The Seabin Project is the brainchild of two Australian sailors and aims to make a dent in the sea of plastic in our oceans “one marina at a time”. Toby Hodges explains
Aussie sailors Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski show off their Seabin, which ‘hoovers’ up rubbish in marinas and ports
Dame Ellen MacArthur made headlines recently by quoting memorable statistics that included: “One refuse truck’s worth of plastic is dumped into the sea every minute”, which will result in there “being more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050”.
The problem of ocean pollution is already at a scale that is so hard to comprehend it can be daunting for people even to know where to start trying to help.
Perhaps automated ‘hoovers’ installed in the marinas where much of the plastic we insist on crippling our seas with originates, make a logical place to start to tackle this global problem. ‘Clean up the oceans, one marina at a time’ is Seabin’s slogan.
The Seabin Project is the brainchild of two Australian sailors and surfers. It’s basically a floating dustbin that collects rubbish, oil, fuel and detergents 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Designed for marinas, ports and yacht clubs initially – controlled environments without swell – one Seabin can pick up half a tonne of rubbish annually.
How it works
Seabin uses a dock-based water pump to create water flow, working like a fish tank aerator by pumping air to suck floating rubbish into the natural fibre mesh bag. The water can also be pumped through an oil/water separator to catch and filter out fuel, oil and detergents in the water.
The catch bag needs to be changed once every day or two, however the founders claim never to have caught a fish or marine animal in four years of product testing.
The Palma-based Aussies Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski developed a prototype before seeking crowdfunding in November. By January they had exceeded their target.
“We have a great facility set up at The Sea [in Palma] where we make nearly everything ourselves,” they said. “But for the first run of the Seabins we will need to outsource some components.”
“We are now in talks with a manufacturer/distributor,” Ceglinski told me following the crowdfunding success. “We hope to have the agreement signed by the end of next week. Then we will start the production phase.”
Spreading the word
Seabin is in negotiation with a European-based manufacturer for manufacturing and distribution. During the crowdfunding campaign the unit price was listed at US$3,825, but product details and final pricing will not be confirmed until June/July.
Perhaps more importantly the company is rapidly growing worldwide support. Its Facebook page already has 85,000 followers and its promo videos have been viewed over 120 million times.
One of the biggest goals of Turton and Ceglinski is to raise awareness about plastic in the ocean and how to create cleaner oceans. It’s about educating “people and cultures about being more responsible with the use and disposal of plastics”.
Studies have estimated there are now five trillion pieces of plastic in the world’s oceans, and 30 per cent of marine fish are considered to have plastic in their stomachs. No sailor can do too much to help.
This exciting new radar from Raymarine offers sharper, more defined images in a lighter, more efficient package. Toby Hodges investigates
Raymarine claims its new Quantum Chirp radome is the lightest and most efficient radar in its class. Chirp technology is used increasingly by marine manufacturers in echo sounders to increase target resolution when fishfinding.
The same benefits are applied to marine radar with this, the industry’s first compact recreational radome with Chirp pulse compression technology. This produces sharper, more defined images by sending out variable frequencies simultaneously.
Raymarine’s development is arguably of more interest to sailors for its weight-saving though. The 18in Quantum weighs around 50 per cent less than traditional magnetron radars. It is also a market leader in terms of power consumption and ease of installation.
What’s in the box?
At the launch Raymarine revealed the guts inside: a new solid-state circuit board compared with the metallic innards of a magnetron radar, emphasising the weight saving. The Quantum radome weighs 5.6kg.
Although there is still a spinning part inside the radome – the circuit board itself revolves – it is the information produced to send out the radar pulse that has changed.
The promised range at both ends of the scale is another benefit of this technology. The Quantum can reveal echoes from just 18ft up to 24nm away. “It has much better close-range resolution, but without the worry of big bang echoes,” says Raymarine’s head of corporate marketing, Fiona Pankhurst.
Why it makes sense
Integrated wi-fi allows Raymarine’s Quantum to network directly to multifunction displays, and simplifies installation by eliminating the need for additional radar cabling. The cable through the mast is just 7mm in diameter.
Quantum also benefits from safe emissions and minimal warm-up time like broadband radome types. Pankhurst says the benefit over these radars is that the Chirp model won’t suffer any interference from magnetron radar echoes.
Modern broadband-type radars have a reputation for not being as reliable at picking up weather and squalls than magnetron radars, owing to their lower power output – magnetron types have a far larger peak output. Raymarine insists this is something it has addressed with the Quantum.
A look inside the case. Note the solid state circuit board (top right, yellow) instead of metallic parts
“It is something we spent a lot of time on,” says Raymarine’s VP of engineering Gordon Pope, “making sure we get the right pulse length – as that is something we can vary because it’s not continuous – so we can get more energy at shorter ranges, for example.”
“It’s not all about the power put out, it’s about the fidelity of the signal,” adds Raymarine’s head of product management Chris Jones. There is a ‘weather mode’, which Pope is confident will “provide the level we are used to with magnetron types”. You can turn this weather mode off if you wish.
Power consumption is a further draw, at 30 per cent less than the competition, maintains Raymarine, or just half the power of a Raymarine magnetron radar (17W transmit and 7W standby). This could encourage users to keep their radar on for longer periods without worrying about needing to turn on an engine or genset.
The size of the radome is still very similar to past models, hence its installation footprint and price remain the same.
We asked a number of active bluewater cruisers what bit of gear they carry under £500 that they wouldn’t be without on a long cruise
Peter Forbes
Amel 54 Carango
Currently undertaking a circumnavigation with World ARC. After a career in aviation, engineering and manufacturing, Forbes examined and tested a series of bluewater yachts from Discovery, Hallberg-Rassy, Oyster and others before settling on an Amel 54 for his circumnavigation. He has two favourite bits of gear:
Mobmat
“For our favourite gear it’s a close run contest between the Mobmat for the recovery of a man overboard and the Echomax radar enhancer (below). The Mobmat is well packaged and hangs unobtrusively on the rail and would probably be the only way a man overboard could be recovered without sustaining serious injury in a high sea.”
Key features: Simple, effective MOB recovery solution for a short-handed crew. The semi-rigid lifting cradle connects to a halyard to lift a casualty back aboard.
“This radar enhancer and passive detector saves using a radar and gives a very long-range warning of your yacht being ‘swept’ by a third party radar – essential on long passages while trying to conserve electrical power.”
Key features: works like the SeaMe device by actively enhancing radar pulses, but on both X and S bands. It is compact, light and thin and has a current draw of just 23mA on standby.
The Battens have owned a number of yachts including the Steve Dalzell-designed 45ft wood epoxy cutter Avocet of Ryme.
Alcedo was designed by Chris Stimson and built by Martyn Brake in Dorset using a strip plank system for the canoe body and an unusual flat-pack kit of composite panels for the topsides.
At the time of writing they had 1,630 miles still to sail across the Pacific. They chose two favourites.
Navtex receiver
David reports: “Absolutely marvellous in the Atlantic and Med, if a little limited in the Pacific as we are out of range here.
“We are currently using a Furuno Navtex, which is said to be very good, but it has the most appalling user interface. My previous Navtex was a NASA Pro, which was truly excellent and I think the best value of them all.”
Key features: low cost, simple to use and install, and consumes just 40mA.
“Really useful – so much so that we have two! Not only can you change the engine oil, but we use it for sucking up anything we find in the inaccessible bits of the bilge. It has revolutionised our lives – we now keep a dry boat most of the time.”
Key features: a manual pump creates a vacuum to suck up liquids, including fuel and oil, into a calibrated container.
The Frews have sailed for more than 30 years, initially in the Solent and then chartering abroad on holiday. In 2011 they bought Juno, since when they have sailed over 40,000 miles, including two Mediterranean circuits, two Atlantic crossings and most recently with the World ARC across the Pacific to Australia.
They point to the IsatPhone 2 satphone as an essential.
IsatPhone 2 satellite phone
“Other than coastal hopping, I wouldn’t go to sea without my handheld satphone. It’s all very well having flares, EPIRBs and other emergency equipment, but offshore the ability to speak to someone at Falmouth Coastguard gives me great comfort.
“I like the Inmarsat network so I have an IsatPhone 2. I test it regularly as part of my offshore checklist and it seems to work fine – although never used in anger, I am pleased to say.”
Key features: tracking and paging ability, plus a dedicated, user-programmable emergency button. It also has Bluetooth for hands-free use.
The Lytles sail a 20-year-old Bowman, which has been based in the Eastern Caribbean for the past 14 years, having crossed the Atlantic via the Canaries and Cape Verdes in 2002. Since 1976 the majority of their spare time has been spent cruising with two sons who now both earn their living on the sea. They are fans of AIS.
Comar CSB200 AIS
“An AIS transmitter and receiver should be a must for cruising yachts. Ships get prior warning of your presence long before they get a radar echo – we have had ships altering course for us 40 miles away.
“Plus you have the name of all the AIS transmitting ships and yachts, and can call them up. Friends and family can also keep track of you on Marine Traffic.
“Our Comar CSB200 interfaces with our nav software. We also have a separate tuned antenna for it at the masthead, which has given us a 60-mile range. From being the only small yacht with AIS they are now everywhere in big numbers.”
Key features: low-cost AIS Class B transponder that connects to PCs or chartplotters. Price ex VAT £499. www.comarsystems.com
Stuart and Anne Letton
Island Packet 45, Time Bandit
This couple bought their first boat together in their teens. Now armed with an Island Packet 45 they have crossed the Atlantic four times, cruised to the Lofotens and are currently on the first part of a circumnavigation.
Raymarine 500 AIS
“Other than collision avoidance the AIS allows more relaxed overnight watch keeping when short-handed and when far enough offshore not to have small fishing craft appearing. My Raymarine 500 is linked to my plotter,” says Stuart.
Key features: Raymarine has discontinued the Class B 500 set and replaced it with the AIS650 (pictured). This dual-channel transceiver allows vessels to transmit and receive navigation data for overlaying on a chartplotter.
The Dyers ran their boat for skippered charter out of Plymouth before equipping her for long-term cruising. They are currently in New Zealand, having sailed there with the World ARC, a voyage they have been planning for the last decade.
Vesper WM850 AIS
“We recommend AIS transponders in general. Ours is the Vesper WM850, but the new 8000 black box version with wi-fi looks superb and is lower cost.”
Key features: high AIS performance at a low cost, this model includes an integral display for viewing AIS targets, and collision avoidance is aided by audible alarms.
Bones and Anna have both sailed from childhood and live aboard a 1982 Bowman 57, mixing their time doing ocean passages and private charter. Winter is spent in the Caribbean or further afield and summers in the UK.
Their choice of kit would always be safety gear:
Ocean Safety Kru Sport Pro
“Always safety first, we would not go to sea without a lifejacket and lifeline. We use Kru Sport Pro lifejackets from Ocean Safety with hood and light, and we find them very comfortable.”
Key features: 180N buoyancy in a waistcoat-style jacket with inspection window to check the cylinder and a PLB pocket.
Price £129.95 for the automatic inflation version without harness. www.oceansafety.com
This Swedish company offers a new concept of an aluminium hull with bespoke interior. Does it work? asks Toby Hodges
Buying a new yacht? Generally, you have the choice of a production boat or going the more adventurous custom route. For a superyacht you might employ a project manager to help you through from design to build, to fit-out and trials. At the less fanciful end of the scale it’s more a case of finding a design you like within your budget from a production yard, or braving the bespoke route alone if you can’t.
Adventure Yachts brings some of that big boat mentality to a smaller scale. It’s a new business that neatly fills that grey area between production and full custom builds, by project managing builds using select specialist subcontractors. And it has started by building an enticing 55-footer.
Intrigued? We certainly were when we had the chance to sail her from La Rochelle.
The 55 is a bare aluminium cruiser that is built and fitted out by various specialist yards under the management of Adventure Yachts. The result is a quality bluewater yacht with a bespoke interior.
Photos: Bertel Kolthof
The concept is the brainchild of Swedish sailor Bo Gummeson, who has a business history in mechanical components and hydraulics. Initially Gummeson planned to build a yacht for him and his wife. “But then I thought it would be more interesting to find a market for this idea,” he says.
The hull was welded and insulated in Germany, where the machinery was also installed. It was then trucked to Sweden for fit-out at Orust Yacht Service (OYS), which owns the former Najad shipyard.
The reason to subcontract to multiple yards is that Gummeson believes that no single company can be specialised enough in all areas.
“We started with what we wanted in an aluminium cruiser,” Gummeson explains. “She had to be fast, with a deep, lifting keel, with Delta lines and a long waterline length.”
He also wanted low maintenance, and for that, aluminium is king.
Luxury in metal
It seems bare aluminium is back in vogue. Some of the most desirable new bluewater cruisers are aluminium and I have often been surprised that more bluewater cruisers don’t choose metal yachts – although the imminent launch of the new Bestevaer Pure 45, plus Garcia’s expanding Exploration range will offer greater choice in this material.
Aluminium is light, strong and corrosion proof (when correctly treated); it requires no maintenance and, unlike glassfibre and resin, it is recyclable. Aluminium hulls are formidably durable. They also provide a comparatively unrestricted shell into which to design your choice of internal layout.
Gummeson stresses that the boat is largely customisable. “The cockpit, superstructure, transom and keel are some examples where we are able to change the outer design. The inner design is only limited by the watertight bulkheads forward and aft.”
The AY55 costs €1.8m inc VAT (£1.4m) – which Gummeson says is pitched at the same price range as the Najad 570 and fitted out at the same shipyard. “But we have included everything,” he adds. It is, however, hard to compare prices when you consider the after-sales service and resale value.
Berckemeyer Yacht Design’s Martin Menzner did the naval architecture for the concept. The hull has an appealing, long, low, modern shape, with beamy aft chined sections and a powerful sailplan.
The inherent stability of this shape is further bolstered by a deep telescopic T-keel – somewhat of a novelty for a bluewater aluminium cruiser, the majority of which have swing keels. Plus her substantial two 1,100lt freshwater tanks can also be used as water ballast.
The need for speed
“For me it was very important to have a good sailing boat, with a fast hull,” explains Gummeson. This focus on performance goes some way to explaining the generous sailplan, which includes a square-top main and laminate sails.
These carbon tape-on-Spectra UK Sails have double taffeta skins to make them more durable, creating a performance cruising suit that “will last eight to ten years,” according to the UK Sails rep.
I was taken by the rig, which is designed and set up like an Open-style racer. So the mast is positioned relatively far aft, creating a powerful area for the non-overlapping cutter foresails, and it is easy to change through the gears from the cockpit while short-handed.
This mainsail provides power up high, which helped her match the light winds we experienced, while the single-line reefing system, combined with efficient running backstays, makes it easy to depower. The genoa and self-tacking jib are on furlers and a large bowsprit aids the setting of flying sails. It’s a superb set-up for enjoying and maximising sailing time when short-handed.
We may not have had the conditions to test the bulletproof potential her raw looks suggest, but the gentle Force 3 was ideal for showing off this performance aspect of her rig and sails.
We were able to maintain 6 knots both upwind and down, the latter reaching with the aid of a generous asymmetric kite in just six knots of dying breeze.
Axel Nissen-Lie, a European Yacht of the Year colleague and editor of Seilas magazine in Norway, sailed the AY55 for 150 miles from Orust to Oslo and confirmed my opinion that she sails more like a performance yacht than a bluewater cruiser. He averaged 9.2 knots over a 50-mile reach. “I have sailed many boats built for long trips, but none has impressed me as much under sail,” he told me.
Nissen-Lie says she can be heavy on the helm when powered up. Equally, during the light conditions we experienced, there was little sensation through the chain steering – perhaps not surprising when you consider the sizeable twin rudders that are designed to help take the load if she is beached.
The cockpit is particularly well laid out for short-handed sailing, with sheets, halyards and running backstays led to six powered winches within reach of the wheels. These electric hydraulic Andersen winches have proportional control. This means they are torque-sensitive to the touch, allowing for instant full power or gradual winding speed.
Hot on hydraulics
Gummeson worked for a hydraulics company for eight years, hence commercial spec hydraulic systems are employed throughout, including for the keel, windlasses, winches, vang and furlers. “There are too many bad solutions in the marine market, so I wanted to do it properly,” Gummeson explains.
All these hydraulic demands are power-hungry though – the AY55 has a 4x4kW 24V Powerpack motor, plus genset, inverter and 720ah of AGM house batteries.
The forward end of the cockpit provides good protection thanks to a combination of deep benches, a fixed windscreen and a sprayhood supported by the mainsheet arch. The arch keeps the mainsheet clear of the cockpit and yet provides standing headroom in the cockpit. The cockpit sole is lined with cork, which felt comfortable underfoot, looked smart and had no stains.
The side decks are wide, the guardrails extra high and there are chunky toerails. Gummeson has employed a neat solution on the inside edge of the bulwarks – Ronstan tracks allow harness lines to be clipped onto cars and slide freely from bow to stern.
The hydraulically operated door to the tender garage, with substantial rubber gasket, is a telling sign of how solidly the AY55 is built. It even has cleats on the outboard end for tying the dinghy to. The volume here is enough for a 3.10m RIB with a 9.9hp outboard mounted. Gummeson admits that they “built a 40ft boat on a 55ft hull”.
Swedish comforts
The quality mahogany interior of the AY55 is reminiscent of Najad, which is not surprising when you remember it is fitted out by the same yard. “We decided to make this very much like a Najad because that’s the best level of interior you can get,” Gummeson explains. “But you can obviously have it as minimal as you like.”
The raised saloon and two-cabin layout, designed for two liveaboards, feels generous in size, including a coachroof providing plenty of natural light. Instead of a second aft cabin, for example, there is a full workshop abaft the passageway galley, plus an office and a laundry forward. But with the ends surrendered to tender and sail stowage, the internal volume does feel compressed.
Future owners have the scope to change the layout completely. Adventure training types might prefer a series of bunk cabins forward, for instance. Certainly a Pullman cabin in place of the office, with a chart table within reach of the companionway, might have more universal appeal.
The box for the lifting keel is concealed neatly at the forward end of the saloon. The saloon is compact, however, and the sole too low to see out of the coachroof windows. Again this is a matter of individual choice.
“We tried to keep easy access to everything,” says Gummeson. He pressed a button and the saloon floor rose like the bonnet of a pimped-up muscle car to reveal the engine. Once Gummeson decided on an air compressor to lift the large flat-screen TV, he used pneumatic cylinders for a range of pushbutton trickery aboard, including for the companionway hatch and ballast valve. Even the office chair swings out to the pleasant ‘psssht’ sound of forced air.
Other than easing the manual workload, an air compressor can be useful aboard for inflating the dinghy, paddleboards, fenders and even to provide air to dive with under the hull – although a pneumatically controlled chair is perhaps over the top.
Back to the engine, which is mounted centrally for optimum weight distribution and, thanks to the lifting floorboards, has all-round access. The rest of the machinery, including genset and banks of electronics, is meticulously installed in the aft workroom – as well as a proper workbench with vice and a view through the hull window.
The AY55 is a fusion of different boatbuilding worlds: production and custom yachts; bluewater and performance cruising; a stark metal hull with Swedish refined interior. It’s a clever business concept and a clever boat. Some might argue it feels a bit too clever, somewhat OTT in some of the hydraulic and pneumatic systems – more like a showboat in fact, but then I guess that is what it is.
The performance hull design and rig are superb. Her fit-out could be lighter, but she is still around six tonnes lighter than a similar-sized Hallberg-Rassy or Najad and has much larger tanks. The large tender garage perhaps monopolises too much interior volume in this version.
But I really like it – for its individuality, its inclusion of different ideas, from pneumatic solutions to safety rails, to the protected cork-soled cockpit. As Bo Gummeson says: “The fun stuff is to design and build it… this is the small superyacht way of doing things.”
The question is, will others share his vision or would they rather do a custom job themselves? At least they now have the choice, the ideal platform, a proven boat that they can see and touch, before deciding on a bespoke interior built by Swedish masters of their craft.
After three decades of producing light and innovative custom yachts, this Italian yard is developing a new ‘prêt-a-porter’ concept. Toby Hodges investigates
Vismara Marine has always been an exciting, fresh and different company. Its yachts are fast, light and inspirational designs. To look at the history of this Italian custom yacht specialist is to track the timeline of the modern cruiser-racer. And looking at its models today offers insight into where yacht design is headed. Here is a firm that is consistently ahead of its time.
Over the past three decades Vismara Marine has launched over 130 custom yachts from its Viareggio yard, many of which are now regarded as iconic designs. Names such as Pistrice, Alligator and Kiribilli resonate because of the way they combine style and function, able to win on the racecourse despite carrying a cruising interior.
News that Vismara is expanding with the launch of its first series-produced model, the V50 prêt-à-porter encouraged us to travel to Italy for a test sail – see our boat test HERE.
Viareggio is the nucleus of Italian boatbuilding. A visit to this Tuscan town near Pisa guarantees a moment of disbelief when first you see the tops of flybridges and multi-spreader rigs towering above the skyline of the town centre buildings. Some of the powerhouses of superyachting reside in disproportionate scale within Viareggio’s modest centre, including Benetti, Perini Navi and Azimut. And nestled into its bustling waterfront lies this rather special yard, Vismara Marine.
The man behind the brand
Vismara’s visionary is the name behind the brand, designer and founder Alessandro Vismara. Vismara studied naval architecture in Southampton and worked at Perini Navi as chief of naval construction before opening his own design studio. He helmed his first three-quarter ton design, Lace Wing, to victory at Cowes Week and the Italian Championships.
While Vismara dedicated the 1980s to designing IOR racers, for him the 1990s were all about ‘beautiful boats’.
“We decided we could make a company dedicated to giving to cruising people the right to sail properly like the racing guys,” he says. The Nineties saw a surge in clients who wanted minimalist interiors: no teak; and white painted throughout. These were state of the art boats built in light composite construction, some with radical features such as canting keels and wingmasts.
Up until 2003 Vismara designed for other builders and built for other designers at the Marine Services yard. But then he decided “to create a brand and be responsible for the cycle of design, production and resale”. Vismara Marine was born.
Alessandro Vismara trained up Polish workers in Viareggio before helping to establish Rega Yachts in Poland. Since 2002, all Vismara hulls have been built at Rega, and today the Polish yard laminates hulls for a variety of brands including Mylius, Comar and, most recently, Michael Schmidt Yachtbau.
This shared construction relationship helps explain why Vismara was so busy during our visit. Hulls arrive at Viareggio either bare, or fitted with furniture, and to a very impressive level of finish. “Until now we averaged two to four boats a year, 100 per cent tailor-made,” says Vismara. “The new business plan is to keep that range of custom boats and to grow the prêt-à-porter side. We think in two years’ time we can be up to ten boats a year.”
What’s in the yard?
New builds and refits spilt out of the yard’s lofty sliding doors. Indeed, a powerful-looking new Vismara Mills 56 cruiser was due to be christened the day after our visit. There were also two new V62s, a 50ft custom Vismara and the second V50 in the shed, plus five Baltic Yachts refits from 50-80ft.
As well as working closely with Baltic Yachts for nearly three decades, Vismara has worked with some of the industry’s leading design firms, including Farr, Judel- Vrolijk and Bill Tripp. Its latest collaborations are with Mark Mills, who Vismara rates highly for his vision, dedication and enthusiasm.
When listing the designs his yard has produced over the years (see below), Vismara described the Mills-designed V62 SuperNikka as his ‘perfect boat’. A Vismara, he says, is all about CFD-analysed design, pre-preg hulls and composite interiors that form part of the boat. He believes in keeping interiors light and avoiding heavy, complicated systems.
SuperNikka
Vismara produced a fully hybrid 50-footer six years ago, radical still today. “We have always tried to push clients to a more modern, current approach – while creating the commercial value by trying to avoid fancy requests,” declares Vismara. “Why are we good at custom? We are good at listening and understanding.”
A custom approach
“I love the preliminary stages – to learn about the client, to create a relationship,” Vismara explains. “But now owners don’t like so many meetings – everyone is time poor. Plus they are scared to make an error.”
Radical modern interior of Luce Guida
Vismara is still very much a yard focused on custom builds, but the decision was recently made to invest in creating a ‘prêt-à-porter’ line of female-moulded yachts. “Many clients don’t have the experience to buy a custom boat now,” Vismara maintains, adding that the new line of boats “use the same high technology, but are built in a standardised design and promoted through a network of dealers”.
As well as the V50, the yard is creating more prêt-à-porter production models off the back of custom projects. The radical V62 SuperNikka, is a very current example. She launched last year and won the Mini Maxi worlds. A mould has since been taken with the chine smoothed out, and two more V62s were in the yard at fit-out stage.
Past iconic Vismara models include yachts such as Kiribilli, a 60ft ‘maxi’ developed with Renzo Piano, and the 54ft fast cruiser Brizella. But this V50 is the start of a fresh new era, “a type of boat that has not existed before”.
Iconic designs
Pistrice – a V40 launched in 1992. Designed for IMS racing – “the first real proof that you can win races like the Sardinia Cup with a cruising boat, and that you could sail like a racer,” declares Vismara. She won the IMS Italian Championships and Champagne Mumm Cup in 1993.
Kirribilli – the green and gold flush-decked 60ft design was developed with Renzo Piano as a fast cruiser with mini-maxi characteristics. Launched in 2001.
Credit: Emilio Bianchi
Dragon 2 – ‘Gold Dragon’ – “Totally Vismara, with a minimalistic very current design,” comments Vismara. Striking features include her wraparound coachroof windows, gold and red styling and a central engine under the saloon table.
Credit: Eliseo d’Agostino
Luce Guida – a state-of-the-art V80 designed by Luca Dini. Built for the Princess of Kuwait, this has one of the most radically different interiors I have ever seen., as shown opposite.
With her plethora of sunbathing options on deck, the Jeanneau 54 may look like a yacht designed for anchoring in placid seas, but what’s she like in a blow at sea?
One look at the deck configuration would lead most people to presume the Jeanneau 54 is a hedonists’ yacht, one for the sun worshippers anchored in warm climes. Indeed my first thought on arriving at Cannes on the morning of our test was that, with her sunbed on the swim platform and foredeck, this Jeanneau 54 would quickly be out of her depth outside the harbour, where the tops of waves were being shredded to white caps.
If ever there was a yacht that invites the proverb ‘never judge a book by its cover’ though, it’s this Jeanneau 54. As per the larger 64 (see the full test report here) also designed by Philippe Briand and Andrew Winch, these new large Jeanneaus are deceptively manageable for their size in a blow.
It is worth noting that the Jeanneau 54’s exceedingly alluring base price of €336,000 rose to over €500,000 (ex VAT) on both versions I sailed. The Cannes test boat had more modcon options than in most family homes.
There is a good reason behind this. Jeanneau wanted to make a simple, but smart base boat for charter purposes, but one that could be dressed up with options for private owners.
Once again Jeanneau has set the bar high with a new yacht that combines practicality, affordability and a touch of elegance. I have never found so many comfortable places aboard a production yacht – even when heeled over in a blow.
See the full report in our July 2016 issue, out now.
This sturdy cruiser might look like a sun worshipper’s paradise, but she has hidden depths, says Toby Hodges after he tested her in a gale
All photos: Paul Wyeth
Powerful gusts dispersed plumes of spray from the bow, making the whitewater explosions appear even more dramatic as the Jeanneau 54 positively ripped through the seas off Cannes in March.
As we dialled downwind into the comparatively flatter water of the bay, as if on a wild fairground ride slowing to a halt, I gradually came to my senses, arms aching from gripping the wheel, ears ringing, rinsed out by the wind.
The teak on the side decks glistened after its intense saltwater dousing, and calm was temporarily restored.
The large motorboat chasing us finally caught up. Photographer Paul Wyeth was on the flybridge signalling us to go about, to head back out to sea – he wanted another chance at a great photograph with the fortified monastery as a backdrop.
Back upwind into a gale to repeat the whole thing again? I glanced at my two somewhat damp crewmembers, but met looks of unwavering enthusiasm. No problem, let’s go!
The Jeanneau 54 is a smaller sister to the 64 that launched two years ago and she shares many of the flagship’s features as she was drawn by the same superyacht design team of Philippe Briand and Andrew Winch. See our test of the Jeanneau 64 here.
One look at the deck configuration would lead most people to presume she is a hedonists’ yacht, one for the sun worshippers anchored in placid seas and warm climes. Indeed my first thought on arriving at the port that morning was that, with sunbeds on the swim platform and foredeck, this Jeanneau would quickly be out of her depth outside the harbour, where the waves were being shredded to white caps.
If ever there was a yacht that invites the proverb ‘never judge a book by its cover’, this is it. While the fleet of motorboats assembled for Jeanneau’s global press trials all remained moored stern-to in the sanctuary of the old port, the company’s sailboat product director Erik Stromberg simply shrugged and said: “Ready when you are.”
His relaxed manner helped instil me with confidence in the boat. He has put enough miles in on large Jeanneaus to know they are deceptively manageable in a blow.
Into the teeth of a gale
I was surprised to note that none of those cushions were removed, nor in fact did any of them really move during our windy trial sail. And with furling sails, transformation time from at rest to full sailing mode is minimal.
With the equivalent of a deep reef in the in-mast mainsail and three rolls in the 106 per cent genoa, we power-reached around the Bay of Cannes, regularly at double-figure speeds. And it was really howling when we headed out to sea later that afternoon, where we met 35 knots and sharp seas round the back of the Lerin islands.
As conditions got a little spicy off the monastery, we spun the 54 around to return with the 1.5m waves – and bang, she absolutely powered up.
On one downhill run, we raised full main to sail full bore on a broad reach with the swell. At 12 knots this 17-tonne yacht starts to plane. When we slid onto a wave we could clock up to 14 knots. Not the sort of family cruising she is intended for, granted, but as a prospective owner I would be a lot happier knowing she could handle the rough stuff well, even when pressed.
It is a testament to Briand’s modern hull shape that she remains in her comfort zone and is fun to sail. Although over-canvassed for the benefit of the photos, the 54 still demonstrated respectable behaviour and stability. There was quite a load on the wheel, but her hefty spade rudder gave reassuring purchase. I should have taken all this for granted perhaps, having tested the larger 64 during two days of Mistral.
Shelter for cruising
Then comes the pièce de resistance: when sailing the 54 in a stiff breeze, move forward from the helm to a sheltered spot under the sprayhood, take a seat on the comfortable chaise longue and it’s quite a different story. It’s like putting noise-cancelling headphones on during take-off. Peace and tranquillity is restored in an instant.
You could be fighting biting wind-against-tide conditions and still find comfort and protection within the calming embrace of this sprayhood. It has 6ft 1in clearance and, with, large clear panels, it’s a practical option that more than makes up for the relatively low cockpit coamings. And as the sprayhood extends far aft, you can leave the companionway open without fear of drenching the interior.
The winch configuration will certainly not suit everyone. From the helm you can reach the manual primaries, but not the mainsheet winches – and winches both sides are too close together and too far outboard to use comfortably manually.
Jeanneau looked at siting the primaries inboard, but chose this set-up because of its developments with Assisted Sail Trim (AST), a new system that automatically tacks sheets using electric reversible winches – so keeping winches out of the cockpit made sense. Electric winches and an autopilot might also ease the issues, but it’s a pity to have to rely on push button power.
Going forward there is no obvious way to access the side decks from the cockpit – it’s either aft over the primary lead, or a large step over the coaming from a cockpit bench. I was surprised to find how far forward on the boom the mainsheet attachment is. However, I was assured the boom has an appropriately over-sized section to cope with stress loads.
Jeanneau uses a bridle mainsheet system with a block on each side of the coachroof, which is sheeted back to the aft cockpit winches, an increasingly common method on large cruising yachts. “A traveller doesn’t have too much function on a large cruising boat,” reasons Stromberg. “What you do need to have is a very good boom vang to keep the boom down, though.”
Home from home comfort
Many of the design features of the Jeanneau 54 centre on providing home comfort. She really is an incredibly comfortable boat at rest. The decision not to have a tender garage means there are multiple areas to relax in, starting with a proper aft terrace.
I have ‘tested’ this terrace with a drink in the sun in flat seas in Italy and can report that its position so close to the water, with unimpeded sea views, is second to none.
This platform folds inboard at the push of a button with integrated space for the cushions to store neatly inside. The retractable davits are a smart solution that takes care of a tender up to 120kg, but it is an option that needs to be built into the hull structure because of the depth and reinforcement required.
The cockpit benches are among the longest you will find on a production yacht – a whopping 3.4m – complete with luxurious aft-facing chaise longue with drinks holders. Factor in the double sunbed on the foredeck, with its own bimini, and you’ll see a healthy nod to motorboat-style deck comfort.
The cockpit table is large, suitable for six or eight guests, with an optional coolbox in the forward end. And I like the way that, rather than waste the space underneath the table, Jeanneau has designed the liferaft stowage into the after end – an easy place to access and launch it from.
Options for the masses
Beware the optional extras – all those fancy cushions and home comforts come at a cost. The 54’s exceedingly alluring base price of €340,700 rose to over €500,000 (ex VAT) on both versions I sailed. The Cannes test boat had a Code 0, teak decks, electric bathing platform, sun loungers, cushions, sprayhood and bimini, plus instruments, wine fridge, washer-dryer, dishwasher, genset, aircon, flatscreen TV etc – more modcons than in most family homes, in fact.
There is a good reason behind this. Jeanneau wanted to make a simple, but smart base boat for charter purposes, but one that could be dressed up with options for private owners. One third of the 50 54s already sold have gone into the charter market, above the 20 per cent expected.
“This is basically the last size segment for charter,” Stromberg explains. “This kitted up is €500,000 – you can’t get a catamaran below that – but over that everyone moves to cats.” He tells me that the 54 has the dual task of seducing private owners too with a luxury feel. “There were cycles of boats [of various brands] built for charter in the past that had no spark.”
The interior of the 54 is light, spacious and inviting, especially compared with the 53, which has fizzled out of the range now. The high cockpit helps create generous aft cabin space and room for a deep sump and bilge – more akin to a raised saloon.
The layout is particularly versatile with options for two, three, four or even five cabins, the latter to suit the charter market. The forward cabin can be split in half lengthways with a soft bulkhead, and a Pullman cabin can be chosen instead of the aft heads. The owner versions with two or three cabins work well, by providing generous cabins and a good-sized galley.
A choice of teak or oak finish is offered, although all bar one of the 40 owners of the 64 has chosen oak. Like the 64, the 54 carries many of Andrew Winch’s intricate styling details, including the use of leather with smart stitching, linen and solid wood.
The 54 has to stand out in a more competitive market place, however. “The goal was to do something on the level of the 64, but at one-third the price,” says Stromberg. The 17-tonne 54 is half the weight of the 64.
It is the largest Jeanneau to have an injection deck, which both saves weight and, together with a cored hull, makes for a noticeably quiet interior with little movement when under way.
“At this size owners are looking for overall value for money,” says Stromberg realistically. “It needs to be reflected in the product or they’ll go elsewhere.”
An aft galley
Jeanneau has taken many of the ideas used in the 64 and extended them to suit a smaller size. “We decided not to have an owner’s aft cabin option, but a VIP solution,” Stromberg explains. Jeanneau was attempting to make the 54 less multi-layered by doing away with a bridgedeck.
Before you think how spacious the saloon looks, remember it’s not sharing the central space with the galley on the test boat. This is the seventh hull built and the first with the aft galley layout, designed to suit requests from couples for two cabins.
The resultant galley, complete with all the stowage and white goods you could wish or budget for, is typically forward thinking of Jeanneau. It’s light and airy, with a large hull portlight, 6ft 3in headroom and plenty of worksurface. And it’s different – I’ve never seen an aft galley instead of an aft cabin on a production yacht before.
Unfortunately the step into the galley is a little too far aft, presenting a sharp corner on which to bang your head on entering. Angles and tight cabin entrances are some of the few negatives in the interior – I’d also like to see larger engine access panels on a yacht of this size.
By moving the galley aft, plenty of stowage space is gained in the saloon. There is also a full-size dedicated navstation to starboard on all layout options.
Forward cabin
A properly luxurious cabin, this has a big entrance with an island berth. A linen headboard, leather lining, carpets, leather panels on doors and dual blinds create a distinctive look.
Andrew Winch wanted to be able to sit on the berth against the forward bulkhead and be able to see out of the hull portlight – though it was a challenge for Briand in terms of structure to place hull windows so far forward.
But it does mean this cabin is a real selling point for the boat.
Aft cabin
Jeanneau describes it as a ‘VIP cabin’, a term which sounds a little grand. It’s a good aft double cabin with en-suite access, a hull port and some extra headroom created by having no cockpit locker above.
It’s inviting, but marred by an entrance that feels too constrictive for this size of boat.
Jeanneau is the all-rounder of the production yacht market. Over the last decade its models have consistently offered tasteful styling, good performance, high build quality and value for money. It’s the benchmark against which other production builders can be compared.
And once again Jeanneau has set the bar high with a yacht that combines practicality, affordability and a touch of elegance. I have never found so many comfortable positions to sit on one boat before – making a boat comfortable helps keep a happy crew.
Some might argue she is a little over-engineered, complicated and heavy. But in my opinion that does not unduly affect her sailing performance. I won’t pretend the 54’s performance is electric, nor need it be. A modern Jeanneau is versatile, with the ability to continue sailing in as little as five knots of wind with the help of a code sail and to keep punching with a kindly motion through the heavy stuff.
The Jeanneau 54 has plenty of power, yet delivers in the full range of conditions. And with 30 knots of wind over the deck, it was great to come in under the shelter of that sprayhood and be totally protected.
So if being comfortable whatever the weather is at the top of your list, then so should this latest yacht from Jeanneau.
Toby Hodges introduces the Kraken 66, first in a range of three models for bluewater cruising built in China
Kraken is a new brand designed in New Zealand and built in China, founded by two experienced British businessmen and sailors in Hong Kong. They are marketing a particularly competitively priced range of bluewater cruisers.
The first three models, drawn by Dibley Marine, are a 50, 58 and 66, which will be built at Hansheng in Xiamen, a yard that builds for many other brands, including Passport Yachts.
The first Kraken is the flagship, a 66 called White Dragon for chairman Dick Beaumont, and is nearing completion.
Beaumont decided to concentrate his 100,000 sea miles of experience, earned cruising the world aboard his previous 58-footer, Moonshadow, over eight years, into a new range of specialist cruisers.
“When the wind is over 35 knots these yachts will look after you; not the other way round,” says Beaumont. “The Kraken has a rig and deck layout designed to make short-handed sailing easy and enjoyable.”
No corners cut
Kraken has taken a belt and braces approach to the build, not least with the keel, which is fully encapsulated and its lead ballast moulded into the hull. It also has glassfibre and Kevlar laminate reinforcements.
The company has gone to the marketing lengths of branding this a ‘Zero Keel’ system – “because it has zero bolts and zero risk of falling off the hull,” says Beaumont.
“No bluewater yacht should be built without safety being its very first consideration. The Kraken hull and keel are one piece. It is impossible for them to be separated.” Beaumont told me that a long keel and a protective skeg for the rudder were the first criteria he searched for in a bluewater cruiser, and one he believes eliminates most yards today.
The Kraken keel is shallow with a long chord and generous bulb. “Kevin Dibley’s involvement with America’s Cup designer Laurie Davidson enabled him to transfer some of that knowledge and detail into this modern cruising keel design,” says Kraken Yachts’ managing director, Roger Goldsmith.
Kraken Yachts use hydraulics extensively both to power equipment for sail handling and to reduce the potential for electrical failure. The sail control systems are all hydraulic, including winches, furlers (both in-boom and dual headsail), captive winch, vang and backstay adjusters. The windlass and bow thruster are also hydraulic on the 66, as are the dinghy davit winches, the dive compressor and even the watermaker.
“The move to hydraulics has been driven by my belief that what fails most is electric motors on large yachts,” Beaumont explains.
Other robust elements to the design include the traditional raked stem and moderate displacement for a comfortable motion through waves.
White Dragon is being royally fitted out with options including a Southern Spars carbon rig, Reckmann dual headsail furlers and a carbon sprit for a furling code sail.
She has a particularly generous 2,200lt of fuel tanks, which help give her a range under power of around 1,400 miles at cruising speed – or seven days under power alone.
Price is the key
The price of a Kraken yacht is the key sales point. It positions them only slightly higher than serial produced yachts and distinctly lower than the typical high-end semi-custom luxury cruisers built in Europe. This allows extensive extra equipment to be included while keeping the end price down. “We can build a boat at a much higher spec and lower cost than if we built it elsewhere,” Beaumont explains.
All Kraken models have an interior pilot station or control centre. They use a time-honoured centre cockpit layout, with a passageway galley leading to a spacious owner’s cabin aft. Kraken offers a good amount of customisation on the interior layout, “as long as it makes sense from a seaworthy point of view,” adds Beaumont.
He is also keen to stress the quality of the joiner work and the amount of solid wood and hand craftsmanship used on a Kraken.
We asked a range of bluewater cruisers who are actively sailing the oceans to recommend their most useful item of galley equipment
Pressure cookers were the most popular galley appliance for their convenience and time- and energy-efficient means of preparing food. An airtight lid allows the ingredients inside to cook speedily as the pressure rises.
Bones and Anna Black
Bowman 57, Emily Morgan
Bones and Anna have both sailed from childhood and live aboard a 1982 Bowman 57, mixing their time doing ocean passages and private charter. Winter is spent in the Caribbean or further afield and summers in the UK.
Tefal pressure cooker
“Galley equipment would not be complete without our pressure cooker. We have a Tefal with all the safety features. It saves on gas by drastically cutting cooking time, and minimises heat and steam in the boat, which is important in the tropics.”
Tefal pressure cookers are sold in 5.7lt to 6lt models for feeding up to six people. The safety features to which Black refers include the opening and closing mechanism, a pressure-controlled valve and a safety gasket for pressure release.
Price £50 for the 5.7lt secure aluminium model. www.tefal.co.uk
John and Christine Lytle
Bowman 40, Oriole
The Lytles sail a 20-year-old Bowman, which has been based in the Eastern Caribbean for the past 14 years, having crossed the Atlantic via the Canaries and Cape Verdes in 2002. Since 1976 the majority of their spare time has been spent cruising with two sons who now both earn their living on the sea.
Prestige pressure cooker
“For cold climates, a pressure cooker gives great savings on cooking fuel and produces a meal in a fraction of the time taken for conventional cooking. Our pressure cooker is a Prestige, bought 20 years ago. It is fairly compact which makes storage easier and I can still get replacement seals, etc.”
Prestige has a range of aluminium pressure cookers from 4lt to 6lt.
“For hot climates our best galley aid is the EasiYo yoghurt maker. All you need to make a litre of excellent-quality yoghurt is a packet of Easi Yo powder and water, and the Easi Yo container and vacuum flask.
“We bought ours 14 years ago when we left the UK as yoghurt was not readily available in the Caribbean Islands, but now is. Each year I bring out enough sachets to last the season.”
An EasiYo makes 1kg of Greek-style or fruit-flavoured yoghurt. A starter pack comes with maker, jar and two 1kg yoghurt mixes.
“It’s a toss-up between the dog bowls and the pressure cooker,” say the Erdmans who were cruising in Cuba at the time of contact. “Both get used together so maybe that’s one galley item?”
Lagostina pressure cooker
“A stainless steel Lagostina 4 quart version is great for preparing meals underway and the occasional canning.”
The Domina Vitamin model is so-called because the Italian maker says that the 6psi pressure setting is ideal for vegetables and preserves up to 35 per cent more nutrients. The mirrored stainless steel pot is a smart design for stove-to-table serving. The new Lagostina has a capacity of 7.4oz.
“The dog bowls (never actually used by our dog) are wide-based, steep-sided dishes that hold food in nearly all conditions.”
David and Sally Batten
Stimson 56, Alcedo of Ryme
The Battens have owned a number of yachts including the Steve Dalzell-designed 45ft wood epoxy cutter Avocet of Ryme.
Alcedo was designed by Chris Stimson and built by Martyn Brake in Dorset using a strip plank system for the canoe body and an unusual flat-pack kit of composite panels for the topsides.
At the time of writing they had 1,630 miles still to sail across the Pacific.
Seagull water filter
“The Seagull water filter is brilliant. It makes lugging large water bottles unnecessary and we drink from it all the time. Just remember to ship a few spare filters because they get blocked up quite quickly if using iffy shore supplies.”
The Seagull filter purifies water instantly, removing any viruses or bacteria from dock or tank water by means of an ultra-fine filter, with no electricity or chemicals needed.
This couple bought their first boat together in their teens. Now armed with an Island Packet 45 they have crossed the Atlantic four times, cruised to the Lofotens and are currently on the first part of a circumnavigation.
Mr D thermal cook pot
“Stuff a chicken in it along with some veg, fill with water, bring to the boil in 15 minutes then leave tied up somewhere in the boat. Come dinnertime, a quick reheat and you have a full dinner for two. Minimal fuss. Minimal gas and water.”
Mr D’s eco-friendly thermal cooker can save up to 80 per cent on fuel costs. It is a slow cooker rather than a pressure cooker, so meals are boiled up and left to cook slowly in the retained heat. Food inside the pot retains a temperature of over 60°C even after six hours, says Mr D.
A two-pot option has a second top pot that allows you to cook two different items at the same time.
The Frews have sailed for more than 30 years, initially in the Solent and then chartering abroad on holiday. In 2011 they bought Juno, since when they have sailed over 40,000 miles, including two Mediterranean circuits, two Atlantic crossings and most recently with the World ARC across the Pacific to Australia.
Nespresso machine
“The galley aid that we value most depends on who you talk to! For Caroline it is the EasiYo natural yoghurt maker (see left), but for me it is our Nespresso coffee machine, fixed to the bulkhead in the galley and able to make a cappuccino in any sea conditions.”
The Dyers ran their boat for skippered charter out of Plymouth before equipping her for long-term cruising. They are currently in New Zealand, having sailed there with the World ARC, a voyage they have been planning for the last decade.
Cockpit barbecue
“A gas barbecue is so useful for cooking without getting the below decks area too hot.”
Consider the coal-fired Cobb or Lotus Grill types. They are insulated so can be picked up even during cooking and moved.
The stainless steel dome-shaped Cobb has a clever design that allows fat to drip through, making it easy to clean. Price £99.95. www.cobb-bbq.co.uk
The German Lotus (above) is smokeless and, thanks to a built-in battery-operated fan, uses 90 per cent less charcoal than a standard barbecue. Price £129. www.cuckooland.com
No longer science fiction, virtual reality is more than mere entertainment. It can be used for sailing instruction too, says Toby Hodges
Virtual reality (VR), a term once reserved for science fiction movies, is now a commonplace reality for techies, film buffs and video gamers. VR uses computers to create a simulated 3D immersive world that you can manipulate. When immersed in it, you become unaware of your real surroundings.
Like it or abhor the very concept of it, VR is becoming a technology that is increasingly hard to ignore – the technology giant Samsung is already issuing free VR headsets with its new S7 mobile phone, for instance.
But is this simply the next gaming fad, or is there potential for it to benefit our sport? The America’s Cup teams at the élite end of racing have employed VR for shoreside training since the 2013 Cup.
However, with the launch of some new VR apps aimed at leisure users, we are interested in how this technology might be relevant to mainstream sailing.
During an IBM creative workshop I attended recently, one of the key areas identified as potentially better serving our audience was the use of VR for the education and enjoyment of sports such as sailing.
Getting afloat is not always easy to achieve, not least because of time or location. To be able to visualise the look and layout of a moving yacht via a headset could provide a useful training platform as well as another form of sailing-based escapism.
A crucial benefit of VR is that the user matters – it’s not simply a sideline experience – so the potential of using it for instruction is potent. It’s certainly not for all, though. Visualising movement on such immersive headsets is known to cause discomfort. Simply using VR to tour a new yacht’s interior made me feel quite nauseous. VR is, however, here to stay.
New apps for sailing
The big budget racing teams in the America’s Cup have already tapped into the combined VR and simulator technology employed by the aircraft and motorsport industries. Even the Duchess of Cambridge was pictured last year trying out VR sailing technology at the BAR base with Sir Ben Ainslie.
But a new company in Australia has stolen a march on off-the-shelf VR, bringing sailing apps to mainstream sailors.
Melbourne-based MarineVerse was founded at the start of the year by Greg and Olga Dziemidowicz.
Greg Dziemidowicz thinks VR can be used to offer both sail training and entertainment. “I believe virtual reality can greatly enhance sailing training, be a great way for all ‘landlocked’ sailors to stay connected to their hobby and introduce more people to sailing,” he says.
Dziemidowicz believes VR allows people to learn more quickly and economically. “VR enables us to provide sail training and education at your home. It’s a fun and engaging tool to reinforce what you are already learning on the water.”
For instance, a liferaft drill can be practised using VR, as can operating a distress flare. “Or we can walk someone through a process of setting up a spinnaker.”
“VR can offer a great feeling of immersion, making the experience very engaging,” Dziemidowicz continues. “You can develop spatial awareness and intuition.” Or in my case, you may experience lifelike symptoms of seasickness.
MarineVerse is currently building VR sailing applications for Google Cardboard, GearVR and HTC Vive. So far it has released more than six prototypes, some focused on teaching sailing, others on the actual sailing experience.
Most recently MarineVerse has created a sailing simulator and an educational i-learning app called Sailing Terms, which uses the new HTC Vive platform – a high-end head-mounted display with hand-tracking controllers. This combination allows the operator to use their hands to control functions such as the mainsail and tiller.
“Using HTC Vive is quite exciting, as it’s the most immersive solution currently available,” Dziemidowicz says. “Because HTC Vive tracks your position in the room, you can actually lean forward and inspect elements from a closer distance.”
MarineVerse apps and games are all free while the company is still in the early access stage. www.marineverse.com
America’s Cup simulation
On-water time is crucial but limited for Cup teams. The BAR team’s Portsmouth base means testing days are often also limited by the weather. So a full-size moving simulator was constructed to help the helmsman and wing trimmer develop their relationship.
The cockpit simulated platform moves on a series of hydraulically actuated legs, in the same way as an aircraft or F1 simulator, while helmsman and trimmer wear VR headsets.
Following the successful 2013 Cup, the eb1 team, which worked for Oracle Team USA, built driRun, the world’s first professional grade virtual sailing simulator. ‘On 16 October 2012 the US$20 million Oracle Team USA catamaran capsized on San Francisco Bay and was destroyed,’ says its literature.
The subsequent four-month rebuild was a forced lay-off that ‘painfully illustrated that the world of high-performance sailing has become incredibly dependent on empirical testing and full-scale prototyping which can be dangerous, expensive and inefficient.’
While this technology may still be way in advance of the needs and skills of most sailors, the America’s Cup consistently leads the way in providing trickledown technology. See www.eb1labs.com for more.
VR today – hardware
Consumer-ready virtual reality technology is already widely available. The main players are Oculus – a Kickstarter-funded company that sold to Facebook for US$2bn within two years of its 2012 start-up – plus Sony, HTC, Samsung and Google.
Google Cardboard has proved to be a clever marketing tool to get the technology out to the masses – today’s version of the 3D paper cinema glasses of the 1950s if you like. More than five million Cardboard devices had already been shipped by the start of 2016.
The PlayStation VR comes out later this year. And don’t be surprised to see Apple push into the VR sector soon. Motherboard, an online technology magazine reported that: ‘Revenue from virtual reality hardware and content will reach almost $22 billion worldwide in 2020, compared with only $110 million in 2014.’
Growth is predicted to continue to accelerate rapidly as the hardware comes down in price. Current VR devices are still relatively expensive, which helps explain why the mobile phone-based VR headsets are becoming increasingly popular – everyone already has their own portable display.
Samsung’s Gear VR, which launched in November 2015, is far cheaper than the PC competition. Meanwhile, Google Cardboard sets are often given away in promotions.
Prices: Oculus Rift US$599 and HTC Vive $799 plus the PC hardware needed. Samsung Gear VR US$100. Google Cardboard $14.99.
Marineverse VR apps
Point of Sail was the first app MarineVerse made. “It teaches basic sailing concepts using visual cues and voice,” explains Greg Dziemidowicz. “It takes advantage of VR, by letting you look around and putting the knowledge in context”
Sail to Freedom is a VR sailing game where the user attempts to cross the Baltic on a small yacht. It allows you to sail the boat from a first and third person perspective
VR Regatta is a racing game for GearVR and HTC Vive. “Our plans are to make it fun to play for sailors and those curious about sailing. Already you can sail around the track and measure your performance”
What is virtual reality?
VR headsets require a computer or smartphone to run the app or game. The headset brings the display to your eyes either via a video link from the computer or, more simply, by using the phone’s display. A method of control input is also needed, by hand, voice or trackpad – or the device tracks head/eye movements.
VR headsets tend to use head tracking to enable the picture to shift with your head movement. These work by measuring the pitch, yaw and roll of your head. Lenses in a headset can reshape the picture for each eye to create a 3D image. They can increase our normal field of vision, which helps users feel immersed in the virtual world.
And it is that feeling that is the ultimate goal of VR – making the experience so real that we forget about the accessories and the world outside.
The Contest 42CS has that clever knack of feeling like a larger boat than she is. During a visit to Contest’s yard in Medemblik, we had the opportunity to take a 42CS for a mini cruise – a return trip out to the islands directly west of the IJlesemeer
As this Contest 42CS video shows, our cruise was the ideal way to appreciate how this model is blessed with the pedigree of over half a century of builds. Contest is one of largest and oldest family run yards in the world, and one that conducts the whole build process on site.
The Contest 42CS video goes some way to show how manageable this bluewater cruiser is to sail and how she has the options and attention to detail mastered from building larger vessels. This particular model has a short-handed cockpit setup, with single point mainsheet, and rigged it so that all the sheets and running rigging can be managed from the helm.
42ft may seem comparatively small for a new cruising yacht today, but the top quality of the Contest’s build and fittings, gives her a larger boat feel – it’s a nice approach – a little, big boat mentality.
Contest provides that semi-custom approach down below too, enabling a broad range of layout options by segregating the two or three cabin interior into forward, mid and aft sections. Forward and aft has various berth or workroom options and in the mid section a choice can be made over portside or L-shape galley, navstation or separate shower to the heads.
Above all, the Contest 42CS finds that delicate middle ground of providing performance in a sea-kindly manner.
The full report of our test and details of the build are in our August 2016 issue.
If Wally were to make leeboarders, they would quite likely resemble this modern version of the traditional Dutch Lemsteraak. Toby Hodges can’t get enough of the 51ft Warber and its F1-style treatment
Name any traditional racing class and there will always be one owner who tries to move the game on. In the world of Lemsteraak racing on the Netherlands’ inland waterways that owner is Dirk Blom. He has created an exotic take on a very old design in the 51ft Warber.
Warber is a captivating blend of old and new design. Lemsteraaks were originally built in wood for fishing in the late 19th Century hence their low freeboard aft. But they have performance that belies their appearance. Would you bet on this or an X40 in a windward-leeward race? The results may surprise you!
Blom’s family has been building these boats since 1967. His grandfather was a fisherman who inherited the yard after the IJsselmeer dyke was built – so arguably Dirk Blom has a good claim to experiment with the class. Warber was built at the Skipshelling I. Blom yard in Hindelopen.
Van Oossanen, the naval architects, conducted an exhaustive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and design optimisations for Warber before starting construction. “We applied F1 technique to a Lemsteraak – it was the first time CFD was applied to this class,” says director Niels Moerke.
F1 technique applied to old class
“We are young, Niels and I, and want to innovate,” Blom explains, pointing out the hollow milled mast and boom. “We have taken a lot of weight out of the rig and put it into ballast.”
Warber, Frisian for ‘industrious and courageous’, launched six years ago and promptly cleaned up on the racecourse. Blom had been given permission to race, but after initial race results says his rating was adjusted rather quickly.
A party yacht below
Lemsteraaks were originally fishing vessels, hence had very limited accommodation, but Warber needed to have an interior to comply with class rules. The result is nothing short of sensational: simple and minimalist, with a modern, sociable daysailing format that features one large saloon, a galley and a heads.
As a party boat Warber is hard to beat. There were 13 of us aboard for our sail, yet we were rattling around in the cockpit. And Blom’s party trick was to leave the berth in the centre of the town of Heeg, where he picked us up, utterly silently – 1,100kg of batteries and a hybrid engine sited beneath the cockpit provide five hours of motoring.
Sailing the Lemsteraak was eye-opening. It was a fine summer’s evening as we slid silently out onto the Heegermeer, a branch of the IJsselmeer. The extra hard-coated black Dacron sails, which felt as supple as cardboard, were hoisted, using a gaff and mast hoops for the main.
As we navigated the narrow channels I was pleasantly surprised to note that we were matching the single-figure wind speeds under spinnaker.
The 400kg leeward board is lowered into the water as pressure builds on the gargantuan tiller. Racing barges have completely flat bottoms and draw as little as 38cm – hence the requirement for hefty leeboards.
Once the jib and flying jib (kluiver) were set she really started slipping along – and heeling too when powered up. It’s a mesmerising experience within the confines of the flat inland waters.
Lemsteraaks race every other weekend, often completing three to six races per weekend. “It can be very competitive, with 33 on the line,” says Blom. And these leeboarders have surprising performance – Warber’s designers report that she can sail at 7.4 knots close-hauled at apparent wind angles equal to modern racing yachts.
A test conducted against an X40 found Warber to be comparable in speed. It was reported that she pointed just as high and went as fast, but lost out in manouevrability.
And there is surprisingly little leeway – her naval architect Niels Moerke reports that these boats “can generate much more side force than normal monohulls”.
CFD on a 19th Century design
Van Oossanen applied the most modern design methods to this hull shape for the first time – you may remember that Peter van Oossanen, the founder of the company, drew Australia II’s famous wing keel. Director Niels Moerke explains how, by using CFD, they could visualise the flow around the boat without needing a towing tank.
“We did 75 CFD runs on the hull, which is a bit insane – normally we’d run five to ten – but this is our passion,” says Moerke. The result was that 14 variations were made to her hull shape. “In the end were able to increase longitudinal stiffness by 15 per cent . . . and lower the pressure resistance up to 23 per cent without it costing us any viscous resistance.”
When we spoke to Van Oossanen last year, they had just launched a 44ft Lemsteraak and had two more designs in build, plus three 48-footers and one 52-footer in design.
“The reason they are so popular here is that they are very comfortable to sail with the family and very spacious. You can dry out and have a barbecue, etc – and you can race competitively too,” explains Niels Moerke.
Dimensions
LOA 15.50m/50ft 10in
LWL 13.94m/45ft 9in
Beam 5.60m/18ft 4in
Draught 1.00m/3ft 3in
Displacement 30,700kg/67,680lb
Sail area upwind 158.4m2/1,705ft2
downwind 255m2/2,745ft2
Price ex VAT €800,000 (£639,860)
DETAILS
The leeboards are 3.5m long – but only 1.5m of that is immersed. “A lot of the competitive vessels have changed to asymmetric modern boards,” says Blom
Warber’s owner, Dirk Blom, at the helm. Note the extension added to the lengthy wooden tiller so Blom can sit out and get clear visibility forward
Traditional looks mask modern materials. A hydraulic pump is concealed below the deck-stepped mast, so the crew is able to crank on serious forestay tension
Dyneema running rigging and Aramid running backstays make for an unusual combination with traditional wood blocks and parrel bands
The modern Harken Radial winches are mounted at an angle – an idea owner Dirk Blom had to make them more comfortable to operate
The foredeck hatch was added to satisfy the traditional aesthetic requirements of the class.
Wood was added around the windows for the same reason
Mast, leeboards and rudder have all to be made from wood, whereas the hull is always steel
Lemsteraak builders were not able to make high masts so used a gaff – curved for aerodynamic purposes
Hal Sisk, Chairman Association of Yachting Historians and Captain of the Water Wags, writes:
“This boat type was not a fishing boat in the sense of a vessel catching fish. Instead it was developed as a seagoing fish carrier to transport fresh fish and mussels from the active fishing fleet to the markets as quickly as possible.
Thus from the beginning Lemsteraaks were built for speed. The rounded hull shape above the waterline belies an easily driven hull, while the tumblehome helps the leeboards to work vertically and rest more easily when hoisted.
Long before aircraft wings and CFD, Dutch sailors and builders of traditional craft developed by trial and error highly efficient deep leeboards, which were aerofoil in cross section, hollowed on the inboard side and convex outside, even ‘toed in’ by 4° to provide asymmetric lift. Truly sophisticated foils, quite unlike the flat leeboards of Thames Barges and Dutch inland waterways craft.
So even before the modern ‘pimping up’, Lemsteraaks were powerful fast sailing craft, far removed from the common outsiders’ description of such craft as ‘Dutch barges’.
Finally, the Dutch Foundation of ‘Ronde- en Platbodemjachten’ must be applauded for maintaining traditional vertical-cut sails, unlike the arms race in sail design and cut in other classic classes, which also often include inauthentic modern downwind sails for which the rigs were never designed.”
Commissioned by Richard Matthews, the man who built up Oyster Yachts over 40 years, for his next Oystercatcher, the Humphreys 39 is a true dual-purpose yacht, writes Toby Hodges
Richard Matthews, the man who built up Oyster Yachts over 40 years, has consistently kept ahead of the game with the designs he has commissioned. For his latest new build, however, he sought a true dual-purpose yacht, as the racers of yesteryear once were.
The H39 is an offshore-capable cruiser-racer, which can be adapted to suit IRC or ORC handicap racing. The first is the 31st Oystercatcher for Matthews. It is also his third yacht designed by Tom Humphreys,
son of Rob.
“In contrast to the previous [Hakes JV] 42 this yacht is of heavier displacement (5,000kg) and incorporates a package of genuine cruiser-racer features that I think will make the yacht nicer to be aboard and hopefully fairly rated under IRC,” Matthews explains.
“For starters we have a proper cockpit with seats and coamings, a berth for every crewmember (up to ten), a ‘proper’ galley with twin sinks, a gimballed cooker with oven and an ice box with a refrigeration system so we really will have cold beers! We have a sensible forward-facing chart table and an enclosed heads complete with shower and pressurised hot and cold water.”
Humphreys confirms: “The design ethos has tried to capture the wholesome, cruiser-racer and offshore-capable spirit of some of the office’s early CHS designs, but in a modern-day incarnation.”
Clever design
It’s a particularly clever design that can suit IRC and ORC by using a fin or T-keel, single or twin rudders and a range of rigging and spinnaker options. Oystercatcher has a solid lead fin keel and twin rudders. Humphreys reports that her IRC trial rating is between 1.125 and 1.144.
Oceantec in Slovenia did the S-glass/epoxy composite construction for this first H39. Finishing and fit-out was being carried out by Fox’s Marina & Boatyard in Ipswich as we went to press.
Matthews tells us that the female tooling used is capable of producing more H39s.
“All options are open at the moment and our future direction will be influenced by how well the boat works out in practice and specifically its competitiveness,” he says.
Oystercatcher XXXI is expected to participate in both the UK and European IRC Championships this season, plus Cowes Week and Cork Week.
Comanche, the 100ft maxi racing yacht built to break records for Jim Clark and Kristy Hinze-Clark, has set an astonishingly fast new transatlantic record
Comanche
In making the crossing in just 5 days, 14 hours, and 21 minutes Comanche has knocked over 24 hours off the prized record held by Mari-Cha IV for the last 13 years (subject to ratification). She sailed the 2,880 nautical miles at an AVERAGE speed of 21.44 knots!
Comanche, sailing without her regular skipper Ken Read due to America’s Cup World Series commentating commitments, was on standby for the record attempt since the end of June. She departed on the evening of the 22 July from New York – and crossed the Lizard finish line at 1145 today, 28 July.
Comanche was built precisely for this purpose: to break records. She set a blistering new 24-hour distance record for a monohull during the Transatlantic Race last year – 618 miles, at an average speed of 25.75 knots. But this Transat record is arguably the big one.
Comanche’s owner Jim Clark said: “The guys have once again powered our fantastic fat-bottomed girl to another title. I am so proud of the entire team and everyone involved in the entire program from top to bottom, the best in world, getting the best out of Comanche. Perfect harmony, and Kristy and I are over the moon.”
Speaking ahead of the departure, Comanche owner Jim Clark stated “Comanche has already proven her potential in major events all around the world and this looks to be a great opportunity to continue her legacy…The crew is made of some of the best sailors in the world who all have great pedigree. I have a good feeling about this attempt.”
Clark, the Silicon Valley magnate and founder of Netscape, has owned a number of high profile yachts that includes the groundbreaking 90m schooner Athena, and the J-Class Hanuman.
North Sails President Ken Read, the former Puma Volvo 70 skipper, has been helmsman on Hanuman and collaborator on Clark’s recent projects. “This latest record is testament to Jim and Kristy’s vision,” he said. “This is the culmination of six years of hard work and a huge team of experts offshore and onshore all working as one.”
For this crossing, Comanche’s rockstar crew, some of who sailed with Read on the Volvo Ocean Race, was led by Casey Smith, and included regulars Tony Mutter, Richard Clarke and navigator Stan Honey.
Honey picked the ideal weather window, ahead of a front, with flat seas and steady winds from a favourable angle. Following Comanche’s progress on the Yellowbrick tracker it was amazing to see how consistently she remained in the mid 20-knot bracket.
Stan Honey pours over his routeing at Commanche’s navstation
Crewmember and photographer Yann Riou described it as a weather pattern that only happens a couple of times a year. “In front of a low pressure system, moving at the same speed as we do… south-westerly wind, flat sea, all the way through – on the paper, this could not be any better.” In reality there was more thunderstorm activity than the crew had anticipated which enforced a couple of slower gybes.
In comparison to Mari-Cha’s historic ghost trail however (in white above), Comanche was able to sail a much more direct route. (It makes the 2003 record all the more impressive – see more details on MCIV below). The last 50 miles to the Lizard involved a comparatively slow hitch south of the Scilly Islands.
Comanche sailed with ‘only’ 17 crewmembers who used manual powered winches and hydraulics for this record attempt.
Antiguan Shannon Falcone, an America’s Cup winner with Team Oracle, prepares freeze-dried food during Comanche’s record crossing
Designed by VPLP and Guillame Verdier, Comanche involved 15,000 hours design time plus 150,000 build-hours at Hodgdon Yachts in Maine – in less than a year.
In comparison to Mari Cha IV, Comanche is 38ft shorter, but with only 5ft 5in less beam. Her 31 tonnes displacement is 25 tonnes lighter, yet the two yachts have similar keel draught. This all equates to Comanche boasting significant extra stability and righting moment – and consequently the ability to set vast sail area to help produce the extra power and speed she consistently shows. See what she’s like to sail onboard with our video here
It’s a long way down from the leeward rail – the formidable beam of Comanche
Stan Honey: “There are only about two weather windows a year where a monohull can make it all the way across the Atlantic in one system, and we found one of them. Beating this record by more than a day is above my expectations and I am delighted.”
Mari Cha IV
Mari Cha IV – by Thierry Martinez
Mari-Cha IV, the 42.32m ketch designed by Philippe Briand, was built by JMV Industries in 2003 with an aim to be the fastest monohull for offshore courses. She certainly achieved that when she set the Transatlantic Record on the year of her launch, making the crossing in 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes, at an average speed above 19 knots. Her best 24 hour run was 525 miles.
She has since been completely and stunningly refitted by Royal Huisman and relaunched this year as Samurai.
Our annual survey of participants in the ARC and ARC+, a total of 259 skippers, concentrated on the vital issue of communications. Toby Hodges reports on the findings
Few could honestly claim they are not reliant on the internet today. The advent of stronger and faster 3G and 4G networks and wi-fi boosters have allowed us to maintain our screen-dependent worlds when coastal sailing. But for that trip further offshore, communications at sea via satphone or single-sideband (SSB) radio is required.
In our ARC Gear Survey two years ago, data communications came out as the second highest recommended equipment carried by all the skippers (behind AIS). Surprisingly, despite the eye-watering cost of the hardware and airtime, it was the smaller yachts in the fleet that rated the various satcom devices particularly highly. A reliable means of contacting those ashore should never be underrated.
In fact, it is a safety requirement of the World Cruising Club (WCC) that all participants in the ARC Rally carry a means of data communication. At the start of the ARC and ARC+ in Las Palmas last November, we issued every yacht with a survey to fill in, and this time the questionnaire focused specifically on data communication.
We wanted to know what the 259 skippers (ARC plus ARC+) had chosen and why, how they set up their system, how well they rated their equipment, what the issues were and, crucially, how they would advise others looking to equip their yachts with long-distance comms.
Their answers and comments should help others make their decisions and to avoid mistakes.
Choices, choices
When it comes to providing a means of data communications, the options aren’t simple. Whether you feel that costly comms via satellites orbiting our planet, or seemingly outdated long-range radio is the route for you, there is still a minefield of options in hardware, software, email and weather providers to choose from.
You could perhaps go with the flow. From past surveys we can see the majority regularly chooses Iridium and Mailasail – the former because it is the only satellite provider with full global coverage and the latter because it is a dedicated marine brand providing email compression and weather forecasting services, plus a support service including set-up in Las Palmas.
The choice of the masses will never suit everyone, however, and you need to consider what will work best for you and your yacht’s set-up.
Satphone or SSB?
A quick overview would lead you to assume that a satphone is the easy answer – (relatively) affordable, low power draw and instantaneous. SSB on the other hand has a high installation cost and seems complicated to operate and calculate frequencies.
But old school techniques have staying power for a reason. This long-range medium of ship-to-ship communication can be invaluable, and the low-cost email connection that an added Pactor modem provides may be all some long-term cruisers really require.
During last year’s ARC, there were 267 satcom sets carried by the 259-strong fleet (190 Iridium, 71 Inmarsat, 6 other). That compares with 69 carriers of SSB.
That there were more satcom sets than yachts and that some favoured SSB instead of satcom, shows many carried a secondary form of data communication (58 yachts).
SATCOM — THE OPTIONS
Iridium, Inmarsat, Thuraya and Globalstar are the main players in the marine satcoms world, but the latter two don’t have Atlantic coverage – hence by far the most ARC sailors ship Iridium, followed by Inmarsat.
When assessing the options, first decide how you want to use data. Choices vary from pay-as-you-go to basic monthly plans to large broadband plans that can lower the costs per megabyte. Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband, the first service that offered broadband/voice simultaneously at any time, offers guaranteed data rates on demand up to 256 kbps – and calls can be made at the same time as web browsing/internet use. Iridium’s version is called Pilot.
Airtime costs are similar to mobile phone tariffs. Satcom phones are also SIM card-operated, with retailers offering pre or post-pay options. And again, like the mobile phone market, bundles are broken into minutes or amount of data plus line rental.
You also need to consider whether to purchase a specialist email or weather forecasting service, designed to minimise satellite airtime. By compressing emails and GRIB files for sending and receiving in one and blocking unwanted large files, you can potentially save a lot more on airtime than the cost of such a subscription service.
Defining your budget and how much data you need or want at sea will quickly narrow the decisions.
[Note: the Iridium network has 66 Low Earth Orbit satellites providing global coverage. Inmarsat meanwhile, founded specifically for providing maritime satcoms, has 12 satellites that cover all bar the extreme poles. Globalstar reaches most of the Northern Hemisphere, plus Australasia and South America, and Thuraya covers Europe, Asia and Australasia.]
SATCOM: typical usage and options
Text based/emergency only = handheld satphone or tracker devices like Delorme InReach, Yellowbrick, SPOT.
Single user, low email and weather forecast/small GRIB file use, voice calls = handheld satphone such as the Inmarsat Isatphone2 (£500 ex VAT) or the Iridium 9555 (£695 ex VAT).
Multiple emails, calls and internet browsing, medium or large size GRIB files = Inmarsat Fleetbroadband 150 or Iridium Pilot (circa £3,500 ex VAT).
Should have stayed in the office – full browsing and data downloading (multiple users, video calls, heavy internet use, etc) = Iridium Pilot, Fleetbroadband 250 or 500 (£5,000-£10,000) or larger VSAT systems.
SSB — the OPTIONS
SSB is a shortwave marine radio operating on medium to high frequency – the higher frequency you tune to, the further the range (up to around 4,000 miles before consistency becomes an issue). SSB allows unlimited users to listen to the same transmissions, which makes it ideal for weather forecasts and for creating a community on a rally such as the ARC.
Pairing an SSB with a Pactor (a particular type of modem) allows text emails to be sent and received. The common email service for SSB is SailMail, a voluntary association with an annual fee (www.sailmail.com).
You can get a receiver from as little as £195 ex VAT from Nasa Marine, but the most popular manufacturer is Icom, which has an IC-M802 unit costing around £2,000.
Then you have to factor in the expense of a Pactor modem – £600 for a Pactor 3 or £800 for the faster Pactor 4.
Two new economic options for coastal sailing
Iridium GO!
This is a compact device that functions in a similar way to a MiFi hub for terrestrial mobile data, but with the addition of a facility for voice calls, SMS text messaging and an SOS facility. It provides the option of buying unlimited data for just US$125 per month, the only Iridium device with this offer.
It is priced at two hours’ worth of data connection at typical pay-as-you-go rates – although speed is capped at the industry standard of 2.4kbps.
GO! has an SOS button that will send your position, plus an emergency message, to a user-defined group of contacts. An external antenna is also advised at £650 ex VAT. See here.
Delorme inReach Explorer
This is another compact option for those who want to stay in touch cheaply anywhere in the world with text, tracker or SOS functionality. It can send and receive text messages via the Iridium network.
The tracking is accurate to around 50m and can be accessed via a website that allows selected contacts to look at a map or satellite view.
Priced around £270, monthly airtime fees start at $21 ex VAT with 115 inclusive messages from www.inreachdelorme.com or www.globaltelesat.co.uk
Who’s it for? A robust and intuitive full HD action cam, ideal for keeping in a pocket. www.garmin.com
I bought the original GoPro HERO with a waterproof housing, yet never really found it user-friendly. As a comparative HD action cam, however, this Garmin Virb XE is so much easier and more pleasant to use. Anyone, however technophobic they might be, can pick up this Virb, flick the record button and start filming HD footage.
Moreover, the Virb is fully waterproof to 50m so you don’t have to keep it in a case (which can fog up with condensation) and, without a separate housing, the Virb picks up reasonable sound too. There is a secure locking panel for accessing the removable battery – the rechargeable one supplied lasts for two hours of filming.
The compact and robust X and XE models lack the mini screen of the original Virb Elite, which is my one main negative point. Like the newer GoPro models, however, you can view the live Virb footage remotely on an app via wi-fi – and it uses similar thumbscrew-style mounting kits to GoPro cams.
I’ve used the XE with some success to shoot video from the rail at regattas or for boat tests. A one-inch display makes it simple to scroll through menu options, and a useful feature I use regularly is the dedicated photo button that takes stills at any time, even while the camera is recording video.
The main improvements over the original Elite are in picture resolution, an increased variety of mounting options and a new G-Metrix program which, using built-in GPS and accelerometer, means it can capture action data such as speed, acceleration, height and G-force.
The Virb XE is the high-end model that can shoot professional HD footage at 1440p/30fps and 1080p/60fps, and includes super slow-mo and time-lapse options as well as image stabilisation. Picture quality has proved to be reliably good, through a full range of light levels.
Who's it for? Waterproof, shockproof speaker for anyone who wants to play music anywhere, with top sound quality. www.fugoo.com or amazon.co.uk
My first impressions of this waterproof, shockproof speaker were that it’s so bombproof there seemed no obvious means even to power it up.
But press and hold a discreet power button and not only does a light come on – but it talks to you. A rich bass voice resonates around the room announcing the fact that the device is ‘discoverable’. Very exciting.
I have since tested this speaker well and truly at home and on the boat, and remain astonished at the sound quality and the battery life. We have a Bose Sound Dock at home – and I find the 360° sound on the Fugoo even better, despite its comparatively diminutive size. And its 40 hours of battery life mean you rarely have to remind yourself to plug it in.
That the Fugoo is waterproof makes it perfect for cockpit use, and a bonus of a Bluetooth speaker is that, if you store music on your phone, you automatically have remote volume control from your pocket.
This is the Hummer of speakers, hence a carry case is not necessary, although a neat pouch for various chargers, speaker link and USB cable etc is supplied.
Who’s it for? Those bored by plain water
www.firebox.com
A durable bottle with an integrated straw is a handy thing to have for the car or the boat. Add a juicer to the bottom part and you have the means to add some healthy flavour to your water too – just load some citrus into the base and screw it tight.
I have used this bottle daily for weeks – only occasionally adding the built-in juicer.
From the design team of Frers and Design Unlimited, this new 68-footer looks smart and comfortable, says Toby Hodges
A surefire way to bring our attention to a sizzling new launch is to send us some enticing pictures. This first sailing image of Sirena Marine’s flagship Euphoria 68 reveals a long-distance modern cruiser with elegant lines similar to those of the original Euphoria 54, which launched two years ago. Once again the design team of Frers and Design Unlimited has assured a certain quality.
The powerful hull shape of the 68 features a long waterline with plumb stem and generous beam carried aft. The deck, coachroof and cockpit have a clean, low-profile line, with little to interrupt the helmsman’s view from the aft quarters. Twin rudders and a carbon rig indicate a yacht intended to be exciting to sail.
Three different layouts for this three-cabin Euphoria offer the option for a fore or aft-sited owner’s cabin. Perhaps more unusual is the ability to choose from three different galley layouts including a U-format forward or abaft the saloon or, uniquely, a longitudinal galley to starboard of the forward cabin.
German Frers, who took the helm during early sea trials, is pleased with her performance. “She is fast, responsive, with good stability,” he says. “Her clean decks and comfortable interiors are remarkably well executed and finished, the cockpit ample and well thought out. I feel very proud of this new model.”
The Frers office is enjoying a busy period of launches, including the Swan 54 this July, plus three new Swan superyachts, a Wally 110 and a 141ft Royal Huisman sloop.
Our mini-cruise aboard this impressive family cruiser demonstrated the quality of Dutch craftsmanship, reports Toby Hodges
All photos: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images
Contest introduced a 42-footer to its range almost 40 years ago and it was considered a relative giant for a production yacht at the time. Today the 42CS is the smallest of the Dutch company’s range – exactly half the length of its newly announced flagship, the 84CS.
But here is a model that cleverly represents everything this third-generation, family-run yard stands for – a manageable-sized bluewater cruiser that has the options and attention to detail mastered from building larger vessels, and as such is an ideal introduction to the quality produced by time-honoured knowledge and skill.
A particularly good-looking craft, modish yet elegant, the 42CS has that clever knack of feeling like a larger boat than she is. During a visit to Contest’s Medemblik yard I had the opportunity to take an example for a mini cruise – a return trip out to the Frisian islands directly west of the IJsselmeer.
It was the ideal way to appreciate how this model is blessed with the pedigree of over half a century of builds. Contest is one of the largest and oldest family-run yards in the world, and conducts the whole build process on site – a yard with a rich past and a promising future.
Hitchhiking out to sea
The good thing about being confined to tight channels with a large tidal range is that, if you time things right, you can get a slingshot ride on your way – like turtles riding the Gulf Stream.
In such a manner we found ourselves enjoying a 2.5-knot tidal hitchhike as we spun out of Harlingen, the old fishing port north of the vast lock that controls the IJsselmeer’s marine traffic. On a rather still, light breeze afternoon, that sort of tide can do wonders for your apparent wind.
Our destination and overnight berth was the island of Vlieland, 20 miles off the giant dyke closing off the IJsselmeer. Our test boat, Tessa, had already completed a season in the UK and was bound for the Baltic this summer.
She is royally equipped – her owner has gone for a short-handed cockpit set-up, with single-point mainsheet, rigged so that all the sheets and running rigging can be managed from the helm. The powered coachroof-mounted winch has a remote switch by the helm, as does the jib furler. So within a couple of minutes and with minimal physical effort, the sails were raised.
It became obvious pretty quickly why the 42CS won the European Yacht of the Year award in 2014. She is a delight to sail. Tessa’s twin carbon wheels, linked with Jefa wire, produce a tactile, direct and communicative feel at the helm. In the calm conditions we could feel every knot’s increase in wind. Her stiff construction belies her modest 11 tonne displacement (40 per cent in the keel), and her tall mast indicates performance potential.
The afternoon Force 3 was from a direction just offwind enough that we could negotiate the barge-laden channel on port tack. When close-hauled we made between 6.2 and 6.4 knots at just over 30° to the apparent wind. This rose to 7 knots once the breeze hit double figures – which, with our friendly tide, equated to 9.5 to 9.9 SOG (speed over the ground).
Tessa is not only well-equipped with optional top of the range extras such as a carbon Seldén mast, furling boom, generator and electric winches, but the standard spec of most items, including running rigging, Andersen winches and Spinlock clutches, seems particularly high.
Although 42ft might seem comparatively small for a cruising yacht today, the top quality of the Contest’s build and fittings gives her a larger boat feel and a ‘little big boat’ mentality. It helps to explain why Tessa’s British owner downsized from his previous Oyster 49, after looking for something smaller. He didn’t want anything over 45ft for ease of handling, but still wanted top comfort down below.
Intoxicating experience
We conducted a photoshoot off Vlieland’s western shoreline for a couple of hours, where deep water continues right up to the beach. Sailing upwind at 7 knots towards miles of dry sand, before tacking or gybing away when just a couple of boatlengths off was rather a novel and intoxicating experience, but one I wouldn’t have attempted without having confidence in the yacht’s handling.
With the breeze up into double figures, I started to feel a little weatherhelm on the 42CS, at which point she is not quite as easy to keep in a groove. That attribute was instead reserved for flat-water sailing. We were treated to a magic sail that evening as we short-tacked up the channel leading to the narrow entrance to Vlieland marina. The water was milky smooth, with the 5-7 knots of wind unable even to form ripples over the tide. The 42CS continued to sail admirably well, averaging a knot less than the breeze.
It was at this time that the 42CS truly showed her colours. The fact that we could keep sailing and really enjoy helming in the sort of conditions in which many medium-weight cruisers would have to motor is a testament to the Contest’s stiff build. And it speaks volumes of a hull shape that is equally adept at sailing in the rough stuff.
We would wait for the 2m contour line to show before spinning her through a tack. The electric winches allow you to touch-trim the sails from the helm and the 108 per cent genoa provided a nice balance of power and size, making her easy to handle.
Only once we were directly outside the marina entrance did we furl the sails and glide into the sanctuary.
Holland has a hill
For anyone seeking a cruising destination within easy reach of Amsterdam or the IJsselmeer, Vlieland is a beautiful island with white sand beaches, a charming town and – rather unusually for the Netherlands – a forest-lined hill. The marina is very well equipped, the nearby town charming. I have sailed many times around the Dutch coastline, but this is the most picturesque haven I’ve yet come across.
The only downside to our mini cruise was that our return journey to Contest’s Medemblik yard the next day involved motoring under breathless skies. It did mean, however, that we had ample time to run through the details on deck and below.
This Contest has a very elegant, modern look, set off by a coachroof line with wraparound tinted windows that offer privacy and sunlight protection. The cockpit design is superb: deep, protected and very comfortable.
Contest’s sales manager, Marcel Offereins, explains that Contest built a plywood mock-up of the cockpit in the yard six months before finalising this design, so that it could be trialled and perfected by the build team. And it shows. There’s an ideal curve for your back in the forward coamings, with benches long enough to seat eight or where the offwatch can nap comfortably.
The cockpit layout options come down to three different types to suit three different preferences: short-handed, performance cruising and cruiser-racing. I liked the short-handed version of the cockpit layout on Tessa, which has the mainsheet leading from the boom-end directly down to a block and winch set on a pod abaft the table.
This is in reach from either helm yet still allows for walkthrough cockpit access – something the ‘performance’ layout with a cockpit bench-mounted traveller would obviously restrict.
In summary, there really is little to find fault with on the deck design of the 42CS.
Bright, modern interior
Five comparatively steep steps bring you into a modern, bright interior. On descent, you perhaps might expect to find a raised saloon format. Instead the single-level low sole restricts any views out of the coachroof windows unless the boat is heeled. The natural light they introduce, combined with the extra headroom this creates, however, makes it seem particularly spacious.
The décor is light and smart, if a little clinical. After all the carpentry skills we had seen on show in the yard, the abundant use of light oak veneer is a little underwhelming.
Contest provides a semi-custom approach, offering a broad range of layout options by segregating the two or three cabin interior into forward, mid and aft sections. There are various berth/workroom options fore and aft and in the mid section a choice between portside or L-shaped galley, navstation or shower separate to the heads.
The three-cabin test boat had the latter option. Instead of a navstation, the saloon table had a chart drawer, with Apple TV installed for beaming electronic charts direct to a pop-up flatscreen TV. A Mastervolt digital switching system made for a smooth, touchpad operation of the electronics.
Galley
The L-shaped galley is well-laid out and at a sociable height relative to the saloon. It has a fiddled Corian worktop and reasonable stowage, however a strap would be required for working at the stove on starboard tack. A longitudinal galley to port is the alternative option.
Forward cabin
The forward cabin feels rather dark in comparison with the rest of the boat, which is the one main drawback I could find with the 42CS’s interior. Hull portlights for owner’s cabins are de rigueur these days, but this has just a small hatch over the foot of the double berth.
However this cabin does have 6ft 2in headroom, plenty of beam for the berth itself and reasonable stowage space.
Aft cabins
The aft cabins have the common drawback of narrow entrances. It’s a fairly standard double berth and locker format, with generous headroom. Details such as soft-closing door mechanisms and ventilated wardrobes would give it that added premium touch.
At a time when Contest has just announced the largest model in its 57-year history, it is this, its smallest, three-year-old model that best demonstrates the timelessness of quality design and construction.
The 42CS is blessed with a big boat feel and Dutch quality from an established yard currently on a roll. Easy to sail and easy to trim, she is a luxury family cruiser that excels under sail. The 42CS finds that delicate middle ground of providing performance in a seakindly manner.
She has a modern, comfortable, well-proportioned and versatile interior – it may not suit everyone’s taste, but does at least offer semi-custom choices – and particularly appeals to owners like Tessa’s, who can afford a larger yacht, but would rather have top quality at a more manageable size.
My past experiences of sailing in the Netherlands tended to be either in no wind or gales. Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that Contests are designed to sail well in all conditions, and for the helmsman to milk every moment.
Vismara’s visionary is the name behind the brand, designer and founder Alessandro Vismara. Vismara studied naval architecture in Southampton and worked at Perini Navi as chief of naval construction before opening his own design studio. He helmed his first three-quarter ton design, Lace Wing, to victory at Cowes Week and the Italian Championships.
Alessandro Vismara trained up Polish workers in Viareggio before helping to establish Rega Yachts in Poland. Since 2002, all Vismara hulls have been built at Rega, and today the Polish yard laminates hulls for a variety of brands including Mylius, Comar and, most recently, Michael Schmidt Yachtbau.
The teak on the side decks glistened after its intense saltwater dousing, and calm was temporarily restored.
A choice of teak or oak finish is offered, although all bar one of the 40 owners of the 64 has chosen oak. Like the 64, the 54 carries many of Andrew Winch’s intricate styling details, including the use of leather with smart stitching, linen and solid wood.
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Warber is a captivating blend of old and new design. Lemsteraaks were originally built in wood for fishing in the late 19th Century hence their low freeboard aft. But they have performance that belies their appearance. Would you bet on this or an X40 in a windward-leeward race? The results may surprise you!
When assessing the options, first decide how you want to use data. Choices vary from pay-as-you-go to basic monthly plans to large broadband plans that can lower the costs per megabyte. Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband, the first service that offered broadband/voice simultaneously at any time, offers guaranteed data rates on demand up to 256 kbps – and calls can be made at the same time as web browsing/internet use. Iridium’s version is called Pilot.
Pairing an SSB with a Pactor (a particular type of modem) allows text emails to be sent and received. The common email service for SSB is SailMail, a voluntary association with an annual fee (
This is another compact option for those who want to stay in touch cheaply anywhere in the world with text, tracker or SOS functionality. It can send and receive text messages via the Iridium network.
