Yachts & Yachting magazine June 2022

MANY YEARS AGO, a yachting journalist, I secured a job at the RYA in their marketing department. Perhaps the most disturbing part of my job was monitoring yachting forums to 'gauge the mood of the average sailor'. Quite frankly, it was a terrifying experience and I was dragged into a sort of black hole which seemed to be mostly populated by people who refer to their wife as SWMBO. Pent up fury seemed to abound on these forums and I noted over time that sailors were referred to in vaguely derogatory terms as 'raggies'. This intrigued me as it indicated that a group of boaters I generally looked down on also looked down on me. For sailors, looking down on powered boats is a tradition that goes back centuries. To…

An enthusiastic owner new to racing under sail and a crew of experienced sailors at their first J-Class regatta together proved a winning combination as Ranger clinched the Saint Barth’s Bucket J-Class title in March. Under America’s Cup-winning skipper Ed Baird, Ranger finished one point clear of Hanuman and Velsheda after four races at the French Caribbean island’s annual superyacht regatta. Ranger was built of steel in Denmark from 2002-3 as the first of the ‘replica’ Js, constructed to the original Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens lines of Harold Vanderbilt’s ‘Super J’ which won the 1937 America’s Cup 4-0 against Endeavour 2.…

SailGP finale is a thriller Tom Slingsby’s Australia SailGP Team won the $1m prize in the season’s grand final amid great drama on San Francisco Bay. It was the second overall victory for Slingsby and his team, who were the innaugural SailGP winners in the series’ first season. The Great Britain SailGP team, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, were second at the action-packed San Francisco event and finished the season fourth overall, after a high-speed collision at an earlier event put them down the rankings. Sir Ben’s team won $35,000 for coming second in the SailGP Impact League, which “rewards positive actions” in sustainable travel, tech, single-use plastic and communications. But it was the Australians’ day, Slingsby’s team prevailing over rivals Nathan Outteridge’s Japan and Jimmy Spithill’s United States. In difficult conditions and unpredictable racing, rookie…

easyBoat.com The founder of easyJet has launched easyBoat.com, a new price comparison website for yacht charter. Sir Stelios Hatjiioannou said: “As a keen yachtsman and fair-weather sailor myself I have no hesitation in recommending a holiday at sea with the privacy and independence of your very own yacht for the week!” Round the Island Race entry Entries are flooding in for the Round the Island Race on Saturday 25 June. The Island Sailing Club reports a high level of interest for the annual circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight, which thousands of sailors enjoy each year. roundtheisland.org.uk Helly supports RNLI Helly Hansen announced the continuation of its support of the RNLI’s Mayday campaign by donating 50% of all UK online sales during May to the charity, as it has done since 2018. Keeping up Emirates Team New…

“It does much to restore one’s own self-esteem...” When the inevitable capsize happens, it’s important to signal to opposing crews what your intention is. Here, the sailor still upright is taking a moment to indicate clearly to the fleet fast disappearing towards the next mark: “We’re okay, we’re going to get this boat turned the right side up and then we’re coming to kick your ****.” This notification is not strictly part of the Racing Rules of Sailing, but is now taught by leading coaches as a vital stage in the post-capsize playbook. Countering the sniggers from those who glance back at your misfortune, by shooting them a look while utilising the universally understood gesture demonstrated well here, does much to restore one’s own self-esteem and may just unnerve those ahead…

“F1 cars have a ‘halo’ around the cockpit to protect the driver in an impact” SailGP commentator Freddie Carr voiced the thoughts of millions of viewers during the San Francisco grand prix in March when the Spanish boat appeared to ride up onto the side of the USA boat, with helm Jimmy Spithill and crew just inches from the Spanish hull. “Hopefully everyone’s okay,” said Carr. Phew! It turned out they were. Sailboats coming together is never pretty, whatever the circumstances. A cross at six knots in a club regatta can be a heart-in-mouth moment. On SailGP’s supercharged foilers, pressing hard at up to 50 knots, the consequences of a serious collision don’t have to be explained. SailGP, let’s be clear, is a great thing. In terms of exposure and giving the excitement of…