Chris Tibbs on a Dream Atlantic Crossing and a Heavenly Caribbean Winter.
There is only one adjective that adequately describes our transatlantic crossing with the ARC last year and the season of Caribbean cruising that followed it: fantastic! The rally was my 26th crossing. I’ve raced across, cruised and done commercial deliveries before, but this was the first I had ever done aboard my own boat. I sailed with Helen, my wife (it was her fourth crossing) and two friends who, although very experienced sailors, were doing this for the first time. In December last year I wrote about our preparations in Yachting World. Now, a year later, it feels time to share our experiences and explain what went well and what didn’t.
On a cruising-to-racing scale of one to ten, I would put our efforts on the ARC at about four – slightly nearer cruising than racing. Our Wauquiez Centurion 40S, Taistealai, like most of the non-racing boats, was very heavy, being full of food, fuel, water, and cruising gear. This was noticeable in performance and the feel of the boat, but it is inevitable if the main reason for the passage is cruising at the other end. A few of the cruising class bought dinghies, outboards, and anchor chain in the Caribbean and went across on freeze dried food, but not us.
We kept the boat sailing at an average of 6-7 knots by regularly changing sails, hand steering, and generally keeping the boat moving but with a fairly conservative sailplan. We did two watches of two, which made for pretty easy sailing. Being two-up meant we could change sails without calling the off watch.
Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prÞveperiode pÄ Magzter GOLD for Ä fÄ tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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wallywind 110 launches
The first example of Wally Yacht's new wallywind performance cruising range launched this summer, during the iconic Italian brand's 30th anniversary year - and in time for its debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
Irish skipper wins Figaro
Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan took a historic victory in this year's La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, winning the solo multistage offshore race overall only the third non-French competitor ever to do so.
Youth AC puts on a show
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's team won the UniCredit Youth America's Cup after a highly absorbing series comprising 12 international teams racing the one-design AC40s off Barcelona.
ATLANTIC BEYOND
SAILING THE SECOND EXPLORATION 60 ON A WEST-TO-EAST ATLANTIC CROSSING WAS IDEAL FOR A RIGOROUS TEST OF GARCIA'S NEW NOWHERE YOU CAN'T GO FLAGSHIP
UNCONTROLLED
HELPLESSLY APPROACHING AN UNINHABITED ISLAND IN THE GALAPAGOS WITHOUT ENGINE OR ELECTRONICS, JON VAN TAMELEN FEARED BEING IMMINENTLY SHIPWRECKED
SECRET ISLAND
BEYOND THE FORBIDDING ENTRY RULES OF TAIWAN IS A CULTURE RICH IN SEAFARING HISTORY AND STUNNING LANDSCAPES, FINDS CAMERON DUECK
LAND OF THE BIRDS
SKIP NOVAK DESCRIBES THE PERILS, CHALLENGES AND JOYS OF A CRITICAL EXPEDITION VOAYGE TO SURVEY SOUTH GEORGIA'S ENDANGERED WANDERING ALBATROSS
FIRST STEPS TO BLUEWATER
YOU CAN GET INTO WORLD CRUISING FROM A STANDING START AND EXPERIENCE THINGS NO OTHER TRAVELLERS DO. CATHERINE LAWSON AND DAVID BRISTOW TALK TO FOUR COUPLES WHO PROVE IT
HARD CHOICES
IN AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM HER NEW BOOK, PIP HARE REVEALS WHAT DROVE HER ON WHILE RACING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN OCEAN IN THE 2020 VENDĂE GLOBE.
INTO BATTLE
COULD THIS BE THE MOST COMPETITIVE VENDĂE GLOBE EVER? HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT WHAT THE SKIPPERS WILL BE FACING.