There may be a good time and place to lose a rig and a large chunk of deck, but 130 miles off the north-west corner of Spain in a full gale on a pitch black night is definitely not it. Still, it could have been worse...
Zest is a 36ft one-off design by Rob Humphreys, built of strip cedar epoxy and launched in 1992. I bought her in January 2013 with the intention of competing in that year’s Original Single handed Transatlantic Race, but was unable to complete all the necessary work in time for the start.
Instead, my partner Rupert Holmes and I set about on a programme to prepare me for the 2017 OSTAR. By the end of summer 2015 we had cruised and raced her nearly 12,000 miles, mostly double-handed.
We set off from Cowes towards Lanzarote on 13 October. We were expecting an Atlantic low pressure to arrive around day 5, but the models were not agreeing on its path, so our passage plan provided for a number of contingencies with options to put into ports in Brittany, northern Spain or Portugal if needed.
FIRST IMPACT
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Yachting Monthly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Yachting Monthly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Midsummer on Hanö
This wonderful little island in the south-east of Sweden is a real gem off the beaten track
ADVENTURE SAILING TO HAITI
After spending two months in the Dominican Republic, Andy Brown sails west to Haïti bringing medical and school supplies to the town of Mole Saint Nicholas
In celebration of bad sailing
New owner Monty Halls tests his sailing skills with his family aboard their Colvic 34 ketch, Sobek. A recently qualified Day Skipper, Monty faces a few unexpected challenges...
Winter brings excitement and opportunity
Oddity’s double glazing, insulation and heating create a warm, homely environment as I bash out this column.
ADVENTURE MAISIE GOES TO GOES
To depart or not to depart? That is the question. Is it safer to stay, or suffer the wind and weather of a rough North Sea?
'MAYDAY, GRANDAD OVERBOARD!'
When David Richards and his grandson Henry went out racing from lowey, they didn't expect their sail to end with a lifeboat rescue
VERTUE
For a 25-footer, the Vertue has a huge reputation and has conquered every ocean. So what makes this little boat quite such an enduring success? Nic Compton finds out
Sailing siblings
Mabel Stock, her brother Ralph, a friend Steve and an unnamed paying passenger passed through the Panama Canal in December 1919 on the sturdy Norwegian cutter Ogre. They were towed to a quiet anchorage in Balboa away from the boat traffic but within rowing distance of the shore.
TECHNICAL MAINSAIL MODIFICATIONS
Safety and performance improved hugely when Mike Reynolds reduced the size of his mainsail and re-configured the systems controlling it
PILOTAGE DONE PROPERLY
Chartplotters are an amazing aid, but can detract from your real-world pilotage if not used with caution, says Justin Morton
