The author of Illustrated Sail & Rig Tuning, Ivar Dedekam, provides his expert advice on how best to optimise sail trim High performance cruising yachts that are comfortable, fast and easy to handle do exist! It is difficult to describe ‘correct’ sail shape, but the three most important things to consider are: sail draft (the fullness of the sail), draft position, and twist (controlled by the kicker/vang and leech tension). Sail draft Sail draft (chord depth) is an imaginary line from luff to leech called the chord. Chord depth can then be expressed as the ratio percentage between the maxi ..read more

Heather Thomas and her all-women crew aboard Tracy Edwards’ famous 58ft yacht Maiden have won the 2023-4 Ocean Globe Race! Maiden’s position at the head of this 15-strong retro round-the-world race, the Ocean Globe Race was confirmed early Monday 22 April 2024. Their only rival for IRC handicap honours, the French Swan 53 Triana skippered by Jean d’Arthuys, failed to meet their 0500 deadline to cross the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes. Frustratingly for the French crew, Triana was becalmed off Lands End at 0400 today, still with 183 miles to run to the Royal Yacht Squadron finish line of ..read more

The Hallberg-Rassy 69 is the latest offering from the popular Swedish marque, and is also the largest yacht the family-owned company has ever produced Go big or go home? Well Magnus Rassy has decreed that Hallberg-Rassy needed a new flagship, and this is it – the largest yacht that the Swedish has ever built, the Hallberg-Rassy 69. Going bigger is a direction that many other yards are also taking. Just look at the Arcona 50, the Saffier SL 46 and the Jeanneau and Beneteau Yacht ranges (55-65ft) as cases in point. So just what has Hallberg-Rassy managed to squeeze into 69ft? Well, they’ve stuc ..read more

There's no denying that the £1.5m price tag makes the Moody DS48 a very pricy yacht, but she does offer plenty to justify that price tag. Theo Stocker takes a look Indulge me. I know £1.5million is a lot of money, but this boat is unlike any other cruising boat on sale at the moment. The Moody DS48 spares no expense, ensuring that this is the most comfortable home from home you can have, save buying an actual house. Joining the family alongside the Moody DS41, Moody DS45 and Moody DS54, the DS48 shares the Bill Dixon-designed DNA and one-level living, save for one or two steps between deck an ..read more

There are some incredible hidden harbours along the west coast of Scotland, many offering 360° shelter, although some may be rather challenging to enter When I was age 12 , we went on a family holiday on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides off Scotland’s west coast. I was pottering around the jetty at Eoligarry on the north end of Barra when local men, boys and dogs suddenly appeared. They asked me if I wanted to help with the sheep shearing on a nearby uninhabited island. I ran to the holiday house where we were staying to get my parents’ permission. It was a strange flat-bottomed craf ..read more

Maiden swept up the Solent before a Force 5-6 gale on Tuesday morning to take provisional overall honours in the 27,000 mile Ocean Globe Race. Maiden sweeps up the Solent to the finish line at Cowes The all-girl crew crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron finish line shortly before midday to whoops and cheers from a large crowd gathered on the parade, then quickly hoisted the spinnaker in the boisterous conditions for the benefit of photographers and film crews, reports Barry Pickthall. It was an emotional homecoming for those of us who witnessed Maiden’s welcome back to Southampton at the finish o ..read more

After an afternoon away, Roger Hughes had to act quickly when he found his schooner-rigged yacht sinking at its Florida marina mooring Britannia, my 45ft twin-masted schooner, almost sank, not from storm damage or from hitting rocks, but from within. A water pipe broke in her pressurised shore water supply system while she was safely moored up in a marina in Cape Canaveral, Florida. I had forgotten to switch the shore tap off when I left her for the afternoon. It was the start of a harrowing few days. Pressurised water supply systems are commonplace in many marinas around the world, especiall ..read more

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