Yachting Monthly

Dinner in Alderney, you say? Well, that sounds lovely. See you on the pontoon at dawn.’ That’s not quite how the conversation came about, but it was pretty close. I recently got back from a test sail that went rather further than the usual dash around the Solent. It didn’t feel right to limit a serious long-distance cruising yacht like the Moody Deck Saloon 48 to the confines of coastal waters, though the same could be said for many of the boats I’ve tested. I often find myself wanting to point the bows towards the open sea and just keep going. This time we did. A beautiful Force 4 wafted us across a flat sea, a few rain squalls notwithstanding, to the Channel Islands in time for our table reservation at 8…

The sinking of the Bayesian superyacht in reportedly only 16 minutes and the tragic loss of seven lives has sent a shudder through the sailing community and beyond. Prosecutors at Termini Imerese in Sicily are investigating the sinking of the 56m Perini Navi sloop in the early morning of 19 August, when a violent storm struck the yacht off the fishing village of Porticello, on the northern coast of Sicily. Karsten Borner, the captain of a nearby sailing boat that was the first to assist, described the storm as ‘very, very violent’, speaking to reporters. ‘I have never seen a vessel of this size go down so quickly. Within a few minutes, there was nothing left.’ Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group that owns Perini Navi, told the BBC there were…

Thanks in part to successful crowdfunding from Yachting Monthly readers, Ocean racer Pip Hare is training hard for the 10 November start of the Vendée Globe, the single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world sailing race that takes place every four years on IMOCA monohulls. ‘Many thanks to everyone who entered the draw for the Pip Hare Ocean Racing jacket and donated to our crowdfund,’ Pip wrote to Yachting Monthly. ‘We have managed to raise just under two thirds of the funding we need to get us to the start line of the Vendée Globe in good shape and this has meant that I have been able to go ahead with the majority of work we needed to complete over our summer refit. This final two months on the water is about making sure…

The European Union’s Entry-Exit System (EES) is now scheduled to go live on 10 November, with the Government providing £10.5 million to help ports and border controls prepare. From this date, the EES will require non-EU travellers to register their travel details, passports and biometric information – fingerprints and facial scans – when entering or exiting the Schengen Area. It will replace passport stamping and could cause initial delays. The system has been designed to enhance border security and monitor overstayers across Europe, whilst preserving the openness and mobility that define the region. Closely linked to the EES is the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), a visa waiver program for non-EU citizens entering the Schengen Area. The ETIAS is expected to come into force during the first half of 2025, a…

The world’s top sailors have started the battle for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, with six teams racing their new AC75 boats off the Barcelona coast after three years of development. Defender Emirates Team New Zealand will try to hold off the challenger of record INEOS Britannia as well as the other challengers: Alinghi Red Bull Racing, NYYC American Magic, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Orient Express Racing Team. The UniCredit Youth America’s Cup will start 17 September, with the first Puig Women’s America’s Cup straight afterwards, at the same time as the main America’s Cup.…

A crew of world-class explorers, award-winning filmmakers and young scientists are half way through the Northwest Passage as they continue their four-month sailing expedition to study the key climate ‘tipping points’. As the Northwest Passage Ocean Science Expedition crew sail 75ft schooner Abel Tasman through the Arctic, including the infamous Bellot Strait (25 km long and 2 km wide); they’re witnessing the dramatic changes in sea ice in this region. The window for crossing through the Northwest Passage is short – just a few weeks between August and September. While the sea ice is declining, the open water means the ice moves more rapidly with the winds and currents, making it tricky for the crew. ‘Over the past 50 years, winter sea ice has shrunk by an area equivalent to Alaska. As summer…