Many cruisers focus on the eastern Caribbean, but there are some amazing cruising options further north and north-east: the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, the coastal waters of the US, and the paradise islands of the Bahamas. With the right yacht, you can even opt for America’s Great Loop: an adventure in itself.

So many cruisers dive south to Panama on a tight time frame. But if you’re on a more relaxed schedule, once the warm Caribbean winds have blown you across the Caribbean Sea to Central America, where next?

Verdant mooring in the Great Loop. Photo: Chris Major/CM Images LLC

Perhaps you’ve spent the hurricane season in the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and are looking for an adventurous way to go north. Mexico makes for an interesting destination, and is also the starting point of a memorable season which takes you to some lesser-known cruising areas (see map over page). You could do it all in one go, but there are also excellent opportunities to leave the boat for the winter, then come back for more blissful sailing.

Yucatan Peninsula

This loop starts on the Mexican coast, focussing on the Yucatan Peninsula. The tradewinds blow from the north to the south-east, depending on the passage of the fronts. Balmy conditions prevail, but you have to take the sea breezes into account, as the warm land mass makes the wind clock around to the south at the end of the day.

There is a good choice of ports and anchorages to explore; leaving your yacht in port gives you the opportunity to travel inland to one of the spectacular historic Maya sites and learn more about Mexican culture. And the delicious food, of course.

Mexican cruiser Daniel Enriquez sails his Leopard 50 Win Win. He says: “The hurricane season is from June to November, you can still sail along the Mexican coast, but you have to keep a keen eye on the weather forecast. On Isla Mujeres, you can find a safe spot for your boat in the hurricane season.”

Photo: Chris Major/CM Images LLC

Most of his favourite places are around the north-east of the Yucatan peninsula. “El Cielo anchorage at the southern tip of Cozumel island is a stunning anchorage – crystal clear water, white beaches and lots of wildlife, including manta rays. El Cielo means ‘heaven’ in Spanish and it is indeed a heavenly anchorage,” Enriquez says.

Further north, at the northern tip of Isla Mujeres, is Playa Norte. “This is another one of those magical places, where you can anchor, enjoy nature and relax. A similar anchorage can be found further north-west, at the eastern tip of the Holbox peninsula. Playa Holbox offers sheltered anchoring in azure blue water,” he adds.

Isla Mujeres off the eastern tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Photo: Salvador Garza/Getty

“But the jewel in the crown is Arrecife Alacranes or Scorpion Reef. It’s a national park and you need a permit to go there. The permits are sold in Progreso on the mainland. After a 70-mile crossing, you get to the most amazing place: it’s uninhabited and wildlife is abundant. Especially in the evening, when the tourist boats are gone, you can enjoy the peace and quiet in this very special place.”

If you want to explore inland, there are marinas in Puerto Aventuras, Puerto Morelos, Cozumel, Cancun and Isla Mujeres where you can leave your yacht.

Photo: Chris Major/
CM Images LLC

Panhandle or Keys?

From the Yucatan Peninsula, you have two options: sail north or east. The northern route will bring you to the south coast of the USA, where you can choose to head to Texas, Louisiana, Alabama or Florida.

Yucatan beaches fringed with palm trees and painted, tongue-in-cheek-named fishing boats. Photo: Kila Zamana

If you want to make it easier for yourself, you can opt to go through the Intracoastal Waterway of these states. In Mobile, Alabama, there is a yachting community where you could stop for repairs and maintenance.

Along the Florida Panhandle there are some interesting places to visit – Gulf Shores, the anchorage at Pensacola, and party town Destin, also home to extensive nature trails. Following the coast further west then south, you’ll sail to the beautiful Florida Keys, where you can anchor and enjoy the marine life.

The other option is to sail straight to the Florida Keys from Mexico, a 300-mile crossing, which gives you more time to explore Florida and sail across to the next destination – the Bahamas.

Welcoming community vibes and limited, sustainable development in Punta Allen. Photo: Kila Zamana

Whatever you decide, the ocean currents will help you on your way. First, the Yucatan current flows clockwise in the Gulf of Mexico, and reaches northern Florida, where it meets the Gulf Loop current, an east-flowing current which goes around the southern tip of Florida.

The prevailing winds are north-north-east, so it pays to look for a good weather window for this passage or crossing. Most people prefer June for this reason, but earlier windows do occur.

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Bahamas

The Bahamas offers an incredible sailing opportunity from the USA east coast, not only the natural beauty but also the proximity – the nearest islands are the Bimini islands, just 55 miles from Miami.

A visit to Fort Jefferson at the tail end of the Florida Keys. Photo: Kila Zamana

“My favourite place in the Bahamas is the Exuma chain of islands, because it is still not fully developed,” says Mexican cruiser Eduardo Martínez, who often sails across from Miami in his Lagoon 45, Martinsky.

“There are many ‘Virgin Islands’, many of them are privately owned but nothing has been built on them. You can anchor close to the shore and practically swim to the beach in incredible crystal clear water,” he says.

“Sailing in the Bahamas can be tricky, because there are many shallow areas. You need to navigate with care. The northern half of the Exuma archipelago is the most visited by yachts, but once you go south of Staniel Cay to Great Exuma you’ll find the majority of the islands are unspoilt and quieter. There are not many places to have dinner or to get fuel or supplies, but that’s part of the adventure. Staniel Cay is a great destination where there’s plenty to see and do.

The Majors’ Beneteau 423 Fika in the Mississipi River Delta. Photo: Alison Major

“On your way there a ‘must’ is Norman’s Cay, with reefs on the ocean side. Then Shroud Cay, where you can swim with the turtles, or Big Major Cay, where you can swim with the pigs. And don’t forget to visit Thunderball Grotto where one of the James Bond films, Thunderball with Sean Connery, was filmed. There are lots of diving and snorkelling spots; a very popular one is near a sunken airplane or the Singing Siren sculpture in Ruder Cut Cay.”

The prevailing winds are from the north-east to south-east, with the most northern islands of the Bahamas lying on the edge of the tradewind belt. The islands of the Bahamas are very low, so land breezes fuelled by the warmed-up land mass are rare.

Daniel Enriquez is a seasoned Mexican cruiser aboard his Leopard 50 catamaran. Photo: Daniel Enriquez

In winter, cold fronts do occur: the wind first veers to the south and south-west, then suddenly changes to the north-west, then north – and it ends with lighter winds in the north-east before returning to the normal pattern.

The Bahamas are also prone to be hit by tropical storms: from June to November is the hurricane season, in which both hurricanes generated in the Atlantic and in the Caribbean can pass the Bahamas. Martinez adds: “They say that the best time to go to the Bahamas are the winter months, December to April, but I go any time I can. Watch for hurricane season though, and make sure there’s not one coming your way.”

The Mayan Temple of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Photo: diegograndi/Getty

East Coast USA

The Gulf Stream makes a quick trip up the east coast of the USA feasible, but why hurry? Taking it slower and going up the Intracoastal Waterway is much more fun. The ICW is a 2,600-mile inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Boston, Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas.

Coastal and continental USA is outside the tradewind belt and therefore under the influence of a steady flow of high and low pressure systems. Photo: Mark Green

The eastern part has some restrictions: the maximum draught is 6ft (1.8m), the maximum height 65ft (19.8m). For taller and deeper yachts there is the option to weave in and out of the coastal waters and cherry-pick the parts that are deep enough.

First, the ICW makes your routing less weather dependent, but most of all it gives you the opportunity to explore wonderful, iconic places en route. From exciting Daytona and Cape Canaveral to historic St Augustine, and from the quiet tidal creeks in Georgia to the hustle and bustle of New York itself.

Photo: Jonathan Ross/Getty

The ICW is popular in spring and in autumn, so there is lots of information available on key navigational points, such as updates about the latest shifts in shoaling, as well as weather and current.

The best time to travel north on the ICW or offshore is in spring when the chances of northerly winds are not as high, nor is the risk of an early hurricane.

The east coast of the USA is out of the tradewind belt, so it’s best to look for a weather window in between the fronts. With a following breeze and the strong north-setting Gulf Stream, you can get champagne sailing conditions with fast and comfortable passages if you choose to go offshore. The Gulf Stream combined with a strong northerly wind is best avoided.

The famous swimming pigs at Pig Beach on Big Major Cay in Exuma. Photo: Cedric Angeles/Alamy

Cruising Beyond the Caribbean: America’s Great Loop

If you’re in the ICW you’ll see all sorts of pleasure craft with colourful burgees hoisted. They are Loopers: boats that travel America’s Great Loop. This is quite an unknown cruising option outside of the US, but the more you investigate it, the more intriguing it becomes.

The Loop is a clever, 5,200-mile long itinerary which connects the ICW on the south and east coast of the USA with the Great Lakes and the river system around the mighty Mississippi. It also gives you the opportunity to sail a circular itinerary.

‘The Loop is a clever, 5,200-mile long itinerary’. Photo: Cedric Angeles/Alamy

American cruisers Chris and Alison Major took a year to do the Loop with their children Ewan (10) and Gwynnie (8) on their Beneteau 423 Fika. “It’s an amazing adventure, especially with children,” Alison says. “You learn so much about the history and geography of our country, while navigating the rivers, lakes and estuaries.”

Chris adds: “We started in spring on the east coast and headed north. Through the Erie Canal, we went to the Great Lakes where the sailing is phenomenal. Then on through Chicago and down the river system to Alabama in autumn. From there, we sailed through the Gulf to Florida right after the hurricane season ended. In Florida, you can go up the ICW again.”

A big lock to negotiate in the Welland Canal linking lakes Ontario and Erie. Photo: Mark Green

“For us, as a younger couple, it was very easy to do the Loop in one year and keep doing our jobs remotely,” says Alison. “We thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie between Loopers, either motorboats or sailing yachts. It’s a very helpful bunch of people, we’ve found. The ‘Docktails’ in various ports are a lovely way to meet other Loopers.”

In 2024, 270 boats completed the Loop, of which almost 50 were sailing yachts. American cruisers Mark and Letitia Green did the loop part-time, in four years with their Catalina 380 Green Voyage. “Due to work and family commitments, we opted to do the Loop in four steps. Thankfully it’s not a race and there are plenty of places to leave the boat along the way,” Letitia says.

One of a series of lifting bridges allowing yachts through downtown Chicago. Photo: Chris Major/CM Images LLC

“The first winter we left our yacht in Buffalo, New York State. The second winter in Alpena, Michigan, the third at Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky Lake.

“The fun thing about the Loop is that you can choose to go off the beaten track again. In our first Loop-summer we left the Erie Canal at Oswego and made a short trip up into the Thousand Islands, then through the Welland Canal on our way to Buffalo.”

Photo: Chris Major/CM Images LLC

Mark adds: “In general, the Loop probably favours motorboats because of long stretches where you can’t sail, generally shallower draught, and no complications with masts or bridges. That said, we had some beautiful sailing in the Great Lakes and are generally more seaworthy and comfortable for passages that power boaters fret over, like the Florida Gulf crossing, and some of our longer Great Lakes runs.

“Yes, there is more motoring involved than most sailors like, but the scenery and interesting destinations along the Loop more than make up for that. Plus the fuel consumption on a sailing yacht is much lower than on a motorboat.”

White sand and turquoise seas anchorage at Great Exuma in the Bahamas. Photo: mr-fox/Getty

There is a catch though: the Great America’s Loop has height and depth restrictions: in general, 65ft (19.8m) mast height and 5-6ft (1.5-1.8m) draught is the limit. There are two sections where the mast has to come down: the Eerie Canal and the river system south of Chicago.

Alison says: “It looks daunting at first, but there are excellent services available at boatyards along the way. For the Erie Canal, you can have the mast unstepped, but there is a DIY crane as well. We transported the mast on deck in the Erie Canal, because it’s relatively narrow and sheltered.

“For the trip south, we had the mast unstepped in Chicago and transported by truck to Mobile, Alabama. After almost two months on the river system, the mast was stepped again for the wonderful sail along the Gulf coast on to Florida.”

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Whether you’re new to cruising or are a seasoned liveaboard, welcoming family, friends or new crew aboard can be both a joy and a challenge.

On the one hand, you want your guests to feel at home and comfortable. On the other, you need them to respect the boat, follow the rules, and stay flexible.

It’s a delicate dance, especially in the first few days, balancing the role of both host and captain.

Over the last 10 years of cruising we’ve hosted nearly 100 individuals aboard, first on our monohull Agápe, a 42ft 1984 Tayana Vancouver, and now Agápe Nui, our 46ft Leopard catamaran. Many have returned multiple times, with stays ranging from a week to three months.

My wife Rachel and I love sharing our alternative, chosen lifestyle – so much so that we transitioned from a monohull to a catamaran to make it both more sustainable for ourselves and also for hosting.

Seeing the amazement and wonder on our family and friends’ faces when we drop the hook in crystal-clear water, or share morning coffee watching eagle rays dance under the boat, is one of the things that keeps us going.

That’s not to say there are no frustrations and growing pains when hosting for so long and so often.

Here are our tips to keeping things running smoothly.

First things first: set ground rules

Talk about money: be clear on how any costs will be shared in advance. Photo: Joshua Shankle.

The single most important thing is to manage expectations from the very beginning.

We have an Agápe Nui welcome letter that we send to all of our guests before they book airfares going over some of the differences between land and boat life.

We try to forewarn people about things like water conservation, power use, weather and daily activity level.

This helps ease the shock of not being able to take 10 minute showers, and any other nuances that you deem worth mentioning.

We also ask about any food allergies or restrictions so that we have sufficient time to stock the boat, especially when in more remote locations.

Managing space onboard

Sharing time aboard with friends and family is a great way to maintain relationships. Photo: Joshua Shankle.

Teaching people how to move around the boat your way goes a long way towards making the experience enjoyable for everyone. Space is always tight on a boat, and we make sure guests know that.

Hard-sided luggage and Pelican cases are nearly impossible to stow, so we encourage soft-sided rolling duffels. We often joke that if a bag is too big to stow, they may end up sleeping with it.

We also let guests know early on that we tend to keep a slow and steady pace. We usually avoid moving the boat on the first day. It gives everyone a chance to unpack, settle in, and get a feel for their new floating home.

During this time, we give them a thorough tour, pointing out everything from how to use the toilet to where it’s okay to be salty and where it’s not, not leaving the fridge open, and even how to light the stove.

It can seem a lot, and at times we feel like little tyrants laying down so many rules. But being clear from the beginning helps everyone adjust quickly and prevents frustrations later.

Typically, we’ll do one or two fun activities each day, but the rest of our time is filled with the monotony of daily life, preparing meals, doing maintenance, reading, and relaxing.

Many guests come from busy lives where constant activity is expected. We invite them to slow down. A good book goes a long way out here.

Guests are part of onboard life (and chores!)

Of course, while our guests are on vacation we’re still living our everyday lives. There are chores to do and errands to run. That said, some of those chores can turn into fun experiences.

Something like grocery shopping can become a cultural adventure. Visiting markets in foreign ports, with unexpected language barriers, unfamiliar sights and smells, and bartering for local produce all adds up to something memorable. Plus, it gives guests a chance to pick out snacks they like, grab anything they forgot, and help carry it all back to the dinghy.

We also like to involve guests in keeping the boat clean. One of our shared tasks is washing the boat after a day of sailing. It’s a great way to get everyone involved, and it creates a sense of ownership.

When people help clean, they’re more likely to help keep it that way, and that makes life better for everyone.

Recharge yourself (and keep a board game on hand!)

Even an everyday journey ashore for provisions can be an adventure for visitors. Photo: Joshua Shankle.

As much as we love having people with us, it’s important to take a little time for ourselves.

Often as sailors we are used to living a slightly isolated life and can sometimes go for several days without even leaving the boat, let alone speaking to other people. But with guests, you’re often in full-on host mode.

It can be a lot. Just thirty minutes alone with a cup of coffee or a short walk ashore can help recharge your social batteries and keep your energy levels up.

After a full day in the sun and salt, we’re often talked out but not quite ready for bed. That’s when a few simple games come in handy.

A few decks of cards or a set of dominoes are perfect for passing time. Dominoes are great as they won’t blow away in a sudden gust, and they keep the mood light and easy.

Enjoy it!

Hosting people in your floating home can be a challenge, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. You get to introduce others to a completely different way of life, one that in today’s busy world is entirely foreign.

So take joy in the little moments: a shared sunset, a calm anchorage, or a guest seeing amazing marine life for the first time. Don’t stress about being the perfect host. And remember you can’t control the weather, only your attitude and outlook about it!

Be prepared, too: working onboard will change you.

Sharing time aboard with friends and family is a great way to maintain relationships. Photo: Joshua Shankle.

One interesting observation that some GLY rally crews made was that by embarking on a life-changing experience, you will naturally become a different person.

“You can’t sail around the world for three years and not change,” one noted.

Visiting friends and family will be meeting the ‘new you’ for the first time, and some patience and grace may be needed for the readjustment phase!

Many rally and round the world crews also report building confidence as their mileage increases – often inviting guests as additional crew for ocean crossings early in the circumnavigation, but confidently sailing double-handed by the ‘return’ passage.

Top rules for a happy boat

Photo: Joshua Shankle.

Ahead of the three-year Grand Large Yachting Odyssey around the world rally, previous participants shared some of their learnings and wisdom with those about to set off this autumn at a ‘GLY University’.

One popular seminar was on how to manage friends and family on board.

Our editor Helen Fretter reports on some of the key points shared:

• You can plan a time, or a place to meet – but not both. Never be forced into making a poor weather or routing decision because you have a tight deadline to collect guests or arriving crew.
• Write down your boat rules and advice and send it to anyone joining your boat in advance. Don’t be shy – many Odyssey crews developed detailed six-page documents over the course of the rally.
• Establish your role as ‘skipper’ early – a safety tour and briefing going over the boat rules on arrival can be a good way to reinforce this. This can be particularly tricky when welcoming parents, elder siblings or long-standing friends as it may be different from your usual dynamic.
• Taking guests on passage can give you additional crew/hands on board, but with the trade off that it may bring additional people who could suffer seasickness if not acclimatised to life at sea, as well as requiring additional food/power/water/bunk space etc.
• If joining you in a far-flung country, visiting friends and family will likely have spent a considerable amount on airfares and be looking to make it a longer trip. Suggest they split their time between a hotel (to acclimatise or recuperate after a passage etc) and on board.
• Having loved ones join you can be a wonderful way to share the adventure – but it can naturally limit the time you spend with other rally participants (and potentially taking part in a rally programme you’ve paid for), or meeting other cruisers en route. Make it clear to guests that you’ll need to spend time with others off the boat as well.
• Set expectations early if welcoming girlfriends/boyfriends of adult children, especially those in newer relationships or non-sailors.

If you enjoyed this article about managing crew onboard….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

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The post Top rules for living together on board: How to manage crew and guests appeared first on Yachting World.

For many cruising couples the liveaboard life is a shared ambition worked and saved towards for years, before setting off together, alone. For others, the decision to sail two-up is an evolution, borne of an increase in skill and knowledge, and the desire to reclaim peace and privacy on board after sailing with crew. But expectation and reality do not always align, so how do you ensure the experience matches the vision you both held?

We canvassed dozens of cruisers on how to run a happy ship for two. Many knew couples whose relationship did not survive living aboard. All had strategies to avoid the same pitfalls, and generously shared their advice.

Who knows more?

Few of our cruising couples had similar levels of sailing experience as each other initially. “A very definite no,” says Miranda Baker on that question. “Elliot had his RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and a ton of experience crewing and teaching sailing. I’d spent six weeks ‘crewing’ a boat through the Whitsundays in my early 20s – but don’t remember the sails ever being raised. I think this disparity worked in our favour because it was clear who would be in charge.” The couple have so far sailed 15,000 miles from New Zealand to Indonesia.

More important was how each pairing developed those skills. “One bit of advice we always give is to make sure you level-up your sailing experience as much as possible,” says Charlotte DC. She and partner JP Baudains are circumnavigating, and also run a brokerage company, often advising new cruisers on bluewater yachts.

“Stressful situations at sea can be even worse when only one person feels like they can be ‘dealing with the boat’ at that time,” she adds. “It makes the other person feel guilty and unimportant.”

Miranda Baker and Elliot Russo have cruised 15,000 miles on their 1985 steel Mason 48 Fortaleza. Photo: Miranda Baker & Elliot Russo

Get better together

Fundamentally, it’s a safety consideration. “I’d never been on a sailing boat before we met. I quickly decided, however, that if Neil went overboard i wanted to [be able to] sail the boat back to land so i did lots of sailing courses and got my Yachtmaster Offshore before we left,” recalls Helen Smith, who spent four years circumnavigating with her husband, Neil, on their s&s 40, then later bought a Moody 54 which they sailed across the Atlantic.

Kate Ashe-Leonard took a rigorous approach to up-skilling before she and partner Jim Hooper set off on their Catana 47. “Jim had sailed his whole life whereas i had never sailed before.

“In the first few months we divided the sailing quite evenly but i was always under Jim’s watchful eye. After a day of sailing, at anchor we’d discuss the manoeuvres we’d done (for example, raising and dropping the mainsail).

i would type them up into a step-by-step written procedure to make sure i really understood what was going on and why each step is important.”

Discuss how you will divide roles – from sailing to maintenance, navigation, paperwork and domestic tasks. Photo: Tor Johnson

But with so many demands on your time when preparing for a voyage, it can be a struggle to get the hours in. “Will grew up cruising offshore with his family. i had little to no sailing experience,” recalls Sarah Curry. “In the years that we were saving to buy our first bluewater boat we sailed locally out of Vancouver for a cumulative three weeks. i focused more on taking navigation courses and reading as much as i could.

“Will’s seamanship and skill is amazing, but i initially struggled as the far less experienced sailor. It’s hard to take direction all the time! i often felt jealous of couples who learned together or had sailing skills at similar levels. In hindsight, i should have used our preparation years to hone my on-the-water skills,” she acknowledges.

It worked out though – the couple have lived aboard for over 10 years, raising twins on board while also running wind vane company Hydrovane.

Photo: Tor Johnson

Who does what?

There are broadly two schools of thought on how to split roles on board: divide equally, or play to your strengths. The critical thing is to ensure that one member of the team doesn’t end up doing all the sailing and technical jobs, with the other de-skilled.

Janneke Kuysters and Wietze van der Laan were closely matched in their experience levels. “Many couples need to have a clear ‘captain’ role on board. We don’t believe in that. The person closest to the wheel (or on watch) has the best oversight and takes the decisions,” says Janneke.

“Wietze is the better sailor, so he sails the boat while i do everything around it: food, radio, weather, navigation, paperwork, berth reservations, etc. We strongly believe in doing what you’re good at, instead of both wanting to be able to do all the jobs. Despite being together all day, you need to have something to talk about. And having achieved something you’re proud of is good for the ‘catch up’ at the end of the day.”

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“i had a vision that certain areas would be really equal in our roles – everything down to the marine electrics or engine maintenance and so on,” recalls Larissa Clark, who is cruising the Pacific with Duncan Copeland and their two sons.

“i tried to prepare towards that before we left, going on courses where i didn’t have the expertise. Two days into a marine electrics course, where it felt like every chapter ended with the word ‘Fire!’, i decided actually there were areas it was just better to divide and conquer. Electrics is definitely not my strength, but it is very much Duncan’s. But i always like to ask a lot of questions so i can understand the decisions that we’re making, and vice versa.”

Helen Harbour and her husband, David, sail their 46ft Amel ketch around six months of each year. Helen described a typical division of roles among our cruising couples: “i do the planning, navigation and piloting. David does the maintenance. i helm to anchor and pick up buoys. David helms to bring us into marinas. We both do all sailing roles, either together, or on our own. We both stand our own, equal length watches, carrying out all boat handling on our own, night or day.”

Kate Ashe-Leonard and Jim Hooper have sailed halfway around the world on their Catana 47 Polaris. Photo: Jim Hooper

“More demanding manoeuvres, we make sure that we do together,” observes Miguel and Claire Queiroz, who crossed to the Caribbean in their Fountaine Pajot 47.

“There were no clear cut roles for us. We had a sign above the companionway saying ‘The Captain’s Word is Law’. The only issue was that we both captained on and off, sometimes making it confusing which of us was the law and which of us was the law-breaker!” recall Sarah and Rasmus Haurum Christensen, who have lived aboard their Beneteau 423 for a year.

“We were convinced that a flat structure was the best way, and that turned out to be wholly right. But for longer passages we establish a dedicated captain. This means that if all hell broke loose, this person had the main responsibility and last word.”

Most double-handed couples sail a large proportion of miles solo, but work together on more challenging manoeuvres. Photo: Nikkey Dawn/SV Freeranger

Domestic duties

Many couples reported that domestic duties were more equally shared on board than on land. Seasickness is the often unspoken reason why one half of a couple takes on more domestic tasks.

“Wietze gets seasick. Making him cook or get a weather forecast would make him unnecessarily miserable. So he sails the boat outside, i do everything inside,” explains Janneke.

“While we tried to split boat jobs and domestic jobs as evenly as possible, the simple fact is that i don’t get seasick and can knock out a meal in most sea states, whereas i wouldn’t have a clue where to start fixing the watermaker or the generator. It made sense to play to our strengths and skill sets,” says Philippa Steventon, who cruised Europe and the Caribbean with her family on their Bowman 40.

“When we moved onto the boat i volunteered Elliot to deal with the composting loo, a task that involves a trowel. His tax for us living his dream!” adds Miranda.

Downwind in big seas – fun sailing, but potentially stressful two-up. Photo: Tor Johnson

What do you both want?

Having equal ‘buy in’ is important to mutual happiness. “What is most important is discussing your expectations: what does each person want to get out of cruising? That’s what we see most of the fights are about on other boats. In many cases, one is fulfilling a lifetime dream and the other is going along to keep the relationship going,” says Janneke. “That person is prone to homesickness, boredom and unhappiness.”

“We met so many couples where one – usually the wife – was there because it was her husband’s dream,” seconds Philippa Steventon.

Drilling down into expectations is important. “We are very lucky that we both equally sought this lifestyle, and have similar feelings about the sorts of places we like to go, and the balance between visiting well-known versus more challenging destinations,” explains James and Jayne Pearce, who live on their Garcia Exploration 45 Scout. “If one partner dreams about long bluewater passages, and the other dreams about socialising by a marina pool, then there are going to be some painful misunderstandings!”

Larissa Clark and Duncan Copeland are cruising the Pacific while running the Free Range Ocean citizen science directory. Photo: Free Range Ocean

But you don’t have to bring equal experience to have equal involvement. “When you start out there will be one of you that is more confident in sailing or handling the conditions than the other. We learned early on that you really need to drive to the level of comfort where you are both happy. That may be a bit frustrating for the more experienced partner, but as time and experience move forward, trust is built allowing confidence to grow,” say Carl and Joanna Greenwood, who have been cruising their Lagoon 42 Rockhopper since 2021.

“Passage planning and weather routing really is a joint process. We both make a decision together as to whether to go or stay. If one of us is uncomfortable about the conditions then we don’t go. This way there are no ‘i told you so’ moments,” they add.

“It’s inevitable you are going to have bad passages and anchorages that don’t work out. But it’s important that it is both of our decisions, never just one person’s, so there’s no blame when things don’t go to plan. When we commit to something we have got to be in it together,” agree Simon McKenna and Soph Snijders, who are sailing their Duncanson 34 Nakama around Australia (and documenting it on their ‘Slim & Soph’ youtube channel).

Sarah and Will Curry cruise with their twin boys, and remotely run the Hydrovane windvane company. Photo: Will & Sarah Curry

But big changes can put pressure on the cruising dream at any stage. “Sailing life is a huge undertaking. Working remotely adds a new element of time management. Parenting on board was a natural progression for us but the combination of all three ‘jobs’ landed us in the Red Zone,” recalls Sarah Curry. “We found ourselves in la Paz, Mexico, with toddler twin boys learning to walk on the boat, in the middle of Covid, with emails to answer, while trying to re-visit our favourite anchorages.

“Our challenge was admitting to each other that we weren’t having any fun. We had to slow down for a few years, which is not in our nature.”

Jessy and Chet Chauhan are cruising the world on their Nautitech 46 Open catamaran Navasana. Photo: Sailing Navasana

Problem solving

Every couple has their flashpoints, largely depending on their boat set-up. One recurring issue our couples reported was handing downwind sails double-handed.

“For us downwind sailing in following seas presents the biggest challenge,” say Eamonn Naughton and Brigid McMahon, who have cruised their Rustler 42 for over seven seasons. “We carry a parasailor for downwind sailing and use a poled-out headsail when winds are in excess of 20 knots. Lowering the parasailor and gybing the pole in heavy seas can be very challenging double-handed. So when the weather gets up we now tend to sail on a broad reach (less than $160^\circ$ twa), gybe when required, and take the hit on course and vmg.”

“Wing on wing is the sail plan we most enjoy and have perfected,” say the Currys. “Our first boat came with a huge spinnaker pole strapped on the side of the deck. It was incredibly cumbersome, and even dangerous, for us to manoeuvre as a couple. We immediately had it mounted on a track on the mast for ease of deployment.

“We practice, practice, practice pole deployment and gybing. A well-balanced boat is essential for self steering, so we take this seriously and always use a pole on our monohulls when reaching or sailing dead downwind.”

Irish couple Eamonn Naughton and Brigid McMahon sailing their Rustler 42 Mor Toad. Photo: Eamonn Naughton & Brigid McMahon

‘Marriage savers’

Some double-handed issues can be solved by changing your gear. “Recently in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, we found it challenging in very tight anchorages where you have to use multiple shore lines,” recall Jessy and Chet Chauhan, cruising their Nautitech 46 Catamaran. “Chet had secured one line but while he was getting the second one attached, a squall came through that pushed the boat towards the reef. Jessy couldn’t use the engines, because the first shore line was under the boat and close to the propellers. We now have floating lines to tie to shore, which should allow Jessy to use the engines at any time.”

But by far the most common point of contention was mooring up. “Bella was Scheel keeled and particularly painful to manoeuvre in close quarters. This meant parking was 100% our biggest source of stress. We really didn’t want to be one of those couples screaming at each other going into marinas so we learned to get really calm and quiet coming in to dock,” says Philippa Steventon. Early preparation, doubling up lines and fenders on both sides, and refusing assistance from well-meaning bystanders helped smooth the process.

Many couples recommended radio headsets, often referred to as ‘marriage savers’. “For moments of potential contention we use headsets. In marinas, sometimes anchoring if it looks tricky, or when Elliot goes up the mast. The headsets have definitely reduced the need for raised voices – now we can whisper our insults at each other,” says Miranda Baker.

Simon McKenna and Sophie Snijders are rounding Australia on their Duncanson 34 Nakama. Photo: Sailing Nakama

Sarah Haurum Christensen feels there are three options for stress-free berthing: “Figure out some good hand signs and hope you understand each other; yell across 43ft, a rumbling engine and 30 knots of breeze; or buy headsets and dock like pros but look like boomers!

“We established clear hand signs, and yelled, which did not always end well. The most important tip here is to establish a method for dealing with arguments after a manoeuvre, and to debrief if arguments arose.”

Is it worth it?

There’s no doubt that living on board will test a relationship like – almost – nothing else.

“We consider this the ultimate Ikea test!” says Sarah and Rasmus. “The Ikea test normally entails building flatpack furniture as a couple, and success means you can do anything together. Try doing plumbing in the bilge together at 0300 in 4m waves because you had a fresh water hose explode!”

Somira Sao and partner James Burwick took a more extreme approach before going sailing with their young children on an Open 40 – continuing as their family grew to six children on a 50ft trimaran. “We were unique in that we never had a land life together in the traditional sense. We did not come from a world where we had to downsize from a four-bedroom house,” Somira explains. “All of our time living together involved an expedition lifestyle – bike packing for 12 months, living in vans etc.

“Before you commit to going sailing, we highly recommend doing some off-grid expeditions together. It’s a good litmus test for what will happen when you’re in a small space on a boat together in the middle of the ocean.”

For many couples the shared time together is a huge draw to double-handed liveaboard cruising. Photo: Tor Johnson

Prepare for some teething problems, even if you are experienced cruisers. “On both our long voyages, we have learned that the first three months are the most challenging,” says Janneke Kuysters. “You have to get used to living together on the boat, to being underway all the time and letting go of everything you were used to.

“For many people, their job is part of their identity. So if the job is no longer there, they have to find their new identity as a cruiser. We always advise to give it time and allow yourself to get used to your new way of life before making big changes.”

But the rewards are huge. “We spent 18 months living aboard while completing the World ARC,” says John DiMatteo and his wife Angela. “In addition to sharing a life changing experience (for the better), the biggest benefit was greatly improving how we communicate with each other. It brought us much closer together at an age where many couples start to drift apart.”

“i am glad i didn’t know how scary it can be,” reflects Miranda Baker, whose partner Elliot faced a life-threatening medical emergency in a remote anchorage. “i’m not sure if i’d have put my hand up, and that would have been a shame. This life probably makes or breaks relationships, so i am proud of our resilience as a couple.”

She concludes: “The immersive experience of exploring our planet by sailboat is a wild ride but the reward is equal in measure. We experience a freedom to choose what’s next for ourselves that’s rare for most humans. We are humbled by enormous, star bursting skies and by important things breaking in remote places.

“We have each other’s backs. And, when Elliot and i are very old, we will have a thousand crazy stories to reminisce over and laugh about.”

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Time in a boatyard rarely goes exactly to plan. Investigate beyond where you usually look and you’ll almost always uncover work that wasn’t expected. The trick is to turn that disruption into long-term value — tackling hidden jobs head-on and using time out of the water as an investment.

The old rule of thumb still applies: buy well but only buy once. With a clear game plan and good guidance futureproofing can be one of the smartest refit strategies there is.

Old, but far from out

To futureproof thoroughly, you need a good sounding board of expertise, like David Gabriel, the refit manager for Rustler Yachts. The traditional brand is perhaps still most closely associated with its 36; a classic, long-keeled cruising yacht that counts Princess Anne as a former owner.

HRH now sails a much more modern Rustler 44, but refits of the 36 remain regular work for Gabriel. He explains what updating an older yacht for the long haul can look like.

“The 36 refit we’ve got underway at the moment is designed to give her maybe a couple of decades before she needs another major overhaul. It’s very much an investment for the owner setting her up for a long sailing future. She’ll be a much more modern yacht in terms of technology than anyone could have imagined when she was launched.

Spending money below the waterline might not often be seen, but is one of the first steps to futureproofing your yacht. Photo: Rustler Yachts

Forward-looking sonar, a hot water-based heating system instead of hot air, and completely new plumbing and electrics will make her feel new again,” explains Gabriel.

Surprisingly the original rig of the 1990s yacht was judged so good that it’s been given a clean bill of health — not in need of replacement for up to a decade.

So what makes an older design worth this level of commitment over a cheaper new production build? “It’s a pattern we’re seeing, including with other quality brands we refit,” says Gabriel. “It lowers the price threshold to own a really solid yacht at a time when raw material costs are pushing new prices up for everyone. While it’s not the same as commissioning a new Rustler, it’s a great way to enjoy a genuinely high-quality yacht.”

Jobs easily missed

Nathan Bone Yachts has been refitting yachts in Plymouth for over 50 years, seeing trends come and go, but also how getting the fundamentals right can set a yacht up for a long life with only routine maintenance needed. “Good futureproofing is about dealing with the jobs that are hard to reach, always with safety first in mind,” Bone says.

But which jobs to tackle, and in what order? “Ideally, we shape the work by talking a lot to the owner, building a solid relationship before we even start, and making a plan that will serve them well for years.

Like a classic car, even if the yacht isn’t that old, you always find more once you open her up. We’ll usually take a proper look at the keel, for example. It might be tempting to focus on the looks first, but the question should always be ‘What’s caused it to look like that?’ Often there’s something deeper going on.

Coachroof refurbishment and repainting. Photo: Rustler Yachts

“The deck is always a big consideration. We restore teak wood when we can and enjoy doing it, but we also replace decks completely with teak or modern alternatives. That’s a major job – and one people often kid themselves about, thinking the deck has more life in it than it really does. If you can see the screws, it’s usually past it.

Good teak is wonderful, of course, but synthetic options can be excellent too — it depends on the yacht and the owner,” Bone explains.

So are things ‘not like they used to be’, or do improvements in terms of materials and fittings mean they last longer? “It’s a mix. Acrylic hull paints have improved massively and last a long time. Coppercoat, if applied correctly, can last 12 years. PropSpeed is a fantastic product that improves economy and speed and just wasn’t available before,” says Bone.

“We’d also always recommend spending on quality deck gear — that’s an area where the metal quality from some makers has definitely dropped.”

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What’s hidden beneath

Neil Desty of Desty Marine is well known in the UK yachting industry as a go-to yard by marine insurance companies, as well as for contracts with major UK yachtbuilders. He suggests that everything under the waterline is the first thing to consider when looking to futureproof. “Spending money on what you don’t see in the water isn’t often so appealing to an owner but it’s absolutely fundamental.

“Spending money here is generally spending money you won’t spend again for a long time, so, if you change a seacock, consider changing all of them, and, why would you change a seacock and not change the hose coming off of it? It just makes sense.”

When it comes to the hull itself, Desty notes there is often reluctance to spend there too. “If we’re taking the keel off, spend a little extra for some good quality washers, a good quality plate, and generally do things properly. We do a lot of osmosis treatment and owners are often tempted to save a bit by not putting in a good layer of epoxy to give it a good waterproof layer and seal off the laminate.”

Watertight decks are vital, whether real wood or synthetic alternatives. Photo: Rustler Yachts

Good ingredients

In an age where the yachting industry has become increasingly environmentally conscious, buying well-made yacht components might be one of the best things we can do to minimise impact on the environment, simply by making things last longer.

When it comes to deck fittings, poor quality metal has found its way onto many yachts over the past decade, often the result of cheaper raw materials from China and rising prices closer to home.

Some marine manufacturers are making a point of buying the best quality they can, explaining to customers why their product costs more instead of trying to compete on price. Alex Blair, UK sales manager for Ultra Anchors, explains: “We only occasionally get objections to our anchors, and it’s always about price. But once we explain, it makes sense.

We use Swedish 316 steel for Ultra anchors — it’s the best you can buy — and that lets us offer a genuine lifetime warranty on the anchor and five years on the swivels.

“Stainless steel chain costs more than galvanised, but for good reason, so we’ve taken the same approach there too. Long-term sailors know their anchor is their insurance policy, and it’s something you absolutely have to get right.”

Anything on deck will be exposed to UV. Plastic fittings are particularly vulnerable, and those made with UV-stabilised materials will last much longer. Investing in proper covers can also dramatically extend the life of deck components.

Hull and keel integrity is fundamental to a yacht’s long term future. Photo: Will Bruton

Buying Smarter for Longer

Some yacht kit has a surprisingly short shelf life, while other gear — if you choose carefully — can be fitted once and forgotten about for decades.

Batteries

Lead-acid or AGM types are usually good for three to five years before sulphation sets in, while a well-managed LiFePO₄ lithium bank will still be cycling happily after 10-15 years.

Standing rigging

Stainless steel wire is typically changed on a 7-10 year schedule, often at an insurer’s insistence. Modern Dyneema (the creep-resistant DM20 variety) can run for a decade or more if it’s properly jacketed and protected from UV.

Sails

Plain Dacron will last 7-10 years of moderate seasonal use, but a Hydranet or Dyneema-reinforced cloth can add several seasons – sometimes 12-15 years – before shape loss forces a replacement.

When a boat is out of the water there’s no point in not checking and replacing sacrificial anodes. Photo: Will Bruton

Anchor chain

Galvanised anchor chain typically needs replacement after 5-10 years of hard service, but stainless steel chain can often last more than 20.

Seacocks

Brass seacocks may dezincify in as little as five years, while bronze or Marelon valves often see out the life of the boat.

Hardware

Deck hardware follows the same pattern. Cheap plastic-sheaved blocks will wear and seize quickly, whereas a bronze or stainless winch, kept greased and maintained, is an investment.

Electronics

Magnetron radars are prone to fade after 5-7 years, whereas solid-state Doppler sets don’t have these issues.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

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The post How to futureproof your yacht: Essential refit jobs for your time in the boatyard appeared first on Yachting World.

It’s safe to say that the catamaran is truly out of the bag when it comes to the appeal of multihulls as cruising platforms, and not just for a week-long charter in the BVI’s. The mono vs cat debate has long raged, and while there will always be those who will never consider a yacht without ballast as seaworthy, the number of long-term cruisers crossing the world’s oceans on catamarans is increasing steadily.

As they’ve become more popular, they’ve also moved beyond the charter-style offerings of mass production catamarans. While Gunboat remains the brand that defines the performance breed, the likes of HH, McConaghy, Marsaudon Composites, Outremer, Balance, Kinetic and several smaller boutique brands are building multihulls that seem to demand little compromise in comfort yet offer near-raceboat levels of performance.

Boards down and powered up to weather on the first GB80 Highland Fling XV111. Photo: Sailing Energy/Multihull Cup

It’s hard to deny the appeal – this new generation of fast cruising cats offers an unrivalled blend of performance and livability that monohulls struggle to match.

And as we can see from the preceding Supersail World pages, they’re growing, in size, comfort, power, and performance terms.

But as Spiderman Peter Parker knows, with great power comes great responsibility. If you’re going to be safe and comfortable on a big cat you need to develop a certain amount of Spidery sense for the boat. Cats don’t talk back the way monos do, and they’re a lot less forgiving. When a gust hits a monohull, you know about it immediately. She heels over, spills some wind, might round up and flog the sails. On a cat, with its huge righting moment, the structure absorbs all that extra load.

Kopman’s wife and friends line handling. Photo: Mike Kopman

There’s no tell-tale increase in heel, and no way for the boat to automatically shed that power. If it’s sailed well, and not overloaded, that power will quickly translate into speed – which is great when you want it, but not so great if you’re already sailing close to the edge of your comfort zone. The old adage of reefing when you first think about it is doubly true for performance cats. In fact, you need to reef before you think about it!

Sailing large catamarans: Exit strategies

When the boat is really lit up, it’s crucial that everyone aboard knows the plan for if you get overpowered. Whether you’re going to head up and feather your way through a big gust or bear away and ride it out needs to be decided on beforehand, because in sketchy conditions, there’s no time to freeze and think about it.

If you’re already in upwind or downwind mode just keep going. Luffing up or running off works well on cats. But it’s when reaching fast in the so-called ‘death zone’ of 80°-110° true wind angle that things become less clear. Heading up increases apparent wind, which increases boat speed, while bearing away increases boat speed, then apparent wind.

‘Sailors agree that flying a hull has no place in cruising’. Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget

Either way, loads spike fast, the yacht feels squirrelly and steering can become difficult. If you’re in gusty conditions or expecting an increase, then err on the side of being underpowered. This means boards up, traveller down, leeches open and twisted off.

If your ‘exit’ is to head up, you want both main and jib to start luffing evenly. Once you’re almost head to wind and the boat has slowed right down, sheet the jib on (to help with the bear away), dump the main, and turn the boat deep downwind aggressively before she can build speed again. Once you’re sailing deep, slowly and in control, you can plan to reduce sail.

Trimming and reefing

Modern multis tend to have the rig stepped further aft and carry higher aspect mains, with multiple headsails on furlers. This means changing gear quickly is a lot easier, but with the main further aft in the boat, it can act like a great big rudder and prevent you from bearing away, even with the sheet eased, so make sure you remember to dump the traveller too.

Kopman’s daughters at anchor. Photo: Mike Kopman

If you’re not familiar with sailing a cat with daggerboards it helps to think of them as another sail, and that means they can be reefed. Upwind, of course, you want a board down, but as the breeze builds ‘reefing’ the daggerboards is as important as reducing sail. In fact, it’s remarkable how much you can depower a cat on a beam reach by pulling the boards up. They can be hard to move on a reach due to the lateral load on them, but once they’re out of the water, the boat will be making considerably more leeway and generating a lot less power.

My family and I were sailing our own 20m cat, Komotion, off the south-east coast of Sardinia on the tail end of a Mistral. We’d headed offshore a little to avoid wind shadow, and pretty quickly the wind built into the high 20s, putting our apparent wind over 40 knots.

Mike Kopman is an MCA commercial captain with 25 years and 300,000 sea miles experience on yachts. Photo: Mike Kopman

While putting a few rolls in the jib, the lashing on the furling line turning block failed, and with a bang the jib unfurled and we were under full sail again. The boat speed jumped to over 20 knots and we suddenly had a bit of a situation on our hands.

We dumped the traveller, and my wife, Sarah, steered off deep to slow the boat, while I went up onto the trampoline and lashed the block back in place. Broken gear is not something you can usually anticipate, but having a way out of a difficult situation before it arises can be invaluable.

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Speed on

‘They suck going upwind!’ is still the oft-repeated criticism of sailing cats, and while it might be true for some designs where volume has been prioritised over performance, it’s clearly not true for all cats. With daggerboards down and quality, flat sails, it’s a case of sheeting in and hanging on. Cracking off a few degrees results in a smoother ride and the sharp increase in speed gives a nice return in VMG.

Fine bows and hulls on Mike Kopman’s 72ft fast cruising cat Komotion. Photo: Mike Kopman

When it comes to tacking, a few small points can help you avoid resorting to the ‘charter tack’, ie starting an engine to get the boat through the wind. Firstly, bear away a little to build speed (don’t try to tack when you’re pinching). Then come upwind sharply and decisively, but don’t stall the rudders. Ease the mainsheet a bit as you’re about to come head to wind. This will reduce the mainsail’s ‘weathervane’ effect that can keep the boat in irons.

As the bows come through the wind, hold off on releasing the jib sheet for a few moments. Letting it back will push the bows down on the new tack. Then ease it across onto the new tack, build speed, sheet in the main again and you’re off.

Ocean sailing at dusk aboard the author’s liveaboard performance cat. Photo: Mike Kopman

A quick note on flying a hull. On a true performance cat that is designed to be able to fly a hull, best boat speed generally comes from just skimming the water with the windward hull. If there’s any more air under there, that’s a sign you’re pushing hard and might consider dialling it back. That said, pretty much every big performance cat sailor would agree that flying a hull has no place in cruising. If you’re not on the racecourse, the risks are simply not worth it.

Keeping check

Where maintenance on a performance catamaran differs most from a mono is in the rigging. Visual inspections of the mast base and crossbeam area should be more frequent on cats. Don’t over-tension shrouds; the wide spreader base on cats mean rigs don’t need to be piano-wire tight.

Diamond stays and spreaders, though, take serious loads and need close monitoring for cracks, play, or corrosion. Mast base fittings and beam interfaces are under high stress and must be checked for elongation or wear. Check chainplates on hulls for symmetry and signs of creep or elongation.

Sight lines and crew communications become really important, especially if you can’t see all four corners of the boat. Photo: PKC Media/Tosca

Autopilots also work harder on a cat for all the same reasons. Without the ability to heel as a ‘pressure relief’, a catamaran’s autopilot feels a lot more sailing loads. The autopilot experiences higher loads, especially at speed, where shifts in apparent wind come quickly and unbalanced sails can throw the boat off course.

Shoal tactics

One of the attractions of a multihull is that the shallow draught allows you to anchor in places not accessible to monohulls, but this can have its own challenges. A big boat needs a lot of room to swing, and a big cat needs even more, so keep that in mind when picking a spot.

The usual rule of scope applies as much to multis as it does to monos, but it’s worth thinking about the extra windage of some bigger volume cats. Flybridges, solid bimini tops and acres of solar can add a lot of drag, and, as the saying goes, chain does nothing when it’s left in the locker.

Alex Thomson helming the Gunboat 68 Tosca mid-Atlantic. Photo: PKC Media/Tosca

Going one size up on your anchor will help you sleep better. Multihulls sail around at anchor a lot more than most monos, so it’s really important to have a good bridle system. Generally, if you’re swinging around like an excited puppy on a lead then setting out a longer bridle will help. And while Dyneema is super strong, its lack of stretch means it’s not ideal for this purpose. Good old three-strand is an ideal material, with eyes spliced at the anchor end shackled to a good chain hook. Simple whipped ends inboard means the length can easily be adjusted.

If you’re tying up to a mooring, don’t run a line from one hull through the mooring eye and back to the other hull. The yawing of the boat will chafe through the line, so always use two separate lines, one for each hull.

When it comes to getting underway again, remember the steering effect of your mainsail if you’re going to do the increasingly popular ‘hoist the main at anchor’ move in a crowded mooring field or anchorage. Keep the sheet eased, traveller loose, and get the jib out as soon as you can to help pull the bow down. Or better yet, motor to where you have plenty of room around you first. It may not look as cool, but then neither does ploughing into another anchored boat!

Manoeuvring

Sight lines on some catamarans are not as clear as on monohulls, so good communication among crew is really important when docking and anchoring. If engine controls aren’t ideally placed you’re going to need people calling distances. As is the same on any large yacht or superyacht, marine headsets make a lot of sense when anchoring and manoeuvring, particularly on cats with large blind spots. However, it’s still prudent to have backup hand signals, so make sure you agree on what distance one finger means beforehand!

Cruising mode engaged: big, fast cats offer long legs for passages and plenty of space at rest in shallows. Photo: Mike Kopman

Fortunately, twin props set far apart mean cats are really manoeuvrable, but the bows can blow off just like on any other boat and bow thrusters are not that common on cats. The key is to think through any close-quarters manoeuvre carefully in advance, and always have an escape route in mind. Weaving a tennis court through a crowded anchorage in gusty conditions can be pretty nerve-wracking. Daggerboards are just as effective at reducing leeway under power, so if the water is deep enough, then stick them down if it’s windy.

A little trick we sometimes use when picking up a mooring is to back up to it rather than approaching it bow on. Instead of standing up on the forward beam trying to guide the helmsman to the buoy (and then having to reach way down to pass a line through), we find it’s much easier for the line handler to stand on the transom where they’re lower to the water and within talking distance of the helm.

There’s much better visibility aft, the helmsman can bring the transom right up to the buoy, and a long line from the bow can then simply be passed through and brought back aboard as you spin around.

Motion

The motion of a cat offshore can come as quite a surprise to those used to sailing half boats. The sensation is more jerky, less predictable, and this motion can be quite fatiguing for the crew. If bridgedeck clearance on your particular design has been compromised, then expect sudden wave slaps from below that can make that much vaunted unspilled G&T leap right off the saloon table. The first time I experienced one of these I thought the whole structure had split in half.

Crew communications become really important, especially if you can’t see all four corners of the boat. Photo: PKC Media/Tosca

On Komotion, we find we are frequently slowing the boat down to keep our crew more comfortable, especially on longer passages and overnight. It’s important to manage fatigue and comfort across the length of the trip.

It’s great fun blasting along at 20 knots in flat water in the lee of an island, or for a wet and wild squirt across open water to the next one, but for passages longer than half a day or so the speed, the motion and even the adrenaline can become quite draining (although, that said, I’ll never get tired of watching the spray smoke off Komotion’s lee bow as we send it at 20+ knots!).

Noise in the hulls of a full GRP performance cat can be another fatiguing factor. Even aboard Komotion’s cedar-cored hulls, it sounds like a freight train down below when we’re doing more than 15 knots, and noise increases stress (no wonder, then, that some IMOCA 60 sailors use earplugs).

Sight lines become vital for sailing a big catamaran. Photo: PKC Media/Tosca

As a family we often find it more relaxing to sleep in the saloon on two- or three-day trips. Again, the key is knowing when to back off a bit. If you’re not racing, take your foot off the gas, reduce sail and enjoy the easy speeds that a large performance cat can maintain with less sail up. My wife and I will often sail through the night with a couple of reefs in the main and just switch between jib and staysail as conditions change.

For most of the long-term cruisers we’ve met sailing on larger performance cats, their choice of boat is more about enjoying the ability to keep sailing in light breeze, when everyone else is motoring, than sheer flat-out speed. This blend of performance and practicality is exactly why more families, ours included, are choosing to cruise fast, flat, and far.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

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Patagonia isn’t a place you rush through. At least not if you want to experience it fully. Its fjords and channels, carved by glaciers and swept by wind, demand patience and reward curiosity. On a 35ft glassfibre sailboat, you don’t rush – not through williwaws, not through ice, and certainly not through the wilderness and remoteness you rarely find anywhere else.

Curiously, I never dreamed of being a sailor. My ideas of adventure were more about where I wanted to go than how I’d get there. I was drawn to the idea of wild landscapes and vast spaces, far from everything. Sailing came later – almost by accident – when my partner Nao and I realised it might be the perfect way to reach those places.

Lauric Thiault captures a slow voyage through the most remote corners of Patagonia. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

We first bought Tupaia, a 1970s Dufour 35, to see if the life afloat might suit us. In the beginning it was a lot of trial and error, spending our summers in the less-travelled corners of northern Europe. During the winters, we learned to fix whatever broke and fine-tuned Tupaia based on the experience gained over each season. Bit by bit, we learned our boat and found our rhythm.

The freedom and enjoyment of being self-reliant and taking care of our little floating home had us hooked. After three years of slow learning and growing confidence, we started to think bigger. Not record-setting voyages or dramatic crossings. Just longer trips in wilder places.

We’ve now spent 500 days sailing through southern Chile, mostly against the prevailing winds. Out here, freedom didn’t mean going wherever we wanted, whenever we pleased – it meant adapting to the weather, letting Mother Nature set the pace. Nothing happened quickly, and that was exactly how we wanted it.

Lauric Thiault is a French environmental scientist and photographer who grew up in Polynesia. He and his partner, Nao Nakamura, have been living aboard their 1974 Dufour 35, Tupaia, for the past five years. In 2023, they set sail from Brittany for Patagonia, capturing their adventures at youtube.com/@tupaia. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

Sailing Patagonia: Tierra del Fuego in winter

Chilean Patagonia might be overrun if it weren’t so remote, and if its weather didn’t do such a good job of keeping most people away. The thousands of islands fringing the continent’s southern edge – from Cape Horn to Chiloé – stretch across 1,500 miles of countless fjords and weather-beaten islands. But despite its growing reputation among adventurers, the place still feels empty. Even in high season, most of this vast sailing ground sees few visitors.

We had just completed a focused 7,500-mile Atlantic crossing in four months to reach southern Chile before winter. It hadn’t been exactly rushed, but we’d made few stops, with little room for exploration. Arriving in Puerto Williams, the southernmost town in the world, we were ready to slow down.

Mooring Patagonia-style at Seno Helado in the Canal Barbara. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

We began exploring the Beagle Channel which, despite lying at the ‘end of the world’, is surprisingly busy in the summer. Proximity to Ushuaia means charter boats and cruise ships weave through these waters en route to Antarctica. Come April, the crowds leave, and the golden days take over. As the South Pacific and Antarctic high-pressure systems drift apart, the ‘channel’ that funnels storms across Tierra del Fuego widens.

A stable high over the mainland often nudges those systems north or south, sparing the Beagle and giving us an unexpected number of calm and sunny spells. With the days shortening, the sun just hovered, low and golden behind the jagged peaks of the Darwin Range. Sometimes it felt like the entire day was a soft, extended sunrise, fading into a pink-toned evening.

Last fjord, last catch – mussels at Estero Cahuelmo. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

Our life settled into a rhythm that would define our time here. The good weather brought busy days – we sailed, hiked, and fished. When the weather turned, we slowed down, reading, resting, and catching up on boat chores. Mornings began with lighting the stove and waiting for the warmth to slowly fill the cabin, something that could take hours in winter.

Evenings were dedicated to downloading GRIB files and sending our position to the Armada via Iridium, a system we deliberately chose over the cheaper and more efficient Starlink to avoid the distractions of the internet. No two days felt the same. As the seasons changed we felt the first ice floes tapping against the hull, saw the first glacier at arm’s length, there was the first time we hiked from the shore to the snow line above.

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Confinement

Everywhere we went, we found an excess of perfectly sheltered coves known locally as caletas. Safe spots can be tight, but we quickly became proficient in the art of mooring Patagonian-style: backing into tight inlets, dropping the anchor and running long stern lines to trees or boulders on shore. It’s a method used routinely by local fishermen and sailors. Like many cruisers, we were hesitant at first. It seemed like a lot of hassle. But once in the channels, it quickly proved essential.

Blue hour with a view in Seno Pia. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

The holding ground here is generally excellent, but space is the real constraint. Gusts funnel down steep walls, so the most sheltered moorings are those where the seabed shelves sharply just a few metres from shore, ideally close to a dense patch of trees. When there is no shore as such, no transition between water and forest, you know that conditions in that spot are usually calm, even on the worst days.

We usually leave about three times the depth of chain on the bottom, then once the anchor is set, Nao rows ashore to set the first line while I keep the boat steady. That’s the tricky part: especially when the wind is pushing you out. But once the first line is set, the rest is easy.

Navigating deep into a maze of growlers in Seno Garibaldi, Tierra del Fuego. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

We always put out a minimum of two lines to the stern, and if needed, we can easily add more at the bow. Tied in tight, Tupaia barely moves. And in a place where the wind can rise quickly, that stability turns a restless night into a peaceful one.

This proved especially true during our time in the Wollaston-Hermite Archipelago. We spent eight days holed up in Puerto Maxwell, pinned by back-to-back lows. Every morning, we checked the GRIB files, hoping for a reprieve, only to watch another massive front build in from the west. Gusts whipped through the anchorage in a steady run of williwaws, sending white spray across the surface and making our boat sway against her seven shorelines. Our rigging howled, the ‘furious fifties’ earned their name.

Magellanic penguin at Isla Rupert in the Strait of Magellan. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

But we didn’t mind. I would even go as far as to say that this was the most memorable – if not the highlight – of this section. There was something strangely exciting in being completely cut off, knowing that we could not return to the world nor the world come to us. Confined in the few square metres of the galley, we spent our days cooking, making small repairs, and watching the clouds stream down the mountains at unbelievable speed from our fogged-up window.

On a few occasions we managed to make short land excursions to watch the storm roll over Cape Horn and the surrounding islands – raw, powerful, and unforgettable from our vantage point.

Frozen stalactites hang like a curtain along the shores of Caleta Chorito, Beagle Channel. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

Wildlife is woven into every corner of Patagonia. Caranchos, chimangos, kingfishers and other birds fill every anchorage – condors soar on thermals, V-formations of cormorants skim low over the fjords, and albatross glide effortlessly above the waves. Below the surface, dolphins, sea lions, and whales pass through, though it was on our return to the Beagle Channel, off Ushuaia, that we encountered the most striking concentrations of marine life.

We used our time in Ushuaia to provision, stuffing fresh produce and four months’ worth of dry and canned food in the hold. It was also a last chance to glean advice from the few charter professionals still around. We left Ushuaia and Puerto Williams under clear skies, making the best of an easterly breeze through the Beagle Channel before veering north around the eastern tip of Tierra del Fuego.

Still waters of Seno Garibaldi capture the mountain’s reflection, under a serene sky, at Caleta Scherzo. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

There, we faced the toughest passage of the trip. Our resolve to see Patagonia as more than a series of challenges was swiftly shaken. It was here we faced the toughest passage of the trip. Conditions were cold and relentless, with williwaws flinging water into the air like smoke so dense it obscured the shoreline, turning the landscape into a blur of blue-grey and noise. On the towering cliffs of dark, bare rock surrounding us, waterfalls that hadn’t frozen were blown back upwards by the wind.

When we finally reached shelter in Caleta Brecknock, we discovered the full extent of the damage: one of the shrouds was compromised, and both the staysail and mainsail were torn. It took us a week to carry out repairs.

Kelp forests can tangle in the propeller. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

From then on Tupaia began making new noises; small creaks and groans that hinted at stress in the structural bulkheads. Yet rather than discourage us, the experience only deepened our commitment. There was something profoundly satisfying about moving through Patagonia’s remotest corners entirely on our own and taking full responsibility for every part of the journey.

Legendary waters

Sailing through these waters, it’s impossible not to think of those who came before us – Magellan, FitzRoy, Martial, Sarmiento, Agostini – figures who shaped the history of these coasts, and whose names now mark channels, mountains, and anchorages. It blows my mind to think how they managed to navigate these waters under such harsh conditions, with no charts, no forecasts, and no room for error.

A calm winter day in the Wollaston-Hermite archipelago. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

And long before them, the Yámanas and Kawésqar had been navigating this coastline for thousands of years, in open canoes, guided by a deep knowledge of, and connection to, this place.

With each mile, the sailing grew more remote, the landscape more dramatic. There were no beacons, no lighthouses, nothing but the contours of the land to guide us – along with our own judgment and, of course, the chartplotter. By the time we reached Seno Agostini we were surrounded by so many tidewater glaciers spilling into the sea that we started calling it ‘Glacier Avenue’.

Making good speed across Golfo Almirante Montt. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

Dozens of ice tongues curled down from the peaks, some wide and stately, others fractured and blue, creaking under their own weight. The stillness was broken only by the distant crack of calving seracs and the faint scrape of the frozen layer of ice brushing against the hull.

We entered the legendary Strait of Magellan at Cape Froward – the southernmost point of continental South America. Westbound sailing in this section is famously difficult: the strait’s shape funnels the prevailing north-west winds directly against you, while contrary currents and a steep, short-period sea make every mile hard-earned.

On top of that, the season was shifting from winter to summer, bringing chubascos – sudden unpredictable squalls. But we took it slow, tacking from one side of the strait to the other, making small but steady progress each day.

‘We became proficient in the art of mooring Patagonian-style’. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

Over the course of a month, we had just three calm days which we used to make detours – one to a spectacular tidewater glacier, another to a penguin colony tucked into the forest. The rest of the time, we worked our way forward into headwinds of 25-30 knots on the better days. On the harder days, the wind howled relentlessly, making progress impossible. We stayed put, riding out the weather in windy anchorages. It was here that Graham Cox spent a month waiting for favourable conditions before he could continue westward.

Outside, the weather was so ridiculously bad that we could only laugh.

At least we had the company of the local fishermen, whose kindness and generosity stood out. We always made a point of going over to chat. Despite the hard, exhausting nature of their work, they welcomed us aboard to drink mate and offer astonishing amounts of shellfish, fish, centolla (king crab), or sea urchins.

These encounters became some of the most meaningful moments of the journey – opportunities to hear about their lives, the history of the region, and to gain invaluable local knowledge about anchorages and places worth exploring. No-one knows these waters better.

Winter sailing takes a little extra work, but the reward is having these wild places all to yourself. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

Our only chance to sail downwind came during detours to the east. That wasn’t the reason we chose to visit the Última Esperanza area, but it was a relief when conditions finally worked in our favour after two months of sailing to windward. This region lies at the meeting point of two very different worlds. On one side are the wet, mountainous channels; on the other, the open plains stretch endlessly across Argentina.

Sailing through Última Esperanza offered a taste of both: the dramatic cliffs and glacier-fed fjords of the Cordillera de las Montañas, with condors circling overhead, and, beyond the Bellavista region, glimpses of the rolling pampa dotted with guanacos.

Summer in the Ice Fields

After some restocking in Puerto Natales and a quick visa run to Argentina, we set off on Christmas Day, working our way west then north again. By then the typical days of prevailing summer weather in the channels were well established: north-west winds and overcast skies. And it rained, not hard but almost every day. Nothing was dry but the stove and the wall behind it.

Ashore, the vegetation dripped with moisture, and the carpet of moss was as full as a sponge can be. Our route was lined with more cypress trees, and the nothofagus forests grew taller and thicker. We made a few diversions deep into the Andes, where the steep mountains and the narrow fjords intensified the sense of scale. But the grandeur of this region is found not only in what you see, but in what you know is out there.

Sailing to windward on a calm winter day in the Brazo Noroeste of the Beagle Channel. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

That beyond the islands stretches a wilderness so vast and remote that few people, if any, have ever set foot on it. Given our modest sailing background, we hadn’t imagined reaching places so distant and so beautiful. When we came across our first huemules (south Andean deer), it felt like we were reaching a high point.

Then we entered Seno Eyre and reached Pío XI. Even in a region where the bar for scenery is already impossibly high, this glacier stands apart. It’s the largest tidewater glacier in South America, at 65km long, over 60m tall and 4.5km wide at the face.

We were already running short on superlatives, but Pío XI shattered whatever standards we had left. From our boat, we listened to sharp cracks and groans as the glacier inched forward. After a while, we could sense when a collapse was coming: the crackling would build, ice would shift, and then – with a thunderous roar – a massive block would break off and crash into the sea. We stayed the whole day, watching in awe, until the late summer dusk called us back to the safety of a caleta.

We’d now been in Patagonia for almost a year and were starting to feel more comfortable venturing off the main route. After a 10-day stop in Puerto Edén – the most isolated village in Chile – waiting for a weather window, we made a few more diversions into the uncharted, ice-filled fjords of the east. The sense of isolation was profound. Each anchorage felt as if no one had ever been there before.

Then came the Golfo de Penas, a milestone for anyone sailing through Patagonia. It marks the boundary between south and north; a point we’d been hearing about since Puerto Williams. Its reputation precedes it: conditions are so notoriously rough that most yachts make the circumnavigation as quickly as possible, eager to return to the shelter of the channels. Fortunately, a rare stretch of good weather allowed us to explore it more thoroughly than we’d ever hoped.

A friendly pause with horses along the path to Raper lighthouse. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

For 12 hours we were back in open water, with the Andes rising to starboard, the far horizon of the Pacific stretching out to port. We spent the night at sea, the calm almost surreal given the gulf’s reputation. The next morning the air was flooded with a deep yellow glow. In that vibrant light, albatross escorted us across the water.

What came next took us entirely by surprise. There’s little written about this section of the coast, and nothing had prepared us for what we found: wide, white sand beaches and lush green forests – it could have been north-eastern Australia were it not for the snow-covered peaks looming just behind. We had no idea a landscape like this even existed in Patagonia.

Further north lies the Taitao Peninsula, where the strongest weather system of the season shattered wind records: 97 knots, according to the keepers at the Raper lighthouse, who were still repairing their roof when we stopped by a few days later. But from the shelter of our cove, it all felt very far away.

A slow return

During one of our side trips we found ourselves in Laguna San Rafael, blessed with perfect weather again, approaching the last glacier of our journey. In the grandeur of the place, something closed: a chapter of the journey was behind us. Beyond this point the deep sense of isolation we’d experienced began to fade. Fish farms and the occasional small fishing village reminded us we were drawing closer to the edges of inhabited Patagonia. It was still wild, but no longer quite as remote.

A refreshing dip in front of the Jorge Montt glacier. Photo: Lauric Thiaul

From there, we spent two months sailing back and forth between the Chonos Archipelago and the mainland, where volcanoes rose from the low clouds and thermal springs bubbled up from the earth. Finally we arrived in Chiloé, a bucolic escape from the harsh elements we’d been navigating for so long. The island’s charm lies in its gentle simplicity: rolling hills, picturesque villages, and a slow pace of life that eased the transition from the wilderness.

It’s no wonder people find the sailing life so hard to leave behind. How long it will hold us, I don’t know. But with more than 40 days of bluewater cruising ahead, bound for French Polynesia, one thing is clear: we’ve only scratched the surface of what this life can offer, of the raw beauty, exhilaration, solitude, and sense of freedom that comes with it. One day, we’ll return to these southern waters, not to retrace our steps, but to keep exploring freedom to its limits.

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The post Sailing Patagonia: ‘We hadn’t imagined places so distant and so beautiful’ appeared first on Yachting World.

‘I read in the newspaper about people drowning in the Central Med, and I asked myself whether I needed to do something,’ says Johannes, a one-time Tall Ships Skipper.

These days he sails on NADIR, the 18m steel-hull ketch run by RESQSHIP, an NGO which conducts monitoring activities to help refugees in the Central Mediterranean.

Every year, its operational vessel NADIR hosts 70 volunteers across 10 rotations. Some, like Johannes and skipper-incumbent Lauren, who’ll set off for her first turn at the helm in September, come directly from the maritime world. Others have no prior sailing experience.

Together, Johannes and Lauren share their unique experience of being part of RESQSHIP’s crew. Their close-up view of what happens onboard a search and rescue sailing yacht sheds light on the knots and loopholes in Europe’s immigration systems, and how civilian efforts have been working to untangle them.

Sailing yachts or search and rescue boats?

In many ways, NADIR is just like any other sailing yacht.

It’s classed as a pleasure craft, rigged for cruising, and crewed by civilians. It prepares for a mission like any yacht heading out for a small crossing; repairs, resupplies, routine checks.

S/Y NADIR is an 18m steel-hull k etch conducting monitoring activities in the Central Mediterranean. Photo: Leon Salner / RESQSHIP.

Yet, ‘It’s a different kind of psychological thinking and mental preparation,’ Johannes says, when you set off knowing you may have to jump into an emergency situation.

‘Mass casualty we face very often, so we prepare for this.’

While passage planning, NADIR’s skippers aren’t just concerned with keeping their own crew safe. Though this is the top priority, Lauren says they’re also considering ‘who might be out there in an overcrowded boat, facing those conditions.’

S/Y NADIR is an 18m steel-hull k etch conducting monitoring activities in the Central Mediterranean. Photo: Leon Salner / RESQSHIP.

Crewing on a search and rescue boat

While roles onboard NADIR are multi-function, every 7-person crew has a qualified Skipper, Co-Skipper, Officer of Watch, RHIB driver, and an onboard paramedic.

Though many volunteers come without prior sailing knowledge, all of them are trained to a high standard.

‘In the end,’ Lauren says, ‘The doctors that might not have been sailing before, they might even end up knowing more than other sailors.’

During training, every member of the crew drills skills most sailors might only try a few times. Things like setting out the tender in minimum time; coming alongside; performing man overboard recoveries in any conditions, with the target both conscious and unconscious; and throwing lines, even over a crowded deck, all need to be second nature.

They establish clear procedures for recovering people from the water and guiding them to the right place to sit. Someone coming from a distress situation, who may be in an altered mental state, may instinctually try and get below deck, which would result in a crowded saloon that leaves no room for operation.

‘There are these very small steps that sound quite obvious when you speak about them, but in a rescue you don’t have the time to think about it,’ Johannes says. ‘All these procedures have to be trained and agreed on within this group of seven before. Especially on a small ship, everyone needs to be prepared and know where the equipment is and how to do it.’

Ahead of each mission, incoming crews also receive a thorough technical and mental preparation, as well as professional legal briefings and psychological support to help manage the emotional toll.

Every member of crew volunteering on NADIR undergoes extensive preparation ahead of each operation Photo: Leon Salner / RESQSHIP.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 2024 was the deadliest year on record for migrants. 8,938 people died on migration routes worldwide.

2,452 of these lives were lost in the Mediterranean, where the IOM says adequate search and rescue systems and safe and regular migration routes are urgently needed.

Since its founding in 2019, RESQSHIP alone has assisted more than 13,000 people.

RESQSHIP’s work at sea

It can seem, ‘A bit crazy, this closeness of the sailing sport and money and us trying to do something,’ says Johannes.

The races that clip past the Island of Lampedusa, NADIR’s closest Port of Safety, “probably spend millions on the regatta sailing yachts, and 30 miles South there’s a rescue operation.”

He’s quick to point out another double standard between leisure cruising and maritime rescue.

“One year ago, there was a luxury sailing yacht, Bayesian, sinking close to Sicily, and there was probably assistance there in 20 minutes. That got coverage. Of course it’s very sad that people drowned there, but the public media attention it got was so much bigger than the boats with many more refugees sinking.”

Still, he sees a lot of untapped potential in the cruising community.

‘I always walk through ports in the islands, and there are so many sailing boats just sitting there. There’s so much capacity, even if the states don’t act, to have a massive civil action. We speak of a “Civil Fleet,” but it’s just a euphemism.

It’s still just a couple of boats out there, and not enough of them.’

S/Y NADIR conducts monitoring activities in the Central Mediterranean. Photo: Friedhold Ulonska / RESQSHIP.

The “Civil Fleet”

Besides NADIR, only two other sailboats (Trotamar III, Dakini) currently operate in the Central Med alongside search and rescue boats run by larger NGOs like SeaWatch, Mediterranea, and SOSMediterranee.

The biggest advantage small sailing boats have over these larger motor vessels is their low cost, both skippers maintain.

As a sporty motor-sailer, NADIR can travel significant distances under engine, as well as move by sail. The sails offer greater stability and give NADIR the option of heaving-to while patrolling instead of having to zig-zag back and forth, saving time, money, and fuel.

‘We can do a three week rotation with 8,000 euro,’ says Johannes. ‘For the bigger ships, this doesn’t even cover one day of fuel.’

Heaving-to also offers extra comfort during sleep rotations, ensuring crews get enough rest to operate safely. Getting enough sleep is crucial to keep crews from making mistakes during operations, he explains. It can even prove to be a limiting factor.

S/Y NADIR conducts monitoring activities in the Central Mediterranean. Photo: Leon Salner.

‘It’s very different mental space you’re in on a search and rescue vessel instead of on a sailing yacht,’ Lauren says. On a leisure cruise, ‘You wouldn’t expect a Mayday Relay, and it may take you a while to realise what’s actually happening. But when I’m on NADIR, it’s something I’m expecting. You’re in alert mode, in tune the whole time. It’s not a holiday.’

NADIR also has a surprising capacity to store equipment and take on several passengers.

‘Lots of people probably can’t imagine having 100 people on a small vessel,’ she laughs. ‘But you can take a lot before your own stability becomes a problem.’

Being small enough to dock next to the other yachts in Lampedusa and to easily anchor in any one of the island’s sheltered bays, NADIR can also  reach the rescue zone more quickly than the bigger NGOs, whose larger search and rescue boats are regularly sent to the mainland under the controversial “Distant Ports” practice, through which Italian authorities have been regularly instructing NGO ships in the Central Med to disembark passengers in far-off ports in Central and Northern Italy.

What actually happens on a search and rescue boat?

In addition to its monitoring activities, if it encounters vessels at risk of capsizing or carrying medical emergencies S/Y NADIR also performs rescues. Photo: Leon Salner / RESQSHIP.

At sea, RESQSHIP operates within its rights as a civilian vessel to monitor areas with a high concentration of distress cases, documenting and stabilising the situation.

‘This direct accountability is very effective,’ Johannes explains. ‘It already makes a difference when we are on scene. Sometimes the authorities get alerted about a distress case, but the responsible MRCC does not take over coordination,’ or at least not immediately. ‘Once a German sailing vessel is on scene with cameras, they feel more obliged to. Then it will not be just a silent drowning in the night.’

‘If there’s immediate risk of capsizing, if water enters the boat or there are severe medical cases amongst the survivors, which is very often the case, we do have to perform rescues.’

Most of their interventions have to do with primary care measures like distributing lifejackets, which the Italian Coast Guard does not always provide. Rescued people might have wounds, or just need to go to the toilet. Often they’ve been sitting in their own vomit and pee.

The crew gives them dry clothes, or at least emergency blankets, and distributes water and crackers. If urgent medical care is needed, NADIR’s saloon has the equipment of a small emergency room, with bench extensions for a table, monitors, and oxygen.

Rescue at sea: a case study

The refugee vessels encountered by S/Y NADIR are often carrying children onboard. Photo: Friedhold Ulonska / RESQSHIP.

Stressing that this is just the most recent example, Johannes describes an operation that took place just days before our interview, in which NADIR answered a Mayday Relay issued by a rescue plane that had spotted a migrant boat.

The vessel had been at sea for four to six days without supplies, and had several babies on board.

NADIR made its way onsite, where crew were told some refugees had jumped into the water when the boat’s engine gave out, hoping to push it forward. Waves had quickly separated them from the boat.

NADIR was able to find most– though not all – of the shipwrecked people on the way back to Lampedusa. No one they picked up had been spotted by the patrolling planes.

What to do if you encounter a distress situation while sailing

A civilian yacht encountering a distress case at sea is legally obligated to call for assistance. Photo: Leon Salner / RESQSHIP.

In any comparable situation, or if you should find yourself facing a distress case, after alerting the authorities Johannes recommends keeping a distance and monitoring its progress.

To avoid making the situation more unstable, keep a distance of a couple hundred meters so people don’t try to swim to your vessel. In case of a capsize, you will still be close enough to throw out a life-raft and anything else you might have on board that can help people survive until a bigger vessel approaches.

Should the other boat still have a working engine, it can help to continue on course and show them the way so that support is readily available until the relevant Coast Guard arrives.

It’s important to remember that people on the move are often unequipped to call for help, while almost every sailing vessel has a VHF. Even if you’re not prepared to help a distress case, you can still activate the process by sending a Mayday Relay.

Ultimately, Lauren says, ‘Even if you’re not prepared to really help a certain distress case, it’s still important to just be there. The worst thing a sailor– or anybody– can imagine, is that you’re out there and nobody knows. There’s nobody to come for you.’

‘Having a vessel there that is telling you, we don’t want to drown you, we want to help, we’ll stay here and try to call for help, is really important on a mental and physical level for the people in that situation.’

She adds, ‘People are afraid of people who are in distress, but if you were in that situation you would just be so relieved to see anybody at all on the horizon.’

For anyone worried about criminal repercussions for offering assistance, ‘It’s really the other way around,’ Johannes says firmly. ‘The people being criminalised are the people who need rescue.’

He advises caution if taking any photos or video of the boat or the people onboard, as identifying visual details can be used by authorities to arbitrarily target specific individuals for arrest on arrival.

Obstacles to performing rescues at sea

A civilian yacht encountering a distress case at sea is legally obligated to call for assistance. Photo: Margherita Cioppi / RESQSHIP.

Any civilian yacht that comes across an unseaworthy boat is legally obligated to make a distress case alert on VHF16, at which point it should receive immediate assistance and guidance from authorities.

‘This is really not the case that we are experiencing out there,’ says Johannes. He wavers between resignation, exasperated amusement, and latent rage as he explains that when it comes to migrant boats, things suddenly get more complicated.

International law stipulates that once an MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) has been alerted, the communication gets forwarded until one MRCC takes over coordination. This process should be almost immediate.

Instead, Johannes says, ‘We are calling, and they say, “Ah, no, we are not responsible. You have to call the other one.”’

Search and rescue activities in the central Mediterranean often require careful coordination with between the MRCC, humanitarian vessels, and local authorities. Photo: Paula Gaess.

As it frequently operates in overlapping areas of MRCC jurisdiction, NADIR might be required to alert Italy, Malta, Libya, Tunisia. As a registered German vessel, they also always inform German authorities.

This spread leaves plenty of room for communicative delays and procedural ambiguity and can result in missed or delayed action, he explains. NADIR may be instructed to wait hours next to an unseaworthy boat, which its skippers say is hard to endure.

Authorities aren’t immune to this kind of procedural paralysis, either.

‘They want to assist and help,’ Johannes says of the Italian Coast Guard, which he describes as a generally “reliable partner”. ‘But they get some orders from the MRCC, which falls under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior in Rome, and then their hands are bound.’

The Italian Coast Guard and the Italian Ministry of Interior did not respond to a request for comment. 

Search and rescue activities in the central Mediterranean often require careful coordination with between the MRCC, humanitarian vessels, and local authorities. Photo: Leon Salner / RESQSHIP.

Often, both humanitarian vessels and search and rescue boats are asked to cooperate with authorities that aren’t authorities at all.

‘The other side, the so-called “Libyan Coast Guard,” there are no words for, because they are not a real coast guard. They are not acting in a legal frame,’ Johannes says. ‘So far we haven’t had huge problems with them, but we sometimes have come too late and witnessed pullbacks, or have been ordered to leave the area.’

Other humanitarian vessels have been subject to far more worrying encounters.

On 24 August, the rescue vessel Ocean Viking was shot at by the Libyan Coast Guard while in international waters. There were 87 survivors on board in addition to the humanitarian crew.

While the crew searched the surrounding waters for people in distress, a Libyan patrol vessel approached Ocean Viking and demanded the ship leave the area. After Ocean Viking informed them they would comply, two men aboard the patrol vessel opened fire for at least 20 minutes of assault gunfire, deliberately targeting crew members on the bridge, states a press release from SOS Mediterranee.

Though no one was physically wounded, the attack caused extensive damage to the ship, its RHIBs, rescue equipment. Ocean Viking issued a Mayday and alerted NATO1, seeking protection and assistance. They were referred to the closest NATO asset — an Italian navy ship, which they said did not answer the phone.

The Ocean Viking, chartered by NGO SOS Mediterranee to conduct search and rescue activities in the central Mediterranean. Photo: James Grady / Alamy.

“Pull backs” and incidents like this one are part of what has been called a “shadow immigration system”, through which migrating peoples are captured at sea by Libyan militias operating on EU-gifted motor-vessels and taken to detention centres in Libya.

Since 2017, the EU has contributed €42,223,900 in funding to the first phase of the “Support to Integrated border and migration management in Libya” project, which has the stated aims of enhancing Libyan authorities operational capacity in responding to border crossings, both at sea and in the desert.

The project, and its effects, have been the subject of extensive investigative reporting, according to which migrant captives are held and often tortured while their relatives are extorted for money.

To make a long, bloodcurdling story short, Johannes explains that paying these militias to keep refugees from European waters allows the EU to externalise its handling of migration flow, shifting responsibility for the fleeing people and keeping the matter out of sight.

He says, ‘The policy of giving money to Tunisia and Libya, so basically to failed states, and paying them to pull back the people,’ means that, ‘In the public media there are no images of drowning people.’

Photo: Paula Gaess / RESQSHIP.

In response to a request for comment, a Commission Spokesperson for the EU stated:

When it comes to migration, the EU adopts a comprehensive approach to migration governance in its relationship with partner countries. Human rights being at the heart of EU intervention. This includes advocating for and promoting the protection of the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, fostering legal migration, addressing the root causes of irregular migration, combating smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings. 

At the same time, we also work with partners on reinforcing their border management capacities, and ensuring assisted voluntary, safe and dignified returns, and support to sustainable reintegration in the countries of origin.

 This has been the core of our work in our comprehensive partnerships and in our bilateral relations with partner countries in the region. In all these cases, the respect for human rights and human dignity of all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers has been central. They are the fundamental principles of migration management, in line with obligations under International Law. The EU expects its partners to fulfil these international obligations, including the right to non-refoulement.

The Commission does not have competences on search and rescue, which ultimately falls under EU Member States’ remits. All parties in a Search and Rescue operation need to operate with the required diligence and in full respect of international law and international maritime law. The European Commission encourages all actors, competent authorities as well as private stakeholders, to improve cooperation in search and rescue operations. We remain open and interested in continuing our dialogue with NGOs, including those active at sea.

What does the law say about what happens at sea?

On paper, these pull-backs, not to mention the shootings of humanitarian vessels, shouldn’t be happening.

In June 2024, Crotone Civil Court in Italy ruled that, ‘Interceptions at sea conducted by the Libyan Coast Guard cannot legally qualify as rescue operations since the Libyan authorities are systematically armed, fire gunshots to intimidate civil society actors and migrants, and create an overall situation of danger.’

In response to the shooting of Ocean Viking, the European Center for Constitutional Human Rights (ECCHR) and other humanitarian groups including Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, ActionAid International and Refugees in Libya, as well as dozens of other organisations from at least ten countries across Europe and the MENA region, have signed an open letter to the EU commission asking it to cut its funding to the Libyan Coast Guard.

Published on 23 September, the letter states, ‘The Libyan Coast Guard does not comply with the standards required to make it a legitimate search and rescue (SAR) actor, and is involved in violent attacks on people in distress during interceptions,’ as found by the Court of Crotone.

Furthermore, it alleges that, ‘Eight years of EU support has not improved this actor’s human rights records, but enabled and legitimised abuses, in violation of Article 29 of the NDICI regulation – which excludes activities that may result in human rights violations from EU funding.’

The shooting of humanitarian vessel Ocean Viking resulted led to an open letter to the EU Commission signed by dozens of NGOs and human rights organisations. Photo: Leon Salner / RESQSHIP.

The letter called for the European Commission to restore the rule of law at its maritime border; suspend cooperation with Libya; and urged Italy to terminate its 2017 Memorandum of Understanding with Libya.

It also asked the EC to finance and coordinate a state-led European search and rescue programme in the Central Mediterranean that can ‘support states in opening safe routes for refugees and migrants to escape Libya, and reduce their reliance on dangerous routes.’

The search and rescue catch-22

But what do the legal intricacies mean for skippers like Lauren and Johannes, or for a civilian yacht that comes across a distress situation?

Photo: Paula Gaess / RESQSHIP.

In June 2024, the Crotone Civil Court had also ruled that, ‘Libya cannot be considered a safe place for disembarkation due to its serious and systematic violations of human rights and the fact that it has never ratified the Geneva Convention.’

This means that pull-backs likely fall into something called “refoulment”, the act of returning refugees or asylum seekers to places or countries where they might face persecution, which is overtly prohibited by EU and international law. All those involved are liable.

Yet, the Libyan Coast Guard regularly demands that humanitarian and search and rescue boats surrender rescued migrating people and leave the scene. Other state authorities instruct them to comply, leaving humanitarian crews in a difficult double bind.

‘On the one hand, if you alert an authority and you know that they will bring people back to torture, you are making yourself accountable to criminal law for bringing people back to a country where they aren’t safe,’ Johannes explains. ‘On the other hand, we have to comply with what the Italian authorities ask of us.’

He stresses that the organisation’s very survival, its ability to keep helping refugees, is at stake.

‘We have to be hyper-perfect if we want to stay in operation.’

Search and rescue boats detained under the Piantedosi Decree

S/Y NADIR was detained twice this summer, marking the first ever time a sailing yacht was detained in conjunction to search and rescue activities. Photo: Paula Gaess / RESQSHIP.

In recent months, this emphasis on compliance still hasn’t been enough to keep organisations like RESQSHIP in operation.

Over the summer, NADIR was detained twice by Italian authorities. Many other boats in the “Civil Fleet,” as well as SeaWatch’s rescue plane SeaBird 1, suffered a similar fate.

NADIR’s first seizure on 8 June was the first ever time a sailing yacht had been detained in conjunction with search and rescue activities.

Its crew had just evacuated 112 people from an unseaworthy wooden boat in international waters off the coast of Libya, approximately a 12 hour sail from Lampedusa. Under the Piantedosi Decree, RESQSHIP was accused of (1) not communicating with the Libyan authorities, which Lauren specifies they had, and (2) not following orders regarding its assigned Port of Safety.

Video footage circulated in the meantime shows NADIR being surrounded by Frontex, Coast Guard and Guardia di Finanza and granted access to the Port of Lampedusa, the last Port of Safety agreed upon in written form with the MRCC, by the local Harbour Master.

The Piantedosi Decree introduces additional requirements for NGO search and rescue boats, and legitimises the “Distant Ports” practice. It gives Italian authorities the right to fine and detain rescue ships on various grounds, including alleged failure to abide by instructions from the so-called Libyan Coast Guard.

S/Y NADIR conducts monitoring activities in the Central Mediterranean. Photo: Friedhold Ulonska / RESQSHIP.

However, the Decree itself was under consideration in the Italian Constitutional Court from 21 May 2025 after interventions from Human Rights Watch and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. A challenge to its legality had been previously raised by NGO SOS Mediterranee following the detainment of its ship Ocean Viking, the same vessel affected by the 24 August shoot-out.

While the challenge was dismissed on 8 July 2025, the ICC’s ruling did recognise the Piantedosi Decree’s overtly punitive nature.

It also acknowledged its intent to dissuade search and rescue activities, and reiterated the legal requirement that rescue operations end in a port of demonstrable safety; where fundamental human rights of the rescued persons are guaranteed; in the shortest amount of time possible; and without undue burden on the vessel’s captain.

These stipulations seem to contrast “Distant Ports” orders, Human Rights Watch has said.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi maintains that the practice is designed to reduce strain on reception systems in the regions surrounding the Central Mediterranean, Sicily and Calabria, and to more evenly distribute refugee arrivals among various ports.

Yet like the recent detentions, ‘The intention behind the practice – and indeed, the only notable consequence of its introduction – appears to be to keep NGO rescue vessels far away from the areas where boats carrying refugees and migrants are most often in distress,’ writes Amnesty International.

A single detention can rack up thousands of euros in fines and take search and rescue boats out of operation for at least 20 days at a time, impacting two full rotations.

‘All it does is keep us away from the sea,’ Johannes says. ‘We are just there to help people […] They want to silence us and not have any public out there.’

The ICC also established humanitarian vessels’ right to not comply with unlawful orders (those which contradict the SAR Convention and International Maritime Organisation’s Guidelines), including those which may be issued by the Libyan “Coast Guard”, and to disregard any order which conflicts with the fundamental duty to save a human life.

What does this mean for humanitarian vessels?

S/Y NADIR conducts monitoring activities in the Central Mediterranean. Photo: Paula Gaess / RESQSHIP.

In order to defend their right to operate, intervene, and disobey illegitimate orders, humanitarian organisations regularly have to play a game of legal and procedural whack-a-mole. Johannes says that currently, between the Italian and the European courts, there are 10 ongoing “Distant Port” related legal hearings underway.

Whatever its outcome, by the time a case hits the courtroom it’s already too late. They have lost valuable time, with a likely cost of human lives.

‘Even if they end up losing the legal battle, they won,’ Johannes says. ‘We do not want to shift our fight from being out at sea and helping people into legal battles in front of courts.’

‘Our biggest demand is that there’s a state actor getting active again, and that responsibility is not shifting.’ He maintains the route will only get more dangerous under the current European policy.

‘As long as there are reasons for the people to go on such a journey […] they will not stop trying.’

The danger, he says, lies in ‘thinking this is somehow a phenomenon that can be controlled.’ ✦

The 2025 operational season is coming to an end. Crewing for next year will be available on the website in October/November. RESQSHIP also welcomes donations and material contributions, in particular of safe and working medical supplies.

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Many very competent and highly experienced yachtsmen and women don’t have any qualifications at all and are content to keep it that way, but not being a Yachtmaster bothered me.

I was pretty sure I was up to the standard, but I didn’t know. Becoming an RYA Yachtmaster is something I’ve wanted to do for years.

Unlike RYA Day Skipper etc, the Yachtmaster is not an attendance-based course, but a one-day exam in which an examiner will form an objective opinion of your abilities, and recommend you to the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Qualification Panel to become a Yachtmaster… or not.

Technically, no instruction is required beforehand and the theory course is not compulsory. However, you will certainly need theory knowledge of the level of the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore shorebased course, with practical experience and skills to match, to stand any chance of passing.

It is strongly recommended to have a few days’ preparation, ideally immediately before the exam, with the same boat and crew. Many sailing schools offer a Yachtmaster preparation course, normally of five days, with your examination at the end of it.

I completed my preparation course and exam, together with my friend, Andrew, at the Hamble School of Yachting.

During the pre-exam training it was made abundantly clear this was not a course on which we could be taught what we needed to know; this should have been gained over our years of experience.

The week’s aim instead was to run through the Yachtmaster syllabus to reveal our weaknesses and bad habits.

Traditional and modern navigation tools are used

Swatting Up

Andrew and I spent five days swatting up. The preparation course, led by instructor Matt Sillars, included Collision Regulations (I quickly found that I’d had significant ‘skills fade’ in my detailed knowledge of the IRPCS).

We practised safety briefings and engine checks; marina boat handling; navigation and pilotage; safety drills; manoeuvres, including downwind sail handling and rigging a preventer; and some of the softer skills involved in skippering a crew.

Thoroughly prepared, the exam was looming…

Article continues below…

Exam Day

The exam starts a day or two before the examiner turns up, as they may want to see a passage plan you’ve prepared in advance. It’s best to do this two or three days before to avoid a last-minute panic, but not too far in advance that you’ve forgotten the sums you’ve done and why you made the choices you did.

I was set a passage from Bembridge to St Vaast, giving me a potentially fiddly drying harbour at either end. After completing our plans, we did some last-minute swatting up on lights, shapes and sounds.

Exam day dawned bright and breezy with a forecasted good Force 5 from the south-west. Matt reassured us that making mistakes wasn’t the end of the world, if we showed competence in getting ourselves back on track.

Theo takes the helm

The only sorts of errors that would probably be an outright fail, other than flunking lights and shapes, are safety-critical things such as a collision, running aground, an inability to navigate and pilot, or an uncontrolled gybe.

We were joined at 0900 by our examiner Andy Wright, RYA Yachtmaster instructor trainer, examiner and centre inspector, and an MCA Master 200 who also works as an RNLI area lifesaving manager.

There’d be no ‘getting away with it’ here. We began the day with a coffee and chat, while Andy spent some time asking about our reasons for taking the exam, before laying out what he would be looking for: “I’m not going to be trying to catch anyone out, but what I want to see you demonstrate is that you can skipper the boat, navigate the boat, handle the boat under power and handle the boat under sail.”

Preparing for night nav

Safety First

We began, as we had during our prep week, with safety briefings. With the engine bay open, our examiner took time to probe our knowledge of troubleshooting, various parts of the engine, the significance of blue, black or white smoke from the exhaust (incomplete combustion, burning oil and overheating), how to change filters, impellers and belts and how to bleed the fuel.

On deck, we were asked to explain when and why each kind of flare would be used. None of it felt overly pressured, but it was certainly an in-depth examination of our knowledge.

During the day these conversations continued on areas that were not being practically demonstrated on the day – including 20 minutes on lights, shapes, sounds and collision avoidance, and how we’d handle different scenarios in traffic separation schemes.

We were asked to talk through our passage plans, and our examiner went further to see whether we knew what the administrative and immigration requirements would be on either side of the Channel – a tricky one these days.

Passage planning skills are thoroughly tested

Getting Underway

We began with marina manoeuvres in and out of a selection of increasingly tricky berths, putting the boat into positions that we might not have chosen, including a berth two spaces into a gulley with a yacht moored either side and another boat opposite.

Ferry gliding in bows-first wasn’t too tricky, but with wind and tide pushing us on, getting out again was harder. I opted to use prop walk to pull the stern out against a bow line – slightly unconventional, and it needed a bit of oomph, but I got away without a collision.

We then had half an hour or so to each prepare a short passage plan and pilotage, this time from Hamble to Portsmouth and back.

I was asked to explain the route I’d chosen. While I had the route in the chartplotter, I’d picked waypoints near easy-to-find buoys so I could see I was in the right place from the cockpit.

Underway, and with our fourth crewmember on the wheel (it’s recommended to have crew so you can demonstrate leadership and also help handle the yacht), I had decisions to make about how many reefs to put in, and was torn between sailing the boat properly and being overly cautious.

Working with crew

Next we were tested on our MOB recovery with a fender overboard. We went through our recovery drill and I was relieved to get back to the MOB first go.

Andrew and crew looked at me to see if we were doing ‘the whole thing’ and, as our examiner hadn’t flinched, we continued rigging the handy billy, attached the fender to the sling and hauled away until it was safely aboard, just as we had in our preparation week – it’s a complex process that really does need practice.

Once in Portsmouth Harbour, it was my turn to find and pick up a mooring buoy under sail. Handing over skippering duty to Andrew for his turn in the hot seat, I felt a wave of relief that my passage, pilotage and handling seemed to have gone okay.

However, we wouldn’t be finished until we’d each done our night navigation.

Engine checks

Night Navigation

Back on a mooring inside Calshot Spit it was time for dinner and a brief respite, before plunging on with night nav exercises.

We were asked to navigate to unmarked locations and given a bit of time to prepare these. Our examiner also checked our knowledge of how the radar worked for collision avoidance and for navigation, and how to extract relevant information from both the chartplotter and the AIS.

My night nav began well, using multiple sources of position information as requested, and just about making sense of my hastily drawn sketch and notes, looking for the characteristics of particular lights (you’ll need to know how quick VQ compared to just Q really is) and using the radar to plot our course.

Manoeuvres under sail are tested, including downwind sail handling and preventers

As it was top of the tide, however, every ship in Southampton seemed to set sail, including the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary cruise liner with attendant tugs, police launches and party boats.

My plan was thrown into disarray as we were blinded by disco balls and oil terminal lights alike. Luckily, Navionics is by no means banned, and a quick range and bearing in the palm of my hand gave me a course and distance to my imaginary point. Another step closer.

Next Andrew needed to pilot us up the Hamble River, where Hamble Point’s sector lights can be easily lost in the welter of shore lights, and I was asked to bring the boat alongside, stern first at the end of a long gulley, giving me another last-minute chance to mess things up.

MOB recovery techniques have been updated

Pass Or Fail

With the boat put to bed, we each headed off for a quick chat. Fortunately, our examiner told us we’d both passed. Phew!

Both Andrew and I had found the week intense, all-absorbing and demanding. We’d been forced to up our game, and our skills had been updated by a decade or two. There were lots of learnings to take back to our own boats and both of us felt we were now much better-rounded skippers than before.

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The average house in the UK today costs around £290,000. But rather than buying a house, you could spend that money on a yacht instead. While it might sound a silly comparison, the potential to cruise in comfort, at fast speeds, with most of the comforts of home, can be a big factor in making a cruising sabbatical happen – particularly when you’re trying to recruit family to join you.

John Boughton and crew did the ARC crossing on his Grand Soleil 50. Photo: ES Productions

Buying a Yacht for £250,000-£500,0000: Call to adventure

For many owners participating in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, the yacht they have bought to take part marks a turning point in their ownership journey, one where they’ll live for an extended period of time afloat, rather than just holidays and weekends, crossing an ocean for potentially three weeks or more.

Some ARC participants will go on to circumnavigate. Each owner has usually completed an extensive search to find a balance of performance, comfort and, of course, something within budget. “The fleet for the ARC and ARC+ (which routes via Cape Verde) is pretty diverse,” explains Rachel Hibberd from the World Cruising Club.

John Boughton’s Grand Soleil 50. Photo: John Boughton

“This year, which crosses in November, we have everything from a Contessa 32 from 1980 and a 1976 One Tonner, to newly launched Hanses, Oysters and Nautitech catamarans. Pretty much every brand is represented within the fleet. The average size of yachts has crept up slightly over the years and is now around 14 to 15 metres. The average age of yacht is around 20 years old.

“The biggest changes over the years have been the increasing numbers of catamarans and the number of new and one-year-old boats. In terms of people, we also have more families sailing with young children and generally a slightly younger demographic.”

The Norton family bought their Oyster 56 to sail round the world on The Bluewater Rally. Photo: Sheila and Brian Norton

At the larger end of the ARC fleet, yachts worth well over £2m can be seen, often new, but between £250,000 and £500,000 is a middle ground: comfortable mono- and multihull yachts that are well set up for an ocean crossing with little compromise.

Close to perfect?

John Boughton had owned three yachts and already completed one ARC crossing when he bought his Grand Soleil 50 in advance of the ARC 2024. His choice of boat was led by experience. “We had a 43ft Elan Impression the first time we did the ARC. We wanted something that was faster and more comfortable than the Elan, but could also easily be handled by two once our ARC crew (totalling four) left the boat.”

“We’d owned two aft cockpit Moody yachts in the past. I knew that while the aft cabins were big, the compromise of a centre cockpit boat on outside space was a big one. Once you get somewhere warm, you spend much less time below deck and comfort on deck becomes more important. On the Elan we owned before, we ate perhaps three meals below deck throughout the whole season.”

Photo: James Mitchell/WCC

“We looked at all sorts of deck saloons, also Oysters, but we didn’t quite have the budget for a larger one, which means the cockpit would have been quite tight on room,” he explains. When it came to sailing, the Grand Soleil’s appeal was that she was fast for her size and also offered something Boughton insisted upon.

“I really don’t like in-mast furling, and she has a fully battened mainsail, which worked well for us. For downwind light winds we ran with an asymmetric only. This made things easier short-handed. We had a carbon pole but only used it for the genoa. Overall, I think the sailing configuration was something we really got right,” explains Boughton. When it comes to things he would change, Boughton explains that there were only minor improvements to make. “The freezer was a cheaper model that used a lot of power, so we replaced that.

We also upgraded the solar, with additional panels we used only at anchor. We considered fitting a generator and there have been some occasions in the Med where that could have been useful for some form of air-conditioning, but generally we haven’t missed it.” Following the ARC, Boughton had the yacht shipped back from the Caribbean and is shortly to list her for sale with Berthon.

Article continues below…

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Cruisers compromise

However, there was one compromise. While most new generation cruising yachts of around 50ft have long motoring ranges, John Boughton’s Grand Soleil had a modest 280lt fuel tank. With not much wind towards the end of the ARC crossing, he found the boat needed a little more fuel than he had in the tank to make landfall in St Lucia.

Sheila and Brian Norton making the most of the liveaboard life on their Oyster 56. Photo: Sheila and Brian Norton

An ex-Royal Navy helicopter pilot, Boughton used a Navy technique to transfer fuel between ships. “I put out a call to other yachts via the ARC WhatsApp group, something we checked regularly via Starlink internet. A catamaran nearby responded, and we arranged to do a ship-to-ship transfer on a long line with several jerry cans of fuel they could spare,” he recalls.

Starlink also came in handy on another occasion: while he was on passage he became a grandfather and was able to video call family back home. “A major change from my previous ARC a few years before,” he notes.

After the big adventure

The Norton family bought their Oyster 56 in 2009 to take them around the world on The Bluewater Rally, which started and finished in Gibraltar (it no longer runs). Sailing as a family of five, once they’d completed their circumnavigation, they kept the yacht and continued to use her regularly.

“We had her in the Mediterranean for five years in Malta and Turkey, then on the South Coast on the Beaulieu River. After that, we headed to Norway. On the way, we discovered the West Coast of Scotland, and despite having circumnavigated, we realised we’d never sailed anywhere more beautiful,” explains Sheila. “We sailed into an anchorage one day and, all in the same place, at the same time, saw seals, an otter, deer and then an eagle above us,” adds Brian.

Southerly 42RST, 2010 is a Shallow draught cruiser that has completed a trip through the Canal du Midi to the Med, well-maintaned and ready to go again. Three cabins, in-mast reefing, bow thruster, full cockpit tent. networkyachtbrokers.com

From Scotland, the couple sailed to the Shetland Islands, Faroes, Norway, and spent over 100 days cruising Iceland. They are now planning to head to Greenland and possibly Newfoundland. For the Norton family, the 56 has proved adaptable to all the sailing they have undertaken, more recently mostly double-handed. “A big part of it is that we really know the boat and what she can do from her being our home.”

An emerging obstacle

Bluewater boats that are well equipped and well maintained are selling quickly in today’s market. With the newbuild sector seeing significant price increases due to rising raw material and labour costs, a used yacht that’s ready to go is likely to not be listed for long if it’s reasonably priced. Those buying new for the ARC are also having to order their yachts with longer lead times.

Southerly 42RS, 2006, Night Song. One of only four prototype 46RSs built before the more famous Southerly 49, this example has been cruised internationally and at home. Swing keel and three cabin layout. Lying Essex, UK. clarkeandcarter.co.uk

Internationally, broadly the same trends are being seen across the used market. In France a market analysis suggested sales are moving fast above €300,000, particularly when the yacht is well maintained. Another report from TBZ yacht management suggested that a 5-10% price correction post-Covid had now fully settled, with offers falling lower as well.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

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The post Buying a Yacht for £250,000-£500,0000: Inside the World of ARC Sailors Buying Their Dream Boat appeared first on Yachting World.

It’s early morning on 25 June, and last night was tough. The wind peaked at 32 knots and up on deck the mood was a little sombre. Down in the galley area was the A4 gennaker, soaking wet after being recovered from the sea.

The heavy air sail had burst its zippers before it was on the halyard lock, filling prematurely and loading the halyard. As the on-watch crew tried to winch it up the final metre, the halyard snapped. After I’d shouted for assistance, the soggy sail was recovered back on board, but was in two pieces.

Modern sails and classic lines make Hound a fast all-rounder. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

I ran the tapes to see if it was repairable, but sadly the A4 was done. I glanced at the nav computer, we needed that sail to stay with the fleet riding the slow-moving front on the longer easterly route. Without it, we’d fall off the front and into the light winds behind it. We needed a revised strategy.

Ed Cesare and I share the navigating duties on Hound, a beautiful 1970s Aage Nielsen sloop. Built by the renowned Abeking-Rasmussen shipyard, Hound is a poster child for a bygone era of yacht design with her varnished toerails and elegant overhangs.

Sailing the Transatlantic Race: Race-winning upgrades

Hound is owned and skippered by Dan Litchfield, who acquired the yacht in 2020. Together with Tom Stark, Hound’s boat captain, he has overseen a series of race-winning upgrades, including a new, taller carbon mast, a bowsprit and a new North Sail inventory that looks to exploit some of the gaps in her performance polar.

Not just the prettiest boat on the dock, Hound’s classic design now masks an exceptional all-round performance, with no notable performance weakness despite her 25 ton displacement.

Silky smooth sailing and dolphins for company. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

Mid-Atlantic, we quickly ran a new route on Expedition with the latest ECMWF model forecast and it showed the northern route was just a few hours slower than the eastern option. It would put us closer to the ‘great circle’ route and keep us in the stronger north-westerly winds behind the front.

After the A4 sail damage, a noticeably shaken watch had hoisted the jib-top and we were now reaching into an increasingly building sea state. As our watch came back on deck, the decision was already made to put the smaller fractional A3 gennaker up and get ripping along again.

A chance to relax in light airs. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

It’s never an easy decision to split from the fleet, but all three of the yachts ahead of us in our class were lighter, more powerful downwind flyers and would likely stay ahead of the front in fresh south-westerly winds. Ed and I thought it unlikely we could keep up and, once that was clear, Dan made the quick decision to back ourselves on the northern route.

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Dodging windmillls

The RORC Transatlantic Race takes the fleet from Newport, Rhode Island, to Cowes, UK – a month before the centenary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race (for which I would also be navigating on Hound).

The Transatlantic started at 1300 EDT on 18 June with the line shrouded in thick fog. It was just possible to make out the Castle Hill lighthouse, which marked one end. We had a great start and spent the first night sailing right through the middle of the partially constructed Vineyard Wind Farm (the first commercial wind farm in the US).

Hound didn’t win the RORC Transatlantic Race, but Conrad Humphreys still found the adventure was an enlightening experience. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

We weren’t the only ones to sail right through the middle of the farm, and I soon heard another former Global Challenge skipper and great friend Dee Caffari on the radio, talking to the wind farm operator, who seemed bemused as to why we’d knowingly sail through a wind farm in thick fog.

Like Dee, we had sight on both radar and AIS of the 62 giant turbines that were spaced one mile apart. Unknown to both of us was the fact that many were not yet in operation and not on AIS!

Once safely through we set about crossing the Nantucket Shoals, where the first of two waypoints were set to keep us to the south of the North Atlantic Right Whale area of conservation – an initiative where science is increasingly being used to help keep sailing boats away from sensitive whaling conservation zones.

Humphreys studies the weather. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

From Nantucket, we began a 1,200-mile drag race to the southern ice limit waypoint Alpha. Having watched fellow IRC competitor Moana extend a little in the early stages of the leg, sailing in the north with better pressure closer to the ice limit, we opted to also leave any favourable Gulf Stream early and look for better pressure.

As the high pressure took hold, Moana and the two other class leaders (Haspa Hamburg and Ikigai) found themselves in the centre of the high, so we made some really good gains around the outside with a track along the ice limit. By the time we reached Point Alpha we were back leading our class in IRC.

Route choices

On Hound, we sail with two watches, with Ed and I sharing the navigation duties. Using Starlink, we can grab regular GRIB weather files (ECMWF and GFS global models), satellite imagery, synoptic charts and some local observations (normally from buoys or other ships) We would then run the models using Expedition and colour code our routes, before spending time doing some analysis, based on our actual observed conditions.

Straight from the oven. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

We’d also run some routes for our competitors, which are tracked via Yellowbrick. At Point Alpha there was a nice jet of Gulf Stream current running to the north-east (up to 2.5 knots), but after that the routeing suggested we continue sailing eastward just ahead of a cold front, rather than the more typical great circle course to the north-east.

There was a danger with following that route, that unless we could maintain high averages, we might fall off the back of the front.

Ed and I considered that if we couldn’t maintain high speeds, we might be better gybing back onto port towards the rhumb line, so we ‘forced’ the routeing with an extra mark on the great circle course – the delta was only three hours, which didn’t seem a lot, considering there was a risk that if we dropped off the front, we’d be forced to gybe north in much lighter winds.

Original 1970s coffee grinder is still in use. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

Splitting from the fleet was not a decision I wanted to take, albeit we were the slowest of our class and the most likely to drop off the front first.

We agreed to push on with our eastward trajectory and look at the next weather update in six hours’ time. The breeze was steady at 20-25 knots and the on-watch decided to set the A4 gennaker. It was moments later that we were back on deck fishing the sail out of the water.

For the first few days, confidence built in our revised strategy. With the A3 we were quick and, while the sea state was challenging, we found a mode that was fast. However, our friends in the east were also making good speeds, pointing their bows directly at the UK. We could only hope that the front would overhaul them.

Modern sails and classic lines make Hound a fast all-rounder. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

Last chance

Twenty-four hours later our speed slowed as the low pressure moved away and high pressure moved in. A powerful secondary low formed on the trailing edge of the front and this was the killer blow.

Fresh Atlantic sailing. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

It provided a welcome slingshot for the eastern pack, allowing them to sail fast downwind almost all the way to the western approaches. We faced some headwinds on the northern side of the low, but were too far away to pass under it. This was sadly the nail in our coffin. We could only watch as Moana, Haspa Hamburg and Ikigai disappeared over the horizon and we were left languishing.

What did surprise me, however, was that despite these light downwind conditions Hound was still making good speed. We had a few hours where the wind shut down completely, but in 6 knots of wind we could sail very deep at 130-150° TWA with 7 knots boatspeed. Which, for a 25-tonne yacht, was impressive!

The sailing was silky smooth and we experienced some of the best sunrises and sunsets of the trip. We were also treated to an awesome display of wildlife with numerous whale and dolphin sightings.

Drone shot as Hound heads into a sunset. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

It was magical sailing and I think we learned a lot about the boat’s performance during that final week that would prove invaluable for the Rolex Fastnet Race later in July.

As we closed in on the Isles of Scilly, we got our first glimpses of the infamous Bishop Rock Lighthouse and the low lying island of St Agnes. From there we passed Wolf Rock and finally closed in on the Lizard, passing it on 4 July, to mark our official time for crossing the Atlantic.

From the Lizard to Start Point is my back garden, having spent many wonderful training sessions between Plymouth, Lizard and Start Point as I prepared for the Vendée Globe. Plymouth has been home since 1994, so I always feel a great sense of nostalgia arriving back into these waters. Luckily for me, the wind lifted us into the bay, so we passed within a mile of Eddystone Lighthouse.

Carbon mast and a bowsprit mean Hound can carry more sail area. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

Raiding party

We gybed back onto starboard as the wind continued to back around to the south-west and build. We peeled to the A2 gennaker off Start Point and Tom appeared with the customs flags, a yellow for ‘Q’ and the Red Ensign. Moments later, a large grey Border Control vessel passed by, I guessed en route to Plymouth.

But they paused behind us and then proceeded to launch their RIB, which was aimed straight at our stern wake.

UK Border Force officers climb aboard Hound. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

I called them up on the radio to ask what their intentions were and to see how we might assist, but before I had a chance to finish the call, they’d rammed the RIB alongside and four border control officers hauled themselves on deck.

They then searched the vessel while the person in charge asked a series of questions as to what we were carrying. I was quite surprised – boarding a yacht while racing under spinnaker at speeds of over 10 knots was dangerous and unnecessary.

Hound’s RORC Transatlantic Race crew. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

A quick search online would have identified the boat, the American flag and the fact that were racing in the Transatlantic Race. We were also flying a Q flag, which should have indicated we were complying with Customs regulations. Then, having established our credentials they left via the high side of the yacht, almost causing an incident with one of their own team. I was left pretty flabbergasted after the raiding party left.

The final run up the Channel was great fun, with winds of 20 knots from the south-west, we gybed in towards Portland Bill and then picked up a favourable wind shift to lay the Needles.

Humphreys takes his turn on the coffee grinder. Photo: Nicholas Horbaczewski

By this point it was dark, so my American team mates weren’t able to see the famous rock formation at the entrance to the Solent, but I could sense their excitement as we swept past Hurst Castle with the flood tide and finally crossed the line off Cowes to finish the Transatlantic Race in an elapsed time of 16d 08h 49mins.

Overall, this was one of my best transatlantic crossings. Hound proved herself a wonderful yacht to race. The sunsets, the wildlife, the banter and the exquisite food made for a fine adventure and I was looking forward to our next race in July, the Rolex Fastnet Race.

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Visit any of the major boat shows with a view to placing an order and a budget of around £100,000 to £250,000 will put you in the production-built yacht market, perhaps up to around 40ft at a stretch. It won’t buy you even the smallest Hallberg-Rassy new. But take the same amount into the used market and a lot of options open up if you’re prepared to buy an older yacht.

Buying a yacht for £100,000-£250,000: A tricky price point?

Buying a yacht is not without complications. It can be hard to predict what will need to be spent, even after having a survey done. Balancing purchase budget and a fund for works that are needed is very important.

“The big advantage of buying an older yacht is that you are trading depreciation, which is an upfront cost, for the cost of refit/upgrade, which is a cost that you can manage and decide when and how to spend,” explains broker Alex Grabau.

Adapting a pre-loved boat for family cruising can get you more for your money. Photo: Monday Never

“As depreciation is often no longer a notable factor with older boats, an owner must also then understand and accept that such costs of refit/upgrade may then become their ‘cost of ownership’ – with not all of it recoverable upon subsequent resale.”

When it comes to saving money, Grabau says it’s clear what almost everyone looks for first.

“The one everyone wants to buy will be the older boat (so little or no depreciation) where an owner has just refitted or upgraded her for a planned adventure which has either been completed quickly (with little wear or degradation to the equipment), or where the plans have been cancelled.

“The owner will almost certainly see a percentage of their refit investment written off, making the boat a fantastic opportunity for a buyer looking to save some money and, perhaps most importantly, time,” he adds.

Get covered

Once purchased, next steps are likely to mean rectifying any serious faults or problems highlighted by the survey. “The only aspects which are going to stop you heading off immediately relate to safety, reliability and, linked to that, the stipulations of your insurer,” adds Grabau.

“This will usually mean inspection – or in some cases replacement – of standing rigging if older than 10 years, replacement of saildrive diaphragms (if fitted) if over seven years old, thorough servicing of mechanical systems, and either servicing, replacement or upgrade of safety equipment.

The first post-refit cruise will always be special. Photo: Living With The Tide

“Most other refit items can be attended to immediately, or pushed further down the road if budgets don’t immediately allow.”

Marine insurance companies regularly deal with customers about to buy a yacht that they have plans to improve. Understanding whether the yacht is fundamentally safe is the primary concern of an insurance broker, explains Andy Crick, a director at Pantaenius UK.

“When a customer gets in touch about a yacht they want to insure we take a holistic approach; every yacht really is different. As a broker it is important to consider the fundamentals. Is it likely to catch fire? Is it likely to sink? Is the rig likely to come down?

Rescuing another family mid-Atlantic made safety a priority for Will and Cat when seeking their next yacht. Photo: Monday Never

“We regularly insure yachts that have a passage to make to where they are going to have work done, but we need to ensure the yacht is safe for that delivery passage.

“One prospective yacht may need very little work done, having benefitted from a proactive and comprehensive maintenance schedule in prior ownership. Whereas a similar yacht out of the same yard at the time of build may have had a harder life, been cared for less sympathetically over the years and might require extensive work in a number of areas,” says Crick.

What to look for: key considerations by yacht insurance brokers when buying a pre-owned yacht:
■ Type and age of yacht and material of construction
■ Structural integrity of the hull. Has the vessel suffered damage? Have any past repairs been completed properly?
■ Condition of the hull-to-keel joint and age and condition of keel bolts (where relevant)
■ Seacocks and through-hull fittings. What type are they? How old are they? What is their condition? Are all below-the-waterline hoses secure and double clipped?
■ What are the bilge pumping arrangements?
■ Age and condition of stern seals or sail drive seals
■ Rig; type, age, condition, last service, inspection or replacement?
■ Onboard electronics: type and condition of the batteries, condition of the wiring, RCD protection?
■ Onboard gas system (if any), including hoses, pipes, regulator and safe storage of gas bottles. When was the gas system last professionally inspected and serviced?
■ Fire prevention measures and onboard firefighting equipment
■ Condition of the rudder and steering system
■ Main engine and gearbox condition and maintenance
■ Operation of navigation equipment
■ Lifesaving apparatus.

Article continues below…

Taking ownership: Buying a yacht abroad

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Second hand boats: buying a classic yacht

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We did it

Catherine and Will Marks bought their 1995 Contest 46 Paradox. When it came to finding their second yacht, Will and Catherine Marks had experienced enough sailing to shape a list of features that quickly struggled to tally up with their budget.

Having previously owned a production-built boat, they were determined to buy a yacht that was well built and set up for long term cruising. A little more knowledge, however, had given them a long list of criteria.

Generous aft cabin makes the Contest 46 very comfortable for living aboard. Photo: Monday Never

“We backed ourselves into a corner with the list we’d come up with.”

An incident while crewing on a Discovery 67 crossing the Atlantic had made a deep impression on the couple a few years before. The video they made of it rescuing a family on a yacht that had lost its rudder now has two million views on YouTube (Monday Never).

“It was an experience we reflected on a lot and certainly had a massive influence on our own decisions afterwards,” explains Will. The couple now have a young child of their own and have been afloat as a family for three years.

Paradox proved a great family yacht. Photo: Monday Never

“We looked at a lot of boats that met, or were very close to meeting, all of our criteria. Passports, Hylas, Kelly Petersons – I think we looked at over 20 yachts. Eventually we found the Contest – not a particularly well-known yacht in the US, but a boat with a pedigree.

“Finding a quality boat in our price range meant we were often in a bracket where the yacht hadn’t been well looked after, we realised that,” explains Will.

“Our surveyor was great, but he gave us over 110 points to attend to. A handful were urgent. When lockdown hit, we went into the deep end working on the boat. It was then that things emerged the survey couldn’t be expected to pick up, like leaks from deck hatches.”

The couple embarked on a program of works to get the boat how they wanted her. “All in all we invested around $100,000, which we knew we wouldn’t get back, but it put the boat in the right place for what we wanted to do.”

When it came to moving back ashore and selling the yacht earlier this month, Will and Catherine found themselves inundated with offers. “Brokers were quite negative when we made initial enquiries about listing, but we had loads of interest straight away.”

Matt Donald and Paige Grogan have a Contest 40S

Matt and Paige first owned a Contest 40, before trying classic yacht ownership, then deciding to come back to GRP. While they looked at other brands, in the end, they came back to one they were familiar with, choosing a slightly different variant of the Contest 40 they’d owned before.

Matt and Paige livea board with their dog Lancer. Photo: Living With The Tide

“We offered well under the asking price knowing she needed work. We then spent a month and a half in Mayflower Marina, Plymouth, renewing the electrics, heating, refrigeration and rigging. The survey was a good guide to what we really needed to do,” explains Matt.

“This Contest actually has slightly less stowage due to how the water tank is fitted, but we think she has a slightly faster turn of speed. We owned an overland truck for a while as well and had sailed our previous Contest to the Caribbean and back.

“By the time we bought her we’d really figured out what we needed in terms of living comfortably afloat. Paige is a freelance graphic designer, so getting the electrics set up to run laptops all day was important.

“The combination of what she offers in terms of space, being good to sail and her build quality is really what made us buy another Contest,” explains Matt.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

The post Buying a yacht for £100,000-£250,000: Tips and tricks appeared first on Yachting World.

I came to traditional sailing by accident, but now I’m here, I’m a convert. And that’s because sailing traditional boats will make you a better all-round sailor. Don’t believe me? “I agree with the proposition 100% having spent my life voyaging, racing and teaching in traditional craft,” says Tom Cunliffe. He literally wrote the book on gaff sailing and pretty much all other sailing topics as well.

Today I skipper the 104-year-old, 100-tonne, former Lowestoft fishing smack Excelsior, which operates as a sail training vessel in the North Sea and is still rigged and sailed authentically. I began sailing less than a decade ago when I dropped out of my previous life working in the arts and moved to the Caribbean, teaching English and eventually living on a little yacht.

I was mostly self-taught aside from occasional hops through the RYA syllabus, and eventually became confident enough to cruise single-handed in the Lesser Antilles. Initially I wasn’t remotely interested in tall ships, nor carried away by the romance of an old wooden schooner; I just wanted to sail.

It’s all hands on deck when hoisting Swan’s big gaff rig. Photo: Swan Trust

But when a role came up on Excelsior as mate, just as I was fresh from achieving my Yachtmaster, the old hands promised me: “If you can sail Excelsior, you can sail anything.”

They also sagely pointed out that, while the Suffolk coast could be seen as flat and boring, I’d quickly learn one hell of a lot of seamanship from navigating its tides and sand banks. At 77ft Excelsior can be a heavy and ungainly beast at close quarters, and a headache to manoeuvre, which is exactly why I’ve learned more sailing her than I have on any modern-rigged yacht.

Seamanship skills

Andy Schell, founder of offshore sailing company 59° North, explains: “Seam’nship [Andy makes a point of taking the ‘man’ out of the equation] boils down to two simple fundamentals – the ability to anticipate; and the ability to adapt.

“[It] requires an understanding of the bigger picture and all the elements that come together during any kind of sailing trip, short or long – weather, ship, crew, nav, maintenance timelines etc. The most technical sailor will fail if they’re not paying attention to the chart, for example, and this happens all the time.”

Turning a 77ft vessel in tight spaces with a fat, full keel and a powerful prop walk is nothing short of an education! Photo: Matthew Perring

There’s a lot that can feel unnecessarily challenging about sailing traditional boats. They were built with more limited materials than we have now, and usually designed with a particular region or purpose in mind (for example, Brixham trawlers vs Bristol pilot cutters). They might not be able to do something you’d take for granted with a modern rig, like point to windward or move in winds lighter than a Force 4!

Handling such a vessel requires more than simply the ability to sail a boat. You also need to know your environment. Off the coast of East Anglia, tides are critical to any passage Excelsior undertakes. There have been times when I’ve sat at the chart table while trying (foolishly) to beat to windward, looking at our ground track, and being quite satisfied that the plotter says we’re doing 1 knot.

Until I realise it’s 1 knot backwards, and if the crew are already sick, disheartened and miserable, and nobody has it in them to cook a meal, it’s only going to get a lot worse. Passage planning for where we need to be by certain times, based on predicted changes in the weather and tide, is crucial seamanship that could make or break a voyage.

Knowing that closer to the shore the tidal current will be weaker can impact your tactics significantly. On a swifter, more forgiving modern boat you may get away with less fastidious planning, but not on a traditional vessel.

The same goes for keeping an eye on changes in the weather well in advance. On a lightweight contemporary rig you can execute a swift tack or sail drop in minutes, but on a ship like Excelsior these manoeuvres take time and in strong winds a gybe might need two watches’ worth of crew.

Preparing to hoist a large canvas sail with a traditional block purchase. Photo: Ed Compson

Can you afford to wait until the watch change, or do you want to wake them up early? And if you’ve woken them up early, is there enough time for them to go back to bed afterwards before they’re due to take over?

Richard Titchener runs the Sea Change Sailing Trust, which sails a replica Thames Sailing Barge in Essex. He says. “Under sail, especially if you are relying on wind and tide to reach your destination, you are always trying to make the best of the conditions.

Effectively, you are always racing. Always looking to use the last of the fair tide that runs in the centre of the river with short tacks rather than the more relaxing young slack or ebb at the sides. Always picking up on the seaweed that may indicate a tide edge seemingly in the middle of the channel. And these days it’s studying with a forensic eye the speed and direction of turn in a distant wind turbine for signs of the sea breeze.”

But the trade-off is that one of the most thrilling seam’nship muscles I’ve begun to flex thanks to sailing Excelsior has been my ability to use the natural environment to my advantage.

With a vessel like ours, sometimes there is no other choice. For example, when leaving tidal berths, if the wind is blowing us on, no amount of springing will free us. But we can use the tidal stream to push the bow (or the stern) away from the pontoon. It’s the same for coming alongside.

Traditional sailing ships taking part in the Fest Ar Mor maritime heritage event in Brest Harbour in Brittany. Photo: Mathieu Rivrin/GlazPictures/Getty

Ferry gliding is extremely elegant in a heavy long-keeler and makes you look like a manoeuvring deity. When your passage involves turning in a tidal river, plan your turn for a moment you know the current is going to help you, not dangerously hinder you (and drive you sideways downstream as you battle against the opposing forces).

Maggie Adamson, who skippered the 125-year-old sail training vessel Swan of Lerwick, is double-handed offshore world champion as well as International Sail Trainer of the Year. She’s at home in both arenas, and has learned a great deal from each. “Everything is at a different pace on board traditional boats. There’s still the adrenaline rush and excitement of manoeuvres but you have to give things a bit more time and planning,” she says.

“I started offshore racing about the same time as I started skippering Swan so there are a lot of aspects that complement each discipline. In sail training it could be anything from managing your crew expectations, seasickness levels, to time management on schedule for port visits and weather. In both disciplines, sail choices and forward planning are extremely important, and so is food!’

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Using your sails

“What you learn from different rigs is creativity and learning to get the most out of the boat,” says Andy Schell. A gaff rig comes with a unique set of challenges, and when sailing an ex-fishing trawler, you really need a lot of drive to get going, meaning you need to understand what your arsenal of sails can do for you, and how to work your rig.

“Every sail on Swan is hoisted in a different way,” explains Maggie Adamson. “The main sail is gaff rigged, mizzen a standing lug, the jib is hoisted on a wire traveller system after hauling out the retractable bowsprit, the topsail is hoisted on her own yard and the foresail being the most straightforward, is permanently bent on the forestay. This gives you a great understanding of the different systems and running rigging that goes with it.”

A Swedish traditional boat enthusiast once told me that in Baltic regattas, if you’re the one racing on the British fishing trawler, you’ve got no excuses when you don’t win. I had definitely been doing something wrong, then.

Charlotte Hathaway is an Ocean Yachtmaster, she is skipper of Excelsior, taking teenagers and young adults on adventurous sail training voyages around Europe.

Dinghy sailors would hop around the deck saying words like ‘slot’ and I used to roll my eyes, quipping that on Excelsior we don’t ‘trim’ our sails, more ‘arrange’ them. They’re either in or out, and there’s either two or five or eight of them up.

But I was so wrong. It’s really exciting when we have dyed-in-the wool gaff sailors on board, passing on their wisdom.

“Do you understand when the topsail needs to be flat and when it needs a bit of belly? We’re going downwind, so peak the gaff up a little higher and make the topsail more baggy, and we’ll speed up,” they tell me.

“And have you noticed there’s massive weather helm right now because we’re going upwind but the main is over-sheeted? There’s too much force to the aft of the boat and it’s pushing the stern around. You need to ease the main far more than you think because of the way the sail is shaped.

The Excelsior Trust offers sail training experiences for young and old. Photo: Excelsior Trust

“Also, when you reef don’t reef the mainsail first, because you might not even need to. Adjusting the sails on the extremities will have a dramatic effect on the overall balance. Lose the topsail, reef the mizzen, house the bowsprit and use a smaller jib. Your centre of effort is now far lower and she’s sitting much more comfortably in this miserable gale.

“And when you’re tacking? Back the mizzen, to guide the stern round, then back the headsails just long enough to get the nose through the wind, and don’t use too much rudder or she’ll stall.” There is so much to learn.

Close quarters

I’ll confess that I’d never really used springs before docking Excelsior. On a large, heavy boat springs are everything. Using lines to warp yourself round tight spaces and control your movements around the dock is also extremely satisfying, and I recommend everyone experiments with it.

The Excelsior Trust offers sail training aboard the traditional Lowestoft fishing smack Excelsior. Photo: Graham Cross

Did I mention that Excelsior has a 9ft tiller? My favourite turning trick is a well-deployed staysail, or even a quickly peaked mizzen. Our pirouette in Hartlepool marina using mainly staysail and a lot of forward and reverse has become legendary.

Always make sure you have a Plan B, because you carry a lot of momentum and there are usually more fragile boats everywhere. As Tom Cunliffe notes: “If you can come alongside with a 15ft bowsprit without murdering the harbourmaster, docking any modern yacht with a bow-thruster and spade rudder will be a breeze.”

Try Traditional

“I’ve always wanted to go even more traditional and have an open invite to sail on board Pride of Baltimore II, a gaff-rigged topsail schooner, just to see how they handle it all,” says Andy Schell. “There is always something to learn.”

Traditional sailing makes your life more difficult but teaches you so much: why a specific hull shape makes your yacht lie at anchor in such a way, or how to handle heavy loads without winches (a crash course in the use of purchases, but so useful if you have a gear breakdown on board).

Conning the Thames Barge Blue Mermaid into an anchorage – the wheel in one hand, mainsheet in the other while the mate is forward preparing the anchor. The head of the topsail has been dropped, but the sheet not yet run in. The vessel can be slowed or speeded up as needed while choosing the spot to let go the anchor – all by a crew of two. Photo: Blue Mermaid

There is a plethora of opportunities to try traditional sailing. My bias would be towards supporting a sail training charity like Excelsior Trust, who often subsidise their life-changing youth trips by offering adventures for adults, too. You can also find charter companies operating historic vessels, and National Historic Ships franchises a traditional seafaring course. Whichever you try, you’ll come back a better sailor.

Organisations offering traditional sailing opportunities

■ Excelsior Trust: theexcelsiortrust.co.uk
■ Swan Trust: swantrust.com
■ Sea Change Sailing Trust: seachangesailingtrust.org.uk
■ National Historic Ships: www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/page/traditional-seafarer-introductory-certificate
■ Coastal Exploration Company: coastalexplorationcompany.co.uk
■ Classic Sailing: classic-sailing.com

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

The post How to learn traditional sailing skills: Why learning historic boat handling skills make you a better yacht sailor appeared first on Yachting World.

With one foot on the beach and a fresh breeze in her sails, our old yacht seemed to come alive as we raced along the Panamanian coast. It was the perfect first sail of the season.

We’d left Marina Vista Mar and Rachel and I were ecstatic to finally be sailing Agápe south once more. As we pinched every last mile we could out of the dwindling wind and light, we made our way past the first of the Perlas Islands and into the shallow waters of the archipelago.

Dropping the sails, we fired up our trusty diesel, and prepared to make our way around the Isla Viveros. Rounding this island from the west takes you through a narrow and shallow channel between its northern point and the south side of Isla Mina.

We thought about anchoring in a closer bay as both tide and sun were dropping, but plans to drop the hook in the company of our friends on the other side prevailed. Double-checking the charts revealed that at low tide there’d be only 3m of depth, but since the tidal range here can be over 5m and the low was still an hour away, I thought we’d have enough water to glide through the channel and make the anchorage in time for sundowners.

We should have read the guidebook a little more closely and heeded the advice: “Existing charts of the Perlas are very inaccurate. The rocks here are hard, not soft corals, and have taken bites out of more than one yacht.”

ProfAsea broke away from a mooring and washed over and through a coral reef before grounding on a beach. Photo: Joshua Shankle

Chart inaccuracies

As we entered the channel I was focused on the marked dangers on our charts and Rachel was standing at the bow, watching for uncharted rocks through the green water and failing light. I was so focused on the charts and depth sounder that it took me a minute to realise we’d entered quite a current pulling us into the channel. Agápe was making 6-plus knots when I wanted to travel at a safer 3 knots in the shallows.

No sooner had I realised this but, in horror, I watched as our depth sounder jumped from the expected 10, 9, 8 to 3, 2. Then Rachel yelled from the bow: “ROCKS!” Instantly, I threw Agápe into reverse and asked for all our old engine could give.

It wasn’t enough. Agápe’s more than 15 tons of mass came to a violent and absolute stop. Rachel was thrown from beside the furler into – and very nearly through – the stainless steel bow pulpit. Agápe’s rig shook violently, her furled headsail swaying wildly, the engine was screaming in reverse, and, worst of all, Rachel was half-on, half-off the bow, clinging to the lifelines.

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For over a decade, my wife, Rachel, and I lived aboard what could aptly be described as a traditional bluewater…

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Bluewater cruising can be a transformative journey, filled with remarkable moments and unforgettable adventures. But challenges come hand in hand…

The engine was no match for the current, and we were dragged over two large rocks that jutted into the channel. Our home was laid hard on her side as the keel ground across the top of one rock after another. I was still asking all I could from our engine, with the wheel hard over to port, fighting to keep the rudder off the rocks and in deeper water.

After the second rock passed under, Agápe righted herself. I yelled at Rachel to get back into the cockpit, not caring about having a lookout – more concerned with keeping her safe and on board while we headed into the deeper water.

As soon as we felt ‘safe’ we did a check of the bilge, pulling up the floorboards to make sure there was no water coming into the boat. With the bilge still dry and the helm feeling responsive, we decided to drop anchor and jump into the water to assess the damage.

At this point, Rachel was crying and shaking uncontrollably, fear and adrenaline coursing through her. I was disguising my fear by letting a nearly non-stop string of profanities pour from my mouth. After taking a minute to catch our breath, I grabbed my snorkel mask and, because the current was still so strong, grabbed a line to make fast to the bow, and used this to hold on to while I dove to inspect the bottom.

A team effort later refloated ProfAsea. Photo: Joshua Shankle

Surprisingly, the damage wasn’t that bad. From what I could tell it was contained to the keel. We’d lost a good chunk out of the leading and trailing edges, with deep scratches down the side and a couple of gouges out of the bottom. But the hull and rudder managed to remain untouched.

We decided to move the last mile into the anchorage. To add insult to injury – or more likely because I was still shaking with adrenaline and my brain wasn’t functioning – moments after raising the anchor, the engine came to a sudden stop and stalled: I’d forgotten the line at the bow and it had wrapped around the propeller.

I cursed myself as I recalled reaching into the lazarette and grabbing the first line to hand – one of our new spinnaker sheets, our most expensive lines. After dropping the hook again, getting back into the water and cutting our prop free, we finally limped into the anchorage, where we could contemplate our self-inflicted misfortune.

We did learn a couple of things: rocks are hard; and even though we’d checked the tides, we chose to go anyway – a big mistake! Instead of being in a hurry to meet friends, we could have met them later and traversed the shallows at high tide.

Also, if you have a person at the bow looking for the worst, expect and prepare for the worst. Wear a PFD and tether. I don’t want to think what would have happened if Rachel had gone overboard and been swept away from the boat.

Agápe’s overlaid glassfibre, integral keel, and overall robust construction come at a cost. We won’t win any races, but where many boats would have lost their keel, Agápe kept us safe and took the hit like a heavyweight boxer!

Hitting rocks took a chunk out of Agápe’s keel… Photo: Joshua Shankle

Checks and repairs

Luckily for us, a yard in Panama City had space to haul us out a few days later. We started a top-to-bottom, bow-to-stern rigging, bulkhead, and structural inspection. A hit that hard puts a tremendous amount of force on every part of the boat. We needed to make sure we found any damage and repaired it while on the hard before entrusting our lives to Agápe to cross the Pacific.

I meticulously scoured the bilge, inspecting all the bulkheads and tankage, looking for any cracked tabbing or broken stringers. Then I began an in-depth rig inspection, something we’d have done before our Pacific crossing anyway.

Starting at the masthead, I polished all the tangs and swages to make any stress cracks more visible, working my way down to the deck. Then, one by one, I marked, slackened, lubed, and then re-tightened each turnbuckle to ensure no threads were damaged. Finally, it was time to inspect the chainplates and knees (the structural sections that spread the load from the chainplates to the hull). Except for the battering to the keel, Agápe showed no signs of damage – amazing considering the loads absorbed.

It took four 12-hour days of grinding, sanding, glassing, and fairing Agápe’s keel before she was ready to paint.

Rachel and I had gained a newfound caution in shallow waters and strong currents. We also learned our lesson, again, not to rush. If the tide, current, or weather isn’t in your favour, then just wait. As cruisers, we have plenty of time – we might as well take advantage of it.

Luckily the prop and rudder escaped unscathed. Photo: Joshua Shankle

What to do if grounded

Running aground is a situation we all hope to avoid, but it happens and we should be prepared to deal with it. Whether due to navigational error, shifting sandbars, or unexpected underwater hazards, finding yourself aground is a nerve-racking situation. Time can be crucial, and how you respond in the first few moments can make all the difference.

Safety first – Any time a vessel is grounded, the first and primary concern should be the safety of the crew. This might be to the detriment of the vessel, but no boat is worth loss of life or injury. Check no one is hurt, and if the vessel is taking on water or in immediate danger, don PFDs and call for immediate assistance.

Assess the situation – The first few moments of a grounding can be critical. If you’ve hit a sandbar, for example, quickly motoring full astern with weight on the rail might be enough to get off. Captain CJ Coetzee, who heads up a marine charity in the South Pacific and has experience of skippering large sailing yachts in the uncharted waters of the area, advises: “If you cannot immediately get free, then timing and assessment become the next two important factors.”

What is the tide doing, and how will it affect the situation? “Knowing what the tide is doing will give you a pretty good indication if your day is going to get better or worse,” adds Coetzee.

If you’ve not already done so, call for assistance. Extra manpower, spare lines or anchors, and a few powerful tenders can make a world of difference.

Self-rescue – If your boat appears undamaged and conditions are safe, you can try to free it yourself. Methods will depend on how and where you’ve run aground.

Agápe repaired and ready for re-launch. Photo: Joshua Shankle

If you’ve grounded on sand or mud and are not stuck hard, you might be able to back out. Shift weight to one side of the boat. If the boat is already listing to one side, move weight to the low side. Try reversing off while keeping the rudder straight. If possible, have the crew rock the boat side-to-side to try to break free.

Induce heel to reduce draught by attaching heavy items to the boom, like jerry cans or a tender, and swing it outboard to try and heel as much as possible. This will shallow the vessel and might be enough to break free.

If possible, keep the engine powering astern to prevent the boat from being pushed further into the shallows. Remember, though, that many engines can be damaged if the angle of heel is too great.

Wait for the tide (or help) – If you are unable to get free in the first few minutes, you might need to wait for the tide or help to arrive. Deploying a kedge anchor or anchors in the direction of deeper water will keep the vessel from being pushed further into the shallows.

By using a tender, an assisting boat, or even walking if shallow enough, place these anchors as far out as possible and use cockpit winches to tighten them. Remember to continue to tighten them as the boat rocks, taking up any slack to continue to pressure the vessel into deeper water.

If possible, remove excess weight to help lighten the boat. Offloading fuel, water, or heavy gear may be enough to get re-floated.

If it is a serious grounding – as in the accompanying photos of ProfAsea – self-rescue is highly unlikely. Proceed with the steps above: call for assistance, stabilise, assess.

We’ve seen many catamarans end up on sand bars and reefs. Unfortunately the options for freeing them are fewer. Photo: Christophe Launay/DPPI Media/Alamy

In the case of ProfAsea, the yacht broke free of a mooring and was washed over and through a coral reef, luckily coming to rest on the only sandy spot nearby. When we arrived on scene large wind-driven waves were battering the yacht, threatening to push it farther up the beach.

Several anchors were deployed to stabilise the boat and prevent it from being washed further up the sand. While waiting for calmer conditions and the following high tide to attempt salvage, we removed as much heavy gear as possible, enlisting the help of both the cruising and local community. As the tide rose, we continuously tightened the various anchor lines and used sheer manpower to inch the boat free.

Once afloat

Once you manage to free the vessel and get back to deep water, inspect bilges, rudder, and engine to verify that the vessel is fit to continue under her own power. Immediately head to the closest marina or haul-out facility to have the vessel inspected and repaired.

If the vessel is taking on water the recovery plan changes. Then, trying to get the boat to deeper water only risks the vessel sinking. If you are unable to stem the flow of water into the boat then a professional savage company might be your only good option. These companies will have buoyancy bags to float the boat long enough to get it to a haul-out facility.

Running aground can be frustrating and embarrassing, but keeping a level head and taking the right steps can make the difference between inconvenience and disaster.

If you regularly cruise in poorly charted or constantly changing areas, have a plan and the right equipment onboard.

Even the most experienced sailors run aground, but it is how you approach the situation that dictates the outcome.

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The post What happens when you run aground on a yacht? And what should you do appeared first on Yachting World.

Rob Hamill wasn’t supposed to be in the water that day. Although he was tempted by the gentle cyan waves in the remote Thai anchorage, doctors had treated an infected area on his neck a few days prior and ordered him to stay out of the sea. But his three sons – Finn, Declan and Ivan – were knocking about in Ko Roc’s clear water, free diving to impressive depths, pushing each other to new limits.

Finn was squeezing the last drops of a bluewater cruising adventure – along with some precious family time – out of his too-short visit before returning to Europe to continue his training for the New Zealand Olympic rowing team. The 21-year-old carried the same competitive spirit as his dad and was keen to match his 19-year-old brother Declan’s 30m free dive. Rob, unable to resist, fitted his mask and slipped off the stern of the family’s long-time home, Javelot.

Bluewater cruising near a deep drop in remote Thailand

The 43ft Fountaine Pajot was anchored on the edge of a deep drop-off in the remote southern Thailand marine preserve and the boys used light weights attached to the anchor line to guide them down into the depths. Close in age and interests, they had grown up aboard Javelot.

Javelot under spinnaker, sailing across the Great Australian Bight. Photo: Photo: courtesy of Renee Whitaker

Rob dove under, watched Finn swim down and spotted Declan kicking off the sea bottom 6m down. When Declan came to the surface, he was gasping for air, briefly dazed from a lack of oxygen. Rob surfaced and took a close look at him as Ivan held him in the water. Suddenly, Rob realized Finn hadn’t surfaced. Jabbing his head under, he saw what no parent ever wants to see: Finn floating lifeless, arms wide like a starfish, 6m down in the deep blue water.

“He’s gone! Finn’s gone!” Rob called out to Declan, Ivan and his wife, Rachel.

Finn had blacked out on his ascent and was drifting toward the deepwater drop-off. Rob dove after him and, together with Declan and Ivan, pushed and dragged him to the surface. Declan clamped Finn’s jaw shut on the ascent to prevent him from taking in more water and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the surface.

As his brothers swum him towards the boat, Finn regained consciousness and spoke, but back on board, his condition worsened and he struggled with shallow, painful breaths and a racing heartbeat. Concerned about secondary drowning, inflammation and pulmonary edema caused by water in the lungs, Rob put out a Pan Pan and a request for oxygen on the VHF while Rachel and Finn went ashore in the dinghy to seek help.

A recreation of Finn’s rescue following his blackout when diving off Thailand. Photo: Rob Hamill

Thai park rangers arranged for a medical boat which took Finn to the mainland and then on to Ko Lanta hospital, where he was assessed and transferred to another major hospital two hours away. He developed pneumonia due to water in his lungs and spent three days in hospital.

Looking back, Rob felt lucky the family had recently watched the free diving movie The Deepest Breath and had initiated recovery techniques for a water blackout but, he says, they should have been more prepared. They all learned much from the terrifying accident. But it is Finn’s reaction that really drove it home to him.

“If Dad hadn’t spotted me, I might have sunk back down, too deep to be recovered,” Finn says. “For dad, he’s lost two brothers. Imagine what it would be like to lose a son.”

Kerry’s last sail

Rob’s brother, Kerry, was another Hamill boy who’d always had an adventurous spirit. He lived aboard and sailed his 23ft sailboat Foxy Lady from Darwin, Australia, to south-east Asia in the mid-1970s.

Communications were limited in those days and Rob remembers his family in New Zealand gathered around the kitchen table reading Kerry’s letters home and living his cruising adventures vicariously. In August of 1978, the young sailor dropped his girlfriend off in Singapore before he, Canadian Stuart Glass and Briton John Dewhirst, set sail.

A storm blew the Foxy Lady off course and into Cambodian waters where the sailors took refuge behind Koh Tang, an island about 50km offshore, not knowing the area was a Khmer Rouge naval base. Armed men approached the boat and opened fire, killing Stuart. Kerry and John Dbyewhirst were captured by the Khmer Rouge, accused of being CIA spies, imprisoned, tortured, forced to make false confessions and murdered. Kerry was 28.

Kerry Hamill and his girlfriend, Gail, aboard Foxy Lady. Photo: Rob Hamill

Back at the Hamill family home in New Zealand, the letters stopped. No one knew what had happened to Kerry. Christmas came and went, until in January 1980, after 16 months of painful silence, a distraught neighbour told them to buy a local newspaper. Rob drove to the nearest store with his brother, John, and remembers seeing the headlines: ‘Whakatane yachtsman Kerry Hamill captured and executed by the Khmer Rouge’.

The tragedy tore the close-knit family apart. Rob’s brother John, who had been closest in age to Kerry, killed himself.

For Rob, the seed of sailing the world had already been planted during his teenage years, through the letters Kerry sent home. Following Kerry’s murder, he channelled his energy into becoming an Olympic rower.

His success on the New Zealand team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics led to competing in – and winning – the first two-man, transatlantic rowing race. He married, started a family, and took a run at New Zealand politics. But the anguish over Kerry’s death and the subsequent impact on his family had never healed.

Kerry Hamill. Photo: Rob Hamill

“There was no place for grief in the 1970s,” Rob says. “No place to put it. It was never discussed, never processed. It was difficult for family members to talk about it openly.

“While I was rowing across the Atlantic, we would take turns at the oars, two hours on, two hours off. When I was off, I would climb into the tiny, suffocating cabin on our (7m craft). All of the physical and mental exhaustion inside me bubbled to the surface and I found myself openly weeping everyday.

“I felt so much isolation and pain and separation from my family.

“I knew I needed to do something, take some action, to honour his memory, and John’s, and deal with the grief. I knew I had to go to Cambodia.”

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Brother Number One

In August of 2009, 30 years after the Cambodian revolution, Rob travelled to Cambodia to testify against Commander Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch. After three decades of impunity, Duch and other senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge were called to stand trial for crimes against humanity. The United Nations-backed trials were part of the war crimes tribunal process, and Rob was invited to give a victim’s statement.

In 1975, under dictator Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia. Pol Pot referred to himself as Brother Number One. The brutal regime was responsible for the deaths of more than two million people, a genocide that killed a quarter of the country’s population.

Rob won the first two-man transatlantic rowing race. Photo: Rob Hamill

Comrade Duch controlled the Tuol Sleng prison, or TS-21, in Phnom Penh, where Kerry was held. TS-21 had been a former secondary school; during the revolution, more than 14,000 prisoners were executed there.

Rob’s journey to Cambodia and his testimony at the trial are captured in an intense 2012 documentary, Brother Number One. During his testimony, Rob acknowledged the pain of the Cambodian people and their immense loss. While on the stand, Rob also confronted Duch.

“When you killed my brother Kerry, you also killed my brother John,” Rob said. “The effect of these devastating losses on our family simply cannot be measured. They were massive and incomprehensible.”

In July 2010, Duch was sentenced to 35 years in prison, which was reduced to 19 years for time spent in detention. He died in prison in 2020. “People talk of closure, but grief is an ongoing process,” Rob said. “There is no closure. There is only grief.”

Javelot under spinnaker. Photo: Rob Hamill

In his wake

Back in New Zealand, as their young sons grew, Rob and Rachel searched for ways to keep their family close. They bought Javelot in 2014 and planned a cruise from New Zealand to Tonga. After 10 months of preparations and a couple of shakedown cruises, when the boys were 13, 11 and 8, they set sail for the South Pacific.

The notoriously difficult crossing from the Bay of Islands to Tonga was rough, but they learned a lot. The return south to New Zealand was another tough passage, but the family decided the liveaboard life was indeed for them.

Anchored off Double Island Point, Queensland, Australia. Photo: Rob Hamill

“We left New Zealand [after that trip] with the loose intent to retrace Kerry’s footsteps in south-east Asia, and a wider dream of circumnavigating,” Rob said. They started The Cruising Kiwi YouTube channel in 2018 and built a loyal following.

The couple hadn’t initially meant to sail to Darwin – where Kerry’s voyage started – but thought they might pick up his trail in Indonesia. When Covid arrived in 2020, they stayed in Australian waters and circumnavigated the country.

From Darwin they retraced Foxy Lady’s journeys through Asia. With Kerry often in their thoughts, they weighed whether to return to Cambodia. “They talk about grief being passed through the generations. I don’t want to have my grief carried subliminally by my family,” Rob said. “I want to talk about it openly, allow my boys to ask questions.”

The Hamills decided to fly to Cambodia from their cruising base in Thailand and visit the TS-21 prison as a family. “I was in tears before I even walked in the door,” Rachel said. “You just go numb. You can’t fathom the horrors people did to other people.”

It made the thing that had cast a shadow over the generations raw and visceral for his sons, Rob said. But he’s glad they went, to walk through the prison and see that this history is real, and try to process it.

Declan, Ivan, Rachel and Rob at an ocean plastics event. Photo: Rob Hamill

Once back in the tuk tuk working their way through the streets of Phnom Penh, emotions overcame Finn. “Thinking back, to when we nearly lost Finn in the free diving accident,” Rob said. “He had the wherewithal to say, ‘If I’d lost my life, like dad lost his brother, my brothers are going to suffer the same sort of grief.’ That is such a beautiful awareness.”

After leaving Thailand, the family set off across the Indian Ocean. For the 1,100-mile sail from the Maldives to the Seychelles, they anticipated a few challenges. The westbound equatorial passage cuts a path through a tough westerly current, and south through the notoriously fickle Intertropical Convergence Zone.

Weather windows along the route can be tight and uncompromising. Although three of the four models on PredictWind showed unsettled systems along the route, after a week of waiting on Addu Atoll, Rob, Rachel, Declan and Ivan, along with ship’s cat Mocha, were ready to go.

“We knew it wouldn’t be the champagne sailing of our previous passage, from Thailand to the Maldives,” said Rachel. It was the kind of window you’d normally avoid, but in a week’s time it could be worse.

Difficult passage

After loading and stowing fuel, water and provisions – including 20 melons and 150 locally-made, still-warm samosas– the boys pulled up the Rocna and pointed a course toward the Seychelles.

The first few days were a blur of sloppy seas, dog watches and equatorial squalls as they inched south in the Indian Ocean, looking for the south-east trades. On the third night around 0300, Rob and Declan were on deck shuffling through sail changes in a constantly changing wind: set the main and genoa, reef, shake out the reefs, motorsail, and repeat.

The Hamill family visiting Angkor Wat in Cambodia (from left) Finn, Declan, Rob, Rachel and Ivan. Photo: Rob Hamill

They’d tightened in the genoa and were hand-steering in muddled seas when the wind shot up to 30-plus knots and caught the genoa at the clew, ripping it to shreds. “It was a complete b*lls-up,” Rob recalls with Kiwi forthrightness.

After another week of rain and sail changes, finally Javelot was in the trades. The last night at sea saw a squall with 35-knot winds pushing them toward their destination, the high, green hills of the Seychelles appearing with the sunrise. “These long ocean passages can be frustrating and demanding,” reflects Rob. “There are so many manoeuvres, so many choices.”

Rob Hamill visited the Khmer Rouge prison where his brother was murdered after straying into Cambodian waters. Photo: Rob Hamill

Rob and Rachel hope their life on board has taught the boys how to take risks, big and small. That it’s okay to fail, rebuild, and try again. “We’re building resilience,” Rachel says. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Rob, Rachel and Ivan sailed on, exploring Zanzibar, Tanzania and South Africa. Finn splits his time on the boat with his training in New Zealand while Declan is studying and working in Australia. Family and friends join the Hamills on board when they can. “We keep the box of Kerry’s letters on board,” Rachel said. “In a way, we feel we have him with us, too.”

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Fleeting acquaintance has always been part of sailing, particularly for bluewater cruisers. A friendship struck up over a rum cocktail or a kids’ playdate in one anchorage might be rekindled weeks or even months later when your paths cross again. But while yachties once exchanged visiting cards to stay in touch, they are now turning to dedicated apps.

Two in particular – NoForeignLand (NFL) and SeaPeople – aim to provide a social media platform tailored specifically to sailors. As is the way of the digital world, these services offer far more than their analogue equivalents.

As well as managing contacts, they allow you to identify boats near and far, find crew, go on a date, log your track and get timely local information from people who know which side of the bay offers the best holding, or when the bus into town runs.

Online sailing communities

There’s plenty of good user-generated content online, from Navily to Noonsite, but dedicated social apps for sailors have emerged more recently. Riley Whitelum and Eleyna Carausu are the famously photogenic cruising couple from Australia whose successful YouTube channel ‘Sailing La Vagabonde’ boasts 1.9m subscribers.

Moored up in Cane Garden Bay on Tortola, British Virgin Islands: latest apps can tell you if cruising friends are nearby – or give tips on the best places to eat ashore. Photo: Jon Arnold Images/Alamy

Working with Logan and Caroline Rowell and Brian Currier, founders of the Young Cruisers Association, they helped create the newest app, SeaPeople, which launched in autumn 2024. They say the concept grew out of frustration with existing means of communicating at sea.

“Before SeaPeople, we mostly used WhatsApp, which was really annoying,” says Carausu. “And before that it was nothing! Eventually my dad bought me a satphone, so I was sending SMS with that, which was a nightmare. We used Instagram just for posting.”

“It was really obvious that we needed something, but I don’t think it was a particularly original idea,” adds Whitelum. “Like most sailors at some point, we thought it would be nifty to have something like this to communicate.”

It’s a similar story for NoForeignLand, developed by liveaboard sailor Steve Neal and his wife Helena. “We set it up while staying at the Marina di Ragusa in Sicily in 2017,” Neal tells me.

“It was a very sociable marina with 70 liveaboard boats in contact. To begin with, it was pins moving around a map and showing you where people had got to. It was a really niche thing originally, but it became apparent that it was a good idea and more people wanted in.”

A social medium

Along with the Cruising Association’s (CA) Captain’s Mate, these apps allow you to see and connect with other users via a scrollable map. While the CA draws from a smaller pool of around 6,400 members, NoForeignLand and SeaPeople have active users of several tens of thousands and are free to use.

Photo: Hervé Schelcher

From the Falklands to the Philippines, you can find boats online, see when their owners last posted and contact them directly.

Where the SeaPeople platform excels is in its detailed understanding of its users’ profiles, which allows it to include dating and a crew exchange.

“We differ from other apps people are using because it’s really about sailors and communication,” says Whitelum. “People can find each other, communicate and create little communities together as they come and go.”

When users sign up, they choose from a list of interests: playdates with kids, running or surfing, for instance. You can quickly and easily filter to find others with common ground, and follow those you like. Tina Roach explains how SeaPeople was useful from the start of her cruise down the New England coast in a Tartan 34.

“I decided to follow as many folks that had the same boat as us, in case we had any issues,” she says. “We got in touch with Chris, another Tartan owner 45 minutes from us, and he sold us his dinghy and outboard a few days before our trip. He’s been a huge help as well!”

NoForeignLand founders Steve and Helena Neal live aboard their Hallberg-Rassy 43 Amalia. Photo: Steve and Helena Neal

You can also list specific boat skills or services and, because SeaPeople attracts those who simply admire boats, there’s a category for ‘shoreside support’. “You can sign up and offer to drive sailors to the shops, or let them stay at your house, use your washing machine,” says Whitelum.

“Things like that are very easy for someone on land but make a world of difference to a sailor. It could be out of the kindness of their heart – or there could be a monetary aspect.”

On NoForeignLand, users join groups of people who share their interests, and then see which members are nearby. There’s a very active group for families with children on board and another for pets. You can join groups like Women Who Sail, Scuba Divers, Lagoon Owners or Starlink on Boats.

In this way, both apps streamline the process of finding and meeting like-minded people, eliminating the haphazardness of yacht club bar or marina encounters.

Plenty of cruisers also use older apps like Facebook for staying in touch, although it’s slower and less well equipped for the casual mobility of sailors. Some Facebook sailing groups have been in existence for many years now, and act more like an online forum – a repository of knowledge and experience.

“I use Facebook groups because they’re so well established,” says Jeanneau 54DS sailor Jack Andrys. “There’s a Jeanneau 54DS dedicated group with lots of useful history over the years. And if you put something up on it, you will get a response. A closed group is pretty good because they’re oriented towards the topic.”

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Navigation aid

Besides social connections, NoForeignLand has a whole extra dimension of location information. Viewing options include a night mode as well as NASA and satellite photography that gives an incredibly useful view of the seabed.

The SeaPeople app allows you to ‘hail’ other users within a set radius

“We discourage people from using NoForeignLand to navigate, but we know they do,” says Neal with a wince. This is confirmed by all the users I speak to.

The app goes a step further, by showing short posts from other users on anchorages, moorings and harbours, often giving details of the best line of approach or holding.

“We use NoForeignLand every time we go to a place we don’t know – a new anchorage, island or country – that’s how we find out about customs and immigration,” says French sailor Hervé Schelcher, currently in the Caribbean with his family.

NoForeignLand also helps cruisers decide where to visit, with a raft of user generated pins about what to do ashore. They range from hiking routes and dog walking spots to bus timetables and chandlers, often with a short comment highlighting friendly service or a special capability. Any user can drop in a scrap of information which appears with an appropriate icon on the chart.

Other apps also do this – Captain’s Mate from the CA is the pick of the bunch, blending thousands of recent reports from members with factual information about approaches and landing.

Hervé Schelcher uses NoForeignLand. Photo: Hervé Schelcher

Author of the UK & Ireland Circumnavigator’s Guide, Sam Steele, recounts a lucky escape courtesy of the app during a passage from the island of Bornholm to Ystadt in southern Sweden. The wind backed, allowing her to make landfall further west in Smygehamn, closer to the ultimate destination of Malmö.

“If you read the pilot, it sounded fine, but the intro on Captain’s Mate said the stench of rotting seaweed was unbearable. It has also turned to silt and made the inner harbour unusable. We went elsewhere.”

Real-time help with online sailing communities

Where both SeaPeople and NoForeignLand outperform other navigation apps is in soliciting rapid advice, such as how to approach a new anchorage or whether a little-used harbour is viable.

“Not everyone sits with the VHF on at anchor, but if you send a message via NoForeignLand, it pings up on the phone,” says Neal.

“When we arrived in Honduras last year, we had quite a tight reef to pass through. You can’t always trust the charts over here, so we messaged forward to other boats in the anchorage and got a message telling us how to get in. We feel like we’re allowing people to communicate more readily.”

Sophie Curran. Photo: Sophie Curran

SeaPeople has taken a slightly different route that allows its users to put out a virtual VHF ‘hail’ using the app. You drop your message onto the map and a notification pops up on the phones of users within a set radius.

“This app didn’t exist 10 years ago because there was no point in being able to hail people nearby when none of them had connectivity,” says Whitelum. “It’s local knowledge at your fingertips.”

NoForeignLand has just introduced a similar feature, which allows you to pin a question to the map. It pops up only to those within a given radius and disappears after a certain amount of time. You can also post warnings – about an obstruction or poor holding, for instance. And you can even post an event, from a barbecue to a beach clean-up, in the same way.

Changing tech

Experienced cruisers will have noticed a flaw in discussing the benefits of apps and instant notifications: they require a mobile phone connection. Even in busy parts of the world, don’t expect much network unless you’re within a few miles of a cell tower, but if you’re off grid or at the bottom of a steep cliff, the chances are slim.

But the growing array of low earth orbit satellites is transforming the role of the mobile phone. More than any other service, Starlink has brought ultrafast satellite broadband to bluewater sailing, meaning you can now stream, post and surf your way across most of the world’s oceans for £247/month with a £2,470 equipment cost.

The developers of both apps have Starlink on board, as do many thousands of bluewater cruisers. It enables you to browse for information ahead of landfall and identify friends or contacts who might have made it before you. Live position logging will also work in real time, keeping friends and family in the loop.

Sam Steele found the CA’s Captain’s Mate ideal for cruising the Baltic in her Rustler 42 Carra. Photo: Sam Steele

But short-range VHF radio nets still seem to be thriving in the Caribbean, no matter how much social apps look to supersede them. “Every morning, every island has a different channel for a VHF net between 0730 and 0830,” says Schelcher.

“They have an agenda that includes safety and security, new arrivals, local business ads, kit for sale and activities. It’s pretty cool, because it’s just the people around you.”

Sophie Curran crews on a 56ft custom catamaran in Malaysia and owes her job to SeaPeople. With no sailing background at all, she downloaded the app during a backpacking trip in Sri Lanka because she realised she was interested in exploring the coast by boat.

“We flew to Thailand, where we replied to a few hails – hoping people were looking for crew,” she says.

“It was a few weeks later when everything fell into place. We were sitting on the beach in the small island of Koh Yao Noi looking at yachts pass in the distance and trying to find them on the map on SeaPeople. A few days later, a couple who had just bought a catamaran saw our profile and sent us a message seeking crew in Malaysia. The timing seemed too good to be true as we were beginning to make our way south through the islands in Thailand.”

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Couldn’t it be wonderful to believe that the experience of buying a new yacht is never problematic? But as with anything and everything – from cars to new homes – problems with new yachts are by no means unheard of.

Stories of keels falling off, bulkheads buckling, bond failure of structural components and so on have all had significant exposure on social media and YouTube. But how much truth is there to them? What are boatbuilders doing to address the problems? And how can buyers best protect themselves?

Fortunately the issues new boat buyers are most likely to encounter fall into the ubiquitous category of snagging a (albeit potentially long) list of relatively minor issues. Almost no new boat is without them, which is partly a reflection of the marine industry’s small scale production compared to sectors such as automotive. Yachts are still largely built and assembled by hand, which inevitably means there’s potential for error to creep into production processes, which makes effective quality control procedures essential.

Snagging timescale

Snagging procedures vary considerably between different yards, although in many cases it falls to the dealer, which can result in a range of different outcomes even for the same model of boat.

Outremer, for instance, has sold directly to clients for the past few years and has a well-defined process and timescale for dealing with problems. This starts with a week-long handover at the shipyard, where owners work with the after sales and quality control teams, as well as having the benefit of hands-on training sessions with the yard’s professional skippers.

Rigging and thorough testing during Oyster’s commissioning process. Photo: Christopher Ison/Oyster Yachts

“Quality and client satisfaction are paramount for us and we’re in constant discussions with our customers and owners,” marketing director Céline Macharez told me.

After the handover process has been completed owners sail away for anything between three weeks and two months. “Then they come back to the shipyard where we check everything again and fix anything they discovered,” Macharez adds. “We know that they are engaged on bluewater cruising journeys, so even when they leave the shipyard it’s not the end of the story. Anywhere they are on the globe, they have someone to talk to and to fix their problems if they have one.”

Equally, other high-end brands including Oyster and Nautor Swan have multiple service and maintenance bases with their own staff, so any support for new owners can be provided in-house.

Article continues below…

Why do keel failures happen and what can we do to prevent it?

Matthew Sheahan investigates the incidence of keel failure in recent years and finds some worrying reports of near-misses

Second hand boats: how to buy a ready to sail yacht

It’s no secret that if you want to buy a new yacht the wait is now likely to be two…

However, this type of service can be a problem for smaller or less well established businesses. British yard Discovery Yachts, for instance, was forced into administration at the end of 2019 following a well publicised court case in which the owner of a two-year-old 58ft yacht won compensation totalling some £1.6 million.

The judge in that case wrote: “The yacht appears to have been delivered hurriedly and before it was ready to be delivered. It was delivered without an adequate sea trial or commissioning.” Some repairs were carried out after the boat crossed the Atlantic, but these were unsuccessful and it was subsequently shipped back to the UK. The judge also ruled the owner “…did not have the enjoyment and pleasure which he had justifiably expected.”

Part of the commissioning, snagging and trial sailing process at Outremer. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

Lloyds certification

Sadly there are other instances in which problems go beyond the mundane and easily remedied. The best known of these is possibly the Oyster 825 Polina Star lll, whose keel fell off in 2015 due to moulding defects, resulting in the yacht sinking. That incident was a factor in the company calling in the receivers due to cashflow issues three years later.

New owner Richard Hadida quickly instituted radical changes to ensure his firm has a tight grip on quality control. Under previous ownerships Oyster had in some senses been primarily a marketing operation – albeit a very successful one – with production largely subcontracted out to third party firms. It was one of these that was ultimately at fault in the Polina Star case. Hadida acted quickly to either buy the subcontractors outright, or invest in new production facilities directly owned and controlled by Oyster. Today Oysters are delivered with Lloyds Register and DNV certification.

Contest Yachts in the Netherlands also offers an example of top-notch practice, having delivered all its boats with a Lloyd’s Register Hull Construction Certificate for more than 50 years. This requires plans and structural engineering calculations to be scrutinised and approved before construction commences, followed by inspections during the build to ensure every vessel is delivered in accordance with those plans. It’s a more expensive way to build yachts than the standard industry practices required by legislation, but can give lots of reassurance.

John Lawson had a TS42 catamaran that lost a keel. Analysis of hull sections found that resin infusion had failed. Photo: Courtesy of John Lawson

Quality control

Instructing a surveyor to check each construction stage while a boat is in build might sound like an ideal solution for anyone buying a new yacht, but in reality is not practical in most production yacht building environments. Nevertheless, a couple of yards are bucking the trend in this respect.

One of these is Neel Trimarans, a company that in the past has attracted online attention from disgruntled customers complaining of issues from faulty freshwater systems to deck leaks, as well as a handful of cases alleging much bigger problems. Last year the company changed ownership, who brought in new management with a brief to tackle quality control head on.

Chief commercial officer Brieuc Maisonneuve told me: “Since the change of ownership, there have been significant improvements in production processes and quality control procedures. Specifically, Neel has implemented a three stage quality check on the production line, plus a final quality control with sea trial before delivery to the dealer.

Hull section a analysis of John Lawson’s TS42. Photo: John Lawson

“We are also involving dealers more (Neel sells 95% of our production via our dealer network) in the commissioning of the boat before and after the arrival of the clients. These changes aim to address past issues and ensure that customers receive high-quality yachts that meet regulatory standards and exceed expectations.”

Righting wrongs

At the former Marsaudon Composites site in Lorient, France, where ORC catamarans are built, and a new production line for Outremer 45s has recently been established, a specialist NDT (non destructive testing) surveyor has been engaged to visit three times a month to monitor the progress of boats in build. These surveyors more usually work with IMOCA 60s and Class 40s.

This follows a legal case in the Tribunal de Commerce de Lorient that Marsaudon Composites lost and subsequently led to it becoming insolvent in September 2023. The case was brought by John Lawson, who bought a new TS42 (a model now renamed ORC42) in 2016, but encountered numerous problems within his first two years of ownership, including dry areas of laminate and the loss of a keel during an Atlantic crossing.

It’s important to note the latter isn’t the catastrophic failure it would be on a monohull, since it’s not a ballast keel and the hull retained watertight integrity. Nevertheless it’s not the kind of problem anyone expects to encounter with a new yacht.

Among other things, the expert appointed by the Tribunal found the keels had design and build faults that led to the breakage, the hull mouldings had areas in which the resin infusion process failed, rudders were badly built, and a strengthener in each hull was unsafe.

Quality control during build should reduce problems later on. Here a Lloyd’s inspector visits a Contest hull. Photo: Contest Yachts

Once it became clear that matters had stalled after the judgement, with his boat still in the hands of Marsaudon Composites’ receiver, Lawson posted a video on YouTube, which quickly went viral with more than 140,000 views. His status as winner of a legal case – albeit after considerable costs and a five-year wait – clearly helped his video stand out from others that lack third party professional expertise to collaborate the allegations.

The Grand Large Yachting group, which includes Outremer, Gunboat, Garcia, Allures and RM Yachts, bought certain assets of Marsaudon Composites from the receiver last autumn, including some intellectual property and tooling of ORC Catamarans, but without responsibility for various liabilities, including those relating to Lawson’s case.

This type of situation is not unique to France, where it’s designed to retain employment: England and the USA have broadly analogous procedures to shield businesses from creditors to give time to recover, or be sold as a going concern without crippling liabilities.

While other boatbuilders have insisted on similar videos being taken down under threat of legal action, Grand Large Yachting didn’t take this approach. Following the video’s posting, co-founder Xavier Desmarest instead invited Lawson to Lorient to meet with him and ORC’s new marketing and communications director Pierre-Yves Poulain.

Installing equipment on a new yacht being commissioned at Grand Large Yachting. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

If Lawson opts to buy his boat back from the receiver, they have offered to repair it at cost, with him filming the process, even though it’s neither a boat they built nor one for which they have a legal responsibility. “They have enough pride in their workforce, their processes and the quality control they’ve introduced, that they’re standing up [saying], ‘we’ve nothing to hide, film it – we’re proud of our story’.” Lawson told me.

“I think that’s brave. And it’s a 180° turnaround on the previous owner who always was flanked with lawyers.”

In the months since buying the ORC assets and brand, Grand Large has invested considerably in transferring Outremer’s expertise to the Lorient site, including quality control systems and scaling up output to a more industrial, rather than artisanal, scale. With Outremer 45 production having moved to Lorient, the workforce there has increased from 60 to 100 people and I’m told Outremer’s industrial director is currently spending four days a week on site.

Pre-handover inspections

Even if it’s not possible to appoint a surveyor to monitor the build of a boat, would engaging one to inspect the vessel before handover be helpful? When I asked Lawson whether this might have identified all the problems with his boat he was initially sceptical, saying that while it should have unearthed some defects, others were unlikely to have been spotted – though this was before NDT testing using ultrasound became as commonplace as it is today.

Even that may not be easy to implement before handover of a new yacht. It’s perhaps not a surprise that dealers are not keen on the idea of a pre-handover survey and instead reassure buyers of the comprehensiveness of their pre-delivery checks, the effectiveness of the builder’s warranty, and the processes they have in place for snagging.

Outremer runs regular practical training courses to help familiarise owners with their new yachts. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

UK-based surveyor Nick Vass, for instance, tells me he generally only becomes involved once the relationship between buyer and dealer has already started to break down.

He has dealt with problems such as bubbling antifoul as a result of improper surface preparation and priming, deck fittings lacking effective sealant, but also others with serious safety issues, including one two-year-old yacht with corrosion of saildrive and hull anode bolts caused by stray electrical currents that had potential to sink the vessel.

Surveyors are not structural engineers, so can only tell you whether a boat appears to have been built according to expectations. Notified bodies are responsible for ensuring legal standards defined by the Recreational Craft Directive are met. However, Lawson is critical of this process, which others in the industry have described as ‘leaving holes in the safety net’.”

Despite a tightening of the regulations six years ago, manufacturers of yachts with a hull length under 12m need only an independent stability and buoyancy assessment. It’s only larger craft that need a notified body to approve design and engineering calculations, but production boatbuilders can still self-certify they have built each boat to that design. And their quality control procedures are not subject to scrutiny.

Staying near to the yard or dealer for a good period to iron out any problems is prudent. Photo: Robin Christol/Outremer

There’s therefore a risk that genuine mistakes can pass through without being picked up. Lawson also points out that this system, “means that cowboy builders can exist in the same space as reputable, decent companies.”

Questions to ask

Fortunately, however, the overwhelming majority of boat buyers appear to be happy with their yachts. The level of repeat business achieved by many well established yards is testament to this and plenty of recent used yachts survey well when they change hands.

But to avoid surprises at a later stage, in the early steps of negotiating to buy any new boat it’s worth establishing who will be responsible for snagging and whether they’ll travel to the boat, or if you’ll be expected to take the boat to them.

This is particularly important for those intending to sail long distances, who may need to plan more local sailing before crossing an ocean. On the other hand, many dealers are able to offer attractive packages for berthing, at least for the first season after handover, which means it’s effectively on site for any remedial work.

Beyond that, in the absence of greater oversight in the industry, maybe the best solution is simply not to overextend finances when buying a new boat. Experienced owners of second-hand craft know it’s important to make provision for unexpected expenses and the same may be true when buying new – so don’t get talked into buying a bigger boat than you really want, however good the deal appears to be.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

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The post How to ensure your yacht purchase is problem-free appeared first on Yachting World.

When we tell people we’re bluewater cruising around the world, the first question is almost always the same: ‘What about storms?’

I’m hesitant to reinforce a Hollywood dramatised view of life at sea so keep a practised response to hand: ‘We plan ahead and use lots of forecasting tools to avoid bad weather, so see it rarely.’

But my answer to where we have experienced the most challenging weather – so far – may surprise you: Australia.

Strong winds and driving rain were no fun north of Cairns. Photo: Finn Stainer-Hutchins

I should caveat this with an observation: everyone sails their own course. Having met many cruisers in over two years as a liveaboard, I’ve realised that no experience is universal.

Sailing contains so many variables that every passage is different. I should stress that Australia was one of our favourite overall cruising destinations. Did it push us to our limit?

Absolutely. Would I encourage you to go? I would say that it cannot be missed.

Bluewater cruising around Australia

Firstly, Australia is massive. The Australian coastline is over 16,000 miles. You want to sail all of it? It would take years.

More than 85% of Australians live on the coast; it’s integral to their way of life. Australia is also a nation of sailors. There are modern marinas in nearly every town and every boat service you can imagine is easily accessible.

For us, this was a key draw; it was an important stop off on our bluewater cruising world trip to conduct some much-needed maintenance and repairs.

After almost a year sailing our Lagoon 46 Acushnet in the South Pacific, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to breathing a sigh of relief to be back in the modern world.

Luxuries like direct delivery, Uber and, best of all, crisp salad, made travel more enjoyable by relieving some of the stresses of bluewater cruising life and left us with more time for exploring.

Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

We sailed into Australia from New Caledonia at the start of the cyclone season in November 2022, and spent three months in a yard just south of Brisbane.

By February, we were itching to head back out to sea and explore but were hampered by our insurance which would not allow us to go higher than 27° south before the cyclone season broke in April.

As a result, we turned south, keen to view iconic Sydney Harbour from the bow of our own boat.

For anyone who’s had even a passing interest in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race it’ll come as no surprise to learn that Australian weather can be unpredictable at best.

These challenging conditions are largely thanks to the currents of the Pacific and Southern Oceans, each of which have varying temperatures.

Where the waters meet, in the Tasman Sea, the waves swell, and storms develop quickly. As a result, these waters can be extremely rough and unpredictable.

This was our first lesson on leaving port. Despite a clean bill of health from a weather router, and every PredictWind model available, we hit bad weather mere minutes after pulling out to sea.

The worst lightning storm of our lives enveloped us instantly, with the closest strike around 60m from the boat – I saw it touch water.

Day two of our three-day bluewater cruising passage was spent ploughing into giant waves, churned up as wind opposed the famous East Australian Current.

The whole journey ended with an impressive finale; a sustained 45-knot storm, gusting over 50, that lasted six hours.

Our top boat speed, in our 22-ton catamaran, was 18 knots. Mercifully, the boat handled it all beautifully and nothing was damaged.

Sailing under Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the Opera House. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

Once the weather had passed, we sailed into Sydney at 0400, and there was something eerily beautiful about slipping into such a busy port in its quietest hour after such a tempest. It felt like we were the only ones to see the city wake that morning.

Anchoring with big city life

I’d called no fewer than 68 marinas in Sydney and its surrounding area to try and secure a berth or a mooring ball, and eventually came up trumps with a sub-let slip (from a megayacht, no less) that overlooked Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We toasted our safe arrival with champagne bought at the fancy restaurant next door.

We enjoyed the perks of big city life, from our own floating home, for a week. Australians are thalassophiles, so it was oddly comforting to find ourselves in a city of like-minded people.It’s a place where the working day starts with a quick surf and childcare is often the local ocean swimmers club.

A real highlight was walking the Coogee to Bondi cliff path, which finished with a dip at the famous Bondi Icebergs saltwater pool, fed by waves that crash over its edges. It made for a deliciously cold dip after a long and sweaty walk.

We left Sydney in the middle of the day and finally got our ‘pinch me’ moment as we steered Acushnet under the Harbour Bridge and out past the Opera House.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of accomplishment we experienced in that moment. Back in Florida, Sydney felt impossibly far away and sailing there a pipe dream of epic proportions.

I can still hardly believe that we did it.

Sailing under Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the Opera House. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

Our next port of call was Pittwater, perhaps the most picturesque bluewater cruising destination in New South Wales. Only 20 miles or so north of Sydney, it’s a popular choice for the city’s sailors.

The area boasts several large yacht clubs and marinas, so this was where we planned to leave the boat while we also fitted in some land-based travel.

The bluewater cruising area was exceptional. One highlight was sailing into Refuge Bay, a beautiful anchorage topped with a gentle waterfall.

The 100 or so mooring balls were an indication that at weekends this spot would be packed, but midweek we had it all to ourselves.

We thrashed our way through undergrowth and climbed a vertical cliff, to be rewarded by a series of natural pools where we could bathe overlooking the anchorage. The area is part of a national park, and we also passed Aboriginal rock art.

Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club, Sydney. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

Quick-stop cruising

After crossing the South Pacific, it seemed to us an audacious luxury to be able to day-sail our way across Australia. We cruised over 2,000 miles up the coast from Sydney to the Torres Strait but made only a few overnight passages.

Along the way we discovered endless quirky towns and unique anchorages.

We found an island where a couple lived off grid, sharing their wild honey with passing sailors in exchange for any odds and ends they needed.

We spent three nights inside Fairfax atoll, which was completely covered at high tide, and with no wind felt like we were anchored in the middle of a flat ocean, totally alone.

We swam with minke whales while scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

We chased dingoes from a 4×4 on K’gari Island, snorkelled with more fish than I have ever seen in my life at Tangalooma wrecks, and rode jet skis up the swampy river of Cairns, spotting massive man-eating saltwater crocodiles along the way.

The sailing conditions were usually an extremely pleasant 15-20 knots on the beam or behind, giving us the chance to experiment with our methods.

On a typical day we’d play around with our light wind sails (a Code 0 and a Wingaker parasail), hoisting one after the other as conditions changed.

Knowing we didn’t have to race to port allowed us to simply saunter along with the sails up and no engine, even if we only made 3 knots.

Around Southern Queensland we found that the shifting sands made the Navionics maps unreliable, and nearly ran aground twice. These same conditions created some dangerous sandbars at the entrances to otherwise safe harbours.

On one memorable occasion, a volunteer in a lighthouse coached us on VHF into Mooloolaba Marina where surfers were riding breaking waves crossing the entrance channel.

The tactic was to count the sets and then gun it in. This part of Australia also had fairly high tidal range; the largest we saw just over 7m. This made dinghying to shore difficult at times and so tide tables often governed the rhythm of our days.

Whitsunday waters

After a month or more of bluewater cruising from Sydney, we finally made it to Australia’s most famous cruising ground, the Whitsunday Islands. Once there, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular.

There are 74 islands, and this densely packed archipelago lies between the north-east coast of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Most islands are uninhabited, and characterised by dense rainforest and white sand beaches.

We have scuba gear on our boat and spent many happy hours simply jumping off the stern to explore the thriving ecosystem below.

Wrecks at Tangalooma, scuttled in the 1960s and 70s to provide a breakwater, teem with marine life. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

One day we dropped anchor behind the famous ‘hill inlet’, at the northern end of Whitehaven Beach.

The sheer number of tourist boats in Tongue Bay when we arrived was dream-crushing, but long before sunset each one departed, leaving us alone.

We seized the opportunity to take the hike up to the viewpoint and had the breathtaking sweep of landscape all to ourselves. As the crowds had gone, we even got to see the notoriously shy Proserpine rock-wallabies playing on the path.

Beyond the Whitsundays our next port of call was Cairns.

Here we had to make up some time by doing this as a three-day passage, skipping some favourites (such as Magnetic Island) on the way, as we were racing for a flight I needed to take to sort out my US visa.

In contrast to our earlier lazy island-hopping pace, with zero knots of true wind we found ourselves motoring the entire way: sailing on a schedule is not fun.

The Whitsundays are arguably Australia’s most famous cruising grounds, with crystal clear water, densely packed islands and stunning wildlife. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

Cairns, a city of only 150,000 people, was going to be our last major population centre until Singapore six months later.

Beyond here the Australian towns get smaller and finally peter out around Cooktown, 200 miles north, where the road stops. We used our time in Cairns to provision heavily, stuffing six months’ worth of oat milk in the hold.

It was also a last chance to lean on the services of trained boat professionals, with much of our time spent installing a brand-new set of high-performance sails. This, it turns out, was not a good idea.

Averting disaster

After Cairns we threaded our way up the coast, stopping at Port Douglas to see the Daintree rainforest, and some smaller coves to ease the run north.

We made it to Cooktown, a small frontier town in far north Queensland, in early July, and spent a memorable night in the local RSL club – which was certainly the liveliest spot in town (population: under 3,000).

After that, civilization stops. As we pulled out to sail the remaining 350 miles up the deserted coast of Far North Queensland, it felt like we were falling off the edge of the world.

This stretch of coastline is notorious for strong wind at that time of year, so we planned to only stop a few times on our ride up to Cape York, the tip of Australia, to make the most of a reasonable weather window.

For the first four days we made excellent time, bluewater cruising downwind in 25-35 knots.

But once when we were truly miles from any help, disaster struck. At about 0300, the shackle on our new jib failed.

As winds had been blowing for 25+ knots for over a week, the waves were massive.

It took nearly an hour in driving wind, rain, and darkness for the two of us to get the sail under control, by which time the clew board had shredded that corner of the sail as it thrashed around.

To make matters worse, we were in a narrow shipping lane with reefs on both sides and cargo ships passing.

‘Tide tables often governed the rhythm of our days’. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

As dawn started to leak across the moody horizon we scanned the charts, looking for a safe anchorage to pull in.

As luck would have it, there was a creek (croc-infested, of course) less than 50 miles further up the coast and we made our way in just before sunset.

Completely on our own, we spent the next three days repairing the sail before we were able to hoist again and tentatively poke Acushnet’s nose back out to sea.

The wind, utterly disinterested in any nerves we felt after our misadventure, continued to blow at a steady 28 knots.

It wasn’t until we finally turned around the lee of Cape York, two days later, that I could relax. I slept for 14 hours that night.

When people ask me about storms, I think they largely imagine the boat somewhere in the middle of the sea.

Having ridden out heavy weather on both the coast and the open ocean, where you are does not matter – at least, not with regards to the level of fear you feel in that moment.

The friendly lights of Sydney did not comfort me when we rode a storm exiting her harbour.

In far North Queensland, the proximity of the reef made our experience extra dangerous; if we’d lost control of the boat we could easily have been wrecked on rocks.

Article continues below…

What’s it like to quit your job and sail the world?

There’s an old sailing joke that goes something like this: “In search of single man with boat. Please send photo…

Sailing halfway around the world: one family’s cruising adventure

After a fast downwind passage from French Polynesia, we sailed into Fijian waters, just under 12 months after setting off…

To Torres and beyond

The second stage of our Australian adventure was a lesson in self-sufficiency.

During most of our trip we were within easy hailing distance of professional help should anything go wrong, and for months we’d made the most of this fact. But world cruising is mostly not like that.

Our own hands and a little YouTube research are all we have in most fix-it situations. Australia can truly deliver the full gamut of that bluewater cruising experience, offering both modern cities and remote wilderness all in one (very large) country.

Fixing the jib after it blew out in far north Queensland, miles away from civilization. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

Our last stop, before our jump to Indonesia, was the Torres Strait islands, half a day’s sail from the Cape.

This archipelago of over 270 islands dotted between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea bore a strong resemblance to the communities we met in the South Pacific, and I had to constantly remind myself that we were still in Australia.

The waters were a picture-perfect cyan blue and deceivingly inviting. However, given the numbers of crocodiles, locals advised that we should not even risk getting into the dinghy tender at dusk.

It was the season to cross to Indonesia and we were welcomed into Thursday Island by a large group of world cruisers. We’d not seen much of this community in Australia as many yachts circumnavigating had instead pulled down to New Zealand for the cyclone season.

But I wouldn’t have missed our Australian adventure. After 20,000 miles (and counting), it remains one of my favourite bluwater cruising grounds.

It was a delicious mix of modern convenience and truly isolated last-frontier-esque adventure. The wildlife was unique. The landscapes were breathtaking. And the sailing… well, the sailing was undeniably challenging.

But for us, this round the world voyage is about seeking the path less travelled and taking on challenges that will test us. Those are the experiences that will move us and the lessons that will shape us. Australia made us better sailors, and I cannot ask for a greater gift than that.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

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Knowledge 2.0 tackles tricky questions such as: how much is survival in extreme situations down to chance? How much self-confidence is too much… and can lead to disaster? Each area of knowledge is illustrated with examples from sailing.

“Competing in sailing’s elite events – the Olympics, the America’s Cup or professional ocean racing – requires high-level knowledge across many disciplines. It demands knowledge of science, engineering, data analytics, computer science, simulation and modelling, deal making, finance, human resources, management, marketing and communications – and that’s before anyone gets in a boat,” explains Chisnell.

In the following extract, he reveals how legendary sailor Michel Desjoyeaux’s extreme problem-solving abilities helped him win the Vendée Globe.

Knowledge 2.0, Staying Afloat in the Information Age was published on 6 February 2024

Finding a solution

There are many times when the problem is not the sifting of knowledge, not the sorting through it looking for information we can trust – sometimes the problem is the absence of knowledge, the lack of a solution to a problem.

What is probably my favourite story in the book turns on an inspired piece of thinking. However, it’s not the brilliance of the solution that’s the point (dazzling though it is): the point is that this kind of thinking can be learnt, can be practised and can be improved.

“It was the last day of 2000 and, when I started the engine the previous day, I’d heard a bad noise, but I didn’t care. The day after, I wanted to start it again to charge the battery and nothing happened when I switched on the contact and pushed on the start button… So, my first job was to remove the starter to understand why it didn’t switch on. I removed it from the engine and then I opened it, and I found out all the brushes are more or less dust, nothing repairable.”

The speaker was Michel Desjoyeaux, also known as Mich Desj, or ‘Le Professeur’ for his analytical, intelligent approach to life. And on New Year’s Eve 2000 he was leading Ellen MacArthur in the Vendée Globe, deep into the Southern Ocean and on the way to Cape Horn. “My press officer told me, ‘But, you should have a spare for this, no?’ And I told him, ‘No. If I carry a spare part for this, then I carry two boats, which is not efficient.”

The engine had been built by Yanmar and Desjoyeaux had good contacts there, so his first act was to talk to them. “They told me, ‘Oh, we are very sorry, something [like this] happens one time in one million maybe, and it’s a very low occurrence issue you have now, and we are very sorry, we can’t help you because there is no solution.’”

The response must have seemed like the end. The rules are strict for the Vendée Globe race: there is absolutely no physical assistance allowed – so for Desjoyeaux, a stop anywhere to pick up spare parts would mean that he was out of the race. How could he possibly fix the starter without the parts? It would have been a harsh ending to what had been a brilliant performance to that point.

However, Desjoyeaux was no ordinary sailor; there’s a reason he’s known as Le Professeur.

Michel Desjoyeaux grew up in his parents’ shipyard in Concarneau in Brittany and sailing was his life from the very beginning. “My home was attached to the yard, and the yard was our recreation when we were young. We didn’t need to go on holidays anywhere – I mean, we didn’t want to go on holidays anywhere, because we had everything we needed. I also did all my school lessons until I was 10 with my mother, who did the teaching at home.”

It’s hard to imagine a better background for becoming familiar with marine engineering.

Desjoyeaux was just 20 when he competed in his first round-the-world race as crew for the legendary Éric Tabarly, and he followed that French icon into sailing history with a series of exceptional achievements. Few would argue that he is the most successful solo racer of all time, having won the Vendée Globe not once, but twice.

Ingenious problem solving allowed Michel Desjoyeaux to sail PRB to victory in the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot

In 2008/09 he overcame a 40-hour deficit to win. He’s won the probably even more competitive Solitaire du Figaro three times, along with two major transatlantic races. Desjoyeaux is also an innovator, and pioneered the canting keel on a 1991 Fauroux-designed Mini Transat that also featured a pivoting carbon mast, and asymmetric spinnakers set on a long bowsprit.

But one of the most extraordinary moments of his career came after his discovery that he couldn’t start his engine in the Southern Ocean. “I switched off all the electronics that were not useful, only the [auto-]pilot with the compass left; no displays, no computer, no satellite connection, no weather forecast, nothing. The minimum possible, no navigation lights, I was fully in the Southern Ocean and I didn’t need lights because there was nobody [around]. And I spent a lot of time at the helm to save energy, preferring to sleep during the day when there was a little bit of sun for the solar panel to help me… during those days I tried to understand what I could do to try to find a good solution.

“I was a bit farther [east] than New Zealand, so it was too late to make a U-turn. This was very lucky for me, because I think that if I would have been able to get to Australia or New Zealand, then certainly… I think that maybe I would have postponed, stopped the race, put the traffic indicator light on to turn left.”

However, stopping wasn’t an option, so Desjoyeaux had to find a solution. It was a very long way to Chile without power; particularly without the desalinator, autopilot or communications.

Starter motor internals had disintegrated.

Reframing the problem

The state of the starter motor and lack of spares forced Desjoyeaux to look at the problem another way. Could he start the engine without it? The boat did have a second alternator, the device that turns mechanical energy into electrical energy to charge the battery.

“There was a big additional pulley at the front of the engine, and the two alternators were horizontal, one each side. So, my first idea was to remove one belt of one alternator and drill a hole to be able to put a screw in and attach a pad-eye to the pulley.”

The pad-eye would allow Desjoyeaux to attach a rope to the pulley. “Then maybe four or five turns [of a rope] around the pulley, then find a second block on the front of the boat and go out from there to the cockpit and on to a winch.”

The rope, a red line, that Desjoyeaux had attached to the pulley on the alternator would allow him to turn the engine over – just as a rope starts a lawnmower engine, or an outboard. Once it was led out from the interior of the boat on to the deck, he could try using the mechanical advantage of the boat’s winches to help him pull.

Alternator pulley became a rope pulley starter

Cold start

“I turned the winch and I understood directly that the load was not necessarily very big. I had the capacity to pull this load… but with just a winch, I would not be able to pull long enough and hard enough to make it start. It was cold, the temperature was between zero and 5°C, so it’s not very easy for a diesel engine to start. And I didn’t have enough battery to pre-heat the engine.”

Back at the Yanmar offices, they had been able to start an identical engine manually. “One of the things we asked them was how much you can unscrew the injector.” Desjoyeaux’s engine didn’t have a decompression lever, fitted to older engines to allow them to be manually started using a hand crank. They reduce the pressure in the engine, so it’s easier to turn it over. Then, once the rotation of the engine has begun and it has momentum, the pressure is reapplied and the diesel explodes.

“I unscrewed each injector… it’s three-quarters of a turn on each screw to have the minimum pressure to make turning it over easy, but also the minimum pressure to make the explosion possible when the engine compresses the diesel. In the Yanmar factory, they were able to start the engine with three people pulling on the rope.”

With an overtrimmed mainsail the red line finds its way back to the engine pulley – releasing the mainsail then spins the engine

Harnessing the wind

“I was confident,” he explained, “because I realised that the load to turn the engine and try to start it was not very big. We didn’t need tons, we just needed maybe two or three hundred kilograms.” Desjoyeaux, a master problem solver, knew exactly where he could find a force that would pull a rope with 200kg or 300kg of load: the sails.

“I tried to make a system to pull with the jib… it connected directly to the jib sheets.” The idea was that if he released control of the sail the wind would pull it, and the starter rope with it. “The problem is that when you ease a sheet you get a very big load at the beginning, but the sail collapses completely and you are not able to maintain power long enough to start the engine.”

Desjoyeaux realised that the jib wasn’t powerful enough. “I didn’t want to use a bigger sail or a sail [like a spinnaker] that could break, because I will need to do this operation every day. So, my idea was to go to the mainsail.” Desjoyeaux sailed PRB on an angle that normally requires the mainsail to be set at about 50° or 60° off the centreline. Instead, he pulled the mainsail in as hard as possible, over-sheeting it so it was as close to the centreline as possible.

The red line was wrapped around the engine pulley at one end, and then run via the mainsail (attached to the boom, the spar that controls the mainsail) to a fixed point, where the other end was attached. Once everything was in place Desjoyeaux released the mainsheet. The load from the over-sheeted sail pushed it out at huge speed, transferring this force to the red line all the way back to where it was wrapped around the pulley.

Another shot of the solution

“So, my red line [attached with the turns around the engine pulley] goes to a pulley at the back of the boat, up to the boom, back to the mast foot, the mast base, back to the cockpit. When I needed to start the engine, I prepare my rope in the boat and on the engine with five turns.

“Then I trim in the mainsail more than needed for the performance, I pulled on the red line, pulled on the winch very strongly, removed the mainsail sheet from the winch, put the contact on the engine, burn the diesel arriving at the injector with a small spark to heat it just before the injectors. And then I come to the cockpit, open the clutch of the mainsail, and then it pushed the main out… the first time I tried this, the engine started. It was incredible because it means that I was able to continue the race.”

Alone in the Southern Ocean, Le Professeur had figured out a fix that enabled him to finish the race without stopping for spares and beat Ellen MacArthur to win his first Vendée Globe. It was an exemplary piece of problem solving that was used again by Sébastien Destremau in 2016 – and quite probably by others.

Creative thinking

The one advantage that Desjoyeaux had was necessity – they say it’s the mother of invention, and it may well be he was able to figure out a way to start his engine simply because he had no other options. He was forced to focus on the actual problem, the real goal – starting the engine – rather than getting distracted by the apparent problem, a broken starter motor.

Substitution bias, or attribute substitution, is a cognitive bias that’s usually applied to decision making. We tend to substitute an easier or more obvious question for a hard one, and there’s something similar going on here.

The actual question is ‘How do I start the engine when the starter motor is broken?’ – but the easier question to try and answer is ‘How do I fix the broken starter motor?’ because that’s the thing right in front of us. Perhaps the impossibility of repairing it forced Desjoyeaux to shift to the real question and look for solutions to that problem. Whether the complete absence of other options helped him or not, this was an exemplary piece of problem solving. The problem in front of us isn’t always the one we need to fix.

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Regatta organisers are reporting a boom in Caribbean yacht charter entries, and, with more yachts available than ever before, the opportunities to pay and play for some racing in the sun have never been better.

The main Caribbean race season runs from February through to the end of April each year. For some the season begins with the RORC Transatlantic race in January, or the ARC rally in November or January, delivering the boat from Europe to the Caribbean.

The first big event is the RORC Caribbean 600 offshore, while the first major inshore event of the year is the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. The season progresses with a series of superyacht events, but also mixed fleets at St Thomas International Regatta, the BVI Spring Regatta, Les Voiles de St Barths, finishing up with Antigua Sailing Week in April.

Plenty of local competitors move from island to island for multiple events, as well as US entries who can benefit from short flight times for their crews. For sailors in Europe though, getting a yacht across the Atlantic and back is the main obstacle to taking part, particularly if not planning a full Caribbean season campaign.

Chartering, particularly chartering a yacht that is equipped ready to race, presents a much easier way to compete for those short on time. While headline costs for race charter appear high at initial glance, gathering friends together means it can become much more reasonable. Compared to delivery or shipping fees and the wear and tear of taking your own yacht across, it can also be more cost effective.

Growth in Caribbean yacht charter

While still a niche segment of the charter industry, recently there has been an increase in the number of yachts available to hire for racing, and are ‘race equipped’. It’s a shift that hints at how sailors increasingly want to jump onto a boat and enjoy racing without the worry of ownership.

Swan 80 Kallima can be chartered for racing in the Caribbean. Photo: Laurens Morel/saltycolours.com

“When we started, we were the only ones offering decent boats that were set up for racing; well maintained, a good set of sails, and a boat that, while not necessarily a racing yacht, is fun to sail,” explains Andy Middleton, who founded Global Yacht Racing with his partner, Claire Kennard, in 2004. Since then they have built a business focussed on making racing accessible, offering both entire boat charters and single berths aboard for major events including the Fastnet, RORC 600 and Round The Island Race.

“A good race charter demands a lot from us to ensure a fulfilling experience for the client. A thorough handover is so important when you are about to push the yacht to go fast. We are straightforward about the condition of everything on board. We know that in racing things do break, so it’s important to look at the condition of the sails, lines, and deck gear to identify what’s worn and to what degree. If something breaks after we’ve agreed it’s well worn, that’s OK. We work very closely with clients to deliver an experience that’s fun.”

Another company which focuses on racing charter is LV Yachting, which Lucy Jackson has built up over the past 10 years. A background racing Swans gave Jackson first-hand experience of what makes for a great race charter.

Now a key player in the market, LV Yachting offers charter at major events aboard a surprising range of yachts, as well as opportunities to pay for single berths.

“What differentiates a good racing charter from the general market is that every boat we offer is properly set up for competitive racing. Clients regularly finish on the podium. It’s also diverse. You can race a Volvo 65, a Salona 45, an 80ft Swan; so repeat customers have often had a lot of interesting experiences and access to very competitive racing without the hassle.

“We take care of almost everything, so the logistics involved are minimal, certainly much less than bringing your own boat. We handle race registration, berthing and can organise transfers and accommodation ashore if you want as well. Over the years we’ve built up repeat clients who appreciate being able to just turn up and go.”

GYR’s First 47.7 EH01 sleeps up to 10. Photo: Global Yacht Racing

A helping hand

Race charter has some obvious challenges when it comes to insurance. Underwriters keep a keen eye on how much the risk factor increases when racing. Charter companies and yacht owners almost always ameliorate the increased premiums by putting one of their own team on board. “If you’re chartering to race, the experienced person we provide is there to become part of your team and help you get the most out of the yacht,” explains Lucy Jackson.

“It’s important to say they’re not there to skipper the boat – unless of course you want them to. In reality a few customers are initially resistant when they learn they have to have someone sailing with them, but then they see someone that knows the yacht and its nuances who just becomes part of the team.”

For charterers with less racing history, or who perhaps want to sail with friends and family, the charter company can increase the number of professional crew on board. “We can set things up for those with no experience or, for those wanting to compete at a high level, provide professional crew as well; we try to be flexible to shape the best possible experience we can, making it really tailored to the client.”

Racing in the St Maarten Heineken Regatta. Photo: LV Yachting

Keeping it simple

The bareboat classes are home to a surprising number of serial race charterers on the Caribbean circuit. Astride de Vin is a regular participant in the St Maarten Heineken Regatta as a crew member of ‘Something Hot’, an all-female team which charters standard bareboat yachts through Sunsail. This year they sailed a Sun Odyssey 41.

“We bareboat charter in the event primarily to have a really good time, but we are certainly also eager to win. For 25 years there has been a ladies sailing team participating in the regatta. Ours is all about female empowerment and celebrating the joy of togetherness.”

The Something Hot team, despite not sailing a high-performance yacht, gets results, last year finishing 1st and 3rd in individual races.

“It is an expensive thing to do, but at the same time, I understand the risk level a charter company and their insurers are taking,” de Vin cautions. “This also is part of the reason there is quite a high deposit. The companies have to work really hard to deliver good service during the competition itself. Sunsail was on the water to fix things when needed, even between the races.”

Choosing to charter a standard bareboat rather than one set up for racing inevitably involves a compromise. In the case of the Sunsail Caribbean fleet, for example, yachts are not equipped with spinnakers, poles, or cruising chutes. However, events like Antigua Sailing Week include a specific bareboat class for yachts racing under white sails; meaning racing can arguably be just as competitive. Yachts are raced in ‘charter trim’ with restrictions on what can be removed.

The start of the RORC Caribbean 600. Photo: Arthur Daniel/RORC Caribbean 600

Single berths

The other option for those who don’t want the commitment of chartering a whole yacht, is single berth crew places on charter yachts. Global Yacht Racing reports that around two-thirds of its business now comes from individuals buying a berth on board for an event, or related race training. They manage race prepped yachts for their owners to generate charter income with a fleet that includes a J/120, Sunfast 3300 and Beneteau First 47.7.

“My background is as an instructor and examiner, but what I am keen on is the coaching side of racing; showing people that anyone can have fun doing it,” says Andy Middleton.

“We see a lot of people coming to us on their own who have had a bad first introduction to racing. Shouting, stress; all the usual things. Some have paid for this stressful experience and assumed it to be the norm. We work hard to do the opposite, showing racing doesn’t have to be like that, whatever your level of experience.”

Coaching included

Middleton and his team now have a system to ensure ‘pay to play’ racing works well and, ultimately, increases the chance of a win.

“When clients join a boat for a race event, we will figure out where they are best placed on the boat and train together beforehand. The biggest focus by far is on clear communication because we have proven that’s what gets results. The biggest surprise for many is how a crew that has never sailed before quite often gets a place on the podium. We’ve proved you can do that, turn up, pay for a place, and achieve a great result.”

Training comes as part of the package when buying a berth for a racing event via Global Yacht Racing, with the scope varying according to the nature of the race. “In the case of the Round the Island Race we’d do a full day of practice. For the Fastnet it would be several weekends.”

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Stan Honey’s first ever offshore race set the tone for his career. Then a lean and mean 14-year-old racing Lasers out of the Los Angeles Yacht Club, Honey already had an interest in all things technical.In 1969 Stan Honey had the opportunity to go yacht racing, and took on the dual roles of navigator and bowman on his offshore debut, not only earning his place on the boat, but taking a seat at the adults’ table.

“It was an absolutely riveting experience,” recalls Honey. “The thing I found most engaging was the ability to compete against – but mostly sail on a team with – grown-ups. There were boat owners such as George Griffith (who conceived the Cal 40 design) and Al Martin (a Los Angeles architect) who, if a kid wanted responsibility, let him have it. I expressed an interest in the bow and navigation, and they let me run with it.”

More than 50 years ago navigators didn’t just hop aboard a boat, plug in the waypoints on the computer and let the routing algorithms take over. They needed to know how to use a sextant and dead-reckon. Navigation before the digital age wasn’t easy. The young Stan Honey, however, embraced the challenge.

Navigating with a sextant in the early days of his career. Photo: Stan Honey

“For a kid, that was incredible. It’s what committed me to the sport for life, that experience of responsibility and a set of skills respected by grown-ups,” Honey says.

In demand

Now aged 67, Stan Honey is one of ocean racing’s most famed navigators and also a highly accomplished engineer. His achievements in both racing and technical fields have earned him multiple accolades, including a place in three US halls of fame – the National Sailing Hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Honey holds 30 patents (eight in navigational system design, and 22 in sports television enhancements). He has won the Trophée Jules Verne, which earned him the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year in 2010, and the Volvo Ocean Race in 2005/06. He navigated Comanche’s record-smashing transatlantic in 2016 – famously hooking Jim Clark’s 100-footer into a single weather system for the entire crossing to take 27 hours off the previous time. Comanche also set a 24-hour monohull record run of 618 nautical miles, which stands today. He’s navigated 24 races from California to Hawaii and won class or line honours 12 times. Since 1992 he has navigated yachts to set 22 sailing records, several of which have been superseded… by him.

Record setting with the mighty Comanche in 2015/16. Photo: Onne van der Wal

“He’s really smart, it’s why I enjoy working with him,” said Ken Milnes, one of Honey’s closest colleagues and friends, who’s been by his side through many inventions over the past 40 years. “In college, I went to Berkeley and Stan went to Yale. I worked very hard at Berkeley, studied all the time. Stan told me that while he was at Yale, he was busy with the sailing team and would cram for finals and ace them every time. I thought, ‘Damnit, that’s not fair!’ He really is a great man.”

Problem solving

Stan Honey graduated from Yale in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Applied Science, and later went on to earn his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) from Stanford. Honey applied his navigational and engineering skills to develop technological solutions, both for the public and more secretive projects.

From 1978 to 1983, Honey worked as a research engineer at the Stanford Research Institute. SRI was where clients such as the US military turned for help solving unsolvable problems. Honey led projects in over-the-horizon radar, underwater sensors, radio location systems, and others that are still classified.
“I’ve always had technical interests, whether in radio or electronics, and I’m predisposed towards solving problems that are hard. That’s what interested me in navigation as a kid, it was hard,” Honey says.

Along with Milnes and Alan Philips (another colleague met at SRI), the trio co-founded Etak, the company that developed the first in-car navigation system, with funding from Nolan Bushnell, who founded video game company Atari and also owned the 67ft sled Charley, which Honey navigated to line honours in the 1983 Transpac Race.

Navigating the 67ft sled Charley to win the 1983 Transpac Race. Photo: Phil Uhl

“When we founded Etak we spent a month just deciding what to do,” says Milnes. “We had three or four ideas, and finally decided that car navigation was the thing to try. We were young and fearless and dug in, solving one problem after another. Eventually we had a product that went to market.”

The system was launched to great acclaim in 1985. Its innovative ‘heads up’ display was based on principles used by ancient Polynesian sailors to navigate (Etak is a Polynesian term) but set a precedent for how navigation systems in cars and smartphones are used today.

As well as technical success, a feature of Honey’s engineering career is that he has worked with many of the same people over many different projects. “Stan has taught me to be honest and upfront with people, don’t pass the buck. Solve the problem and you’re in good graces,” Milnes says. “Honesty is really important to him. He’s not going to BS you.”

In 1989 Etak was acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp group for an estimated $35 million and Honey served as executive vice-president for technology (worldwide), reporting directly to Murdoch. There he conceived the controversial FoxTrax hockey puck, which helped television viewers follow the puck in fast moving ice hockey games by illuminating it on screen.

Milnes and Honey paired back up after Honey had founded Sportvision, which worked with professional sports leagues to develop more pioneering features for television, such as the yellow ‘1st down line’ on NFL broadcasts and K-Zone graphics that track pitches in baseball. Later, Honey and Milnes famously developed the graphics system LiveLine, which was used in the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco, and 2016 in Bermuda, which revolutionised the viewing experience by showing information such as course boundaries and laylines. Suddenly, non-sailors could understand who was ahead, regardless of the camera angle.

LiveLine for America’s Cup, which won an Emmy award for sports broadcasting

“When you look at it on screen, it’s so understandable and simple that you think, ‘Oh, that’s easy.’ But the technology behind it is immensely complicated. It’s a quantum leap past anything the NFL does,” America’s Cup winner and commentator Gary Jobson said in 2013.

Winning partnership

Besides being a standout navigator on many of the world’s most technically advanced boats, Honey and his wife Sally have also raced their Cal 40 Illusion to great success in both crewed and short-handed races.

The couple first met when Stan Honey was at Yale and Sally was working for North Sails in Connecticut. By that point Sally was already a two-time US Yachtswoman of the Year for outstanding results in the high-performance 505 one-design, including back-to-back Bermuda Race Week wins, and 1st at the 1974 Canadian Olympic Regatta at Kingston.

In 1977, however, Sally needed help repairing her car and heard from a mutual friend about Stan and his ability to fix just about anything. Sally had her car towed to Yale Corinthian Yacht Club, where Stan was living, and he fixed it for free. The two have been together since.

“That’s how we met. We moved to California in the late ’70s and started sailing 505s together, doing a bunch of Pacific Championships,” says Sally.

Stan crewing for Sally (blue hull) at the 505 World Championships in 1981. Photo: Stan Honey

“Stan’s taught me a lot about how to get along with a crew in a boat. It takes a while, especially when you have a personal relationship and you’re racing together. You have to treat the other person with respect and enjoy it without blaming the other when something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong.”
The Honeys bought Illusion in 1988 after more than a decade racing the ‘five-oh’, wanting something a little less physical. “We bought Illusion as a cruising boat. But somehow, we couldn’t stop racing,” says Sally.

They found the Cal 40 at a boatyard in Santa Cruz, California, but it was in rough shape. It had been sitting in the yard for a number of years and had bullet holes in the hull. But two years after purchasing Illusion and going through a full re-fit, the Honeys set off on their first double-handed race to Hawaii, which resulted in a 2nd-place finish in class.

Commuter cruising

Their racing career with Illusion is studded with victories, either single-, double-handed or crewed. Among the highlights are the 1994 Singlehanded Transpac Race (San Francisco to Hawaii), where Stan throttled the fleet, setting a new monohull race record of 11 days, 10 hours and 52 minutes across the 2,120-mile course.
“Underscoring this incredible accomplishment was the fact that more than 100 Cal 40 efforts have been mounted in various crewed Transpacs dating back to the 1960s, and Stan beat all of them… single-handed!” noted author Robby Robinson in his history of the Singlehanded Transpac Race.

Illusion showing off its downwind performance. Photo: Stan Honey

Then there was the 1996 Pacific Cup, from San Francisco to Kaneohe, Hawaii. Racing double-handed, Stan Honey and Sally won class and overall honours with a corrected time of 6 days and 4 hours for the 2,070-mile course. “We sailed really hard in that race; I think we gybed 15 times one night. We pushed really hard and won overall. That was fun,” says Sally.

The Cal 40 is a legendary West Coast design that was first launched in 1963 (see page 134). One of the design features that made it stand out was the spade rudder separated from the keel. Legendary America’s Cup designer Olin Stephens wouldn’t incorporate that feature in his boats until Intrepid in 1967. As Stan points out, the Cal 40 has nice manners.

“It steers terrifically under autopilot,” says Stan. “That results in part from the fact that the Cal 40 doesn’t have a wide stern, and so doesn’t try to turn whenever it heels or rolls. Cal 40s are legendary in their ability to carry sail downwind. In all of our Hawaii races, short-handed or crewed, we’ve never had to douse the kite for control, and the autopilot could steer at any time with the kite up.”

The Honeys have also had an adventurous time cruising with Illusion. There were back-to-back summers in the Pacific Northwest, cruising Desolation Sound and around Glacier Bay. Racers at heart, they’d dipped their toes in the cruising world and found it to their liking.

In 2014 they finally committed to the cruising life. They sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge spanning the mouth of San Francisco Bay and turned left, heading south down the California coast, making some 15 stops on their way to San Diego, with friends everywhere to catch up with. They continued on to the Sea of Cortez and the Gold Coast of Mexico, where they wound up spending two years.

Stan at work at the nav table. Photo: Onne van der Wal

“One of my favourite places in the Sea of Cortez is Isla Isabel,” says Sally. “It’s called the Galapagos of Mexico. It has zillions of Blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and iguanas, so many that it’s hard to walk around without stepping on them. They don’t worry about you at all because there are no predators.”
A year was spent cruising Central America to Panama, and another in the Western Caribbean including stops in Boco del Toro, the San Blas Islands, Providencia, Grand Cayman, Cuba and finally Key West. Stan refers to their cruising as ‘commuter cruising’; they’d leave the boat wherever they landed and return home to racing or work commitments before resuming their cruising itinerary.

“Sally and I were not sure that we’d enjoy cruising, but we’ve had a terrific time,” says Stan. “Part of the reason is that cruising is stress-free in a boat that we’ve raced so much double-handed. The cruising community that we’ve run across thinks that we’re nuts because we’re delighted to sail in lots of breeze, even upwind.”

Finally, it was up the East Coast of the US to Newport, Rhode Island, and a date with one more ocean race. “We were on our way to New England to resume old habits and race in the 2020 Newport Bermuda Race,” he recalls.

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The final hurrah

Although the 2020 Bermuda Race was postponed due to the Covid pandemic, they based Illusion in Newport and spent two summers cruising the pine scents of Maine.
The saying goes that you’re only as good as your last race. In that regard, Stan and Sally Honey retire Illusion from competitive racing where Michael Jordan left basketball, on top of the sport. Although they’ll dabble in racing when the opportunity is right, they are now committed to a new endeavour, motorboat cruising. “We’re going to the dark side,” jokes Sally.

Stan and Sally on Illusion at the 2022 Newport Bermuda Race. Photo: Sean McNeill/Newport Bermuda Race

The Honeys won’t have their beloved Cal 40 to cruise, but they won’t be far away from George Griffith’s breakthrough creation. Illusion has been sold to Stan’s nephew, and, while Griffith passed away in 2012, the Honeys are talking with his daughter, Mary, about purchasing his custom powerboat, Sarissa. Measuring 48ft in length, 11ft in beam and weighing 5.4 tonnes, it’s a fast, lightweight, trailerable cruiser, perfect for their desires to revisit old locations, such as Glacier Bay.

The Honeys won their swansong event on Illusion, the 52nd Newport Bermuda Race, in June this year, taking 1st in not only their class but also the coveted St David’s Lighthouse Trophy for racer/cruisers. Illusion posted a decisive victory of more than 2 hours on corrected time. Sally Honey said it was the perfect ending to an illustrious, 33-year run with the boat.

“The conditions were perfect for our boat, and we had a pretty good navigator on board,” says Sally. “Stan chose a really good course and the conditions were just what the boat loves, heavy-air reaching. A lot. Really, it was a dream trip, fabulous. I wouldn’t change anything.”

The Honeys are noted for their ability to lure fantastic sailors into their crew and this year’s Bermuda Race was no different. Racing with 1984 Olympic Gold medallist Carl Buchan, fellow Cal 40 owner Don Jesberg and Jonathan ‘Bird’ Livingston as bowman, their collective talent was on par with, if not dwarfing, the top professional crews in the race.

For Buchan, the soft-spoken, intently focused helmsman, the Bermuda Race was his second offshore race and first major race with the Honeys. He’d raced against them many times in the 505, but never with them. “Stan brings a lot to the table,” says Buchan, “but watching Stan and Sally work the boat, the two of them, having sailed the boat as long as they have, are so in tune with it and what is needed. I could sit there and watch them sail the boat all day.”

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We hit a wave, the bow bouncing into the air. The roar reverberating from inside the covered cockpit intensifies and I look out of the bubble window to a wall of seemingly solid water rushing down the deck towards me. Medallia lurches, the water crashes into the window inches from my face then cascades down the open back of the cockpit, writes Pip Hare.

My fingers are curled around the edge of my carbon bucket seat. I need to ease the headsail, which I know will add some speed but the other side of the cockpit seems a long, treacherous journey away. I sit for a bit longer contemplating my moves while Medallia relentlessly thunders on.

Pip Hare finishing the 2020 Vendée Globe in 19th and 1st British skipper. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

I spent my first few experiences sailing my new IMOCA in this sort of stunned state. The boat is incredible, it holds the course record for the Vendée Globe race, it is powerful – simple in some ways, complicated in others – and seemed like such a huge step up for a sailor like me. Sailing this fast is the most incredible experience but I wondered how long it would take for this speed and violent motion to become normal – or if it ever would.

It is not just the boat that has changed over the last year. I started my 2020 Vendée Globe race as a rank outsider in an old yacht, having pulled a campaign together with crowdfunding, a lot of hard graft, and support from friends and strangers alike. But now I find myself as skipper and CEO of a fully professional offshore racing team.

We employ 13 people across the whole business, our focus is on delivering elite sporting performance and a solid tangible return to our sponsors. I am an athlete, a business person, a figurehead and I have responsibilities that weigh much heavier on a sailor than navigating any Southern Ocean storm.

The transition to this new state has been rapid. I’ve had to learn along the way and at times the business has paralysed me in the same way the boat did on the first few sessions. But one of the great attributes we have as human beings is our ability to adapt. My ‘new normal’ is a million miles away from what life looked like in 2019.

Fast track foiling

The new Medallia 2 racing along on foils. Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

The best part of my job is, of course, the sailing. I’m not embarrassed to say that although the boat we chose as our next IMOCA was exactly the boat that I wanted, the first few times I sailed it I was intimidated by its pedigree. You do not want to lose control in a 60ft boat with 550-plus square metres of sail.

The mechanics of sailing the new boat are reassuringly familiar and most definitely easier to manage than on Superbigou. All sails can be managed from the covered cockpit and a central pedestal. The mast track has locks to hold the head of the main in position on each reef point (no more trips forward to reef).

Above: launching the new foiling Medallia, formerly Bureau Vallée 2/Banque Populaire VIII. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

The keel can be moved at the touch of a button and lines are positioned with corresponding halyards and tacks on opposite sides of the boat so winches can be loaded pre-manoeuvre and left. These details make a difference, and I quite quickly felt confident managing the boat on my own.

I got used to the foils in a ‘painting by numbers’ mode last year. Put them out above seven knots of boat speed and they will start to improve righting moment, allowing more power through the main. From 7 knots to about 18 knots of boat speed there is not that much difference in how the boat feels, it is just faster with the foils.

Above 20 knots of boat speed is when the magic happens. This is when the bow starts to lift out of the water and the boat becomes animal. I played around with this, following the tuning guide and having fun with the speed, but never felt I was getting the most out of the boat.

Medallia getting ready to launch. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

This season, with a new set of sails and having the confidence of a full and thorough refit, I worked for a couple of weeks with coaches to help me understand using my foils properly at speed. As with sailing a skiff, it is about keeping the bow up enough to clear the water, but not so much that you ‘wheelie’ or take off. This can be controlled with foil rake (we can rake them forwards up to 5° to lift off more) and fierce management of the ballast and sails stacking.

I’ve learned to feel the boat trim and when I need to lift the bow. Keel angle is also vital in this equation: above 20 knots of boat speed and the keel starts to provide negative righting moment. In simple terms it starts acting as a foil lifting the boat out of the water, so at high speeds the keel angle needs to be dropped to maintain control and for extra speed.

Keeping the bow up to clear the water –but not too much – is the key to extra speed with Medallia. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

Pip Hare’s full schedule

My race calendar for 2022 is busy. I have three solo races, and will be taking part in the Round Britain and Ireland Race with a full crew of five. The boat must be at the race village up to two weeks ahead of each solo event, and then there are deliveries to and from each start and finish.

This takes out nine weeks from 39 weeks on the water. I will be spending around five weeks racing. Then, so long as we have no major failures, I have reluctantly agreed to a roughly 60/40 custody share of the boat with my shore team. That leaves just 15 weeks to train.

Working with team technical director Joff Brown. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

Once again my performance goals are a steep, hard climb. My overall aim for this year is to learn to sail this boat to its full potential in its current configuration.

Medallia is a 2015 Verdier/VPLP design, it was the first generation of boats designed with foils (rather than have them retrofitted) and the only one of its generation which is still running on small foils. Foiling is a new experience for me, so my objectives for 2022 include learning how to sail well with the original foils. I will be changing to big ones in early 2023.

To fast track this I’ll be working with coaches – but even this is not simple. The IMOCA class is booming, and many people I might turn to for advice are already working with other teams or have projects of their own. This forced me to look outside the world of solo racing and begin working with coaches from fully crewed teams.

Training with Medallia in the Canary Islands. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

This, it transpired, has been a stroke of genius. Jack Bouttell and Ben Schwarz both raced around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race and are now on the Jules Verne crew for the maxi trimaran Spindrift. Having them on board has given me the opportunity to experience the ‘no excuses’ approach of the fully crewed world.

Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

We have worked on sail crossovers for my new sails, polars, trim books (a manual of sail settings, foil adjustment, stacking positions and much more for all possible conditions), instrument calibration, autopilot settings, and so much more. At times all I could do was watch as this well-oiled team of strong, younger men put my boat through its paces. But with each gear change I learned and questioned, and felt how my boat should be when it is fully arced up and raging.

I can’t sail exactly like them. I’m a 48-year-old woman, alone, managing sails which are way in excess of my bodyweight. But now I have sailed with them I go out alone and realise I can achieve the same performance on my own – and when I am there I can sustain it. I just won’t be up there all of the time.

Athlete’s life

Fitness training, diet, and sleep are also important parts of my routine and, as ever, hard to manage. My age is something that can’t be avoided. I’ll be 50 when I start the next Vendée Globe. At a time in life when many people are moving on to more gentle physical activities, I’ll be making my debut as a full-time professional athlete.

Pip’s calendar includes the 2022 Vendée Arctique and Route du Rhum; 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre; and 2024 Transat before the Vendée Globe. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images /Pip Hare Ocean Racing

I need to work on my strength constantly, building muscle is essential to managing the enormous loads on the boat injury free. The only way I can build that strength is through focussed gym sessions and good nutrition. When you spend your life on the road, living out of Airbnb apartments and travelling to presentations, routine is near impossible.

Working with personal trainer Rob Stewart, we run three 6am sessions a week in my garage gym when I am home, and I fit weight training sessions in on other days. If I’m not sailing, I will add an hour of cardio training (usually running), while on sailing days the cardio takes care of itself.

My diet is proving harder to manage. In truth I seldom leave myself enough time to shop well and prepare good quality regular meals. The irony is that I eat best when I am racing because I am forced to plan my meals ahead.

Behind the scenes

Our shore team has grown, and they too have a big job to keep our beast of a boat in good condition. Joff Brown has stayed as technical director to the team and brings 20-plus years experience of running IMOCA racing programs. A winter refit allowed us to ‘undo’ Medallia’s post-Vendée fatigue. Now the team are focussed on keeping everything running, and working with me to develop and adapt, to make the boat faster, to make my life easier.

We’re moving away from the ‘keep it safe’ ethos that underlined boat preparation in my last campaign towards ‘make it fast’. The team is obsessed with details, weight saving, efficiency – and they need to be.

It has been very important for me to offer entry level jobs to young people as well as ensuring a high level of knowledge and experience within the shore team. Finding the right people has not been easy – many people apply for sailing positions on the team, but finding people who genuinely want to make a career in technical boat preparation has been hard. We are still relatively small compared to many of the IMOCA teams, so everyone has to take responsibility for their areas.

I have less to do with the boat preparation that I am used to. I hand over at the end of each day on the water; we talk through problems, suggestions, work up the job list. Joff is also working on planning for our 2023 refit. We’ll be working with designer Guillaume Verdier and Kevin Escoffier from team PRB on the new foil design. Building work starts this summer and installation will be at Carringtons in early 2023.

Money talks

Lou Adams is Pip Hare Ocean Racing’s head of business and operations. Photo: Pip Hare Ocean Racing

The other side of the team is the business. It is the engine that drives us all forwards, but it is not glamorous and is the bit that seems to suck my time. Lou Adams has taken over full time as head of business and operations. It has been a real relief to step back from the day-to-day running of our team, which is complex and complicated.

In the same way that Formula 1 teams pack up and move their operation to a different race track every few weeks, so we need to arrive at different venues, fully functional with a mobile workshop, tools, spares, and support boat. My only job now is to turn up with the boat and the rest happens around me. I cannot explain what a weight off my shoulders this is (though I still feel a little like a prima donna).

But when it comes to dealing with fundraising, finances and sponsor obligations, I cannot walk away. We are a team, and we race as a team – albeit in my name. However, as CEO and spokesperson, much of my time needs to be spent with the people who fund us (or who we would like to fund us).

As a naturally shy person I have had to learn to speak in public, to have the confidence to sell myself in meetings and it is still a struggle for me to come to terms with presenting myself as anything other than very normal. But, together with Lou, I have worked hard on developing a way to collaborate with our sponsors that genuinely brings them into the team, and addresses what they want out of a partnership.

Pip was awarded the RYS Francis Chichester Trophy, among many accolades. Photo: Pip Hare Ocean Racing

The most stressful part of my job is managing the finances. We are a small team reaching high, and managing our cashflow is a huge challenge. I feel the weight of responsibility towards employees, subcontractors, and sponsors enormously and I am not oblivious to the world at large: we are in an immensely privileged position and I feel accountable for making the most of what we have on every level.

Most months I have big decisions to make that could change the course of the campaign. We need to sign more sponsors to complete our funding package and for both Lou and I this is constantly in the front of our minds. Although the last Vendée Globe race had a lot of mainstream media coverage, sailing is still a lesser known sport to sell.

Upping the ante

The world of IMOCA sailing has changed incredibly in the short four years that I have been involved and solo ocean racing is enjoying something of a heyday right now. The 2020 Vendée Globe race really highlighted the value of this international sporting event and there has been a big influx of sponsors into the class. This translates to more teams of a higher calibre.

Not only is there fierce competition on the water but we’ll also be fighting for places on the start line. In every other edition of the race, finishing the previous Vendée Globe race gave a skipper automatic qualification to the next. Not so this time round.

There will be 40 places available on the start in November 2024; 13 of these will be given over to new boats (there are 14 new boats in build), one is a wild card at the organisers’ discretion and the remaining 26 places must be earned by skippers competing in and finishing IMOCA races.

On a global level this is incredible for the sport. It means more events, more races to follow, more chances to compete. On the other it has upped the ante in an event which was already tough. We need to race and I need to finish. This adds up to more miles on the boat, more budget to raise, more time and resources to keep everything in the best condition. Every time we race there is risk. If we don’t race the risk is bigger.

The shore team takes over when the boat is in dock. Photo: Pip Hare Ocean Racing

There’s always too much to do and each day I need to try to work out the most important thing for the campaign. This level of pressure has been normal to me for a few years and I’m used to it. Now, at least on land, I have my team to shoulder the load.

The one thing that grounds me, the reason it’s all worthwhile, is the fact that I now find sailing at over 25 knots normal.

I’m constantly filled with wonder and amazement at what I, a small human being, can get this boat to do. Being alone in the ocean allows me to step away from the reluctant businesswoman I have had to become. I have so much to learn, I want to become a completely different sailor over the next few years, but getting to grips with a foiling IMOCA is blowing my mind.

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While going on a bluewater adventure with your family is a popular dream, the advantages of having a child that can understand instructions, occupy themselves with a book, and have mastered at least the basics of swimming, keep many families ashore until school age. But cruising, and even liveaboard bluewater sailing with young children can be done.

Four families cruising and sailing with young children share their tips on how to manage – and enjoy – sailing with very small crew.

Never too young to learn; going cruising before the school years can offer real freedom. Photos: chasingmoonrivernz.com

Setting sail with preschoolers

There are many reasons for setting off with under-fives. For some families it is simply a case of not waiting – especially where older siblings want to rejoin formal education before their senior school years. Casting off sooner may enable you to sail for longer, even if taking it easy for the early stages. Going when children are younger may also negate the need to move up a size of yacht to increase the number of cabins.

For many families the ability to go sailing without having to factor in ‘boat school’ is a huge draw. “I found home schooling for pre-school and early primary school aged children was very easy and stress-free,” recalls Carolyn Simpson, mother of four boys aged four to nine.

Gaining an early understanding of charts. Photo: @resolutely_sailing

She and her husband have lived aboard their 47ft Herreshoff ketch Moon River since their youngest son was born, cruising the Pacific when he was two and his brothers four, six and seven years old.

“We really just wanted to ensure that the boys weren’t behind in reading and letter formation. Basic maths, alphabet etc can be learned as games and during day-to-day activities, and the lifestyle itself is an education.”

Friendships are less critical at the preschool stage, which takes the pressure off finding other ‘kid boats’ – though maintaining relationships with wider family members, such as grandparents and cousins, can be harder with small children if relying on video calls or similar.

The slow, simple life on board can suit a very young family, as Carolyn recalls: “For us all to be together as a family 24/7 for extended periods of cruising, it [was] lovely having a newborn and not having a schedule. My memories of breastfeeding on board, relaxing on beaches, playing in the shallows, and sleeping in hammocks under trees are dreamy.”

A trolley can make a good buggy substitute. Photo: @resolutely_sailing

But there are obvious hurdles to overcome. Sleep deprivation is a huge factor during the early parenting years. Add in night watches, anchor monitoring, the challenges of getting proper rest while under way, of trying to sleep undisturbed in a small space – and a tropical climate – and it’s easy to see why many sailing parents baulk at the idea of sailing with young children.

Factor in essential boat maintenance, the domestic workload, and possibly income generating work, and creating enough time for sleep can be challenging. For many families this means taking things very slowly. For others it means bringing in additional hands – extended family, an au pair, or deck crew.

The health and safety concerns can seem daunting. All the usual hazards – falls, choking, burns – become amplified on board. With very young children who simply can’t be relied on to follow key instructions, ‘man-marking’ becomes a full-time job. If one parent is looking after the boat, the other will need to be looking after the child(ren). Preventing man overboards, falls off jetties and pontoons, and safely transferring to and from a dinghy etc requires careful planning and constant vigilance.

There is also the question of how sailing with young children will alter the experience of cruising itself. While diving coral reefs, or immersing oneself in different cultural experiences, are likely to be high on adult cruisers’ wish lists, for young children the best moments involve the simple things. Finding a shallow sandy beach may become your anchorage goal.

Playing on board. Photo: finedayforsailing.com

“There are elements of liveaboard life that toddlers can’t appreciate the same way an older child could,” points out Emily Lane, who is cruising with her husband, four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter on their Norseman 447 Resolute. “I think we had grand visions of spotting dolphins together and teaching our kids the names of fish and seabirds… but to be honest, they’re so young that nothing gets them excited like a good old fashioned playground. Our route along the Intracoastal Waterway was basically dictated by proximity to playgrounds.”

Preparing to be tested

The first thing any parents planning to cruise with young children should do is accept that plans may change. Heather Richard initially set off cruising with her ex-husband and three children, including a preschooler. She then continued sailing with her young children as a solo parent, bringing on additional crew when needed and using her experience as a sailing instructor to teach them additional skills.

“I have some very unique experience as a single parent taking my three kids cruising solo. But it was quite easy to find young, capable, strong and willing crew who fit in easily with my family and added a lot to my kids education – and also gave them good role models. Their energy and positive attitude was fantastic for both me and the kids.”

Carolyn Simpson also discovered how sailing with young children can challenge a relationship. “One of the biggest challenges early on was how tired we’d get on passage, or even around the coast in stormy weather. It’s very hard to keep an even keel with each other when we are both sleep deprived, but nothing a day on the beach resting while the boys run around doesn’t fix! It helps that [husband] Richie is a very patient captain.”

The couple planned assiduously. “We both undertook offshore medical courses, sea survival courses, and Richie crewed on a passage to New Caledonia to gain experience. One of the most valuable things we did together was cast off the lines and live at anchor for three months while coastal sailing around New Zealand.

However, she admits: “No matter how well prepared we were, I was (and still am) quite worried about one of the boys getting injured or sick while we are on passage or somewhere remote. On top of that my self-doubt was a difficult hurdle to overcome.

Safe spaces for kids on the move. Photo: svkaiquest.com

“We have an amazing support network who were behind what we were doing, we got no negative comments or criticism for our lifestyle choice, but I couldn’t shake a level of self-doubt!

“There is an element of risk to this lifestyle that is different from living ashore, so I think that weighs on my mind. But once we get underway a lot of that slips away and we find the lifestyle really relaxing, comfortable and exciting.”

Keeping kids safe aboard

A lot of sailing with young children can be made easier by having the right kit on board, and thinking through systems and routines. Sarah and Will Curry know this more than most. The couple divide the year 50:50 cruising aboard their Jeanneau SO 43 Kaiquest and living ashore in Canada, while also running their company Hydrovane, makers of self-steering systems. They live aboard Kaiquest with their two-year-old twins, and have done so since the boys were babies. It was a daunting proposition.

The Curry family aboard their Jeanneau SO 43 Kaiquest. Photo: svkaiquest.com

“We were travelling with 16 bottles (eight feeds a day times two!), a mammoth supply of formula, two car seats, a double stroller, and a high energy miniature poodle – running high on the adrenaline of love of being new parents!” Sarah recalls. “We were tied to the dock (and laundry machine) for those first few months.”

Sarah and Will adapted different ‘safe zones’ in their boat as the boys grew. “‘The Pit’ was a custom lee cloth across our main saloon dropped-down table to create a baby rumble room,” she explains.

“‘The Cage’ is our full cockpit enclosure. This was imperative for the toddler phase and made the cockpit 100% secure. We used Phifertex material, which is ideal for the tropics in that it provides sun protection, but you can see through it. It’s also durable enough to contain two toddlers throwing their bodies against it.

Securable seats are invaluable. Photo: svkaiquest.com

“One of my most useful purchases was two portable pop‘n’sit chairs. We secure them in the cockpit so the twins can be strapped in safely when needed. They have eaten many meals in these chairs on board and out at restaurants.”

Having dedicated places for children to go during mooring or a manoeuvre is a strategy many parents recommend. Carolyn Simpson adds: “Introducing ‘safety seats’ was one of our most important safety tactics. If Richie or I said ‘safety seats’ all four boys would go to (or be put into) dedicated berths/carseats/seats which separated them and kept them safe while we dealt with anything thrown at us. We prepared snack bags for during busy times like anchoring and docking to keep all four quiet.

Inspiring the next generation! Photo: svkaiquest.com

“We still use the same code-word today, but things have changed as the boys have gotten older. Jackson and Tasman might be asked to come up and help with things like docking, but otherwise they all remain in their seats until told it is safe to leave.”

Having strict rules that are stuck to consistently is key. “The boys all wear lifejackets and are tethered at all times when on-deck under way, these were the rules from day one and in all conditions so everyone knew the drill when we headed offshore,” recalls Carolyn.

“When we are on passage the boys don’t leave the cockpit; this rule also applies to adult crew as much as possible! At anchor/marina the boys weren’t allowed to wander around the topsides without a lifejacket until they could confidently swim four laps of Moon River.”

“Nobody is allowed in the cockpit without a lifejacket and an adult. Period,” adds Lane.

Simplifying systems and sail handling so one adult can manage the boat is vital when sailing with young children. “Everything is rigged on Kaiquest so she can be sailed solo. One of us tends to the twins, the other sails the boat. Sailing is the easy job,” says Susan Curry. “The Hydrovane rudder takes over steering, which means Kaiquest’s main rudder and two wheels are locked off. I now fully appreciate this safety feature for sailing with kids: there is no erratic movement of the wheels, and no chance of fingers or arms getting caught.”

The reality

“I wish we’d known that, when you live aboard a sailboat with kids, only about 5% of your time is spent actually sailing,” recalls Emily Lane.

“The other 95% is spent in the day-to-day mundane details of living: feeding the kids, getting them to pick up their toys, making sure they’re going down for nap, getting them on and off the dock safely, arranging for grocery deliveries, tracking down playgrounds and laundromats… the list goes on.

“But we’re all doing it together in a (relatively) tiny little boat, all within a few feet of each other. The kids love being close to us, and we love being close to them. And in the end, that’s really what makes living aboard worth it.”

Best toys for children on yachts

With limited stowage onboard, large plastic toy sets won’t be an option. Popular recommendations for sailing with young children include:

· Lego/Duplo. Giant drawstring play mat/storage bags keep the pieces contained and out of the bilges.

· Tool kits. Child-appropriate versions of a ‘real’ toolbox are universally popular with liveaboard kids. “We take these ashore and can sit back and relax while they create,” says Simpson.

· A ‘survival kit’ has similar appeal: add a flint and steel, whittling knife, whistle, walkie-talkies and a hammock/den kit.

· Magnatiles for mess-free creativity (just be careful where you store them on board as they are magnetic)

· Journals. Even during ‘no-school’ days on passage many parents get kids to draw or write a few words each day.

· Stationary rolls/craft boxes. Glue guns, lollipops and pipe cleaners, paint, paper, and modelling clay – although these often only come out at anchor.

· Fancy dress. Popular with little ones and easy to store. Also makes it easier to keep an eye on your child ashore if they’re dressed as a cartoon character!

· Water toys. SUPs, kayaks, water pistols. Don’t forget swim goggles.

· Tablets. Particularly invaluable on long passages, explains Emily Lane. “We treat it the same way you’d treat a long-haul flight with toddlers. Routine goes out the window, there are lots of snacks involved, lots of time on the iPad.” Kindle Kids tablets have a no-quibble replacement policy for devices that may take some knocks and spills
on board.

Follow the families on Instagram @hydrovane, @chasingmoonriver, @resolutely_sailing
@finedayforsailing and on their blogs at svkaiquest.com, chasingmoonrivernz.com, finedayforsailing.com

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If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

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These days it’s hard to predict what the world may look like in a few weeks, let alone a few months, but many in the Caribbean sailing industry are cautiously optimistic for the upcoming 2022 cruising and racing season. Although the days of spontaneous island hopping might be over (for now, at least), there is value to be found in slowing down, and being a little more intentional with your time.

The challenges presented by the fact that most islands are separate nations with individual entry protocols are not insurmountable. Tourism, both land-based and yachting, has long been a mainstay of the Caribbean’s economy. Sailing and related services have fared well compared to the traditional tourism industry, and technical and general yacht services, marinas, and nearby restaurants are largely open and fully operational.

Most islands now have well-established and easy-to-follow protocols, though there are still some quarantine requirements and restrictions on freedom of movement. These are generally greatly decreased if you are fully vaccinated (many islands require proof of vaccination for dine-in restaurant service, for example).

General safety protocols like social distancing, masks, and hand sanitising remain in place throughout, though compliance and enforcement vary. Some islands require visitors to have Covid-19 health insurance.

You can choose to see these regulations in one of two ways; as a cumbersome hindrance to the freedom to roam that may have attracted you to cruising in the first place, or as a necessary regimen to keeping both the local population and guests safe, allowing us to continue to be visitors to this glorious part of the world.

Many cruisers, especially charter guests with limited time, are opting to stay on a single island or set of islands rather than spend additional time in quarantine. This often requires some planning, research, and a willingness to go off the beaten path and visit anchorages you might normally have passed by.

A local Carriacou sloop competing at Antigua Classics. Photo: Tobias Stoerkle

It has also helped develop even closer-knit yachting communities, especially for liveaboard cruisers who have been riding out lockdowns and hurricane seasons on their boats instead of flying home. As a result, special interest groups are more popular than ever; weekly domino games, group fitness sessions, and volunteer initiatives are a great way to connect with cruising and local communities.

Most islands have a cruisers’ Facebook page where you can stay up to date on events and regulations while planning your trip, and a regular VHF morning net so you can stay in the loop once you’ve arrived.

Article continues below…

Caribbean adventure

Caribbean 600 pace notes

RORC member John Burnie explains what to expect on the course

How busy destinations are likely to be will depend on historical and current local government regulations. Martinique, for example, had been closed to non-European visitors since the beginning of the pandemic, and although they have recently re-opened, word has been slow to get out.

Many charter guests will once again be opting for the untouched beauty of St Vincent and the Grenadines, where visitors can easily spend every night of a 10- or 14-day charter in a different anchorage of shallow, turquoise water.

Idyllic anchorage in the British Virgin Islands. Photo: Patrick Bennett/Uncommon Caribbean

Many liveaboard cruisers that would otherwise have hauled out for hurricane season in Trinidad have instead stayed aboard in Grenada this year, and are now venturing north as other islands begin to ease restrictions.

Here we take a look at some of the southern Caribbean’s top cruising destinations to see what the 2022 cruising season has in store; what kind of freedom of movement to expect, and what entry protocols to prepare for.

Entry requirements and safety measures within and between islands can change at short notice. Always consult official government sources for the most up-to-date information when planning a passage.

Caribbean sailing destinations for 2022

St Maarten

Caribbean Multihull Challenge: 4-6 February – smyc.com/caribbean-multihull-challenge
Heineken Regatta: 3-6 March – heinekenregatta.com
Facebook cruisers’ group: Sint Maarten Cruisers & Boaters
Morning Net: 0730, VHF Ch10, Mon-Sat
Government Info: stmaartenehas.com
Vaccination Rate: 60%

Like Martinique, St Maarten remains a popular destination for sailors looking for a more European experience. Boat yards are busy with short-term haul outs and minor repairs for yachts getting ready for charter season.

There are some differences in Covid regulations between the French and Dutch sides of the island, but you can move freely between sides by car or on foot. As of 1 November 2021 there is no mandatory entry Covid test for anyone fully vaccinated within the last year, or if you are arriving from a low risk country. Covid-19 health insurance is required.

View over Petite Clef islet towards Etang de la Barriere, St Maarten. Photo: Lexi Fisher

Antigua & Barbuda

RORC Caribbean 600: start 22 February – caribbean600.rorc.org
Superyacht Challenge: Antigua, 9-13 March – superyachtchallengeantigua.com
Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta: 30 March-4 April – antiguaclassics.com
Antigua Sailing Week: 30 April-6 May – sailingweek.com
Facebook cruisers’ group: Antigua Cruisers
Morning Net: 0830, VHF Ch74, Mon-Sat
Government Info: visitantiguabarbuda.com/travel-advisory
Vaccination Rate: 48%

Antigua has a full regatta season planned for 2022, and will no doubt attract a lively crowd, while its sister island of Barbuda offers a serene escape. In addition to the regattas, the Salty Dawg rally is scheduled to arrive in mid-November, with most participants expected to spend a significant amount of their time cruising locally.

Having remained open since June 2020, Antigua’s yachting industry is still going strong, and there is no quarantine or arrival testing required for those who are fully vaccinated.

St Lucia

CORC Windward 500: 16-20 May – caribbean-sailing.com
ARC rallies: arriving December 2021 and January 2022 – worldcruising.com/arc/event.aspx
Facebook cruisers’ group: St. Lucia Cruisers
Morning Net: 0800, VHF Ch69, Mon, Wed, Fri
Government Info: stlucia.org/en/covid-19
Vaccination Rate: 20%

With two ARC rallies arriving in St Lucia this year bringing three times the number of boats (a combined 280) compared to last year, yacht services are up and running and looking forward to a busy season.

Yachting industry leaders are working towards a ‘bubble’ agreement with St Vincent to allow more freedom of movement for those on sailing holidays.

National parks and major attractions are open to locals and visitors alike, though on different days, regulated by a system of coloured wristbands. There is no arrival quarantine requirement for those who are fully vaccinated.

Antigua Sailing Week will be back for 2022. Photo: Paul Wyeth

Grenada

RORC Transatlantic: start 8 January – rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
Grenada Sailing Week: 30 January-4 February – grenadasailingweek.com
CORC Windward 500: 16-20 May
ARC+ rally: arriving December 2021 – worldcruising.com/arc_plus/event.aspx
Facebook cruisers’ group: Grenada Cruisers Information
Morning Net: 0730, VHF Ch66, Mon-Sat
Government Info: covid19.gov.gd
Vaccination Rate: 25%

Grenada developed entry protocols early on that allowed cruisers to spend hurricane season in Grenada, south of the hurricane belt. Despite a major Covid outbreak this summer, boat yards are currently busier than ever, and with a new leg of the ARC+ added to the roster this year, there are over 100 boats scheduled to arrive at Port Louis Marina in early December.

Non-nationals must be vaccinated to enter Grenada pending a negative PCR result. With falling infection rates the nightly curfew and restrictions on alcohol sales may soon be relaxed.

Martinique

CORC Windward 500: 16-20 May
Facebook cruisers’ group: Martinique Cruisers Information & Events
Morning Net: 0830 VHF Ch08, Mon, Wed, Fri
Government Info: martinique.gouv.fr
Vaccination Rate: 30%

International charter guests are arriving in Martinique again – a welcome return after regulations issued from mainland France meant only Europeans were allowed entry for most of the pandemic. Now fully vaccinated visitors can enter without testing or quarantine, charter businesses are fully booked.

A spike in cases over the summer saw a nightly curfew imposed, which will hopefully be reduced in the coming months.

Yacht racing in the Caribbean. Photo: Paul Wyeth

Caribbean sailing regatta circuit

This season event organisers are anticipating the return of most pre-Covid regattas and a full season of racing, with a shift of emphasis away from the shoreside parties and live music events towards on-the-water action.

Major events including St Maarten Heineken Regatta, Antigua Sailing Week and the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Caribbean 600 race are all scheduled to return. The iconic superyacht event, the St Barths Bucket, is due to be held from 17-20 March 2022. Organisers report strong early entry numbers, with 25 superyachts signed up and more pending.

Currently entry to St Barths requires vaccination and a negative PCR test, but no quarantine. The island’s glitzy multi-class regatta, Les Voiles de St Barths, is also scheduled for 17-23 April, 2022.

The British Virgin Islands’ BVI Spring Regatta is set to run from 28 March-3 April, although current entry protocols for the BVIs include a four day quarantine for partially vaccinated people.

A new format race, the Caribbean Ocean Racing Club’s CORC Windward 500, which was developed in 2021, is set for another round in May 2022. As a new ‘Covid safe’ offshore, each team starts and finishes in their own country, with courses set and results generated using GPS tracking technology – negating the need for entry protocols, quarantines, or risk of changing government regulations.

Michele Korteweg, president of the Caribbean Sailing Association, explains: “We see an increase in the confidence of boat owners to make the crossing to spend the season in the Caribbean. The Caribbean has invested in technological developments, as many processes have had to be done digitally to reduce contact. This should help with overall logistics (clearing in and out, the availability of supplies, online provisioning etc) and make it more attractive to spend time in the region.

“The Covid pandemic allowed regatta organisers to review their events and reinvent our products. I personally saw this period as a ‘forced’ reset.

“We are far more focused on sailing and want to offer world class racing. The social aspect of the events will vary throughout the Caribbean, but the overall consensus is we want to host safe and professional sailing events. Feedback from the sailing community also showed us that socials and parties aren’t expected.”

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Teak is synonymous with boatbuilding. But the Environmental Investigation Agency recently issued a report on an 18-month investigation into the teak wood supply chain to the marine industry which raises ‘grave questions’, according to EIA Forests Campaigns Leader, Faith Doherty.

The focus of the EIA’s investigation, which was released in September 2021, was on Italian timber importers of Myanmar (previously known as Burmese) teak wood.

The problems with importing teak from Myanmar are both political and environmental. In February 2021 a violent military coup overthrew the elected government of the south-east Asian nation, putting the country in the control of its military commander-in-chief.

Many nations, including the UK, EU and USA, since imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Myanmar in response to human rights violations, including the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim population.

Timber is a key export of Burma, and the USA, EU and UK imposed sanctions on the import of teak from the country as it is not only a means of financial support for the military junta through its state-owned companies, but also a major environmental concern due to illegal and irresponsible logging.

Elephants are traditionally used to harvest the timber. Photo: Eitan Simanor/Alamy

John Sifton of the organisation Human Rights Watch explains: “Under civilian government, from 2016-2020, the Myanmar authorities actually made some progress on decreasing unsustainable logging and increasing transparency on revenues. After the coup, however, the situation is going back to how it was, with massive and destructive logging, and all the profits going into the pockets of the military, not the people or the country.”

The Environmental Investigation Agency reports that approximately 4 million hectares of forest was lost in Myanmar from 2000-2020, an area equivalent to nearly the size of Switzerland. This destruction has enormous implications for the welfare of an estimated 17 million people who rely on the forests for their livelihoods, and threatens several endangered species, including the Bengal tiger and Indochinese tiger.

Beloved teak wood

Teak is only native to a handful of countries in the world, and slow-grown teak wood from Burmese forests has long been revered in the boatbuilding industry, above faster grown plantation teak.

Jessie Rogers, of Jeremy Rogers Ltd, has a personal interest in the problems with teak as she works in her family yacht building firm, which makes the Contessa 32 and offers a range of repair services including traditional joinerwork, but also has a serious focus on sustainability and finding environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional marine materials. She explains:

Teak has been the boatbuilders’ timber of choice for decades, such as on the decking of this vintage Swan, but care is needed when sourcing tropical hardwoods today. Photo: 59° North Sailing

“Wild or old growth teak is beloved by boatbuilders. Its oils make it naturally supple and easy to work with, resistant to moisture and pests, its tight, straight grain means it doesn’t crack or split easily, it can be varnished, oiled or left to weather to a silver grey. It is these properties which have led to its popularity, and contributed to a devastating loss of forest habitat in south-east Asia, as fortunes are made.

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“While it’s easy to point the finger at unscrupulous timber traders – and, in Myanmar’s case, a corrupt and illegal military regime – ultimately it is the consumer who is creating the demand, albeit often as a result of being ignorant of the truth as they are mis-sold a product they shouldn’t be buying.

“Since the military coup in Myanmar the language has changed and while before February of this year the European Timber Regulation EUTR (and UKTR) found that there was ‘more than a non-negligible risk that teak from Myanmar was illegal’ since the coup sanctions mean it is now illegal to import into the EU, UK and US.

“But despite the fact the sanctions prohibiting imports came into force on June 21 this year, there seems to have been little reaction in the marine industry. Look on the websites of most timber suppliers and you will see no reference to any sort of issue, environmental or otherwise around the purchase and use of Myanmar teak.”

Heavy penalties

As Rogers points out, while many of the major teak wood importers have stockpiles that pre-date the imposition of sanctions, continued high demand for teak, particularly for marine decking, structures, interiors and furniture, will create pressure to keep the supply chains open.

Severe deforestation as a result of the Teak industry. Photo: Ye Aung Thu/Getty

She adds: “Open-source trade data for imports from Myanmar clearly show that since the coup teak has continued to be imported into the EU at a value of over €2 million a month between February and May, more than half of this into Italy with other notable importers being France, Sweden and Greece. No wonder the consumer is confused!”

The problem of finding sustainably sourced teak wood pre-dates the coup and most recent sanctions. In spring this year, WOB Timber, a Germany logging company, was fined €3.3 million for evading EU sanctions by importing 31 shipments of teak from Myanmar from 2008-2011 via Taiwan.

In August 2021, the Council of State in the Netherlands found Royal Boogaerdt Timber had broken the due diligence requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) when it imported Myanmar teak. That case was brought by the EIA following an investigation into teak imported via Croatia back in 2016.

The case confirmed that importers have a responsibility to confirm the origin and legality of timber from its felling location, and that companies must confirm traceability of the timber along the entire supply chain. The concern is that after the military coup, a lack of transparency and clear documentation, and increased risk of corruption and illegal logging within Myanmar, makes these due diligence requirements harder to meet.

Bow deck detail in traditional teak.

The most recent EIA investigation found that €1.3-1.5 million worth of timber products were imported from Myanmar into Italy alone during March, April and May 2021 (conversely, teak imports into Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have declined). The EIA gave 27 Italian importers a ‘right to reply’ following their investigation.

Many responded that they fully complied with the EUTR regulations, and that full traceability of the teak was required to meet customs requirements – if it wasn’t legal, they wouldn’t be able to bring it into the country.

For boatbuilders who may not be sourcing their timber directly, the issue becomes increasingly complicated. Myanmar teak is often exported via Singapore, then onto suppliers in Europe.

“A major part of the problem is that only the first importer is subject to the requirement to carry out any sort of due diligence, meaning that the rest of the supply chain is free to greenwash away,” comments Jessie Rogers. “It’s not obvious for builders or concerned consumers how they go about corroborating what they are being told.”

Teak wood alternatives

So, what should owners about to place an order for a new yacht or deck repair do? “No one to date has been able to find a really good alternative for teak,” explains Rogers.

Non-wood options include synthetic ‘teak-style’ products like Flexiteek, Esthec, Permateek and PlasDeck. The newer PVC options are designed to overcome some of the inherent drawbacks of teak, with improved heat resistance underfoot and in-built fungus inhibitors, while being maintenance free. Flexiteek’s 2G version is also fully recyclable. Meanwhile cork has the advantage of being a natural product, but from FSC certified forests, often in Portugal.

The modified pine Lignia used to impressive effect on the Spirit 50CR.

Spirit Yachts has utilised teak alternatives to stunning effect. Mike Taylor, managing director and head of production explains:

“We no longer use teak on our new builds. We have always taken the sourcing of our timber very seriously and we work closely with our suppliers to understand where the wood originates. All our timber comes from responsibly managed forests and is FSC certified. When reports from the EIA started to throw the sustainability of teak into doubt, we immediately started looking for alternatives. As boatbuilders we all have a responsibility to the environment, and if there is any doubt over the source or sustainability of a certain timber and how it is being managed, then we should be looking for alternatives.

“As many people know, we used Lignia decking on our yachts prior to Lignia going into administration [Lignia went into administration earlier this year]. We have been liaising with timber suppliers and other leading UK yacht builders on viable alternatives, as we will not return to using teak. At the moment, we have two timbers that we are testing extensively.

Working with sustainable plantation-grown Costa Rican teak

“We would like to see the industry consistently adopt a sustainable decking material that comes from responsibly managed forests.”

Jeremy Rogers Ltd has also experimented with alternative wood products. “At the boatyard we have been using a thermally modified maple from certified US forests. This is good for things like decking and cabin soles but is not so good at bending round corners as it’s prone to splitting,” explains Jessie.

“We are also trialling a wood called Accoya, another radiata pine like Lignia, but which goes through an acetalisation process making it less environmentally impactful. The Norwegian company ‘Kebony’ has their own modified version of the radiata pine which we are also trialling. All these woods will weather to a silver grey, making them more suitable for applications where the wood is to be left unvarnished and we are trialling it on our own Contessa 26 refit for toe and taff rails and in the cockpit.

Flexiteek used on the decks and coachroof of the Hanse 548. Photo: Nico Krauss/HanseYachts AG

“For our Contessa 32 tillers we have opted for traditional ash and Douglas Fir, and for interiors we are encouraging customers to consider non-tropical hardwoods, like cherry, oak or walnut.

“In the short term, there are occasions where we do still need to use teak – such as matching repairs, or for toe rails which need to bend without splitting – and for those we have been lucky to source some decent Costa Rican teak with very good provenance record. However, consumers should beware of being sold ‘eco’ or plantation teak that is simply ‘timber washed’ Myanmar wild teak. Isotopic analysis recently done on teak being sold in the Netherlands that was supposedly from an FSC plantation in Brazil was actually old growth teak from Burma.”

Jessie’s advice for owners is to try and find an alternative, but if you do use teak “don’t buy Burmese and do question where it has come from, and through which channels.

“In short, treat it like the incredibly precious resource that it is, because as things stand, only the consumer can drive the change.”

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The post The grave human cost of teak wood – and alternatives appeared first on Yachting World.

‘Vessel not under command’ looks set to take on a new meaning, with the race to develop a new generation of autonomous boats sailed by artificial intelligence (AI). But what will it mean for other water users?

Today we’re all familiar with the concept of autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars are the next development frontier, and the tools needed to make them a reality are being intensively tested by some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech firms.

Less well known is the similar trajectory being followed in the marine industry. So-called unmanned autonomous vehicles, or marine drones, are attracting research interest from everyone from backyard inventors up to engineering behemoths like Rolls-Royce.

They come in all shapes and sizes, with intended purposes varying from meteorology and oceanology, to cargo, surveillance and defence. From the outside, some resemble normal sailing multihulls.

You might never realise there is no human aboard Artemis Technologies’ self-sailing cat, for example, with its 50-knot top speed. The Belfast-based company has based its design for a 45m-long Autonomous Sailing Vehicle (ASV) on technology developed for the 2017 America’s Cup.

Artemis Technologies’ autonomous boat design is based on the 2017 America’s Cup catamaran. Photo: Artemis Technologies

With two fixed wing sails, the catamaran rises up on four foils and hits top speed in just 20 knots of wind. Regenerating propellers on two of the foils charge a large battery bank on board, and that harvesting of energy brings the boat speed back down to 30 knots.

In lighter 8-knot winds, the boat still foils at 20 knots, and electric motors spin propellers that bump the speed back up to its optimum 30 knots. Artemis believes it can be used as a constant-speed commercial vessel for delivering cargo.

Meanwhile, in Plymouth, a consortium including IBM is testing a new Mayflower, a 15m power trimaran studded with solar panels, that should be capable of operating independently for months at a time. It has a top speed of 10 knots achieved with an electric motor drawing power from batteries topped up by solar.

The purpose of the boat is to collect oceanographic data, with sensors on board collecting information on marine mammals, ocean plastics, sea-level mapping and maritime cybersecurity.

See and avoid

The sheer size of some autonomous boats, and the astonishing speed of Artemis’s ASV, highlights the need for safe navigation. Such vessels carry a plethora of collision avoidance systems. While AIS technology has revolutionised collision avoidance over the last decade, it is not universally adopted among fishing vessels or yachts.

Inshore, where marine traffic is at its most dense, many dayboats will lack even a radar reflector. Other solutions, therefore, were required.

Mayflower, computing giant IBM’s autonomous vessel. The 15m boat is scheduled for a maiden voyage Atlantic crossing in April 2021. Photo: Tom Barnes

On Mayflower, computing giant IBM has installed its PowerAI Vision technology to crunch the inputs from onboard cameras that use both normal and infrared light.

In the development phase, so-called ‘deep learning’ is enabling the computer to spot navigational hazards from buoys to floating debris.

This complements radar and laser range-finding to help the boat’s software decide on the best tactic for avoidance. “We’re testing the system, but it is designed to be COLREG compliant and should spot things as small as a man in a rowboat and be able to avoid it,” said Brett Phaneuf, co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project.

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“It is programmed to detect and identify all manner of marine objects from many types of ships and boats, to buoys and kayakers. It understands how they behave and can predict movement and act to navigate in and around them.”

In principle there’s no limit to the number of objects it can track. But in the greatest traffic areas inshore, there will be a high bandwidth data link which will enable a human to step in to make decisions for the Mayflower if necessary. “There will always be a low-bandwidth satellite connection so that we may assist the vessel should it ask for help. Its prime directive is ‘don’t hit anything’,” added Phaneuf.

The maiden voyage has been postponed until mid-April 2021, when Mayflower will attempt to become one of the first full-sized autonomous ships to cross the Atlantic. Once the technology is proven, it has myriad potential uses.

Autonomous technology means a single landbased captain could eventually be in command of thousands of tonnes of shipping all around the world. Photo: Rolls-Royce

The race is on to develop commercial vessels with no humans aboard, only remote oversight from someone in a control room keeping an eye on dozens of vast container ships. Rolls-Royce was looking into just this before it sold its marine division to rival Kongsberg.

The company believes the first steps towards using remote-controlled coastal ships will be taken in the middle of this decade, with fully autonomous vessels coming at least 10 years after that. “Autonomous shipping is the future of the maritime industry,” explained Mikael Mäkinen, former president of Rolls-Royce’s marine division. “As disruptive as the smartphone, the smart ship will revolutionise the landscape of ship design and operations.”

The military, too, hope to use the technology to remove vulnerable humans from tedious or dangerous frontline duties, including surveillance. The Royal Navy has earmarked £184m to develop crewless minehunters.

The US Navy has already completed a trial that saw one of its Ghost Fleet Overlord vessels navigate from the Gulf Coast to California through the Panama Canal without incident.

“During this voyage, the vessel travelled over 4,700 miles, 97% of which was in autonomous mode – a record for the program,” reported Josh Frey, spokesman at the Department of Defense.

Small scale autonomous boats

There is also a growing fleet of smaller autonomous craft that can gather a wide range of data. These include the Wave Glider from Liquid Robotics, a 3.05m craft that generates power to operate from 192W of solar panels and a submarine element that harvests wave motion.

As it weighs 155kg and moves at 1.3 knots, the Liquid Robotics team doesn’t consider it to be a navigational hazard. “The Wave Glider is very small and therefore is the one who needs to get out of the way of any other boats,” marketing director Leigh Martins told me. “So, our software uses AIS for vessel detection and avoidance to stay safe.”

Submarine propulsion element of the Wave Glider. Photo: Wave Glider

Two craft closely resembling the Wave Glider were discovered washed up on the Scottish coast without their trailing submarine elements.

Meanwhile, the Sailbuoy under development by the Norwegian firm Offshore Sensing is designed to glance away from collisions.

It measures 2m and weighs 60kg, and its sole means of avoiding collisions are the words ‘Keep Clear’ stencilled onto the balanced wingsail that propels it. “Our solution to this is to make it withstand collisions on the open ocean,” explained CEO David Peddie. “A small vessel like the Sailbuoy does not present any danger to other traffic.”

The company’s website features a video of the Sailbuoy being run down by a small freighter during testing, then righting itself thanks to its heavy keel before bobbing clear.

Sailbuoy is designed to glance away from collisions. Photo: Sailbuoy

These craft are designed to survey their environment, and can hold station like a buoy or travel slowly along a predetermined route.

It has proven a robust approach: Sailbuoy became the first autonomous sailing vessel to successfully cross the Atlantic in the World Robotic Sailing Championship last year.

Saildrone takes a different approach for their autonomous boats. Its Explorer vehicle is larger – 7m LOA, with a 2.5m draught and a displacement of 0.75 tonnes. At this scale, a more robust approach to collision avoidance is required.

While it also uses AIS to spot other vessels at sea, each Saildrone is constantly under the supervision of a human back at mission control in Alameda, California.

Saildrone has also scaled their design up to a hefty 72ft ‘unmanned surface vehicle’. The Surveyor is equipped with deep-sea surveying equipment capable of scanning down to around 7,000m depth, and has an air draught of 18m.

Like its smaller cousins, there is a human in remote control of the boat at all times, to avoid collisions. But Surveyor also bristles with cameras, images crunched by an onboard processor to identify other vessels.

The company plans to put a fleet of 1,000 USVs onto the world’s oceans for a range of missions, from weather monitoring and gathering oceanographic data to patrolling border waters for smuggling and illegal fishing.

Weather spies

One of the most exciting features for sailors will be the real-time weather information autonomous boats can deliver.

Trimtab-controlled wingsail on Saildrone. Photo: Patrick Rousseaux Jenn Virskus/Saildrone

Saildrone founder Richard Jenkins grew up sailing in the Solent, and his company supplied a super-detailed forecast for Cowes Week in 2019, based on publicly available predictions enhanced with ‘secret’ local measurements taken by a Saildrone.

The result was a forecast with a high 200m resolution. In the end the uses for autonomous boats will be as myriad as those for satellites but, as with any new technology, there can be dangers, warns Luc Jaulet, robotics professor at France’s ENSTA engineering school, which is developing the Vaimos autonomous vessel.

As the concept becomes commonplace, the world will have to create suitable rules to keep the oceans safe. “The technology is basically ready, we just have to work out the legislation and then invest in it,” says Professor Jaulet.

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Sooner or later, most boat owners will find it’s time to change their yacht for a different size or model. No matter how well loved their yacht is, wants and needs shift over time and most owners will inevitably find themselves in the position of selling a yacht – whether to upgrade to something bigger, newer, or simply change to a different style of sailing.

Terysa Vanderloo

My partner and I have spent the past five years living on board our Southerly 38 Ruby Rose, on which we cruised between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, including two Atlantic crossings.

Before setting off on our bluewater adventure, we spent years researching the perfect liveaboard boat for us, and settled on the Southerly 38. Although the waterline length was relatively modest for a full-time cruiser, we loved the interior space and build quality.

Importantly, we couldn’t afford bigger and we didn’t feel comfortable handling a bigger monohull. After eight years of ownership and five years of full-time cruising, we’re now upgrading to a 45ft catamaran. We recently sold Ruby Rose, and are awaiting the launch of our new Seawind 1370.

Selling a yacht privately or with a Broker

Choosing to sell privately or through a broker is one of the first decisions to make when selling your boat.

We opted to list Ruby Rose with Northshore, the dedicated Southerly brokerage, as well as list her privately on our own website. Because we listed her before arriving back in the UK, we also had to provide photographs and manage viewings ourselves. Ultimately we accepted an offer privately while we were still in France.

Rupert Knox-Johnston of Oyster Yachts Brokerage provides some advice for choosing a broker: “Look for brokers with a track record of selling your model of yacht and ask for recommendations. If you are unwilling or unable to conduct viewings yourself, you might wish to choose a broker that is close to your yacht.

Using a broker is a popular option

“Choose one with a good reputation that is affiliated to the appropriate trade bodies. In the UK, for example, brokers that are members of the Association of Brokers and Yacht Agents (ABYA) must have the requisite professional indemnity and liability insurance.”

Alex Grabau from Grabau International Yacht Brokerage agrees that it’s crucial to choose a broker who operates to high professional standards. He says: “Adhering to protocols of sale such as operating with correctly managed separate client accounts, professional indemnity insurance and the use of contracts written by top lawyers in the marine industry ensures a seamless sale process and transaction.”

When Vicky and Stuart Punshon sold their Moody S31 in order to upgrade to a Moody 46 they chose a broker based on their good reputation, proven sales record, as well as the commission price and the broker’s location in respect to the yacht.

They were very happy with this decision and had a smooth sale at a price they were satisfied with.

By contrast, when Robyn Hawkins and Dave Evans chose to sell their Dufour 34 in order to upgrade to a Hallberg-Rassy 42E, they chose to do so privately. “The main reason was the cost,” says Robyn. “I wasn’t happy to give away thousands of pounds for something I knew I could do myself.”

They had originally listed the Dufour with a broker, but their experience was not positive. Things got off to a bad start when the broker missed their first appointment to view and photograph the boat.

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Six months later there has not been a single viewing, so Robyn and Dave instructed the broker to take down the listing and successfully sold the boat themselves in weeks.

Whether you choose to sell privately or through a broker may be influenced by the value of your yacht, says Alan McIlroy of Berthon International. “Once you step over a certain value, purchasers in particular feel a little more comfortable in dealing with an established brokerage house.

“For the seller, the correct management of the sale is key. Having a professional broker doing this makes the process less stressful. The broker works for you.”

Grabau adds that although there is nothing wrong with selling a boat privately, the risks to the vendor and buyer can be considerable.

“It makes sense that a professional and trained hand is at the wheel at all times to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Ensure your boat is in good shape for potential viewings

“The sale of a yacht will ordinarily involve a whole raft of checks and processes including establishing clear and unencumbered title, reviewing VAT, RCD and registration documentations (which may include foreign languages or formats), dealing constructively with survey findings, safe handling of client monies, drawing up contracts to assist with the process of the sale and general ‘good sense’ when dealing with delicate negotiations.”

When selling privately, he cautions: “If mistakes are made, they can be costly to either or both parties.”

Photographs and video for selling a yacht

In order to choose your boat, potential buyers need to be able to firstly find the listing, and also have their interest grabbed enough to book a viewing. This is where marketing comes in.

If selling privately, it’s crucial to understand how important this step is to a successful sale. Good photographs, a detailed description and full specification list are imperative.

Robyn Hawkins says: “Having looked at loads of listings when we were looking for our next boat, the ones we liked the best were the ones that showed everything [so] that’s what we wanted to do for our boat.”

Alex Grabau agrees that the more photographs or video content the broker has at their disposal, the better. “Buyers are often time-poor and the ability to go online and get a really clear idea of the yacht, her layout and her condition before having to enquire further, can make all the difference.

“The most successful listings are the ones where there is a clear photographic or video walkthrough, both internally and externally.”

Photos taken in landscape rather than portrait format are more website-friendly, and ensuring the photographs are clear, taken in good light and portray the boat at its cleanest and tidiest is crucial. Countless times I’ve seen photos of very expensive boats for sale, with items left on galley countertops, bags on the seats, and people standing in the shot; which can be very off-putting.

“Very much as important as high quality photography, walkthrough videos are now

playing an important role in promoting a yacht,” adds Alan McIlroy of Berthon.

“A well put together walkthrough gives a prospective client a good feel for the yacht in terms of the yacht’s condition, the layout both above and below decks and acts as a useful qualifier prior to an actual viewing.”

Most brokers will list the boat on their own websites as well as brokerage websites, and private sellers should also advertise online. It’s also worth using social media, and there are pages and groups dedicated to buying and selling boats. If you have an internet presence already, as we did, that can makes your sale much easier.

Matt and Jessica Johnson are the creators behind the popular YouTube channel MJ Sailing, and when it came time to list their aluminium monohull, they chose to simply advertise it on their own platforms.

“To advertise our boat, we did a walkthrough video on our YouTube channel. Within the video we mentioned she was for sale. If parties were interested, we had a link with all the boat’s information as well as a number of photographs on our website,” says Jessica.

It worked; less than two months later, their boat was sold and they are now in the process of upgrading to a catamaran.

A smooth handover is just as important to the buyer as the vendor. We ensured our buyer was fully aware of any issues the survey may reveal well in advance. We tried to be as transparent as possible about any items that needed upgrading or repairing from the outset and kept lines of communication open at all times.

Matt and Jessica had the same approach when they came to sell their aluminium cutter: “We never shied away from listing every issue the boat had that we were aware of. We wanted there to be no surprises when the new owner took possession, so there were daily discussions about everything good and bad we could think of relating to the boat.”

Berthon is a big name in brokerage, particularly higher end yachts

Even if selling through a broker, Alan McIlroy still advises on adopting a full disclosure policy. “Whether selling privately or through a broker, it’s vital that any known defects or significant repairs are disclosed to the broker/purchaser.

Maintaining confidence

“Letting the purchaser’s surveyor discover a defect which was previously known of is not going to aid the sales process. At worst it may lead the purchaser to pull out, at best it leaves the broker the job of rebuilding the purchaser’s confidence in the yacht.”

Also check you have all your documentation in order. “Review your paperwork, title chain and VAT. Having just received an offer is not the time discover there is a vital link in the paper chain missing that might hamper the sale’s progress,” says McIlroy.

To seal the deal, Rupert Knox-Johnston believes there are three factors to ensure all goes well: price, location and condition.

“Your yacht should be [priced] broadly in line with other comparable yachts on the market. Make sure buyers can view your yacht with minimum effort – if you want her sold, bring your yacht to the market, don’t expect the market to come to her.

A used boat show is a good place to find a captive market

“And make sure she is clean, dry, and tidy. Money invested in her presentation is rarely wasted. If you’re getting viewings and not offers, it’s probably down to her condition.”

Moving on

Planning future sailing when you are uncertain of the date on which you plan to sell a yacht is awkward. If you buy your next boat too soon, before selling your current boat, it puts you under enormous pressure to sell as quickly as possible, which is what happened to Robyn and Dave.

“We had to buy our second boat before selling the first as we were full-time liveaboards and didn’t have anywhere to stay on land,” Robyn recalls. However, when their departure date was looming and they still hadn’t sold their old boat, they decided to drop the price – and soon after that they found a buyer.

We faced the same dilemma but chose a different approach. We are having a Seawind 1370 catamaran built in 2021 and could have kept our Southerly until just before launch to ensure we not only had somewhere to live, but also could continue cruising.

However, we chose to sell early and deal with a 12-month gap where we are both homeless and boatless.

We’re now temporarily living on land in Greece where the cost of living is low, the weather is good, and we’re never far from the sea. For us, knowing we’d released the equity from our first boat and could cover the cost of our catamaran was the least stressful option.

The final piece of advice from Vicky and Stuart Punshon is: be patient.

“Don’t take an early low offer. If you’re selling a yacht that is correctly priced, it will eventually sell for a price you’ll be satisfied with.”

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The post Selling a yacht: The best ways to sell your boat appeared first on Yachting World.

“It’s still a long way to get home,” Carina Hammarlund muses. My partner Weitze van der Laan and I nod. Between us and our home ports in northern Europe it feels like we have to sail half the globe.

In the New Year yachts from all over the world gather in Phuket, Thailand, for the last legs of their circumnavigation. For yachts from northern Europe, there are three options to get back to their home countries.

The first is sailing across the Indian Ocean and rounding the Cape of Good Hope before sailing back up the Atlantic. The second is to sail around India and then head up the Red Sea, across the Mediterranean and then home. The third is to ship the yacht home from Thailand and jump on an aeroplane.

Sailing via the Cape of Good Hope costs around £47,000 and you need to allow 18 months

Every option has its advantages and disadvantages, and making the right decision depends on a lot of very personal factors. We spoke to cruisers who had chosen different solutions.

Shipping home

“We ran out of time,” Conny Hammarlund says. “We enjoyed four years of glorious cruising and found ourselves in Thailand, trying to decide which way to go back to Sweden.” An enticing job offer for his wife, Carina, made the decision simple: their Amel 56 Ultimo was going back on a ship and they would fly.

“For us it was a simple business case,” Carina says. “The cost of the shipping versus the time we would save to get home and get back into a great job was better than using at least another six months to sail her through the Red Sea.

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“We prepared the boat in Phuket in March and in April she was picked up by the transport ship. Four weeks later she was offloaded in Copenhagen. We made the decision in January and were back home in April. She is our home, so we went to Copenhagen straight away to pick her up and sail her to our home port of Stockholm.”

Carina continues: “The advantages of shipping are simple: it is a quick and safe way to move the boat if you need to get back home relatively fast.”

Conny adds: “Of course there are disadvantages. Preparing the boat for transport is something you don’t do often in your sailing career, so you have to learn fast. Apart from that, it is expensive at first sight. But the comparison with the wear and tear of a long ocean crossing was not too unfavourable for shipping Ultimo.”

Slings are attached to Ultimo’s chainplates…

There are three main elements to the cost of shipping a yacht. First the Hammarlunds spent two months preparing to ship, which cost around £5,000 (if we assume an average cruising cost per month to be £2,500 for fuel, maintenance, insurance and living costs). This was done at anchor in Thailand. The actual cost of shipping was £40,800, plus the two flights home from Thailand.

After Ultimo was relaunched in Copenhagen, the couple sailed straight to Sweden that same day, so they incurred no additional harbour costs.

The third minor cost was insurance: “We signed a third party insurance via the transport company which was £160. During the transport there was no insurance cost, because the boat is covered by the transporter,” Conny explained.

… before she’s hoisted aboard the transport ship

The couple did a lot of research before Ultimo was loaded onto the transport ship. “We compared prices, but also the experiences and feedback of other cruisers.” They based their choice not only on cost, but on customer references.

“We invested a lot of time in communication with the shipping company and the agent right from the start. This proved to be vital, because in the first stages a lot of information needs to be exchanged fast.

“During the transport they kept informing us and sent us all necessary details. You need to be flexible; schedules change, pick up dates and even locations can change because of regulations and delays.”

The Red Sea question

For a long time, sailing to Europe via the Red Sea was a definite ‘no go’ – yachts have been hijacked by Somali pirates, yachtsmen kidnapped and sometimes murdered. The efforts of the international maritime community have decreased the risk of piracy and past years have seen more and more boats successfully making this passage.

The Trintella 49 yacht Blue Roger in Port Ghalib, Egypt

In the 2019 season 53 boats travelled through the Red Sea in both directions. Among them were Frank Mulder and Sandra van Manen, who sailed their Trintella 49 Blue Roger through the Red Sea and Mediterranean en route to the Netherlands.

“For us the most important reason to travel through the Red Sea was the limited time we had,” Van Manen said. Her work commitments as a doctor and, even more importantly, the birth of a grandchild, urged them back home. She adds: “We didn’t feel like doing long crossings again and wanted to sail the shortest route back home.”

“And it was a quick passage,” Mulder says. “We left Thailand mid-January and were back home in the Netherlands at the end of May. It took us a month to travel the 1,000-mile track up the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal.

Frank Mulder and Sandra van Manen arrive safely home in the Netherlands

“There we left Blue Roger for two weeks in Egypt to fly home and be with our grandchild. After that, we sailed the passages in the Mediterranean, Bay of Biscay and North Sea at leisure.”

In Frank’s opinion: “Safety is not really an issue any more, especially with the help of UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations). In the Gulf of Aden there is the biggest risk of piracy though.”

For Mulder, the disadvantages are: “The weather. You have to think of the Red Sea as a chimney: the hot deserts on both sides with the cooler water of the Med on the north. The wind blows from the north with a Force 6-7 all the time.

“The wind shifts make it very hard to tack. We’ve had days that we only moved forward with 1.8 knots. It’s very frustrating, and you have to be on your guard all the time.

“There are yachtsmen who anchor under way in between the reefs but they are poorly charted and we considered the risk too high. In that respect it was one of the most dangerous parts of our circumnavigation.”

For the five months it took Blue Roger to sail from Thailand to the Netherlands, the total cost was £12,500. “In addition to that,” Van Manen comments, “you need to budget for the transit of the Suez Canal (£450) and for a lot of small cash payments. At least £1,800 is needed to pay for all these expenses while you transit the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.”

Having access to good and recent information is vital. “We used the Red Sea Pilot and we were members of a secret Facebook group of Red Sea crossers. That was very helpful. And the contacts with UKMTO were invaluable,” Sandra says.

Cruisers sharing resources

“In Thailand an informal flotilla formed,” Frank explains. “But because of our time pressure, we didn’t join them. These flotillas have advantages, but there are disadvantages too, especially when some boats are a lot faster than others. There is a sense of security when travelling in a group. We went alone and never felt unsafe.”

Transiting the Red Sea is not a decision to be taken lightly and would require very thorough research. The reduction in piracy attacks reflects the greatly reduced number of vessels passing through the Gulf of Aden or venturing close to the Somali coastline, but the political issues which created the piracy problem remain, combined with increased instability in Yemen. Nevertheless, for those considering it, Frank Mulder has the following tips and suggestions:

• Take cash: at least $2,500 USD in small notes.
• Stay away from Saudi Arabia; they are not used to yachts there and treat (and charge) you like a large cargo ship. There are also security issues.
• Make sure the boat is ready to tackle strong upwind conditions; prepare for significant wear and tear and carry lots of spare parts.
• A satellite phone is useful in the Gulf of Aden: you cannot use your radio to contact UKMTO. If there is an issue with a vessel approaching you, call UKMTO and they can send a plane to fly overhead.
• Most insurance companies will not cover sailing in the Red Sea. Start talking to alternative insurers at an early stage.

noonsite.com has additional advice from Wade Alarie, who runs the private Red Sea Facebook Group and transited the Red Sea this January. It includes carrying substantial fuel.

“You must be able to motor at least 1,200 miles,” says Alarie. “Every year several unprepared sailors run out of fuel, food, and money. Some end up begging for diesel from the Coalition Forces while sailing slowly in the High Risk Area (HRA). This ends up being a distraction to the hard working Coalition Forces, one that Somali pirates may use to their advantage.”

How to sail across the Indian Ocean

We chose to sail Anna Caroline across the Indian Ocean for two reasons. First, we were not sure that we wanted to tackle the headwinds and potential danger of the Red Sea. But more importantly we wanted to visit the wonderful islands in the northern Indian Ocean and then sail around the Cape of Good Hope. As part of our itinerary we have already sailed around two of the three big Capes, so this third one was still on our wishlist.

Choosing to cross the Indian Ocean means adding a year to your circumnavigation. To avoid running into cyclones, you need to leave Thailand in January, make a stop in Sri Lanka and arrive in the Maldives in March. You then have over six months to spend in the Maldives, Chagos, Seychelles, Mauritius or La Réunion until the southern summer starts and you can round the Cape of Good Hope, so it is a relaxed schedule.

The other option is to stay longer in Thailand or Malaysia and cross in September straight to Madagascar. Either way, cruising to Europe via South Africa will take around 18 months.

The advantages of crossing the Indian Ocean include having the time to pick relatively benign weather, and the ability to visit some groups of islands that are still not overrun by cruising yachts. You might also choose to make some interesting land trips ashore in Africa.

The authors’ yacht Anna Caroline in Thailand

The disadvantages are mainly the time that is involved in getting back to Europe, and the extra wear and tear on the yacht caused by sailing many miles (for us on Anna Caroline it will be around 16,500 miles from Phuket to the Netherlands) in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

If you take this option, there are two major cost factors. First there is the additional cost of living, maintenance and insurance. Given the earlier assumption of £2,500 per month, this amounts to £45,000 for 18 months. On top of that, there is the cost of hiring agents, clearance and cruising permits.

Chagos and the Maldives are expensive with an average cost of between US$1,000-1,500 each. For other countries, the cost is lower, often much lower, but you should allow another £2,000. Depending on your insurance company, you may also see an increase in premium or deductibles.

Because cruising in the Indian Ocean is still relatively rare, sources to find information are scarcer. The Indian Ocean Cruising Guide by Rod Heikell is helpful, as are numerous Facebook groups and forums. There are some older cruising guides for specific destinations like the Seychelles and Maldives, but they are very hard to find in hard copy. We found that it is a good idea to start selecting agents at an early stage; a lot of countries require you to have an agent and there are quite large differences in fees.

“For everyone dreaming of crossing the Indian Ocean the way we did, I would recommend that you do a very thorough check of the boat and all your spare parts while you are still in Thailand and close to resources,” Wietze van der Laan advises. “Most boats are at the end of their circumnavigation and the many miles that have been sailed by then have taken their toll.

“Your boat needs to be in mint condition, because it is very hard to get spare parts in most parts of the Indian Ocean. You need to be independent.”

COVID-19 update

The scenarios mentioned are for a ‘normal’ cruising season. The 2020 season has been anything but normal with COVID-19 causing lockdowns and restrictions.

At the time of going to press many countries, including South Africa, required arriving yachts to undergo COVID-19 testing and quarantine. The Maldives and Tanzania are relatively unrestricted, while Madagascan authorities are limiting yacht movements heavily. Social upheaval caused by factors like rising unemployment and the collapse of tourism is also impacting on the safety of destinations in the Indian Ocean.

Red Sea updates

“The coalition forces don’t encourage cruisers in the area but they will tolerate us – particularly if we try to follow their guidance,” says Wade Alarie, moderator of the private Facebook group for Red Sea crossers.

Organisations issuing guidance include the Maritime Security Centre for the Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) and United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

About the author

Dutch couple Janneke Kuysters and Wietze van der Laan are sailing around the world in their Bruce Roberts 44 Anna Caroline, returning home via the Indian Ocean.

First published in the October 2020 issue of Yachting World.

The post How to sail across the Indian Ocean: Everything you need to know appeared first on Yachting World.

According to US insurance claims (from BoatUS Marine Insurance) the odds of a boat being struck by lightning in any year are about 1 per 1,000, increasing to 3.3 per 1,000 in lightning prone areas such as Florida. Pantaenius reports that while high-risk areas include the Caribbean, Florida and Mexican Gulf, the incidence in other areas is rising: “10-12% were in the Mediterranean, and that is coming from below 5% in the last decade,” explained managing director Martin Baum.

Pantaenius handles more than 200 cases of lightning damage every year. “Over the past 15 years, the total number of such loss events has tripled in our statistics. The relative share of lightning damage in the total amount of losses recorded by us each year is already 10% or more in some cruising areas such as the Med, parts of the Pacific or the Caribbean,” added Pantaenius’s Jonas Ball.

Both UK and US-based insurers also report that multihulls are two to three times more likely to be struck by lightning than monohulls, due to the increased surface area and the lack of a keel causing difficulties with adequate grounding. Besides increased likelihood of being hit, the cost of a strike has also risen enormously as yachts carry more networked electronic devices and systems.

The CAPE index measures atmospheric instability and can be overlaid on windy.com forecasts

Avoiding lightning strikes

The only really preventative measure to avoid lightning is to stay away from lightning prone areas. Global maps of lightning flash rates based on data provided by NASA are useful to indicate areas of more intense lightning activity. They show that lightning is much more common in the tropics and highlight hotspots such as Florida, Cuba and Colombia in the Caribbean, tropical West Africa, and Malaysia and Singapore in south-east Asia.

Unfortunately, many of the most popular cruising grounds are located in tropical waters. Carefully monitoring the weather and being flexible to changing plans is an essential part of daily passage planning during the lightning season in high-risk areas. CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) is a useful tool for indicating atmospheric instability: you can check the CAPE index on windy.com (see above) as part of your lightning protection plan.

Protection against lightning strikes

Yachts that had no protection when lightning struck often experience extensive damage. The skipper of S/V Sassafras, a 1964 carvel schooner, reports: “Most of the electronics were toast. Any shielded wiring or items capable of capacitance took the most damage: isolation transformer; SSB tuner; autopilot and N2K network Cat 5 cables.”

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The owner of Matador of Hamble, a Rival 41, recalls the effects of their strike: “The extent of the damage was not immediately obvious. For days afterwards anything with a semi-conductor went bang when we turned it on.”

The crew of Madeleine, a Catana 42S catamaran, had a similar experience. “We were struck in Tobago but only discovered the electrical damage to the port engine when we reached St Lucia and it was in the Azores that we found out the rudder post was broken and we had lost half our rudder.”

It therefore seems prudent that in lightning prone areas a protection system should be implemented where possible to protect the boat, equipment and crew. As a first step analysing the boat and the relative position of all the main metallic fittings can often reveal a few safe places to hide and places to avoid. Areas such as the base of the mast, below the steering pedestal and near the engine have the highest risk of injury.

Stays on a steel boat are attached directly to the steel hull. Photo: Wietze van der Laan / Janneke Kuysters

In terms of minimising the effect of a strike, one temporary method to limit the damage is to direct the current outside the boat using heavy electrical cables attached to the stainless steel rigging. With the other end of the cable immersed in the ocean, this provides a conductive path from the masthead to the ground.

The main flaw in this plan is that an aluminium mast has much greater electrical conductivity than stainless steel and is a more likely pathway to the ground. This system also requires adequate copper to be in contact with the seawater to discharge the current.

Other temporary measures include disconnecting radar and radio aerial cables, putting portable electronic items in the oven or microwave as a Faraday cage, turning off all the batteries or nonessential electronic equipment if at sea, or in a marina unplugging the shore power cord. All these procedures rely on someone being on board with several minutes warning before a strike to drop the cables over the side and turn off/disconnect and unplug.

Cable used as a down conductor from the shrouds on a catamaran. Photo: Wietze van der Laan / Janneke Kuysters

Posting an ‘Emergency Lightning Procedures’ card in a central location of the boat showing where to stand and what quick preparations to take is a simple first step.

Permanent lightning strike protection

In a thunderstorm, molecular movement causes a massive build up of potential energy. Once the voltage difference overcomes the resistance of the airspace in between, invisible ‘channels’ form between the base of the clouds and tall objects like masts, providing a path for a lightning strike to discharge some of the accumulated electrical energy. There will be less damage to a vessel if the discharge is contained in a well-designed lightning-protection system.

Grounding

Lightning rods or air terminals installed at the top of the mast connected to an external grounding plate on the hull, via an aluminium mast, provide a permanent low impedance path for the current to enter the water. On boats with timber or carbon masts a heavy electrical cable can be used as a down conductor.

If not installed during production, a grounding plate can be retrofitted during a haul out. On monohulls a single plate near the base of the mast is adequate. A ketch, yawl or schooner requires a vertical path for each mast and a long strip under the hull between the masts, whereas catamarans usually require two grounding plates to complete the path to the water.

The current from a lightning strike is dissipated primarily from the edges of the plate, so the longer the outline the better. Warwick Tompkins installed a lightning protection system designed by Malcolm Morgan Marine in California on his Wylie 38 Flashgirl:  “Two heavy copper cables run from the foot of the mast to the aluminium mast step, which was connected to a copper grounding plate on the outside of the hull via ½in diameter bronze bolts.”

The grounding plate was an eight pointed star shape. “Some liken it to a spider.” Warwick says, “And the very minimal electrical damage we experienced when struck was directly attributable to this spider setup.”

A copper ‘X’ grounding plate, used on boats that have a fin keel some distance aft of the mast. Photo: Malcolm Morgan Marine

Morgan adds: “Any cables associated with lightning protection should be routed away from other ship’s wiring wherever possible. For example, if the navstation electronics and main switchboards are on one side of the vessel, the lightning protection cables should be routed on the opposite side.”

Bonding

An internal bonding circuit connects the major metal objects on a boat to the grounding plate via bonding cables. This can help prevent internal side strikes where the current jumps between objects in order to reach ground.

Morgan explains: “As modern boats are becoming increasingly complex careful consideration is required to ensure the bonding system is designed correctly. There are five possible grounding systems on a vessel (lightning protection, SSB radio ground plate, bonding for corrosion, AC safety ground, and DC negative) and all need to be joined at one common point and connected to the external grounding plate.”

This strike exited through the keel, blowing off the fairing and bottom paint. Photo: GEICO / BoatUS Marine Insurance

Surge protection

Yachts anchored close to shore or on shore power in a marina are susceptible to voltage surges during a thunderstorm. If lightning strikes a utility pole the current travels down the electricity cable looking for ground. It can enter a vessel through the shore power line or can pass through the water and flashover to a yacht at anchor.

Surge-protective devices (SPD) are self-sacrificial devices that ‘shunt’ the voltage to ground. They reduce the voltage spikes eg a 20,000V surge can be diminished to 6,000V but the additional current can still be enough to damage sensitive electronics. Therefore fitting ‘cascaded’ surge protection with several SPDs in line on critical equipment is a good idea.

High-tech solutions

Theoretically, if a lightning dissipator bleeds off an electrical charge on the rigging at the same rate as it builds up it can reduce or prevent a lightning strike. Lightning dissipators such as ‘bottle brushes’ are occasionally seen on cruising boats, though these are relatively old technology. Modern dissipators feature a 3⁄8in radius ball tip at the end of a tapered section of a copper or aluminium rod. The jury is out on their effectiveness.

A more high-tech solution is Sertec’s CMCE system, which claims to reduce the probability of a lightning strike by 99% within the protected area. The system has been widely installed on airports, stadiums, hospitals and similar, but has now been adapted for small marine use (and may reduce your insurance excess).

Arne Gründel of Sertec explains: “The CMCE system prevents a lightning strike by attracting and grounding excess negative charges from the atmosphere within the cover radius of the device. This prevents the formation of ‘streamers’, and without streamers there is no lightning strike.”

A Sertec CMCE marine unit, designed to dissipate lightning

The post Yacht lightning strikes: Why they cause so much damage and how to protect against them appeared first on Yachting World.

Bypassing seasonal weather restrictions and being able to relocate quickly are among the factors making yacht shipping more popular than ever.

Cargo ships cruise well in excess of the speeds of even the fastest racing yachts and are rarely delayed due to weather that would make a passage under sail untenable.

But while there is much less wear and tear on your yacht than a 3,000-mile ocean crossing will cause, there are still preparations you need to make sure your yacht is unloaded in good shape. We take a look at the process and how to prepare for it.

Once the strops are in position the owner and crew disembark for lifting. Photo: Tor Johnson

Why ship?

The beat back across the north Atlantic to Europe via Bermuda and the Azores is, despite its course to windward, a rewarding trip to make. But there’s a good reason many shy away: it’s often hard on the yacht, as well as the crew. Some 3,000 miles of wear on sails, engine and rigging has a significant impact.

For those who have travelled further, maybe across the Pacific, the trip back to Europe also involves significant weather challenges and time demands. Jeremy Wyatt, director of the World Cruising Club, has noticed a steady increase in the number of WCC event participants using yacht shipping services.

“Many are time-poor and unable to take the long periods of time necessary off work to complete ocean crossings. Also, production yachts proportionally suffer greater stress and wear and tear on the north Atlantic route to Europe than traditional heavy displacement boats. So the cost/benefit of shipping over sailing the route swings more towards shipping.”

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Preparations

Preparing a yacht to be shipped should be undertaken with a similar level of attention to detail as getting ready to complete an ocean passage, or riding out a storm season, in order to minimise the chance of damage.

“The best preparation to get your boat ready for shipping is to think of it as winterising it,” explains Sevenstar loadmaster Geert de Krom. “If you stop for a season at home, you’d take the sails off, make everything nice inside, empty your tanks.”

The other thing he advises is to bear in mind that the yacht may well be exposed to the elements. “The big ship is also moving. If it is blowing 25 knots and the ship has its own speed, it can be 40 knots or more over the deck for days.

The ship’s loading crew will control the yacht during the lifting process. Photo: Tor Johnson

“The best thing to do is try and get rid of all the sail covers; they’re best stored inside. If a sail cover or other wrapping is blowing off it can also damage their neighbours’ yacht.”

The loading process

Yachts need to have their fresh and grey water tanks emptied (before approaching the ship as there will be divers working in the area) but to make sure that there is a little fuel left on board for offloading at the arrival port.

Owners (or their representatives) are responsible for driving their yacht up to the ship. There are good reasons for doing it yourself if you are able. “I always prefer it if the owner is doing it himself,” explains de Krom, “because they know their yachts best.

“For example, you have to remove your backstay, because we have a spreader beam for the lift, and the backstay is always in the way. On some yachts that’s five minutes work, on other yachts where it hasn’t been removed for the past eight years it takes longer.

“But if it is your own yacht, you know where the tools are and it’s more easily done. In the Caribbean a lot of times the delivery skippers will bring the boat alongside, but they don’t always know where the right screwdriver is.

“Normally you have a contact a couple of days before loading, and you’ll be assigned a loadmaster like me. We agree a loading time, and tell them where to come alongside, which side to put the fenders on. We try to prepare all the clients so we don’t have to shout down from the big ship.

Sevenstar Yacht Transport loadmaster Geert de Krom

“They just come alongside and then we have a crew who climb down the ladder and prepare the yacht for lifting. The lift rig will be lowered down, and we have one or two divers – always on every yacht – to double-check where to put the belts.”

Then we start lifting. The divers can also give us some information on the level of the yacht, if she is too bow down or stern down,” de Krom explains. “When everything looks safe we disembark, and lift the yacht into position on deck.”

Once the yacht is in position on the ship, it will be secured on its stand with lashings, and the stands are welded onto decks. For some yachts the loadmaster will ask for advice on the best strong points to lash the boat from.

The yacht is lowered onto a cradle in position and secured with tie-down points. Photo: Tor Johnson

“We always ask owners to send us pictures or drawings of previous lifts. But we ship 2,500 yachts a year, so we have quite a good database of how we’ve lifted previous yachts.” Even though the yacht process is a very well oiled machine, de Krom says owners shouldn’t feel rushed at this stage.

“They have plenty of time to prepare the yacht for the voyage. They can close everything down, put fenders inside, lock everything up, take your time. If you are the first yacht and I still have 45 yachts to loads, you have three days! But even if you are the last yacht, I still always offer the owner time.”

Key things to remember before stepping off for the last time are to disconnect the batteries and turn off the AIS. The process for loading onto a semi-submersible ship is slightly different. “Owners should approach it like going into a big lock,” he advises.

“So you’re waiting for the lock with 20, 25 yachts, and you stand by on Ch21, and one by one the loadmasters will call the vessel’s name, and then we have a lot of crew on board to catch the lines and help the skipper moor.

“Once the yachts are on the ship we start deballasting, and we have between 12 and 22 divers in the water. They have underwater stands they put in place so the yachts will not tip over.

“Loading takes place on one day, so if all the yachts are on by 1000, by 1700 the decks will be dry. The clients can stay on board, do some paperwork – or leave when the yacht is ready.

To prepare for unloading, remove the backstay, put out fenders and long mooring lines, and double-check you have enough charge to start the engine. Photo: Drone Caraibes

“Then by the evening the deck is dry, and the crew put all the sea fastening stands on to prepare for the voyage, which are also welded to the deck.”

How the yacht is secured is crucial. The loss of the 40m superyacht My Song, which fell from a ship last year, is at the centre of a legal case. When yachts ride on deck, they are held in a cradle supplied by either the yacht shipping company or sometimes the yacht owner.

However, if you supply your own cradle you should check it has been designed for use on the deck of a ship as well as for static storage ashore.

The owner (or owner’s representative) is responsible for driving the yacht up to the ship. Photo: Tor Johnson

While seeing your yacht hoisted atop a giant ship is spectacular, de Krom pleads that owners bring only essential crew who are able to climb the ladders. “It’s not a family party. I’ve had babies onboard coming alongside.”

He also advises that anyone at loading or unloading wears a good pair of deck shoes – not flip-flops. “We will provide the safety vest and helmet. But at least wear decent shoes to protect yourself. We work on a big steel vessel and there are so many ways to hurt yourself.”

Dirty air

One of the chief complaints made by owners after yacht shipping is that of dirt from the ship’s exhaust system causing staining to the hull and mast, particularly for yachts positioned downwind of the exhaust.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to wax the hull as well as to take down all canvas and as many lines as possible. Some owners prefer to have the yacht shrink-wrapped for even greater protection.

Andrea Lezzi organised the movement of the 82ft Southern Wind Feelin’ Good from Thailand to Palma and, unusually, he also accompanied the yacht on the shipping stage of its voyage.

“No one wanted the yacht to go through the Gulf of Aden so it was decided shipping was the best option early on. The ship we were allocated was not a specialist yacht transport ship but a heavy lifting cargo ship that can carry almost anything with its own cranes on board.

“One early miscommunication meant that the loadmasters didn’t realise how big our fixed keel was, assuming it to be retractable.

“The guidance to remove all canvas, indeed anything you can, is worth heeding. On our passage we had 30 knots on the nose of the cargo ship and she moves at 20 knots; that’s 50 knots over the deck.

“So, shipping can still be quite harsh on the yacht in a different way. In total we used 43 lashings onto the deck and 23 inside the yacht for various furnishings.”

While the cradle is being welded onto the deck owners have some time to make final checks. Photo: Tor Johnson

Lezzi travelled as a passenger on the ship. “I was on board for 40 days in total. At first the shipping line wasn’t keen to accommodate me but we negotiated a rate for a cabin for the passage.

“I polished the yacht before we left – not to a shine, but to protect from dirt. But one big advantage of being on board is that I was able to rinse the yacht off every day with freshwater from the ship.”

Yacht shipping tips 

• Check your insurance for every stage of the operation in advance. Are you covered at every point in the process?
• Strip everything you can from the yacht. Canvas work should be removed and lines moused out.
• Is your yacht watertight? Yachts are exposed to the same weather as on passage and sometimes worse.
• Is your interior secure? Yacht shipping companies recommend using trucking straps to secure anything below that might move.
• Empty all water tanks. Fuel tanks should only carry the minimum of fuel necessary to get to and from the ship. Gas bottles should also be removed.
• Check your yacht shipping contract. Some do not guarantee a delivery date and weather delays do happen, even to big ships.
• Shop around. Prices for shipment vary significantly based upon many factors, including how full the ship is at the time of quotation. Check if there is a scheduled service as they are often cheaper.
• Think in terms of winterising your yacht – shipping via northern Europe can expose the yacht to cold. Will anything freeze?
• Leave the mast up. Specialist yacht shipping companies will ship almost all yachts with the rig stepped.
• Leave a spare key. If the ship pulls into another port, Customs may want to get on board your yacht

Be covered

Insurance should be an early consideration. Robert Holbrook of Admiral Marine says: “We insure a lot of yachts which are shipped to Europe from places like the Caribbean.

“We have found over the years that the shipper often provides cargo cover which is well priced and so the normal practice is to cease cover on the yacht from the time that the yacht is loaded (usually when the slings are attached), and cover remains suspended until the yacht is safely offloaded onto the water or onto the quay at the destination.

“It is not possible to cover the yacht as cargo under a normal yacht policy. The cover offered while the yacht is being shipped is Institute Cargo Clauses (All Risks).”

If it’s not you loading and unloading, you should also be careful to check there are no blurred lines in liability with who you put in charge of the yacht.

First published in the February 2020 edition of Yachting World.

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During the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race, my yacht Olympia’s Tigress, a Beneteau First 40, lost her rig through a simple split pin failure.

We were 40 miles offshore at the time, with a trained but inexperienced charter crew on board. It was blowing a Force 6 and the middle the night. The following are some of the lessons we learned from the incident.

Just before midnight I went down below after my watch, having just come off the helm. I heard shouting from on deck and the first mate calling: “Sue, get on deck now – the shroud’s gone!”

Olympia’s Tigress setting off in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race, before the rig failure. Photo: Carlo Borlenghi

I rushed to get my lifejacket back on and pulled myself up the companionway. Looking out I could see that the V1 rod from the port side of the rig had detached completely at the first spreader. The rod was still attached at the deck chainplate but was arched over and dragging in the water. I turned to the helmsperson and shouted: “Whatever you do, don’t tack.”

We were upwind on starboard tack beating into a moderate to rough seaway, and if you were looking at the rig fully loaded from the starboard side you could have been fooled into thinking all was well.

But this was just the start – it would be ten hours before yacht and crew made it safely to land. For myself and four other crew, who’d just spent a full four hours on watch on deck, this was to be particularly exhausting.

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My first plan was to try to keep the yacht stable under sail as we were closer towards land – and potential rescue – on the starboard tack. I called Falmouth Coastguard from our satellite phone and explained that we had a major rig failure; they contacted the Irish Coast Guard on our behalf. They also advised us to have our EPRIB on deck.

From midnight until around 0130 we sailed on starboard tack to get closer to land, but progressively got knocked and were no longer laying the Irish coast.

We managed to sail about 15 miles further inshore before, as predicted, the wind began to back. Soon we were no longer laying even the Fastnet Rock.

Safe after a lifeboat tow back to port, but Olympia’s Tigress had lost her mast above the first set of spreaders

At this point, around 0200, and two hours after we first noticed the issue with the shroud, I decided we needed to down sails and be prepared for whatever was going to happen to us next.

At first we tried to stabilise the rig using halyards as we motored towards Kinsale, but it quickly became apparent how completely unstable the whole rig was.

The flexibility of the aluminium mast was quite terrifying and in the rolling seaway the top of the mast was swaying up to 3-4m from the centreline. This caused ricocheting of the stabilising halyards from the deck and the noise was deafening, like a huge recoiling spring.

The Class 40 Phor-ty lost her rig during the same race – these aerial shots reveal the dangerous tangle of lines, rigging, sail and mast across the deck and cockpit. Photo: Carlo Borlenghi

I was extremely concerned about having anyone on deck because it was apparent that the rig was eventually going to come down.

Having no windward force on the rig, as you would do when sailing, meant the rig’s movement and which way it would fall was also totally unpredictable.

Thunderbolt crack

I sent all the crew below and slowed the boat speed to 3 knots. We were in contact with the Irish Coast Guard by satellite phone and limited VHF.

The Courtmacsherry lifeboat had been mustered in case the broken spar holed the boat.

At 0420 the yacht rolled violently to port in a big wave and, as we rolled back to starboard, the mast cracked with a sound like a thunderbolt.

It fractured cleanly at the first spreader level and fell to the starboard side, taking out all of the guard wires and damaging the deck.

The standing rigging on the port side was already compromised but the rig remained attached by the starboard V1 rod, the forestay rod and the backstay, which was Dyneema.

What followed was an extremely stressful 25 minutes of cutting the rig away, trying various methods, because you never knew what was going to work until it did.

The crew worked in groups on different parts of the rig, and we had the liferaft prepared to deploy in case the spar ruptured the hull.

The second mate had climbed what remained of the rig to cut the wires from the mast. What I remember most clearly is that absolutely everyone on board was waiting for instruction on what to do next.

The hardest part was the determination required to sever the highly loaded and arched rod rigging. The V1, with the rest of the rig, was moving up and down with the seaway and it felt like a miracle when we managed to saw it off – it was just brute force sawing with a hacksaw that got rid of it.

A hacksaw should deal with a felled forestay – but be aware that rigging under tension can whiplash unpredictably when cut

Next we removed the forestay by unscrewing the bottle screws and lastly freed the backstay.

Five-hour ordeal

At 0445 the rig sank. There was silence on board; no one said a thing for at least a minute. We were all in total and utter shock after a five-hour ordeal.

I first established if everyone was OK. Our youngest crew member had a metal shard in his eye resulting from the flying sparks of an angle grinder, while my second mate had taken a serious blow in the face as he detached the forestay from its fixing; the rod had ricocheted into his face. So we began tending to the injuries.

By 0500 the RNLI lifeboat arrived on the scene. They first checked with us that the rig had sunk, and we communicated with them through visual signalling and limited coms on a handheld VHF radio – the fixed VHF antenna went with the mast.

At this stage we were still 25 miles offshore – we were happy to motor to Kinsale or Cork but the lifeboat crew deemed it better to tow us given our lack of VHF and associated electrics. The stability of the yacht was also severely compromised without the mast.

It took four hours under tow to reach Ireland from 0530-0930. My first mate, Cath, and I alternated the helming watches for this period and allowed the crew to sleep.

I remember it being bitterly cold and us both trying to shield each other in turn from the wind exposure being generated from the fast tow – the cold was possibly exacerbated by the fact we were both tired and utterly burnt out.

Many thanks to my amazing crew that night: Cath, Willy, Felix, Simon, Gina, Matt, Conor, Fiona and Luke. Each and every one of them played a vital role in bringing our vessel back to land.

Many thanks also to Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Falmouth, the Irish Coast Guard and the Courtmacsherry lifeboat and crew.

What to do after a rig loss

1. Communicate the situation as early as possible (in our case we were able to do this before the rig came down) with a Pan Pan call to a coastal radio station. This can either be through satellite phone or VHF radio, but remember as soon as you lose your rig you are also likely to lose your VHF aerial and radio communications. For us having a satellite phone was key.
2. If you have spars in the water, get your liferaft and grab bags ready to deploy within 15 seconds. Have all the crew in lifejackets and waterproofs if they are not already.
3. It’s likely that even after failure the rig will still be attached to the vessel via three standing rig points. For example, the port side failed on Olympia’s Tigress, but the rig was still attached via the forestay, the backstay and the starboard V1 rod. As soon as the rig has broken, split the crew into three teams to work on each area, and make sure you have three sets of whatever cutting gear you are using. You don’t want a jagged mast hanging around in the water next to you any longer than necessary. Nor do you want to successfully cut two points away, only to find the sinking rig dragging your bow down at the forestay (yes, that happened to us).
4. On a safety checklist you may have to tick a box saying you have tested your rig cutting gear on a piece of material similar to that in your rig. However, you also need to ask yourself whether the cutting gear will work in the same way when the rig, rods or Dyform wires are moving up and down in a rough seaway, all in different sync to the boat’s movement. We’d always thought that having an angle grinder was the answer to cut away all rigging but we discovered we were wrong. With the rig moving it was very difficult to cut a groove in the rod. It also produced sparking and metal files, one of which flew into a crew member’s eye.
5. Carry multiple pairs of goggles in your rig-cutting bag to prevent eye injury.
6. Carry multiple cutting methods. We found that with rods the only thing that worked was brute force, cutting a groove with a standard high quality hacksaw, we had replacement blades and three hacksaws so were able to have new blades and saws ready rapidly, so as to have no delays in the cutting.
7. Before heading to sea, think through any other methods you could use to detach stays and shrouds, for example removing pins or unscrewing bottle screws. It didn’t apply in our case, but I did realise the complexity that would be added by having a furling headsail system. Make sure you are familiar with how to remove a furler from the deck and have the tools on board to do this.
8. If you have a period of time – as we did – with an unstable mast that has lost its structural integrity, use halyards to triangulate it to strong points on the deck. This might be more effective in a calm sea but for us the pre-break movement in the rig at the top (4-5m of sideways flexing) was scarily powerful. Before the mast broke, the ricocheting of the halyards thanks to the enormous flexing of the rig caused damage to the glassfibre at the deck mountings.
9. Protect crew wherever possible; if the mast is going to come down there is less risk in having one person on deck than full crew. I stayed on deck alone while we attempted to motor towards Cork. The crew stayed ready below, formulating a plan for cutting the rig and communicating with the coastguard.
10. When the rig comes down, if you can be sure the prop is free of lines try to manoeuvre the yacht under engine so the rig is down-sea and away from the hull.

The Hallberg-Rassy 46 Lykke dismasted during the 2017 ARC. Even after the rig had been cut away, the damaged guardrails, stanchions and metalwork create a hazard on deck. Photo: Stephan Mühlhause

Dos and Don’ts

• Do: Preserve everything you can – boom, lines, sails, blocks, clips etc. Rig loss claims are huge: ours was a £55,000 claim which didn’t include the boom or sails that we’d managed to conserve. Much more and the insurer would have considered writing the boat off.
• Do: Write an extensive plan of how you would get rid of your rig and talk through this plan in your crew safety briefing. Preassign roles to each person.
• Don’t: Be reticent in making rescue organisations aware of the situation. If a broken rig spar is going to go through the hull then help being on the way is better earlier than later.

Can you use rig cutting tools with one hand or will you be unable to hold on? Hydraulic cutters may be easiest.

Rig cutting options

• Hacksaws and multiple spare blades – highly effective on rod rigging
• High quality bolt croppers – effective on Dyform, but not effective on rods
• Hydraulic bolt croppers – effective on Dyform and rods
• Explosive rod and spar breakers – difficult to obtain in the UK
• High quality angle grinder – potentially useful for cutting rods and Dyform, but were found to be quickly effective on sails and Dyneema!
• Sharp, deck mounted safety knives
• High quality scissors

About the author

Susan Glenny is a commercial Ocean Yachtmaster and is school principal of Tigress Sport Sailing. She has skippered four transatlantic races and many offshore and inshore events in the Caribbean, Europe and Mediterranean. She leads Team Tigress and The Sirens Racing.

The post Dismasted at sea: What to do during and after a dismasting appeared first on Yachting World.