jack Gifford, owner of a centenarian Rater design, crewed on RùM in Cannes. “She is unique, very original, very individual. She really fitted in with the regatta quite nicely, but at the same time wasn’t like any of the other boats that were there. The rig is key to that effect. It really feels as if you are sailing a classic. In that respect the concept is a success. Her hull shape actually isn’t that unusual. Fin and bulb raters have been around for a long time and RùM is simply a modern interpretation of the type. She feels classic.”

Surprisingly, a lot of people at the regattas felt that if RùM had been built in wood and coated in epoxy for ease of maintenance, she would and should have been seen as a classic. But as Danel chose cost-efficient foam-core for her construction she was seen as a Spirit of Tradition or even a purely modern yacht. So, ironically, it is not the design that has made her controversial but her foam-cored hull!

Perhaps it is time to rethink the CIM measurement system. The classic scene is best served with growth and exciting, new boats to stir the imagination of press and public; whether the design is 100 years old or brand new is possibly irrelevant.

RùM DesigneR

Theo Danel BuilDeR

Jachtbouw Vels, Medemblik, Holland LOA

43ft 2in (13.2m) WateRline length

31ft 3in (9.5m) BeaM

7ft 5in (2.3m) DRaught

8ft 6in (2.6m) sail aRea

1,302sqft (121m2) DisplaceMent

9,612 lb (4,360kg)

Left and far left: Oregon pine for the spars and stainless-steel fittings

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BALEARIC BEAUTY The rugged north Mallorcan coast is a World Heritage Site and offers some spectacular unspoilt cruising for sailors SToRY DAN HOUSTON PHoToGRAPHS EMILY HARRIS

72 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

CRUISINGMallorica Mallorca

T

he thought of diving into crystal blue water in early May was a deciding factor, plus the offer of a boat from which to do it. We would be sailing Mallorca’s iron-bound northern coast – most often cruised, at a dash it would seem, in one hit by yachtsmen keen to get around the northeastern headland of Formentor. Not only that, we would be doing it in the 1934 ketch Kilena – one of the wooden boats run for charter by Old Salt.

The north coast has a forbidding look – steep wooded mountains plunge from heights of 4,590ft (1,400m) into the wine dark sea; in a blow, which will mostly arrive from the north or northwest, the coast becomes a potentially dangerous lee shore with many of its anchorages exposed. The winds, called the Tramontana, can famously arrive with little warning and blow for days – though we found local forecasting was spot on. But such gales are unusual in summer and the coast offers sights and scenes that are unspoilt and rare compared to the rest of the island. There are many little bays, or calas, offering good anchorages and the beautiful area, as part of the Tramuntana mountain range, was awarded Unesco’s World Heritage status in 2011, which protects it from the kind of building boom that has affected some of the rest of the island.

Most sailing in Mallorca, the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands, happens out of the port of Palma, a large natural harbour on the southwest coast. From there it would take a day at least to sail around to the first spectacular anchorage of the north coast. The peninsula of Foradada is an amazing-looking, boot-shaped promontory with a gorgeous natural bay and landing stage. This is close to Son Marroig – the house, and now museum, of Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (1847-1915) who bought it after falling for the beauty of the local scenery.

The house also hosts the Deià International Music Festival in May. Deià is the village frequented by musicians and artists who come for the scenery and a completely different kind of Mallorcan holiday. But you can only get to Foradada by boat or by foot, so it’s even more off the beaten track. There is a paella restaurant here where the dish is cooked over open fires. The local prawns – said to be the pinkest in the Mediterranean - are a local foodie treat. When some smart-trousered Americans pass through we learn it was Diandra, Michael Douglas’ ex-wife, who still shares a property with the actor on the cliff nearby.

EMILY HARRIS

a grave of graves

There are anchorages on either side of Foradada – the eastern being Cala Deià where there is good holding in sand and rock in 4m–6m of water. From here a small beach and landing stage lead up to Deià (or Deya to us English) and there are restaurants near the water. A good little climb from here would be through the village and up to the 15th century Church of Sant Joan Baptista, where the writer Robert Graves was buried in 1985. We can’t work out why his wife

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 73

CRUISING Mallorca even in a slight swell the concrete stage is a little bumpy. There is a hermit here in the one house; the place is backed by the mountain but he wasn’t home.

It feels like it does not get many visitors.

Bouldering in a land of boulders

The two next calas, Tuent and Calobra have habitation and there are restaurants. Calobra is the more spectacular of the two with a huge gully, the Torrente De Pareis, running down to a sandy beach. There is good holding in 5m to 10m over sand and stones. The wide gully leads into the mountains and there are water torrents during winter months. There is a freshwater lagoon near the beach – full of frogs when we were there. Climbers will love the bouldering in this area. Swimming is excellent, though we were on the watch for jellyfish. These purple and pink parasol-like creatures are beautiful to see but not too good to swim into. Luckily the water is clear and you can see them, but it makes a fast crawl to the shore a dodgy undertaking, since they have 2m-long trailing translucent stinging tentacles!

We don’t stop at the next cala – Codolar, two miles to the east of Calobra; the next part of the coast is quite barren, though there are caves a mile east of Codolar, which you can row a dinghy into (ideal for a cool down on a hot day, apparently).

Our next stop is Cala Castell with a beach of white pebbles and a track up to Castillo del Rey, a fortress built on a rocky outcrop 1,608ft (490m) above sea level and site of a 14th-century seige when the last king of Mallorca, Jaime III, was ousted by Peter IV of Aragon.

This is a deserted anchorage with holding over rock (or sand closer to the beach) in 3m of water. There is one house at the beach and a winding track inland. With a

DAN HOUSTON

EMILY HARRIS

DAN HOUSTON

Beryl was buried on the opposite side of the churchyard... but the views from here are spectacular.

The main port on this coast, and the berth place for the boats of Old Salt Classic Sailing Charters, is Sóller.

A largish natural harbour with marina and moorings, it’s also the main city on this coast, although the city proper is set back from the port, originally to protect itself from pirate raids, and charmingly connected by an ancient tram service dating from 1913 – The Orange Express, about 10 minutes into the hinterland through orange and lemon groves. There is also a train from here to Palma dating from a year earlier, which runs through the mountains. But since a toll tunnel was built a few years ago the connection to Palma Airport was reduced to 25 minutes or so and avoids the more scenic route over the mountain road with its 57 hairpin bends!

It’s well worth spending some time in Sóller and some of its surrounding villages are captivating. Six kilometres (3½ miles) to the east, Fornalutx sits at the head of the valley and is one of those Spanish hill villages that time has not touched. The area is popular for hiking and we meet groups of retirement-age Germans taking a late spring break.

But it’s time to get back to the ship and start heading east. Our next anchorage – we spent a whole week on the hook and did not pay any marina fees – is a charming spot called Ens Sa Costera, where there is a small waterfall, two actually, with shelter from the northwest behind Punta Cala Rotja. This is the site of an old hydroelectric power station and we swam in the holding pool, which is still full of fresh clear water just a few feet climb from the landing stage. We take big fenders for the dinghy though –

74 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Clockwise from far left: The entrance to Sóller is well lit; beach at Formentor showing patches of weed; the old hydro pool where we swam in seclusion; our little clinker sailing dinghy Muffin in the bay of Pollença.

We towed her behind and could rig her to sail in 15 minutes or so

MALLORICA

Above: Cala Murta was peaceful and sheltered on all sides. We had a lot of jellyfish for company in here

good breeze we explored it in the dinghy and swimming (no jellies!) from the beach.

There is more happening at the next anchorage, Cala de San Vicente, which is backed by holiday apartments, restaurants and cafés. We anchor in 9m of crystal clear water – we can see the anchor chain running out all the way to the anchor (in sand) and dive into the cool azure sea. There are local fish here, a type of bream called oblada, which seem fairly abundant. A friend told me we should troll for fish if we were going offshore, tuna and bonito being a good catch. But we stay a bit too coastal to really try for that.

The two remaining calas on this north coast are the deserted Vall de Boca with a stony beach and track over the hills to the town of Pollença; Figuera is just 1.6nM west of Cap de Formentor, again with a little beach. With any east in the wind, all these calas are exposed but they do offer some protection from a northwesterly wind, and sea breezes don’t create enough swell to disrupt their anchorage. There is protection from northerlies just around the headland of Formentor, and into the bays of Pollença and Alcudia. Happily this and other headlands are benign features due to lack of tide.

Pollença is a harbour and marina protected by the Punta de Avanzada. It offers a huge anchorage that you

LOCAL INFORMATION LOCAL CHARTS AND PILOTAGE Paper charts Imray: Islas Baleares (M3 series) UKHO: AC1703 Pilot books/guides The Admiralty Mediterranean Pilot Volume 1 (NP45); Imray’s Islas Baleares by Graham Hutt for the RCC Pilotage Foundation Digital charts Navionics: Marine Europe

Sóller Marina Tel: +34 971 63 13 26 Pollença Tel: +34 971 86 46 35/ VHF Ch9 Weather (Mallorca) VHF Ch10 (announced first on Ch16) 0835, 1135, 1635, 2135 Water and showers Drink bottled;water is not normally free and etiquette is to be sparing.

Most marinas have showers – free to berth-holders or for a small fee.

The route

Start

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 75

Mallorica

Clockwise from top: The fleet off its home port of Sóller; if you are cruising on the anchor you need a substantial dinghy; diving into crystal clear water at Cala de San Vicente

76 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

EMILY HARRIS

DAN HOUSTON

EMILY HARRIS

CRUISING Mallorca

share with the fire-busting seaplanes whose base is on the western side of the Avanzada peninsula. There’s a house here, La Fortaleza, which is said to be Spain’s most expensive property, owned by a British banker (naturally).

Pollença has supermarkets and restaurants and there is good holding in 7m to 10m, roughly five cables from the jetty. We left the dinghy there without locking anything up, safely nestled among other tenders and the boats of local friendly boatmen. The marina, built out into the bay, looked quite busy even this eagerly into the season – there are 375 berths according to the pilot book but it is quite shallow with just 2.1m in the entrance.

The calas on the south of the jutting headland of Formentor are again in clear water and the two near the cape are deserted. We anchored for a night in Cala Murta in 5m over sand. The practice is to always pick up a mooring when staying at a cala – but in early May we found none had been put down yet. If you do anchor it’s a good idea to jill around for a while to find a good spot over sand – you can see what you are doing because the water is so clear. Drop the hook on

sand rather than the darker patches of weed. This is likely to be the slow-growing posidonia – a type of seagrass that is vital to the ecosystem but which is also under threat from anchoring.

In Cala Murta we witness some jellyfish spawning, which is a very rare sight and has a slightly electrifying effect on the air. However, it means no swimming even though by next morning the water looks clear. Some hikers appear in the trees and there are paths around the coast and through the woods here.

We also visit the calas of Engossaubas, just south of the cape, deserted and beautiful with high cliffs all around, and en Feliu, a tiny cala with a deserted beach.

You can have too much of deserted calas though, so in search of ice cream we anchor in the Cala Formentor, where there are a couple of beach restaurants and one of Mallorca’s oldest hotels – the Barceló Formentor, built in 1929. Sadly it’s not open to non-residents. The beach here is sandy, though, and walking inland reveals pretty forest scenery. The north coast, just a mile on the other side of this rocky peninsula seems so different to this more lush setting with its protected feel. We relax on board reading books or gazing at goats clinging to rock faces. We learn how local fishermen would shoot one down to pick it out of the water as a welcome change of diet.

Getting back in one hop

All too soon the time has flown by and we must make our plans to return to Sóller. Because we’ve taken our time getting along the coast and exploring the calas by boat and on foot it feels odd to look at the chart and realise it’s just 30nM or so home. Our last day dawns calm with a latent swell of the easterly F5 from the day before.

So it’s on with the engine.

Off Punta Beca we see our first dolphin, who stays with us a few minutes; it often seems symbolic when this happens, as if he’s saying goodbye; good luck.

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THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 77

INTERVIEW FRANCIS JOYON

THE MAGICIAN Francis Joyon decimated the transatlantic solo record on his red trimaran Idec 2, crossing in just under five days and three hours. The French master of speed is notoriously camera shy, so we caught up with some of his friends and colleagues sToRY LOUAY HABIB

78 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Mallorica

photo: Jacques VapILLon/dppI

Joyon sailing his first record breaking tri, IDEC

F

ive days from New York to the Lizard – that’s faster than many cruise ships cross the Atlantic. Yet one man completed the crossing solo, on a giant trimaran, at an average speed of 26.2 knots. Sailing 2,865 miles in just five days, two hours and 10 seconds, Francis Joyon annihilated the previous time set by Thomas Coville in 2008 by more than 16 hours.

Now 57, Joyon is without doubt one of the most legendary solo sailors of all time, with the unique accomplishment of holding the greatest records of singlehanded sailing at the same time: the 24-hour distance record, the Atlantic record east to west, and the quickest solo round the world. On June 16, 2013, he completed his historic ‘grand slam’ of solo sailing by powering across the Atlantic west to east in just over five days.

During an incredible sailing career, Joyon has also courted controversy. In 2004, he smashed the solo round the world record by an astonishing 20 days, which was only one day slower than the fully crewed record. He achieved this in a 10-year-old boat with no weather routing.

This was typical of his fiercely independent streak – he has only the minimum of shore crew (if any) and rarely gives interviews, even to French media. After a previous attempt at breaking the west to east transatlantic record in 2011 ended prematurely, Joyon turned back and picked up a mooring under sail – still singlehanded – by jumping into the water with a mooring line to secure the boat to the buoy.

He then dived under the boat repeatedly, to replace the propeller, before motoring back into the confines of Brooklyn Marina, where he moored the giant boat singlehanded. There are few other skippers, especially of his age, that would have the drive and determination to remain so single-mindedly self-sufficient when help from shore crew could easily be mustered.

However, Joyon’s legendary independence has also hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. In 2005, after a record run across the Atlantic, he was sailing the

trimaran home to France alone, having refused help to sail across the English Channel. At a critical moment, whilst totally exhausted, he fell asleep and the boat continued on autopilot. Idec ran aground on the Breton coast, the €4m trimaran was wrecked and Joyon was lucky to escape with his life.

Building the record run

In May 2006, Joyon announced that he was building a new multihull, to be called Idec 2, designed by Nigel Irens and Benoît Cabaret. His new boat would be designed for solo sailing, unlike the original Idec, and would weigh in at 11 tons - one third less than the original with a 10 per cent greater sail area.

Nigel Irens explains: “Idec 2 was really made to break the circumnavigation record, and unlike other modern racing trimarans, it is designed for just one man.

Other modern racing machines such as Banque Populaire V and the MOD 70s are designed to be raced with a crew.

“Idec 2 was built to be sailed with two hulls in the water and not one. The previous generation of ORMA 60s used to suffer when they were not flying both hulls because the main hull was quite rounded in profile to fit into the ORMA 60 box rule. So those hulls had a nasty tendency to be sucked downwards at high speed – causing the bows to get buried, slowing the boat down and potentially pitch-poling. Idec 2 has a longer main hull, partly for longitudinal stability and partly so that the rocker produced less drag. In an ideal world, we would have put more forward bow on the boat, but structurally it wouldn’t work.”

The new boat was anticipated to be capable of taking three days off the existing circumnavigation record.

On November 23, 2007 Joyon set off on his solo round the world record bid, returning on the 20 January having completed the circumnavigation in just 57 days, 13 hours – nearly two weeks faster than the previous record. It is regarded as one of the most impressive sailing feats in modern history and likely to prove very hard to beat.”

photo: Mark LLoyd/dppI

‘‘Joyon is a truly gifted multihull sailor, physically and mentally very strong’

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 79

photo: JeaN-MarIe LIot/DppI/IDeC*

INTERVIEW FRANCIS JOYON

Above: Idec 2 measures 97ft 5in (29.7m) overall; designer Nigel Irens says the greatest challenge was to meet Joyon’s demands for simplicity

Francis Joyon started off with no foils at all but he now has a minuscule pair. His budget was so small he had to content himself with foils that were just 1.2m2 (13sqft), whereas boats like Thomas Coville’s Sodebo had 2m2 (22sqft) of foil. “His smaller foils are lighter and perhaps that has had a great effect,” Irens added.

“Idec 2 is going faster than she should do. When we were building the boat, irrespective of who was sailing it, according to our VPP analysis it was not capable of sustaining an average of over 26 knots for five days, and that is intriguing for me. Averages are funny things, usually they are never quite as high as you think they are going to be, but in this case, Francis has achieved an incredible average speed. He is extraordinary, he just keeps the pressure on.”

Superhuman powers

Speaking after this latest solo record run across the Atlantic, Irens said that Joyon had set off in conditions that no one else would have left in. Many meteorologists had declared that the conditions were not right for a record attempt. But Jean-Yves Bernot, Joyon’s own weather router, disagreed.

“Yet again, he was right and everyone else was wrong.

At the end of the run, the little tiny depression that he was surfing on made the record. I kept looking at the map, thinking he will sail out of the front of that and be dropped by it, but the depression just moved at the right speed to keep him on the front edge.

“The truth is that the man seems to be able to stay on the edge for as long as he wants. He hand steers for an awfully long time and he just seems to be bloody superman! I don’t know how he does it, I really don’t. You have got to throw away the rule book when you think about Francis Joyon. He is

80 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

physically very strong but his accomplishments take much more than just physical strength.”

Idec 2 was behind Sodebo’s record for much of the time, but Joyon made up time at the end. The weakest point of the previous record was the finish, when Thomas Colville had to sail more slowly upwind as he approached land. But that was only part of it, according to Irens: “Francis is an absolute minimalist. Every time he says he doesn’t want to have something, he is saving weight and maybe that is a big issue in his amazing speed. What he takes with him is almost ridiculous; if you didn’t know how successful he has been you would have thought he was a joke entry.”

Brian Thompson, who has himself set 25 official world sailing records over the last 20 years, also admires Joyon’s single-minded approach. “Joyon is a hero of mine. I remember him in the 2001 OSTAR, competing in an old boat with no shore crew. The night before the race he had hoisted himself up to the top of his rig on his own and was working with power tools and carbon patches and resin, repairing the rig.

At the start of the race, he was just blown away by the big budget entries but guess who won in the end? I remember he didn’t even have someone to buy his food: he literally asked someone on the dock to go up to the supermarket the day before the race!

“Joyon is a truly gifted multihull sailor – physically and mentally very strong with really good seamanship skills and that is why he can push so hard for so long. He is unique in that he doesn’t need or want a big team, he really wants to do it on his own. Legendary French sailors like Tabarly and Desjoyeaux are often thought of as enigmatic; Joyon is super-individualistic and because of that he has total control. For me he is up there with the greats; his records are astonishing.”

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FASTNET

82 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

KuRT ARRIGo/RolEx*

Right: Spindrift’s crew celebrate after winning line honours in 39 hours

FASTNET FIRSTS

This year’s Rolex Fastnet Race saw talent, tactics and tenacity rewarded. Here are two amazing stories from the epic offshore across the Celtic Sea SToRY HELEN FRETTER

KuRT ARRIGo/RolEx*

T Left: Spindrift 2 powers her way around the Fastnet Rock on her way to line honours in the race

he finish of the Rolex Fastnet Race is always the scene of remarkable achievements, but this year, for the first time in the event’s 88-year history, a doublehanded team won overall.

A record entry of 336 yachts set out from Cowes on August 11, 2013, racing past Land’s End to Fastnet Rock in the Irish Sea, before returning past the Scilly Isles to Plymouth. Line honours for the first boat home went to the 130ft (39.6m) trimaran Spindrift 2 in just under 39 hours (and first monohull to the 100ft/30.5m Maxi Esimit Europa 2 in 60 hours). But the father and son team of Pascal and Alexis Loison completed the 611-mile course in three days and 18 hours with their JPK 1010 Night and Day to take the overall IRC trophy on corrected time.

The Loisons won the Fastnet on only their second attempt – they previously competed in 2005, sailing a J/105, when they won the doublehanded division.

Alexis Loison joked: “Maybe it wasn’t expected at the start, but no one told us it couldn’t be done, so we did it! Before setting off my father asked me what I wanted and I said, joking, that a Rolex wouldn’t be bad!”

The result might have been an event first, but is far from a fluke: 29-year-old Alexis finished ninth in this year’s La Solitaire du Figaro, while his father Pascal is

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 83

conception, rĂŠalisation Festival maritimev de Douarnenez. Photo : Jacques Vapillon 2010

an experienced offshore racer in his own right. They have only owned their 33-footer since February, but in that time have won every race they entered, including July’s Channel Race overall – again sailing doublehanded against a fleet of fully-crewed yachts.

Pascal Loison explains: “It is like a dream to have won it, but of course we have spent a lot of time preparing. I can’t even begin to count how many times we competed in RORC races; together or not together, we have done a load of them. We know the playing field: the Channel, the Irish Sea. “We are super happy and I think it is great that we have done it doublehanded, because, over the past few years, the solo offshore races that we have participated in have enabled short-handed crews to be as competitive as larger crews, but we are as surprised as anyone else. We know that all the progress with autopilots etc has made things easier, but at the end of the day it is all down to hard work.”

Their JPK 1010 has been optimised for doublehanded sailing with twin rudders, a carbon mast, transverse genoa tracks, and a combination of symmetric spinnakers and medium-airs asymmetric spinnaker flown from a fixed tack point, rather than the bowsprit.

“The wind was never very strong this year, but there were some passages at more than 20 knots, when a ‘ballast crew’ would have been very helpful to keep the boat under spinnaker, notably the afternoon when we were approaching the Fastnet and the following day

DAvID HARDING/SAIlING SCENES

KuRT ARRIGo/RolEx

FASTNET

between the Fastnet and the Scilly Isles, not to mention the very beginning of the race when we were tacking in medium winds. All [these] periods didn’t really favour us, but we weren’t too penalised thanks to our choice of sails,” explains Pascal.

Nevertheless, their overall win is not simply down to having a well-rated boat – their nearest rival was another JPK 1010, the very successful Foggy Dew, which was racing fully crewed, yet beaten by 20 minutes on corrected time by the Loisons.

“Unlike Foggy Dew, because we are two-handed we have two rudders – I think that compensated for the lack of crew in reaching winds and crosswinds under

Top: With a record entry this year, the Needles Channel became thick with boats short tacking towards the west Above: Night and Day, overall winners of the race

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 85

FASTNET

WINNING tactIcs

Pro ocean racer Wouter Verbraak navigated Magnum III to Class 1 victory in the Fastnet; we find out more about their winning strategy from him and owner Andrew Pearce

spinnaker. On the other hand, it is obvious that going downwind at the end of the race, we were going at least as quickly with a reduced crew as we would have done with a full crew,” said Pascal.

The two boats ended up having a tactical battle on the final approach to Plymouth. “Effectively on arrival between Lizard Point and Plymouth, we watched what Foggy Dew were doing on the AIS. This enables you to observe a little bit even at night and when there isn’t much visibility. We would not necessarily have done this but we ‘tiré les bords’ [pushed the edges] to get to the finish line.

86 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

speed, because the boats are so alike.”

This year crossing the Irish Sea was made more challenging by a change to the race rules which deemed the Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS) off Land’s End, Fastnet Rock and Bishop Rock ‘no-go’ areas. For the outward leg this had little impact on the Class 1 fleet.

“The long leg to the Fastnet Rock is where you have to switch gears from coastal sailing to open ocean strategy,” explains Wouter. “With a high pressure ridge to cross, and a warm front approaching, there was plenty to get my head around. We played the game well, going right for more pressure first, then crossing over to the west for the shift and footing hard to set up for lifting winds. We

IAN KIRK

I

RC Class 1 was an international affair for this year’s Fastnet, with Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Ireland and Italy all represented among the first dozen boats.

This year’s Magnum crew included four members of the Keelboat Academy, along with tactician Mike Richards, while pro racer Wouter Verbraak rejoined the team.

At the start Magnum, along with the other Ker 40s and the Ker 39 Inis Mor, all opted for the Island shore, which was followed by a close-tacking leg out of the Solent. Wouter recalls: “Out of the Solent, [it was] a classic beat along the south coast. I love this beat, it’s always a slightly different mix of tides and wind shifts. What worked well last time, isn’t necessarily a winner the next time.”

By Start Point, Magnum was behind her rival Ker 40s. “After playing the current well at Anvil Point, we were in the top with the Italians at Portland,” explains Wouter, “After Portland however we knew that there was a front coming with a right-hand shift from west to northwest. As the front approached, we crossed it, whereas [Ker 40s] Baraka and Hooligan tacked ahead of it. The shift came, and it was looking good for us, but later in the night we got light winds under the cliffs of Start Point, and the other Ker 40s sailed past us offshore.”

Owner, Andrew Pearce takes up the tale: “At Portland we got the tidal gate there beautifully. At the Scillies, the tide was definitely against us, because that’s where we used the shelter of the islands to more advantage than the others. We went in closer and that’s where we got past the others – we’re never going to pass on boat

made big gains, from last to first with a substantial lead at the Fastnet Rock.”

After rounding the iconic lighthouse the TSS zones once again became a factor, and here Magnum was able to really tip the balance in its favour. “At that stage Wouter was telling us that going west of the TSS would give us an 11-minute gain, so that was our game plan,” Pearce recalls. However, shortly after rounding the Pantaenius mark, Verbraak spotted a right shift and a lastminute decision was made to take the northeasterly route instead.

“We popped the A0 and blasted it,” says Pearce. “We saw 18 knots at one stage, we were just hanging on. It wasn’t gale-force conditions, but it seemed very fast.”

“The firehose went on, and we drove right on the edge all through the night,” adds Wouter. “The bow was barely visible.”

As the next morning dawned the team realised they were one of the few boats to take the northerly option round the Scillies, which had gained them an incredible 10-mile lead, putting them top of Class 1 and in contention for the overall lead.

Many Fastnet races have been won and lost on the final approach to Plymouth, but Pearce says that despite being extremely tired after a hard night’s racing the crew’s focus didn’t slip. “We were getting feedback all the time on how we were doing, so we just kept driving the boat hard – even that last mile into Plymouth, the guys were still hiking and working every surf like the beginning of a Solent race.”

Magnum III crossed the line two hours ahead of the nearest Ker 40, taking the Class 1 win overall by 45 minutes.

“Each time he went to one side, we kept close because we thought it was dangerous to lose sight of them. We knew it was between them and us – we know him well, and we know he is experienced and our ‘best enemy’.’’

While Pascal took the role of skipper, the pair shared duties evenly. “We are both used to being the boss on our race boats. When we sail together, we jointly make all the decisions about the route, the weather, the choice of sails, and the discussion is always enriching.

“As regards fatigue, we didn’t have any particular worries. Alexis is used to solo sailing, for him racing two-handed is almost a holiday!”

Above: The Ker 40 Magnum lll on her way to victory in IRC Class 1. She finished the race in sixth overall

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With a global network of offices, Peters & May provides worldwide racing logistics to many of the premier race teams and event organisers, transporting entire sailing and powerboat campaigns around the globe.

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• • • • • • •

Experienced Racing Logistics Department Urgent airfreight and sourcing Container purchase and fit out Dangerous Goods shipments Mast transport Consolidation in bonded warehouse Customs clearance and VAT advice

World leading global boat transport Contact us for more information

+44 (0) 2380 480 500

racinglogistics@petersandmay.com

www.petersandmay.com JAMES LAWRENCE SAILMAKERS LTD BESPOKE SAILMAKERS 22-28 Tower Street, Brightlingsea, Essex CO7 0AL Tel: 01206 302863 • Fax: 01206 305858 Email: mark@gaffguru.com or lawrencesails@btconnect.com

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 87

TOP BOATS Our picks of the year’s most impressive new boats, plus our favourite recent launches FROM THE EDITORS OF ClassiC Boat, sailing today and yaChts & yaChting

Kite From £25,500 Wolstenholme trailer sailer The Kite class is not only one of the prettier traditional trailer sailers out there – but one of the quicker ones too. She’s designed by Andrew Wolstenholme, one of Britain’s leading yacht designers, and the first was built by Thames boatbuilder Colin Henwood. Dick Phillips of Willow Bay Boats has now built one and is offering new builds. She is a single-chined gaff-rigged centreboarder with a small two-berth cabin, a good-sized cockpit and light carbon spars.

LOA 21ft (6.4m); draught 10in (25cm); all-up weight 1,650lb (750kg) www.wolstenholmedesign.com

allures 39.9 c£260,000 From bluewater to beach-hopping Aluminium boats usually don’t need strengthening bulkheads below, giving much greater flexibility with the layout. The French builder uses detailed 3D computer modelling that allows buyers to make their own spec. She has a large cockpit for a 40-footer, with good twin-helming positions that allow excellent forward vision. The deck is in GRP and there is a gantry over the bathing platform for renewables. Goes at up to 9 knots.

LOA 41ft 6in (12.7m); beam 13ft 7in (4.2m); draught 3ft 6in-9ft (1.1-2.8m) www.williamsandsmithells.com; www.allures.fr

88 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Hydroptère Rocket The next generation launching 2014 The latest chapter in this Hydroptere story, following the amazing 50.17-knot average speed record over one nautical mile set by Hydroptère in 2009, is about to unfold.

Details are sketchy at the moment, but we know it’s a three-year project that will see the first prototype launched in spring 2014, with an incredible target speed of 100 knots.

Newly V a ailable ON THe MaRKeT

Rainbow €17,000,000

Stunning J-Class

Premier 45 £570,000 Composite flagship - with bling The Premier 45 is the flagship of a small but diverse range of yachts built in Dubai by Premier Composite Technologies. She’s an advanced glassfibre/carbon vessel designed for speed with a surprising dash of comfort below. Her sleek look, flush deck and roomy, open cockpit by naval architects Bottin/ Carkeek owes something to Premier’s work on the Farr 400. She looks fast, but can be handled solo, and offers simple, stylish accommodation below.

LOA 45ft (13.7m); beam 13ft 7in (4.2m); draught 6-9ft (1.8-2.8m) www.pct.ae

We couldn’tresist the temptation to feature the beautiful J-Class Rainbow - the latest addition to the fleet. Launched in 2012 by superyacht yard Holland Jachtbouw, she has been competing around the world ever since.

The original was designed by Starling Burgess in 1934 and beat British challenger Endeavour in the America’s Cup of the same year. Her newest embodiment boasts a high spec carbon rig and luxurious accommodation.

LOA 131ft (40m); beam 20ft 11in (6.5m); draught 15ft 9in (4.8m) www.ypigroup.com

Volvo Ocean 65 c£4m Radical racer The new Volvo Ocean Race boat has been designed by Farr and built by a consortium of four boatyards in Europe. The shift to a one-design is a radical departure for the race, and one that should put more emphasis than ever before on the racing, reducing costs and drawing more teams to the event. The design and build has focused on bolstering reliability and reducing costs, but keeping a boat that is going to attract world-class sailors to compete LOA 66ft (20.4m); beam 18ft 4in (5.6m); 15ft 8in (4.8m) www.volvooceanrace.com

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 89

CRUSING LOFTEN ISLANDS

RSCat from £6,270 Fun family racing cat Given the re-adoption of a catamaran as an Olympic class, there’s a resurgence of interest in multihull racing. The RS Cat16 is the first catamaran from RS, developed with Jo Richards as a versatile and easy-to-handle boat that would be exciting and highly durable. Options include a basic training version; ‘S’ specification with mainsail, jib and trapeze, and ‘XL’ with main, jib, gennaker and twin trapezes.

LOA 15ft 6in (4.7m); weight 308lb (140kg) www.rssailing.com

Infiniti 100s €12.9m Ultra high performance The 100S has been developed as a high performance cruising yacht providing speed and comfort under sail.

She should comfortably manage speeds over 20 knots, while the interior provides for six guests in three en-suite cabins. The boat has the fairly new Dynamic Stability System, a lateral foil that gives lift on the leeward side, boosting performance and reduce pitching and yaw.

LOA 100ft (3.5m); beam 20ft (6.1m); draught 16ft 5in (5m) www.infinitiyachts.com

Azuree 46 £220,000 Stylish performer

Alerion 41 £363,000 Express cruiser Alerion has built its reputation on fast GRP daysailers with push-button sail-handling and classic looks. The 41, as a cruising yacht for six, is a departure from the tried-andtested formula. She is still a “cockpit first, cabin second” boat, but with a good sail area/ displacement ratio (23.5) and a modern underwater profile, she ought to go well too.

The transom folds down to form a swim platform – and below decks is a riot of bespoke hardwood with three cabins.

LOA 40ft 6in (12.3m); beam 11ft 6in (3.5m); draught 6ft (1.8m) www.alerionexp.com

90 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Designed by the prolific Rob Humphreys, the Turkish-built Azuree 46 is elegant and stylish with an easily driven, performance hull. Featuring under deck furling, nonoverlapping headsail and a one-piece mainsheet, she’s easy to sail shorthanded.

Her carbon rig option means she’s no slouch, but considerable thought has been given to her cruising credentials. She has a large cockpit and a high spec interior.

LOA 45ft 11in (14m); beam 13ft 9in (4.2m); draught 8ft 6in (2.6m) www.sirenamarine.com.tr

Nautiraid coracles From £1,450 Clever folding coracle New in the UK this year are these folding coracles from French specialist Nautiraid.

They’re stoutly built from steamed ash, birch plywood and heavy-duty hypalon for the hull. The boat concertinas into a long, light curve for easy stashing on deck or on the roofrack. These incredibly versatile craft can be rowed, paddled or driven by an outboard and are even used by the military.

LOA: 6ft 4in to 9ft 1in (1.9-3m) www.nestawayboats.com

toP BoAtS of 2013

Rustler 24 £39,000 Superb day sailer Below the waterline, the 24 has a traditional long-keel and rudder, making her very stable, but still trailable. Her sloop rig is easy to set and handle and there are lots of really pleasing design touches. For example, the vang is inverted, running from the top of the boom to a point higher up the mast to declutter the mast foot.

With her long counter and flush teak decks, she is one of those boats that naturally draws the eye and she is a joy to sail. We experienced something close to nirvana as she leant into a gust and the babble of the wake rose a pitch.

LOA: 24ft (7.4m); beam 6ft 3in (1.9m); draught 3ft 5in (1.1m) www.rustleryachts.com

Dehler 38 £155,148 Fine point of sailing

Nautica 450 c£6,560 Polish performer New to the UK is this 4.5m two, or threeperson hiking dinghy from Poland. It’s designed to bring the excitement of sailing a planing dinghy to a wider audience of less experienced sailors – the high stability hull form ensures high speeds can be obtained without too much effort or complex controls.

The fibreglass hull is built in a light sandwich construction and comes in both fun and racing specifications.

LOA 14ft 9in (4.5m); beam 6ft 3in (1.9m); weight 120kg www.nauticaboats.pl

Dehler yachts have always been designed to satisfy a yearning for speed and performance under sail – and its new 38, by the giant Hanse Yachts group, is no exception. She sports twin wheels, drop-down transom platform, and bristles with numerous other smart ideas. Below, there were nice, traditional wooden bulkheads and lockers, teak and holly sole boards, and pleasant off-white upholstery with all the trimmings.

LOA 37ft 1in (11.3m); beam 12ft 4in (3.8m); draught 6ft 7in (2m) www.dehler.co.uk

Levi Corsair c£260,000 Rocket speed, James Bond-style In one form or another, this boat has been built since her Cowes-Torquay debut in 1965.

She’s changed very little over the years and the design of every boat has been drawn by deep-V pioneer and legendary powerboat designer Renato ‘Sonni’ Levi. The Corsairs are handbuilt by a Venetian boatyard to order – they make two or three a year – and the latest features a lacquered mahogany four berth layout and twin diesels producing 530hp, giving 48 knots.

LOA: 30ft 6in (9.3m); beam 9ft (2.8m); draught 2ft 7in (80cm) www.wessexmarine.co.uk

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 91

TOp BOATS OF 2013

TC51 From c£672,000

Discovery 58 £1,095,000

Hooked on a Hoek

Clever design upgrade

Alexa is the 35th yacht in the Truly Classic range from Dutch spirit of tradition designer Andre Hoek. She was built by Metur Yacht in Turkey in cold-moulded wood, and is the seventh TC 51. The 51s are bluewater yachts with several circumnavigations to prove it. This is a sturdy, capacious yacht and combines a classic 1930s look with a refreshing lack of complexity – less to break down while far from home.

Accommodation comprises two aft guest cabins and a day heads; an open-plan saloon and an en-suite cabin.

LOA 51ft (15.6m); beam 13ft 8in (4.2m); draught 7ft 10in (2.4m)

Discovery’s successful 57 has been around for four years and the new 58 will be a variant, based on the same hull.The most obvious difference is a restyled coach roof with taller, wrap-around windows and fewer supports in the way. The cockpit has better-protected twin helming positions. Hydraulic in-mast furling, twin-headsail rig, self-tacking jib and electric winches as standard all mean she can be sailed easily by just two people. Designer Ken Freivokh has been at work below to create a light and luxurious living space. In 3 or 4-cabin lay-out.

LOA 58ft 8in (17.9m); beam 16ft 8in (5.1m); draught 7ft 8in (2.4m)

www.hoekdesign.com

www.discoveryyachts.com

White Rose c£150,000 Super traditional 25-footer White Rose of Mevagissey is a rare beast: a small new yacht traditionally built to a one-off design. Boatbuilder John Moor was inspired by the Hiscocks’ yacht Wanderer II and spentthe last 10 years building her.

She’s carvel larch planks on oak frames, with copper and bronze fastenings and deck, coamings and internal joinery in teak.

John Moor and Son do a lot of fine work for nearby superyacht yard Pendennis and White Rose is no exception.

LOA 25ft (7.6m); beam 7ft 10in (2.4m); draught 5ft (1.5m) +44 (0)1726 842964, moor4@fsmail.net

92 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Oban Skiff £18,000

Eagle 36 from £120,000

The traditional trailer sailer

Mini J-Class dayboat

A&R Way Boatbuilding has launched the second of its traditional clinker Oban Skiffs, based on the 127-year-old Gylen – a typical salmon fishing boat of her time. The large sail area reefs down well and the strong flair on the hull and huge reserve buoyancy of the stern help seakeeping, while the fine entry, plumb stem and narrow waterline beam make her fast. You can sail comfortably with six adults, run onto a beach and get ashore almost dry-footed.

LOA 25ft (7.6m); beam 7ft 10in (2.4m); draught 5ft (1.5m)

Billed as a mini-J, this beautiful dayboat does not disappoint. Despite her length, a huge cockpit and low freeboard mean that space below is elegant, but tight. Designers Gaastmeer and Terpstra have done a great job with the long overhangs, acres of lush teak decking and a comfy cockpit. Below, she’s well finished but simple. There’s a double V-berth in the fo’c’s’le, an electric heads but no galley – just a clever tap, sink and fridge hidden in the cockpit table.

LOA 36ft (10.7m); beam 8ft 6in (2.6m); draught 3ft 11in (1.2m)

www.aandrwayboatbuilding.co.uk

www.leonardoyachts.com

The Authentic Choice NEW! Classic Tan Ocean Sailcloth

Mist ral

Tel: 01489 776010 email: info@bainbridgeint.co.uk www.sailcloth.com

41*0567 34436,- 7 365!*7 )%5+27 7"(7)4522.7)4-2,3467

24,98/19,35/4,60/2,50

Have a first look at: www.Mistral-yacht.com Comet Organisation www.yachts-classiques.com ,-2- 7#157 4356347 7(10,2"5+$.$3

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 93

Nasa yacht repeater Nasa’s new large display, mast mounted, multifunction repeater has giant 6cm numerals and comes with cables, data-box with six NMEA0183 inputs and wireless remote control www.nasamarine.com £380

Lewmar RACE winch

Gill Spinnaker jacket

Built around Lewmar’s EVO design, the RACE+ is 23 per cent lighter thanks to an aluminium centre stem in place of bronze, a lighter spindle, an aluminium feeder arm in place of stainless and composite bearings in place of steel. Available in sizes 40-55 www.lewmar.com, from £1,041

Restyled for the winter, the Spinnaker jacket has two-layer waterproof fabric with taped seams.

Two zippered pockets and an internal chest pocket. Slightly fitted www.gillmarine.com £145

GEAR

YEAR

OF THE

Our picks of the most exciting gadgets of 2014

Smartphone wind meter

Odeo laser flare Instead of dangerous pyrotechnics, the Odeo flare uses battery-powered flickering lasers which last for five to 10 hours, has no heat and can be seen from a distance of 3 and a half nautical miles www.odeoflare.co.uk £176.50

94 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Vaavud’s red egg cups plug into the headphone jack of your smartphone and communicate via its magnetic field sensor.

There are no electronics in the instrument, which makes it super durable.

Works with a free app www.vaavud.com c£39 (€45)

Icom M73 Euro+ This latest professional VHF transceiver from Icom builds on the M71 by adding a new recording function and noise cancelling technology to the list of features www.icomuk.co.uk £210

Exposure Marine emergency lights This pack of three emergency nav lights comes in an appealing solid case, containing the three lamps as well as mounting options that work with boats, kayaks and tenders. The lights themselves are rechargeable, last up to six hours on high power (visible 3nM away) or 60 hours on low power. www.use1.com £139.95

Lifeproof iPhone case There are many iPhone cases out there, but this one is particularly well designed. It permits full functionality, including use of headphones via a special waterproof jack.

Charging is not waterproof, but the phone’s port is easily accessed via a waterproof flap. Best of all, you can also buy a lifejacket (£29.95) to go with it – a chunky orange foam case www.icollectionshop.com From £59.95

Grid-it storage A unique weave of rubberised bands made specifically to hold personal objects firmly in place and designed to provide endless configurations of personal effects

Deep Blue 40 outboard German electric outboard maker Torqeedo is launching a smaller 40hp version of its awardwinning Deep Blue motor. It requires just one high-voltage lithium battery, saving on weight.

Sleek, quiet and eco friendly, but hardly cheap!

www.cocooninnovations.com c£15

www.torqeedo.com £27,298

CV7SF anemometer LCJ Capteurs’ wireless ultrasonic sensor is a plug-and-play wind vane and anemometer for PC. The sensor is powered by its solar panel and the receiver runs off its USB port. Neat www.lcjcapteurs.com c£590

Coast HP314 torch

Apollo Flex solarpanel

A torch with a shoulder strap – need we say more? OK it’s big, but its LEDs have a near half-mile range and the beam can be focused. Solid, waterproof and durable

A new generation of highly-efficient, flexible solar panels have been launched by Germany’s Apolloflex. The monocrystalline panel claims 22 per cent efficiency and is lightweight and thin. The technology claims to produce more watts per square metre than any other panel, at 169W/m2

www.nauticalia.com £200

www.apolloflexmono.com From £390

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 95

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Contact now a quote Contact ususnow forfor a quote on on +44 2380381 381985 985 +44 2380 uk@rollytasker .com uk@rollytasker.com

Your sailmaker sailmaker since since1949 1949 Rolly makingsails sails--2.2 2.2million millionininfact fact- -since since1949 1949and andisisone oneofofthe the world’ s leading sail-lofts. The Thecombination combina tion RollyTasker Tasker has has been been making world’s leading sail-lofts. of of experience experienceininoffshore offshoreracing, racing, application of state-of-the-art CAD/CAM technologies, high quality ths, sail-clo of decades decades of application of state-of-the-art CAD/CAM technologies, use ofuse highofquality sail-cloths, from world’s leading manufacturersand anda ateam teamofof highly skilled sail-makers ensures a Rolly from the leading manufacturers highly skilled sail-makers ensures thatthat a Rolly the world’s www.rollytasker.com www .rollytasker .com Tasker sail is individually designed and constructed to the highest level of durability and performance.

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Adlard Coles Nautical

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56 | THE sailingtoday.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2013 96 YACHTING YEAR 2014

ANTI-FOULING

+44 (0) 1258 861059 www.coppercoat.com

NEW GEAR

Profurl Spinex Constrictor clutch

This is a clever top-down furler for quickly and easily controlling your asymmetric spinnaker. An endless furling line rotates the drum and starts to roll up the spinnaker – from the head of the sail down, depowering it as it goes. The plastic “sail bearings” around the torque line keep the sail furling smoothly with no twists. For boats from 5m to 18m

Unlike other clutches, this rope-onrope clutch does not crush ropes with a metal stopper. Instead, the loaded rope is held securely in a textile sock, itself attached to an anchored base. Although lighter than many, we are most excited by the claimed ability to easily release under load

www.improducts.co.uk From £1,380

www.sailtek.org.uk From £122

Optimum Time watch

Software for tidal currents and routing

After the world-famous “Big Yellow Watch”, Optimum Time has added the series 14. The new model has massive digits in the last minute, is rechargeable and has a vibration alert as well as audible sound www.optimumtime.co.uk From £75

The famous Olympic software Race Area Analyser is now available for Solent sailors, with precise information about currents, prediction of best routes in currents and polars of more than 430 boat classes.

Available for mobile devices and computers www.buell-software.com Free

H20 Boatcare XP1 Henri Lloyd Elite Offshore The new Elite Offshore gear offers Gore-Tex waterproofing with 20 per cent more breathability and 30 per cent less weight than ever before www.henrilloyd.com From £450 (jacket); £350 (trousers)

A sonic antifouling unit, the XP1 relies on a cavitation effect it claims is 100 times more effective than sound alone. The transponder is placed in the water at the berth or on the boat and creates bubbles in the water around the hull using highfrequency pulses. These bubbles implode (cavitation) and eliminate algae and barnacle larvae www.h2oboatcare.com

M1 personal transporter Similar to the world-famous Segway, the M1 claims to have honed the design and made it more accessible. The unit weighs 18.5kg and moves at a top speed of 9mph (15kmh) with a range of 12 miles (20km). Full recharge takes up to four hours. Available in several bright colours, it could make an ideal marina runabout www.spymaster.co.uk £3,300

Garmin GMI20 instrument Bridging the powerboat and sail line-up, these instruments now have bigger, brighter screens and a more intuitive user interface www.garmin.com c£360

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 97

Coat stand

Constant Riva watches Back in the Roaring Twenties, heads were turned by the gleaming wooden hulls and chrome fittings of the runabouts. Swiss watchmaker Frédérique Constant has joined forces with the Riva Historical Society to produce the Runabout Moonphase Riva range, which will be produced in a limited edition of 1,888 pieces

Constructed of three antique Oxford Varsity Oars, this coat stand is practical and classy. It looks good and allows coats to open up and dry better when wet.

Brass hardware, turned finial with a rattan key and change basket set in the middle

Luxury bath toy If your bath (or pool) is big enough, how about asking Bespoke Impact to model your pride and joy as a floating toy?

Measuring 0.5 to 1m, the model is described as a ‘subtle’ way of showing off your prize! www.bespoke-impact.com, from £9,000

www.boatique.co.uk £275

www.frederique-constant.com From c£1,850

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Sebago Docksides The classic Dockside shoe gets a new lease of life with bright coloured leather and matched colours – all handsewn with a comfortable synthetic sole www.sebago.com/UK From £110

Fine things to wear, play with and position about the house

ZR flyboard These are just taking off in the UK. Simply bolt the tubing to your 4-stroke jet ski, strap on the board and head for the skies. As close to being a supervillain as you can currently get on water

Steamer trunk Fox & Hardy builds high quality steamer trunks with classic materials.

They’re hand made in Britain from real cotton sailcloth, antique fastenings and vintage leather trim; each one’s original

www.158flyboards.co.uk From £4,450 (inc training)

Dalmard jacket This is the real deal, made from heavy felt in the French fishing port of Paimpol, where Dalmard has been at it since 1922. The company began by making heavy coats for the cod fishermen who sailed to Iceland every spring.

Available in navy blue, black or grey www.lamaisondukabic. com From £245

98 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

www.foxandhardy.co.uk £990

Search lights These Francis searchlights date from 1953 to 1973, but have been completely renovated with new reflectors, new wiring and halogen bulbs. They have been meticulously rechromed, with the metal taken back to the bare surface and completely re-covered in copper – a necessity for excellent chrome finish www.tradboats.com; from £1,278

Oil lamp Designed by Peter Seidelin Jessen, this is a simple go anywhere attractive stainless steel oil lamp with a heat deflector and carry loop www.davey.co.uk £48.95

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THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 99

BEST

EVENTS

OVER

100

WORLD WIDE

FOR 2014 Next season’s cruising, racing and boat showing starts here FEBRUARY

4-12 JANUARY

27 JANUARY-2 FEBRUARY

Major indoor boat show in London’s ExCel Centre in the Docklands. Down to one hall, but still features some boats on the water; the ideal start to the year www.londonboatshow.com

Australia Highly popular and competitive one-design sportsboat racing www.melges24worldsaustralia.com

11 JANUARY-11 APRIL 2015

7-16 FEBRUARY

LONDON BOAT SHOW

WORLD ARC

St Lucia Around the world, cruising in company with the World Cruising Club. Now an annual fixture, thanks to growing demand. Starts and finishes in the Caribbean www.worldcruising.com

18-26 JANUARY

DUSSELDORF BOAT SHOW

Germany Europe’s premier boat show, located in a series of vast halls miles from the sea www.boat-duesseldorf.com

19-25 JANUARY

INTERNATIONAL CONTENDER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lake Macquarie, Australia The singlehanded class returns to the country from which it was born www.contender.org.au

MELGES 24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

A-CLASS CATAMARAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Sydney, Australia The Southern Hemishpere’s best known offshore race; what the Fastnet Race is to the north rolexsydneyhobart.com

16-21 FEBRUARY

JJ GILTINAN TROPHY

Australia This prestigious event is the 18ft Skiff worlds in all but name 1www.8footers.com.au

24 FEBRUARY

RORC CARIBBEAN 600

Antigua Serious ocean racing in warm water and fast boats. Just gawping at the racing machines beforehand is worth the trip! www.caribbean600.rorc.org

MARCH 5-9 MARCH

Miami, USA The first on the circuit of ISAF’s Olympic class racing www.mocr.ussailing.org

Amsterdam, the Netherlands A big on-the-water and under-cover show, including Klassieke Schepen www.hiswa.nl

100 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

Rolex Sydney Hobart Race

New Zealand The ultimate singlehanded development catamaran www.a-cat.org

25 JANUARY-1 FEBRUARY

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP

26 DECEMBER 1 JANUARY 2014

C/O HEINEKEN REGATTA/ONNE VAN DER WAL

JANUARY

HISWA BOAT SHOW

6-9 MARCH

Heineken Regatta

St Maarten, Caribbean The 34th edition of this popular regatta, drawing boats from all over the world. www.heinekenregatta.com

ROLEX/CARLO BORLENGHI

19-21 APRIL

St george’s day cup

JESÚS RENEDO / TROFEO SOFIA MAPFRE

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Tel: +44 (0)7831 710946 www.topsail-adventures. co.uk Fourth annual gathering of Pilot Cutters, gaffers, luggers and the like at the Royal Solent YC.

29 MARCH 5 APRIL

ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca

Mallorca, Spain Spanish leg of the Olympic classes circuit

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 101

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10 to 150 hp - 14 very smooth, multi-cylinder, heat exchanger cooled engines

We offer you the best, compact, reliable engines at very competitive prices!

Easy engine replacement, we can supply special engine feet designed to fit your boat

Engineered in the UK, at Beta Marine in Gloucestershire, we welcome your visit

Installation, buy through our dealer network for an installation package - see our website for dealer listings, or contact us 5 Year ‘Self Service’ Warranty

e c i o h C ’s n a m t h c a Y The

www.betamarine.co.uk Tel: 01452 723492 Email: sales@betamarine.co.uk

102 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

MAIN EVENTS FOR 2014 2-4 MAY

Pilot Gig Worlds

Isles of Scilly More than 100 rowing gigs competing in the stunning surroundings of the Scilly Isles www.worldgigs.co.ukco.uk

22 MARCH-4 APRIL

FIREBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Thailand The popular two-man scow dinghy draws big names www.fireball-worlds.com

27-30 MARCH

ST BARTHS BUCKET

Monster sailing yachts race around St Barths in the Caribbean in a laid back, fun event that aims to put commercial interests aside www.bucketregattas.com/stbarths

31 MARCH-6 APRIL

HEINEKEN RACE OF THE CLASSICS

Rotterdam-Oostende-IpswichAmsterdam Well-attended Tall Ships passage race across the North Sea www.rotc.nl

31 MARCH-6 APRIL

BVI SPRING REGATTA

Nanny Cay, British Virgin Islands A week of racing in the sheltered waters of the BVIs. Includes a strong bareboat charter class www.bvispringregatta.org

APRIL 14-19 APRIL

LES VOILES DE ST BARTHS

Pre-Antigua event (although this year they overlap) that includes a classic class. Fifth iteration www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com

17-22 APRIL

ANTIGUA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA

English Harbour, Antigua The main event for classic boats in the Caribbean, with an entry of 60 yachts www.antiguaclassics.com

18-21 APRIL

30 APRIL

23-26 MAY 2014

La Trinté-sur-Mer Keelboat racing in south Brittany www.spi-ouestfrance.com

Port Louis Marina, Grenada After 16 months of globetrotting, the Oyster World Rally comes to an end www.oystermarine.com

Tarbert, Loch Fyne 40th year, c200 boats, including classics www.scottishseries.com

SPI OUEST FRANCE

19-26 APRIL

WORLD OYSTER RALLY

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP HYERES

MAY

Hyères, France Olympic classes head to France www.swc.ffvoile.com

3 MAY-18 JUNE 2014

23-27 APRIL

Rally across the Atlantic from the BVI or the Chesapeake to Lagos in Portugal www.worldcruising.com

TROFEO SIR THOMAS LIPTON MATCH RACE

Javea, Spain ISAF fleet and match racing in TOM28 performance keelboats www.cnjavea.net

26 APRIL-2 MAY

ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK

ARC EUROPE

3-4 MAY (TBC)

SOUTHAMPTON MARITIME FESTIVAL

Ocean Cruise Terminal 1940s-themed festival www.southamptonmaritimefestival.com

Possibly the Caribbean’s best known and best attended regatta, run from the spectacular surroundings of English Harbour www.sailingweek.com

3-5 MAY

26 APRIL-3 MAY 2014

22 MAY-1 JUNE

South Africa Some of the best one-design keelboat racing www.j22worlds.com

Caen, France Demanding race via the Isle of Wight, Fastnet Rock and Guernsey www.normandy-race.com

J/22 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

JERSEY BOAT SHOW

St Helier With a strong Royal Navy presence www.jerseyboatshow.com

NORMANDY CHANNEL RACE

27 APRIL

23 MAY

National Motor Museum, Beaulieu A world of bits and bobs roused out from the bottom of lockers - for sale www.beaulieu.co.uk

Brighton-Fécamp Commemorates King Charles II’s 17th century escape. Modern and classic www.royalescaperace.co.uk

28 APRIL-4 MAY

23-25 MAY 2014

Terceira, Azores The pinnacle of windsurf racing www.formulawindsurfing.org

Co Cork, Ireland Boats, ceilidh and more www.baltimorewoodenboatfestival.com

BEAULIEU BOAT JUMBLE

FORMULA WINDSURFING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

ROYAL ESCAPE RACE

BALTIMORE WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL

BREWIN DOLPHIN SCOTTISH SERIES

29 MAY-1 JUNE

OOSTENDE VOOR ANKER

Ostend, Belgium This year, the lively maritime heritage event marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Ostend www.oostendevooranker.be

26-31 MAY

RÉGATES IMPÉRIALES

Ajaccio, Corsica One of the big Med classic events www.regates-imperiales.com

29 MAY-1 JUNE

EUROPACUP 29ER

Workum, Netherlands One of eight legs in the Eurocup www.29er.org

30 MAY-1 JUNE

ALL WALES BOAT SHOW

Conwy, Wales Held in an outstandingly beautiful location on the River Conwy www.southwalesboatshow.co.uk

31 MAY - 1 JUNE

THREE RIVERS RACE

The Ant, Bure and Thurne Popular Broads day/night race, where you can choose the order in which you take the rivers www.horningsc.org.uk

JUNE 1 JUNE

BLACKWATER SMACK AND BARGE MATCH

Osea Is., River Blackwater www.colnesmack.co.uk

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 103

MAIN 2014 BEST EVENTS FOR OF 2014

27-31 MAY

Pendennis Cup

C/O PENDENNIS

Falmouth, Cornwall Fourth biennial gathering of superyachts in Cornwall, in this competitive regatta organised by the Pendennis Shipyard. Entries run from centenarians to the last word in spirit of tradition www.thependenniscup.co.uk

3-7 JUNE

29 MAY-1 JUNE

LORO PIANA SUPERYACHT REGATTA

Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival

Porto Cervo, Sardinia Superyachts, including classics; five days of sailing organised by YCCS www.loropianasuperyachtregatta.com

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Flagship event of the Solent OGA, with an average attendance of c120 boats www.yarmoutholdgaffersfestival.co.uk

3-8 JUNE 2014

ISAF WOMEN’S MATCH RACING WORLDS

PETER MUMFORD, BEKEN OF COWES

Cork, Ireland It may have been removed from the Olympics but Match Racing remains one of the purest examples of our sport www.wimra.org

4-8 JUNE

LES VOILES D’ANTIBES

Many see this event as the start to the summer of racing under CIM for classics on the Mediterranean circuit www.voilesdantibes.com

6-8 JUNE

BEALE PARK BOAT SHOW

Pangbourne, Berkshire For small traditional boats www.bealeparkboatshow.co.uk

21 JUNE

JP Morgan Round the Island Race

8 JUNE

VOGALONGA

Venice Rowing extravaganza through the Venice canals with 1,600-plus boats.

40th year of this astonishing event www.vogalonga.com

Isle of Wight Fourth largest sporting event in the UK. Cruiser racing round the Isle of Wight www.roundtheisland.org.uk

9-13 JUNE

SAIL FOR GOLD REGATTA

Weymouth Olympic class sailing at the 2012 Olympic venue www.sailforgold.co.uk

FALMOUTH SEA SHANTY FESTIVAL

Popular shoreside event www.falmouthseashanty.co.uk

104 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

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BEST EVENTS OF 2014

18-21 JUNE

Superyacht Cup

CLAIRE MATCHES

Palma A fixture since 1996, this is the longest running superyacht regatta in Europe, attracting many of the most prestigious sailing yachts in the world www.thesuperyachtcup.com

13-15 JUNE

CORFU CLASSIC YACHT RACE

Corfu, Greece New for 2014, this is only Greece’s second event for classic boats. Designed as a feeder race for the very well organised Spetses race later in the month. www.ccyr.gr

13-22 JUNE

CLASSIC WEEK

12-19 JULY

Panerai British Classics Week C/O PANERAI

Cowes, Isle of Wight Race series including round-theIsland race, social programme and BCYC yachts. 70+ boats www.britishclassicyachtclub.org

2 AUGUST

Eggemoggin Reach Regatta Brooklin, Maine Famous New England wooden boat race www.erregatta.com

Flensburg, Germany Robbe & Berking (silversmith and boatyard) is running this classic Metre yacht racing event again after a break of five years www.classics.robbeberking.de

14-15 JUNE

SUFFOLK YACHT HARBOUR CLASSIC REGATTA

Levington, River Orwell Popular east coast classic, followed by a passage race to the BCYC regatta on the south coast www.syharbour.co.uk

14-22 JUNE

GIRAGLIA ROLEX CUP

Saint Tropez, France Mediterranean IRC keelboat regatta now part of the Rolex circuit www.yachtclubitaliano.it

19-22 JUNE

SPETSES CLASSIC YACHT RACE

Isle of Spetses Greece’s only proper classic yacht regatta and it’s a corker, now in its fourth year. 50+ boats www.classicyachtrace.com

21-28 JUNE

ETCHELLS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

KATHY MANSFIELD

Newport, USA Small keelboats, featuring pro sailors, old and new www.etchellsworlds.org

106 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

MAIN EVENTS FOR 2014

21-25 JULY

Clipper Round the World Race finish

London Watch the circumnavigators race back up the Thames to St Katharine Docks after 40,000 ocean miles www.clipperroundtheworld.com

21-29 JUNE

KIELER WOCHE

Kiel, Germany A big fixture on the dinghy calendar, Kiel is a huge event for a variety of classes www.kieler-woche.de

6 JULY

19-20 JULY

River Orwell, Suffolk This race attracts around 20 Smacks, Thames Sailing Barges and more pmsc.org.uk

PIN MILL SMACK AND WORKING BOAT RACE

THAMES TRADITIONAL BOAT RALLY

RENDEZ-VOUS DE LA BELLE PLAISANCE

11-24 JULY

MALTS CRUISE

Henley-on-Thames, Oxon One of Europe’s largest gatherings of traditionally-built river craft including Dunkirk Little Ships, with ample shoreside entertainment; 200+ boats.

This venerable festival is 37 this year. www.tradboatrally.com

Bénodet, Brittany One of the classic yacht regattas that form the ‘Breton circuit’ www.rdv-belleplaisance.fr

Oban to Skye and back - with whisky! www.worldcruising.com

21-25 JULY

26-29 JUNE

27-29 JUNE

SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL BOAT FESTIVAL

Portsoy, Aberdeenshire 21st year of this favourite with rowing, sailing and much shoreside activity. Now under Aberdeen Asset Management sponsorship – just like Cowes Week scottishtraditionalboatfestival.co.uk

30 JUNE-7 JULY

STAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Malcesine, Italy The beloved class still draws big names despite being dumped in the Olympics www.starclass.org

12-19 JULY

ISAF YOUTH SAILING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Tavira, Portugal Racing for tomorrow’s Olympic champions, today www.isafyouthworlds.com

13 JULY (TBC)

CLOVELLY MARITIME FESTIVAL

Harbourside festival www.clovelly.co.uk

13-19 JULY

12-METRE CLASS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

COWES CLASSICS WEEK

Cowes, Isle of Wight Metre boats, classic keelboats and yachts at this event formerly known as the ‘Metre and Keelboat’ regatta www.cowesclassicsweek.org

24-27 JULY

TEMPS FETE - A BOAT FESTIVAL

Douarnenez, France Typical Breton celebration of all things related to the sea, with classic boats, music, singing and fine food. www.tempsfete-dz.com

25-27 JULY

TAITTINGER ROYAL SOLENT YACHT CLUB REGATTA

Barcelona, Spain Many consider the 12-M era to be the pinnacle of the America’s Cup. Here replicas, originals and rebuilds race www.12mrclass.com

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight IRC, Swans, cruisers, gaffers, 6-Ms, Dragons, FBs, XODs, YODs www.royalsolent.org

16-19 JULY

25-27 JULY

Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain) Relative newcomer to the Med classic racing scene, with a great fleet of 50+ www.puigvelaclassicabarcelona.com

One of Britain’s biggest shoreside festivals: boats, music and more www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk

19-25 JULY

5 JULY-17 AUGUST

INTERNATIONAL MOTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

25-27 JULY

Rally from Kiel, Germany to Copenhagen, via St Patersberg and the Baltic states www.worldcruising.com

Chichester Harbour Hugely popular foiling class. Can the Brits win on home turf? www.mothworlds.org

Peel, IoM This impressive celebration of classic craft is 23 this year www.peeltraditionalboat.org

JULY 5-6 JULY (TBC)

DARTMOUTH CLASSICS WEEKEND

Formerly the opener of the longer, offshore Classic Channel Regatta, this is now a weekend event in its own right, with friendly racing and social events. www.dartmouthclassics.org.uk

ARC BALTIC

PUIG VELA CLASSICA

BRISTOL HARBOUR FESTIVAL

PEEL TRADITIONAL BOAT WEEKEND

25-29 JULY

SUTTON HARBOUR PLYMOUTH CLASSIC BOAT RALLY

Three days of racing ending with a 20-mile passage race to Fowey www.plymouthclassics.org.uk

25 JULY-3 AUGUST

RS TERA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

South Africa This junior class is growing year on year, quickly becoming one of the most competitive classes www.rstera.org

26 JULY-1 AUGUST

WHITSTABLE OYSTER FESTIVAL

Rock oysters and fishing boats www.whitstableoysterfestival.com

26 JULY-1 AUGUST

RS FEVA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Carnac, France The Feva, much like the Tera, is one of the biggest youth fleets, training future champions www.rsfeva.org

26 JULY-2 AUGUST

29ER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Canada The 49er’s little brother always manages to draw in the best of the skiff sailing youths www.29er.org

AUGUST 1-3 AUGUST

RISØR WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL

51st iteration of one of the world’s great classic boat festivals www.trebatfestivalen.no

THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 107

MAIN EVENTS FOR 2014 27 SEPTEMBER

Maldon Town Regatta

DEN PHILLIPS

Maldon, Essex Part of the Old Gaffers Association circuit, but welcomes modern boats too. From Smacks to dinghies, via a parade of sail. Great fun. www.maldonregatta.co.uk

2 AUGUST

SWALE BARGE MATCH

Swale Channel, North Kent 42nd match for smacks and barges www.kentishsail.org

2-8 AUGUST

ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT COWES WEEK

Cowes, Isle of Wight The grandaddy of British regattas makes an incredible spectacle on or off the water; and cruising sailors are welcome www.aamcowesweek.co.uk

2-10 AUGUST

YORKSHIRE YC REGATTA

Bridlington All sizes of wooden boat; 20-plus boats www.ryyc.org.uk

3-4 AUGUST

ARBOATH SEA FESTIVAL

Abroath Marina Strictly shoreside but fun www.arbroathseafest.co.uk

3-8 AUGUST

SALCOMBE YACHT CLUB REGATTA

Salcombe, Devon Includes Salcombe yawls race www.salcombeyc.org.uk

8-17 AUGUST

HENRI LLOYD FALMOUTH WEEK

The biggest regatta in the southwest includes Falmouth Classics regatta, with up to 150 participating boats www.falmouthweek.co.uk

108 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

9-10 AUGUST

16-24 AUGUST

30-31 AUGUST

Marblehead, Massachusetts Part of the Panerai Challenge www.corinthianclassic.org

Halifax, Canada The combined world championships for all classes in the Paralympics. The who’s who of disabled sailing www.ifdsworlds2014.ca

Bembridge, Cowes In its third year. 33 boats last year www.powerboatrally.com

17 AUGUST

Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex The east coast’s answer to Cowes Week: 100+ boats in many classes www.burnhamweek.org.uk

MARBLEHEAD CORINTHIAN CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA

10-16 AUGUST

MERSEA WEEK

Mersea Island, Essex Family friendly event with races for classic yachts and dinghies www.merseaweek.org

12-21 AUGUST

VANCOUVER WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL

IFDS COMBINED WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

OPERA HOUSE CUP REGATTA

Nantucket, Massachusetts The final event in Nantucket Race Week www.operahousecup.org

23-24 AUGUST (TBC)

In its 27th edition this year www.vancouverwoodenboat.com

BOSTON ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC BOAT FESTIVAL

15-17 AUGUST

Salem, Massachusetts Mainly motor launch event www.boatfestival.org

ANSTRUTHER MUSTER

Anstruther, Scotland A celebration of maritime heritage with a classic boat event attached www.anstruthersailingclub.org.uk

16-17 AUGUST

IPSWICH MARITIME FESTIVAL

Shoreside at Ipswich’s historic Wet Dock with trad craft moored alongside www.ipswichmaritimefestival.co.uk

16-22 AUGUST

CADET WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Weymouth The boxy little boat continues to be popular with the worlds youth, drawing impressive entries to their big events www.cadetclass.org.uk

25 AUGUST

NEWLYN FISH FESTIVAL

Newlyn, Cornwall 20,000+ visitors, fish auctions and tasting. Lugger and gig races www.newlynfishfestival.org.uk

25 AUGUST

SOUTHEND BARGE MATCH

Thames Estuary Smacks and barges www.thamesbarge.org.uk

28-31 AUGUST

DARTMOUTH ROYAL REGATTA

Inc Dartmouth Sailing Week and passage race; the 30+ years old review of classics; illuminated river procession www.dartmouthregatta.co.uk

COWES CLASSIC POWERBOAT RALLY

30 AUGUST-6 SEPTEMBER

BURNHAM WEEK

SEPTEMBER 5-7 SEPTEMBER

PORT TOWNSEND WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL

Washington America’s first and biggest wooden boat festival www.woodenboat.org

5-11 SEPTEMBER

SB20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

St Petersburg, Russia Formerly the Laser SB3, the class continues to thrive around the world, including in Russia, this year’s host www.sb20class.com

6-7 SEPTEMBER

BOSHAM CLASSIC BOAT REVIVAL

Bosham SC, Chichester Harbour Classic and spirit of tradition dinghies and dayboats up to 20ft (6m); now in its fourth year www.boshamsailingclub.com

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THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 109

MAIN EVENTS OF FOR2014 2014 BEST

11 OCTOBER NICK DANA/ABU DHABI OCEAN RACING/VOLVO OCEAN RACE

Volvo Ocean Race start

Alicante, Spain The first leg of the 40,000nM race from Alicante to Gothenburg, Sweden. Participants will sail the newly-designed Volvo Ocean 65 www.volvooceanrace.com

8-21 SEPTEMBER

ISAF SAILING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Santander, Spain Introduced in 2003, the Olympic classes worlds is now the event everyone wants to win (outside the Olympics) www.sailing.org

9 -13 SEPTEMBER

20 SEPTEMBER

11-12 OCTOBER

Norfolk Broads 32-M passage race; 57 boats last year www.coldhamhallsailingclub.co.uk

Kip Marina, Inverkip Scotland’s top boat show www.scotlandsboatshow.co.uk

20-26 SEPTEMBER

12 OCTOBER

YARE NAVIGATION RACE

J/24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Regatta including the 15-M Fife Tuiga www.yacht-club-monaco.mc

Newport, USA Yet another hugely successful one-design from the ‘J’ stable. www.j24class.org

12-21 SEPTEMBER

27 SEPTEMBER

MONACO CLASSIC WEEK

SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW

Mayflower Park, Southampton The UK’s biggest on-the-water show www.southamptonboatshow.com

13-14 SEPTEMBER

BATTLE OF BRITAIN REGATTA

Royal Air Force YC, Hamble, Hants Open to civilians as well as RAF personnel, features many XODs and Salterns-built Memory gaffers. www.rafyc.co.uk

13-14 SEPTEMBER (TBC)

ST KATHARINE DOCKS FESTIVAL

London Over 40 classic boats, including Havengore, which carried Churchill’s body in 1965, and a historic walking tour www.skdocks.co.uk

14 SEPTEMBER

MERSEA OYSTER DREDGING MATCH

West Mersea, Essex Unique event for smacks and bawleys.

He who dredges most wins www.mersearegatta.org.uk

110 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

GREAT RIVER RACE

Thames, London Huge, colourful, 300-boat, 21-mile rowing race upriver from Docklands in London to Ham in Surrey www.greatriverrace.co.uk

27 SEPTEMBER-5 OCTOBER

LES VOILES DE SAINTTROPEZ

One of the biggest and certainly the loveliest of the CIM events in the Med www.lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr

OCTOBER 4 OCTOBER

VOLVO OCEAN RACE ALICANTE - IN-PORT RACE

SCOTLAND’S BOAT SHOW

BARCOLANA

Trieste 2,000 boats (not all classics!) in this huge annual event www.barcolana.it

23 NOVEMBER-20 DECEMBER

ATLANTIC RALLY FOR CRUISERS

The classic Atlantic rally, from Las Palmas in the CanaryIslands to Rodney Bay, St Lucia www.worldcruising.com

DECEMBER 1-7 DECEMBER

20-25 OCTOBER

MELGES 32 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Bodrum, Turkey Regatta traditionally closing the charter season to a close www.bodrumcup.com

Miami, USA Slowly, the Melges32 is overtaking its little brother, the 24 as the most popular of sports boats www.melges32.com

22 OCTOBER-2 NOVEMBER

1-8 DECEMBER

San Isidro, Argentina www.cnsi.org.ar/yachting

Australia Olympic class racing goes down-under for the end of the seaon www.sailing.org

BODRUM CUP

IODA OPTIMIST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

NOVEMBER 9 NOVEMBER-6 DECEMBER

ARC+

Like the ARC, but via Mindelo and the Cape Verdes www.worldcruising.org

ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP

7 DECEMBER (TBC)

HALF-PINT-O-RUM REGATTA

San Diego, CA This mildly eccentric regatta is one of many put on by the Ancient Mariner’s Sailing Society. To see their full list of events, visit their website www.amss.us

Alicante, Spain This will be the first edition of the event in the newly designed Volvo Ocean 65 one design class www.volvooceanrace.com

15 NOVEMBER

Cape Town In-port race after leg 1 www.volvooceanrace.com

16 DECEMBER

10-12 OCTOBER

19 NOVEMBER

Does exactly what it says on the tin www.harwichshantyfestival.co.uk

South Africa Leg two start www.volvooceanrace.com

Right into rally season now! Alternative transatlantic rally crossing over Christmas from Lanzarote to Jolly Harbour, Antigua www.sailingrallies.com

HARWICH SEA SHANTY FESTIVAL

VOLVO OCEAN RACE

VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEG 2

SAILING RALLIES CHRISTMAS CARRIBEAN RALLY

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THE YACHTING YEAR 2014 | 113

LAST Word “The greatest climax the America’s Cup has ever known” Bob Fisher

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“The work was hard, dirty and produced very little income” Carlo Riva

“All I wanted to do was sail a good race” François gabart, Vendée winner

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“Certain activities in the yacht I just would not let him photograph!”

Robin KnoxJohnston page 56

“Antarctica: one of the last true challenges available to a sailor” Steve powell

“I was never the reckless or brave kid in school” paul Larsen, the world’s fastest sailor page 24

“A moment when bravado slides like custard off the plate” griff Rhys Jones

114 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2014

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