A Blustery Sail Across The Waddenzee
Yachting Monthly|Summer 2017

Gerben Bergsma gets to grips with his new boat on a rally from Harlingen to Terschelling.

A Blustery Sail Across The Waddenzee

Like many sailors, when the sailing season comes to an end and I can’t get out on the water, I turn to trawling yacht brokerage websites. I wistfully browse through adverts, looking for something that is both beautiful and afforadable. It’s a pleasant pastime. In 2013, a photo popped up and caught my eye.

Love at first sight

I saw a boat with stunning, slender contours and a hull of yellow ochre; a low coach roof adorns the elegant hull. An extremely sharp bow, a slight tumble home and a slipper stern, all in perfect proportion. She was clearly a very fast yacht, and I was falling in love.

I travelled to Korsor in Denmark for a closer look and had soon put in a bid. Before long, the boat was mine. Called Svala, she is a Safir 10-Metre. On the water she easily met my expectations, sailing extremely fast in almost all conditions and on all points of sail.

This story is from the Summer 2017 edition of Yachting Monthly.

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This story is from the Summer 2017 edition of Yachting Monthly.

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