Paper or electronic? Tom Cunliffe and Bill Aylward have developed an app 

Shortly after GPS made its inaugural real-world appearance in the mid-1990s, a pal showed me the first chart plotter I’d ever seen.

After a lifetime of paper-chart navigation it took me a while to fathom the concept of the electronic chart, but although at that stage the plotters on offer were worse than useless, only a fully paid-up luddite would have said there was no future in the idea.

Things moved on rapidly, and soon we had embryonic plotters that worked and were a genuine aid to safe navigation.

The quality of software and speed varied between manufacturers, but they all improved and the best have morphed into ‘Multi-function devices’ (MFDs) that link to further data sources.

The default chart is the so-called ‘vector chart’ which can, of course, now be used via chart plotter apps available for tablets, iPads and mobile phones.

Vector charts look radically different from paper charts and, while we have all grown used to them, they do have some downsides. Unlike paper charts, they are not ‘drawn’ by professional cartographers.

If you zoom in tightly enough, all the available data should be there, but it isn’t presented for easy reading like a paper chart.

Rather than being able to see a buoy or a light’s characteristics at a glance, you may have to ‘interrogate’ the chart to bring up a box with the info. It’s staring you in the face on the paper chart. Channels are obvious and transits are emphasised. Someone’s been thinking about the navigators. 

Vector charts often carry little or no information about the relevant land masses, so you can’t fix on shore objects. You have no choice but to rely on the GPS fix. Unless you are in a Royal Navy frigate equipped with WECDIS, you can’t plot on the charts beyond perhaps laying off a single line of position.

If GPS should be shut down or compromised, or you simply fancy putting down a plot to keep in practice, vector charts aren’t a realistic option.

With a paper chart, what you see is what you get. To see that much on a vector chart, it must be zoomed in very tightly. At lower zoom levels, vital detail deliberately left on a paper chart by the human cartographer can disappear with well-publicised results.

With all these issues constantly in mind as a practical navigator, I was delighted when I stumbled across Bill Aylward who was working on a new way to deliver safe electronic navigation at a sensible price.

Bill is very much one of us. Having retired as an eye surgeon, he now sails the seas in his boat and has cultivated something of an inner genius for software. He also knows a decent chart when he sees one.

With input from me on the ‘yachtmastering’ side, we’ve developed an app – currently for iPad use – that is totally different.

When you open up AngelNav, you won’t see the usual vector chart. Instead, after the standard disclaimers, a chart will appear that looks suspiciously like the UKHO ‘Admiralty’ paper chart which, deep down, you know and love.

The glad tidings are that it is derived directly from the paper chart, except that to project it onto a screen it has been digitised, almost literally, by scanning it.

The process is known as ‘raster scanning’ and the chart is a ‘raster chart’.

I’ve used these on my PC for years with a different program and I find them far superior for navigation than any vector equivalent. As well as being a thing of beauty that delivers the goods with crystal clarity, a raster chart has all the extra material you normally find only on paper.

It may be possible to discover information about survey dates and notes about shipping movements on a vector chart, but they’ll be hidden deep in the menus if they’re there at all. The same goes for useful warnings and much more.

On the raster chart they’re all up front, usually in a corner along with the title, exactly where they are on the paper equivalent. 

AngelNav charts are true rasters. They aren’t ‘quilted’ like some raster programs so that the boat sails seamlessly from one chart to the next. Instead, when the yacht icon reaches the edge, if you ask it nicely, the system will tell you which your next one might be, defaulting to the most detailed alternative.

That may sound like needless extra work, so why don’t we quilt the charts and make it more like a vector set-up? The answer is that this is an intelligent system for thinking navigators. If you quilt the charts, you lose a lot of the notes and details which make rasters special.

With AngelNav, it’s just like opening up the chart table and deciding which you’d like next, with the big difference that you’ve got them all – and they’re up to date.

At the moment we have home waters and Ireland charts, but more areas are coming on-line as I write. This huge folio is divided into well-priced sections so you only buy the ones you need.

There will always be those who say, ‘Why bother? UKHO-derived Raster charts sound all very good, but do I really need another app?’

‘Yes,’ is the answer.

‘Why?’

‘Because AngelNav alone allows us to plot proper, traditional chartwork easily on the screen.’

Do you fancy taking a three-point fix? After all, there’s not a lot else to do after lunch in a long afternoon watch. Go ahead. Set up the autopilot and dig out the old hand-bearing compass. Plot the position lines, dot in the fix where you feel it should be, then note the time against it to relate it to the paper log book. To see how you’re doing, you can check it against the electronic yacht. If you fancy plotting a vector diagram for course to steer, or perhaps working up an EP, go right ahead. 

‘Ah,’ mocks Captain Lazy. ‘I’m far too smart to bother with all that old stuff. I don’t have to think any more. I have an expensive vector plotter buzzing with bells and whistles that does it all for me.’ 

Clearly, this is not for him but if, like me, you prefer to keep your hand in, AngelNav is more than just another chart plotter. It’s actually a load of fun as well as a gift for the creative instructor. The in-app manual and help files are written by real English-speaking navigators.

If GPS takes a short holiday and we don’t have much of a folio of paper charts it won’t matter.

With piloting skills honed as they once were and charge in our iPads, we can navigate electronically, using reliable analogue inputs as we sail safely into a bright future, independent at last of things we cannot control. 

AngelNav is available from the Apple App store for iPhones and iPads running iOS 15.0 and above

The post Why I’ve developed a new navigation app, by Tom Cunliffe appeared first on Sailing Today.

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One of the joys of cruising used to be entering harbour and finding a nice quiet spot to anchor for the night. These days it seems every square inch of harbour space is taken up with moorings or marinas and the chances of finding space to anchor are small. Quiet anchorages are becoming hard to find, but if you look at the chart and study the weather forecast you can still enjoy the real taste of cruising with the anchor down, a quiet drink in hand while you watch the sun set.

Not all sheltered bays and coves offer the same degree of protection, however. You need to choose with care, particularly if the forecast is deteriorating. So what factors are you looking for when selecting your hopefully, quiet anchorage for the night?

Obviously wind direction and strength will have a direct bearing on finding the shelter you want. If it’s not forecast to drop away during the night, you will at least want to see signs in the forecast that the wind is veering or backing towards the land so that even when it changes you will still be lying in the lee.

The steady strength of the wind itself shouldn’t be a concern – after all, if you have been sailing out at sea then the wind in the anchorage should be an acceptable strength for a safe night. Where things can become uncomfortable is when the land influences the wind blowing over it – raising the wind strength and shifting its direction.

Gusty winds

The wind can accelerate when it is running downhill. Over high ground, such as a mountain, the air is colder, and therefore heavier, at the top and wants to run downhill. It can accelerate quite dramatically on the way, so it could arrive at your location as a fierce (katabatic) squall. At best, it could make life uncomfortable, with the boat heeling and swinging; at worst the anchor could drag. These squalls can be fierce enough to stir up spray and small waves on the sheltered water and you can see them travelling across the water.

There is no way to avoid such squalls, except to try and find a better anchorage as we did when they started hitting us. They were wild enough for us to know that we would not have a comfortable night if we stayed where we were.

There can be a similar effect with valley winds. An offshore wind will tend to focus on the valleys rather than on the higher ground in between. Again, the colder air on the higher ground at the head of the valley wants to find the easiest path down under the warmer air, so will accelerate down along the valley floor.

This effect can be strong along the Mediterranean coastline where there is often high land interspersed with valleys. The wind can increase by a couple of numbers on the Beaufort Scale when it comes out of the valleys, often betrayed by very localised white horses. It’s something to consider when you choose the spot to drop your anchor.

Wave action

It is not just the wind that you are sheltering from in an anchorage, but the waves. Just a light swell or chop is enough to mean you spend the night rolling and pitching. It is easy to think that if the waves are coming from, say, the west then you’ll find shelter if you tuck in behind a headland on its east side. Of course there will be shelter from the worst of the sea conditions on the lee side, but waves have a nasty habit of creeping around headlands and invading supposedly quiet anchorages.

The culprit here is wave refraction. Waves in the open sea tend to head in the same direction, but when they encounter shallow water they slow down. So when waves pass a headland, the inshore end slows while farther offshore it travels. This causes the whole wave to alter direction, wheeling round the headland and into the shelter behind.

These refracted waves are not likely to be dangerous – as they slow they lose energy. They are likely to be more akin to swell in the anchorage but that can be enough to make life uncomfortable for you. If you choose to anchor in the lee of an island things can get more difficult because refracted waves can come around both sides and generate quite a nasty area of crossing waves on the lee side of the island. This area is likely to be a little way downwind from the land and you might find a quiet spot close inshore if there is enough water.

In combination with all the usual considerations around anchoring, these rules of thumb should help you identify a good place to spend the night. It may be that they come in handy only when you are anchoring to shelter from a bad weather forecast. But of course it is in challenging conditions that the choice of anchorage is most important and it is then that what might look like good shelter.

This article first appeared in Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting magazine. Subscribe or try a single issue via our online shop here.

Don’t miss the practical section of our website, regularly updated, with useful articles written by sailors just like you, here.

The post How to find a peaceful anchorage appeared first on Sailing Today.

Note: this article is from a 2019 issue of Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting. Prices may have changed. Try the magazine as a subscription or as a single issue here.

Rutland 914i Windcharger 12V

The six-blade Rutland 914i Windcharger is a popular choice generating free power for lighting and 12V appliances. It is recommended that the HRS914 regulator is used to prevent battery overcharge.

Available here for £574.57

Air Breeze Marine Wind Generator

Rated as a high-energy output generator that has a corrosion-resistant finish, the Air Breeze is good option for marine use. It weighs in at just 5.9kgs, which also makes it an attractive choice for use on racing yachts.

Available here for £1,125.00

Eclectic Energy D400

The D400 with its robust aluminium alloy casting is ideal for cruising. It is also noted as one of the most quiet of its type on the market, and virtually vibration free.

Available here for £1,327.01

Leading Edge LE-300 300W

The British-built LE-300 is available in 12V, 24V and 48V versions and, at 6kgs, is remarkably light, making it ideal for sailing yacht installations. According to the Sailing Today’s Buyers’ Guide, the LE-300 is also easy to assemble.

Available here for £595.00

Silentwind Wind Turbine/Generator 24v 450W

The Volvo Ocean Race was a good test bed for the Silentwind Wind Turbine/Generator. The hand laminated, UV-resistant carbon blades are known for their durability and therefore a good choice for both cruising and racing yachts.

Available here for £1,798.00

Air X Marine Wind Turbine

The Air X Marine wind turbine is an American brand with a proven reputation. It is light and therefore suitable for race yachts, and has an anti-corrosion coating designed for high wind environments.

Available here for £1,125.00

Leading Edge LE-v150 Vertical Axis Turbine

The LE-v150 vertical axis wind turbine designed for use in applications where a traditional horizontal axis turbine may be inappropriate. The unit is precision engineered in the UK with only one moving part so little maintenance is required.

Available here for £959.94

FOR MORE IN-DEPTH WIND GENERATOR REVIEWS – CLICK HERE

The post Wind generators – gear guide appeared first on Sailing Today.

What’s your favourite MDL marina?

I love all 19 of them for different reasons but I do have my vessel berthed at Hamble Point.

How easy is it to find a berth with MDL in 2023?

Demand for visiting yachts remains high. Over the past 2 years , responding to customer feedback, we have launched an online booking system, offering our berth holders and visitors the chance to book and pay for visitor berthing through our website or their mobile and in advance. We’re always listening to customers and working to improve our customer experience. These types of development allow berth holders and visitors to view real time berth availability and to book vacant berths online. If a berth holder books their boat out, when they’re leaving the MDL network, they’ll also receive an incentive if the berth is used. By being able to book a visitor berth in advance, our customers have greater peace of mind that there will be a space waiting for them on arrival when they visit our other locations, enhancing their on-water experience. The process of booking a berth at one of our other marinas automatically books them out of their home, creating available space to enable reciprocal berthing

With the increased cost of materials, how can you guarantee the same quality and customer service for the same price?

We will always aim to deliver the highest quality of customer service, but with rising operating costs the base annual berthing fees have attracted an increase, however in all cases this is below inflationary levels. We promised we would keep any increase as minimal as possible and I am pleased we have been able to follow through. Tariff adjustments are made based on local market pricing, demand and macro influences such as rising costs. Despite increasing costs we have invested significantly over recent years across the estate and we hope to continue to do so to enhance everyone’s experience going forward.

MDL undertakes a good number of ‘green’ initiatives on land and at sea. What other measures are you considering?

Through our focus on the environment, we’ve made fantastic progress with our sustainability activities and the long-term investment in innovative eco initiatives across our marinas. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but we know there’s more to do. The UK as a whole has an ambitious target of ensuring its net carbon account for the year 2050 is at least 100% lower than 1990. We’re whole-heartedly supporting this, and we’re at the beginning of a journey to make us the UK’s most sustainable marina operator.

Will you only accept ‘green’ tenants in the commercial properties you let on-site? 

No, what’s important is that every business looks at how they can improve their focus on sustainable and ethical impacts. As a good landlord we can support our current tenants and any potential with advice and improved infrastructure.

The Green Tech Boat Show merges with the South Coast Boat Show this year (21-23 April in Ocean Village), partly to allow customers to buy into green technology at the point of purchase. To what extent are the boats themselves the problem? 

The Green Tech Show is specifically designed for boat owners wishing to make the switch to greener options, and prospective owners who’d like to start their boating journey in the most environmentally friendly way possible. When we started the Green Tech show in 2021 we had over 500 people visiting throughout the two-day show. Our vision was to bring together the marine community’s innovators who were/are working towards a greener future for boating. Move to 2023 and I believe manufacturers and the boat buying public are seeing sustainable boating as the way forward, no longer a separate conversation. Therefore it made sense to move Green Tech Boat Show to Southampton, where we are able to give green marine technology and the companies producing it greater visibility.

How would you like to see the Green Tech exhibitor list grow? What sectors are notably absent so far? 

Not sure any sector is notably absent but we are committed to an event that presents the information in a practical way, showcased next to other green technologies. This will allow consumers to understand what the total offering could be, and how they can help the environment by investing in green technology today.

How do you judge the Green Innovator Award?

It’s a public vote, the Green Innovator Award distinguishes products and services that are pioneering in sustainability, innovation and design. It is aimed at projects from both start-ups and established companies, and highlights suppliers who are making a special effort towards environmentally sustainable practices, products and services. Nominations are open to every company exhibiting at The Green Tech Boat Show. People can vote https://www.mdlmarinas.co.uk/green-award/

In recent years MDL put on a number of different events. What is the company committing to in 2023/2024?

Isn’t it great that events are now back to normal? All marinas will be hosting a string of events through the year, from hog roasts, to sunset cruises, second hand boat shows to meet the team sessions. All of these can be found on the marina pages within the MDL Website.

How can UK marinas support the growing interest in multihulls?

We are very fortunate to host lots of different multihulls from trailer sailors, to trimarans, from small catamarans to large ones like the Rapier 550. In fact at the South Coast boat show we have 10 different multihulls on display. I would say we are a Multihull Friendly Marina operator who offer unique experiences to multihull owners by understanding their berthing needs.

There’s a perceived trend for pay-and-play boating, with less desire to be a boat owner. Do you see this yourself and how might MDL adapt accordingly?

I’m sure I would agree that there is less desire to be a boat owner in the UK but we’re thrilled to work with the UK’s best boat clubs, Pure Latitude, FlexiSale, Freedom Boat Club and others All our boat clubs operate from superb locations, with quick and easy access to Southampton Water and the Solent, ideal for their members to explore this fantastic area. We look forward to growing our partnership with them and providing their members with an exceptional experiences.

Is MDL planning on building any marinas, or making any new purchases?

We continually look at options which allow us to strategically develop our portfolio of products and services for our customers. Some exciting developments will become clear in the short and medium term.

www.mdlmarinas.co.uk

The post Q&A: Tim Mayer of MDL Marinas appeared first on Sailing Today.

Elan’s Impression range of cruisers are the sensible sisters to its ‘E’ line of cruiser/racers. Yet, as Sam Jefferson discovers, its Impression 43 is a boat that seems to have taken tips on style and speed from her more performance oriented sisters

Many things have changed since 2006; some have been positive – some, well, not so much. Back in 2006 Europe and America sweltered in an unprecedented heatwave over the summer months, a UK government crossed its fingers and hoped that it could get in for an unprecedented fourth term, an ex Russian KGB man died after drinking tea laced with Polonuim. These things all sound familiar and credible scenarios. Meanwhile, the BBC aired a documentary entitled The Queen by Rolf in which Rolf Harris painted a portrait of the Queen. This really happened and, definitively, it will never happen again. Times have changed – to some extent. 

Yet one thing that didn’t change was Elan’s Impression 434. This practical, spacious cruiser has been dutifully plying the seas in ever increasing numbers ever since 2006. When Lehman brothers chose to implode in 2008, this boat sailed on. When Britain decided to leave the EU in 2016, the yacht cruised onward unperturbed. That is until now. All good things must come to an end and the 434 – renamed the Impression 45.1 has finished its production cycle after 17 years and 600 boats. 

So where to go from here for the Slovenian boatbuilders? Well, back to the drawing board of Rob Humphreys, its go to designer. Elan has always been in a slightly unusual position as a boatbuilder. For those who don’t know the back story, the company started out building skis in the Slovenian Alps. From there its expertise in glassfibre led it into the world of sailing yachts. From there the company made a name for itself producing both cruiser/racers and full blown cruising yachts. The company sits in a slightly unusual niche in that it is neither a mass producer a la Beneteau or Bavaria, yet it produces enough boats every year to be well beyond a bespoke boatbuilder of semi custom projects. The company has therefore paid careful attention to its positioning in the market; its boats need to be a bit different and individual without being cripplingly overpriced. In recent years the company made a smart move by both sticking with Rob Humphreys for the design but also working with first Studio F.A Porsche for the styling of the Elan GT6 and then Pininfarina on the Elan E6. This gave both boats a certain ‘X’ factor that definitely helped them stand out from the crowd. 

The company has continued this partnership with the new Elan 43, with Humphreys providing the hull lines and Pininfarina offering styling touches both inside and out. In addition, the company has continued its partnership with Gurit, an expert in the field of composites, to optimise both stiffness and weight saving. All this means that, although the Elan 43 Impression is definitely the workhorse of the fleet and perhaps not as glamorous as yachts such as the E6, it benefits from the same resources lavished on bigger, sportier, more luxurious boats in the range. The result is a boat that is striking to look at in the water. It’s a quantum leap forward in terms of styling compared to the old Impression 434 with more aggressive lines, a plumb bow with optional glassfibre sprit reinforced with steel. There is a decent amount of freeboard, masses of beam – 13ft 11in to be precise, as opposed to 13ft 8in for her predecessor. The boat has a soft chine, twin rudders and an L-shaped iron keel with a choice of 1.95m or 1.7m depths. The boat is distinctly different from her predecessor, although she still sports the high coachroof of the old 434. This is far less bulbous and pronounced than before, and the Pininfarina styling is evident in its sleek, purposeful look. 

The sail plan is not excessive but it is easy to handle. In standard format the boat comes with a self-tacking jib and fully-battened main. The test boat actually had the optional genoa with an extra pair of winches to accommodate this. You get a 45hp motor as standard but you can upgrade to a 57hp engine if you are in a hurry, or an 80hp motor if you want to defy the laws of hull speed. Intriguingly, the boat is heavier than its predecessor (11,100kg against 10,790kg) with a smaller sail area (80.7m2 against 99m2). 

On deck

Step onboard and you are immediately drawn to the sheer volume and size of the cockpit. It’s very broad and feels nicely enclosed at the forward end thanks to very high coamings. Aft there is a half height bathing platform as standard and a full height one as an option which further encloses things. In front of this is a bench locker that can either be for storage or for the inevitable grill/sink arrangement for those who are keen on cooking alfresco. The two corner seats on the pulpit which were such a boon on the Elan 434, have, thankfully been retained.

On deck in this aft area is a very deep lazarette which would be ideal for storing a liferaft and a few fenders or a deflated dinghy. Forward of these are the twin wheel binnacles which are straight off the Elan E6 and therefore extremely stylish with B&G chartplotters set into them. This boat had the two optional extra winches for the genoa set just forward of the wheels. I would imagine most prospective buyers would want these as you also need them if you’re going to set a gennaker at any point. The decks and cockpit were in Flexiteek which was an option, as are regular teak laminates. Forward of the helms are twin tables with drop down leaves which are divided out to provide a walkway down the middle of the cockpit into the companionway. These double tables can be folded out to make one huge table if you’re entertaining guests and can also drop down to connect with the cockpit benches to create a huge lounging area.

There is further storage underneath the cockpit seats. The aft part of the coachroof then has two winches, one powered, with the mainsheet, reefing lines etc all controlled from here via two banks of jammers. The mainsheet is mounted forward of this on top of the coachroof. The side decks on the old 434 were quite modest thanks to that large, bulbous coachroof and you used to end up doing a fair amount of clambering. This has been remedied on the 43 although the side decks still aren’t the widest. Up forward there is a truly huge lazarette which is ideal for storing sails – you could almost sleep in it but not quite – it also houses the gas locker. Forward of this is the anchor locker. 

Down below

The descent into the saloon is gently angled and you don’t drop down too far. You find yourself in quite a distinctively styled area with the most striking feature being the proliferation of oak throughout. This gives the boat a very individual look that will inevitably divide opinion. I rather liked it and I discovered that the reason it had been chosen was that the suppliers of this rather top end material, used extensively in the Elan E6, had agreed to supply a lot more at a discount as it was quite knotty. This meant that the Impression 43 gets a top end finish at a discount and the results are notable, with the soft tones of the wood contrasting with the hard grey of the cupboards. It’s an intriguing approach but I liked it; it sounds more sustainable and also gives the saloon a warm and individual look. The saloon layout is simple with a day heads and shower to port and a galley forward of this which runs the length of the saloon.

To starboard is a large saloon table and U-shaped seating arrangement. Additional seating is provided in port by two solid oak folding chairs which stow away under the double berth forward. Aft of the seating area is a decent sized chart table which runs athwartships, although this can be substituted with a cupboard for those who have long since given up on the nav station. 

The forward cabin is very large – partly because the large lazarette forward of this space means that this cabin starts sufficiently far back from the bow that there is good beam. This means that the 43 has an aft facing double berth which you can walk round the side of in order to get in. There is a huge cupboard to port and further storage under the bed.

Aft of this, set to starboard, is a very large heads and shower. This is a huge space, although there is an alternative arrangement up forward with a bunk room situated to starboard and a smaller heads/shower to port.

Aft are two decent sized doubles that benefit from good standing headroom in the forward section. Headroom throughout was, in fact, substantial and helped add to the feeling of space. There was also good access to the engine and rudder quadrants.

Under sail

I tested the Impression 43 off the Istrian coast of Slovenia on a day that promised rain but, after a murky start, revealed itself as a beautiful spring day. The winds were pretty much ideal for a test sail, with 15kts of breeze slowly dropping off to 5kts as the afternoon wore on. With full main and genoa set, we headed into the breeze and I was immediately struck by the speed of the yacht.

This is essentially a moderately heavy cruising yacht but, with the wind hovering between 12 and 14kts in flat water, we were soon trucking along at 7.5kts. This seemed unfeasibly quick for such a boat and I rather wondered if the log was malfunctioning – but it wasn’t.

The boat was close winded and forgiving to an inattentive helm. The Jefa steering was light but there was a bit of weight to it which gave some feel. I’d imagine that the boat would be fairly surefooted if pressed, as the twin rudders and beam aft would give the boat a decent amount of both grip and power. I was surprised at the overall poise and speed of the boat and was a pleasure to sail.

It was also easy to handle – and would have been even easier with a self tacker. I suppose with the mainsheet running to the coachroof it’s moderately more difficult to singlehand than some others but that is really nit picking. I did wonder if the boat would struggle as the wind eased but she still went well enough.

We then put up the moderately dimensioned gennaker for a gentle downwind run, and bathed in warm spring sunshine. The whole experience was a pleasure. Of course, part of this is down to the weather and crew, but the boat itself has to take some of the credit for providing such a comfortable platform to relax and simply enjoy the pleasure of sailing.

This article first appeared in the June 2023 issue of Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting. Subscribe or try a single issue here.

The post Boat test: Elan 43 appeared first on Sailing Today.

We have teamed up with Raymarine to offer a fabulous prize to one lucky reader – a marine mobile router, the Raymarine Yachtsense Link Marine Cloud Router (Part Number E70640).

This is a 4G-enabled marine router with GPS, Wi-Fi, Raynet and digital input/output ports. YachtSense Link is a DAME Award category winner, a multi-purpose marine mobile router equipped with Raynet Ethernet ports, mobile broadband connectivity, and onboard Wi-Fi.

YachtSense Link allows crew and family to connect Raymarine Axiom® displays, phones, tablets, and PCs to a unified onboard network.

YachtSense Link automatically switches between marina Wi-Fi and mobile networks to ensure you are always connected.

Combine YachtSense Link with the Raymarine mobile app for remote access to your Raymarine network and enjoy the added security of remote GeoFence vessel monitoring.

YachtSense Link also features low-voltage digital switching/monitoring channels for controlling and monitoring onboard electrical devices like pumps, batteries, lighting, and more.

More information on the Yachtsense Link can be found on the Raymarine website raymarine.com

Open to UK residents only.

The post WIN! Raymarine Yachtsense Link Marine Cloud Router worth £1,395 appeared first on Sailing Today.

The Cruising Association confirmed the news, which means there is now a derogation for the Breton ports of Saint-Cast, St Quay, Lézardrieux, Tréguier and Trébeurden to act as temporary Ports of Entry for the period of 1 June to 30 September 2023. This will permit yachts arriving from or travelling to outside of the Schengen area to be checked in and out.

The Cruising Association said the rules required a declaration of arrival form to be downloaded from the relevant marina website. This must be completed and emailed to the relevant marina office at least 24 hours in advance of arrival and then a certification collected on arrival.

For departure the same form must be submitted prior to departure and a certification will subsequently be emailed from the marina office. This is only valid for boats both arriving and departing the Schengen area from these ports, in other words if you are checking in through one of these ports, then checking out must also be through one of these ports.

Once checked in, the boat and crew may sail elsewhere in Brittany, but for further onward travel within the Schengen area, clearance must be obtained at a permanent port of entry. Further details together with the form will be available via the marina office and website, as well as to Cruising Association members via its website and CAptain’s Mate app. Find more on the Port of Saint-Cast website cotesdarmor.cci.fr

The post French announce more ports of entry and departure for Cross-Channel sailors appeared first on Sailing Today.

Note: this article is from a 2019 issue of Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting. Prices may have changed. Try the magazine as a subscription or as a single issue here.

Spinlock Deckvest VITO 170N

Developed during Volvo Ocean Race this latest performance technical lifejacket harness from Spinlock offers a revolutionary Harness Quick Release System. It is also lightweight, compact and importantly, easy to put on.

Available here for £224.95

Helly Hansen Sailsafe Inflatable Race

This unisex, ergonomic, lightweight inflatable vest with built in harness is deigned for offshore sailing. Features include Hammar Hydrostatic pressure automatic inflation sensor to prevent accidental inflation and stowe away anti ride up leg loops.

Available here for £237.79

Crewsaver Ergofit 190N Pro

The Erogofit Pro is a stylish yet functional safety vest/harness that features a built in inflatable chin support designed to tilt your neck back w hen floating/keep airways clear.

Available here for £139.96

Musto Offshore Race Life Vest

If you are looking for a lightweight lifejacket to wear for long periods offshore or around the coast, this new ergonomically designed Offshore Race Life Vest from Musto is a true essential.

Available here for £225.00

Plastimo Seapack Lifejacket

Although this handy grab bag manual lifejacket doesn’t replace the recommended regular-wear lifejacket, it is a great invention for an emergency situation when sailing round the coast, or as a spare.

Available for (TBC)

Ocean Safety Kru Sport ADV

Offers all the features you’d expect from a lifejacket plus a sprayhood to minimise the risk of secondary drowning, plus Wave Barrier technology to deliver sub five second-fast turn speed when wearer is submerged.

Available here for £104.95

TRIBORD LJ150N AIR

This adult inflatable lifejacket with harness from the sports superstore Decathlon is neat and compact and offers good freedom of movement for sailing activities around the coast.

Available here for £54.99

Bluewave 150N Harness Navy Automatic Lifejacket

The popular Bluewave 150N automatic gas lifejacket is a good option for coastal sailing. Includes built in harness for extra safety, and a standard crutch strap to ensure a snug fit

Available here for £64.99

The post Lifejackets – gear guide appeared first on Sailing Today.

Milford Haven to Ardglass, Northern Ireland via Arklow and Howth

I’ve not been to Milford Haven since the Tall Ships gathered here back in 1991. That event coincided with the conversion of the old Pembroke dock into a marina. The place is very different now with a boardwalk of shops and restaurants, a Tesco within a short walk, and new blocks of flats that are freshly designed to look like converted warehousing.

The marina, which is operated by the Milford Haven Port Authority has great character and is buzzing – unless you want a meal after 8:30pm.  That’s curfew time for the locals. Where they go, no one was prepared to say. At 8:29pm the lights simply go out.

Mercifully there’s a hotel – the Tŷ Milford Waterfront – which is welcoming well beyond the bewitching hour and served up a very nice John Dorey with local vegetables. It was more expensive than other eateries along the waterfront – but hey-ho, any port in a storm.

And talking of weather, persistent forecasts predicting force 5/6 Nor’easters kept us firmly within the confines of the lock gates of Nelson’s Quay and its marina for 3 days before setting out across the Irish Sea to Arklow in Southern Ireland. An opportunity then to learn more about Milford Haven.  First, this is the 2^nd deepest port in the world and is the import station for 25% of Britain’s energy needs – more gas now than oil with ships arriving each day mainly from Qatar and the USA.  That’s a lot to think about, but there is plenty of sea room for cruising yachts and ships to mingle freely – and harbour patrol vessels to cut you off if you fail to follow the rules.

The hills surrounding this 25 square mile Sound are devoid of trees, suggesting that the weather is not always as mild as we experienced it, but there is much to explore. Four miles upstream from Pembroke Dock is Nyland marina, operated by the Yacht Haven Group which also has Plymouth Yacht Haven, Sea Jay’s last major port of call. This is not just upstream of Milford Marina, but upmarket too, located in a quiet tree lined tributary within the Pembrokeshire Coastal National Park.  Remarkably, the marina has an inner sanctum with a natural sill carved from the rock substrate, giving those vessels furthest upstream 3 hours access on each tide.

Alongside the marina is Dale Sailing, a boat building, service centre and chandlery within Brunel’s old railway termini which was once second only to St Pancras station in terms of size. The business is run by Mike Reynolds and his wife Heidi and there is not a lot they can’t do from lift-outs to full restorations. Their chandlery is extensive – the best in the region, which my friends Josh and John tested by asking for a replacement fuel pump for their aged Volvo Penta diesel fitted in their Peter Duck motorsailer Helvalua. The part arrived first thing the following morning, allowing us to both catch the tide that Friday for our overnight sail across the Irish Sea. Now that’s what I call service!

Before setting sail, I met up with Dave Barratt, a larger-than-life character, better known locally as ‘Mr Milford Haven’.  A former fisherman, as was his father before him, there’s not much he doesn’t know about Milford Haven’s chequered maritime history.   The commercial docks were originally built around whaling, and extended to cater for passenger liners to and from the USA. That wasn’t a successful venture, perhaps because Milford Haven is one of the most remote ports in the UK, but after World War 2, commercial fishing became the industry in town. “This was a very busy port during the 1950s and ‘60s with processing plants and smoke houses all around the harbour.” Says Dave. That all declined in the ‘80s along with the rest of the UK’s industry in a losing battle against EU fishing quotas, and the Port Authority was forced to think out of the box. The restoration of HMS Warrior, Britain’s first iron warship, now on display at Portsmouth, was the last major commercial work undertaken in Pembroke Dock.

The town marina started as a small affair, opening in 1991, and the piling for finger pontoons for 300 boats was not completed until 2006. Those berths have now been taken up, and plans are afoot to now extend capacity to 500 in the next few years. Facilities ashore are basic but visitor berths are cheaper than at Nyland and the marina is much more central for shopping and public transport.

Friday 21^st April:  The strong nor’easterly winds have subsided and the vane is now pointing from the northeast with a promise of light westerlies later. So it’s going to be a 110 mile overnight windward slog to Arklow – and another test for the Vetus engine. I had originally planned to make for Wexford, the closest crossing point, but after meeting up in Plymouth with Angus Mcphie, an old friend from the British Steel challenge days who cruised to the Scottish Isles in 2022, he warned me about both the shallows that extend well out to sea and the mass of lobsterpots in this region. He had to call out the lifeboat after snagging a lobster pot off Wicklow and advised us to keep outside the 100-metre line up this coast. No such problems with Arklow, an old commercial port with a deep water, well protected entrance.

Engine issues resume

But first, the run across the Irish Sea. Although dead into wind for most of the way, the sea conditions remained relatively calm and ‘Basil’, our Ray Marine ST2000 tiller pilot worked faultlessly.  But not so our Vetus engine which has been plagued by fuel starvation issues throughout the voyage from Chichester. This time, the engine started ‘hunting’, dropping down from 1,500 rpm to 800 tick-over and back up again every few seconds, after 7 hours of running. I stopped the engine for an hour and lay hove-to for an hour On the first occasion we stopped and lay hove-to for an hour.  The engine started again and ran fine, again at 1500 rpm for a further 5 hours before resuming to ‘hunt’ again, an hour before arrival in Arklow. I stopped the engine again and sailed the last 5 miles, not starting it again until entering the harbour, when it ran fine again.

This problem is relatively easy to deal with when out at sea, but what if this hunting occurs in a confined area with other vessels about, especially when conditions or tidal stream is strong?

Readers of this blog have not been slow in coming forward with possible solutions.  Merve, the Vetus engineer at Mount Batten BoatHouse, in Plymouth had stripped down Sea Jay’s fuel system, tested it under pressure and found nothing wrong. Some readers suggested that the governor, which has a bearing on fuel flow might be overheating; others pointed to the electronic fuel pump that now replaces the mechanical pump on previous Vetus engines.

Neither the Vetus engineers at Mount Batten Boathouse nor Navigators, the Vetus agent in Chichester who fitted the engine, were any the wiser, and after further problems experienced during the overnight leg from Howth to Ardglass when the engine began hunting after 9 hours running at the lower rate of 1,500 rpm, both referred me to Steve Copsy, the Technical Sales and Support Manager at Vetus UK  on April 24.

Steve could not recall experiencing a similar fault and referred my warranty issue to engineers at Vetus head office in the Netherlands, but 11 days later still had no answers or plan to send an engineer to investigate the problem. Pity, because Sea Jay will have been sitting in Ardglass Marina for 2 weeks prior to resuming our cruise northwards.

But then came a possible answer. When ordering replacement filters for the engine’s first service, Paul Cleverely, the Vetus specialist at Vitesse Marine in Fareham told me of identical issues experienced by one of his commercial clients, who like us, have been running their engines under load all day, this time powering passenger ferries. They had found that a screw holding the grounding wire to the electronic fuel pump would shake itself loose after several hours running, then tighten up again on tick-over. The answer: A drop of Locktight applied to the screw when tightening it up.  So simple – I can’t wait to return to Sea Jay and try it!

Arklow, Howth and on to Ardglass

I felt rather foolish tying up to the visitors pontoon in Arklow with my Irish courtesy flag, and yellow Q quarantine pennant flying in the rigging, and passport and ships papers to hand ready for a Customs inspection.  No one troubled us for 7 hours, and then it was only the marina manager wanting his 30 Euros for an overnight stay!

It got me thinking: why is Suella Braverman, the UK Home Secretary planning against all odds to fly illegal small boat migrants the 4,130 miles to Rwanda when our Border Force could simply top up their fuel tanks and send them on their way across the Irish Sea? From our experience, they could slip ashore here (and in Howth) and merge with the local population totally unnoticed!

Arklow is a port that has been passed over by time. Acording to Niall O’Toole the marina manager who used to be the Shipping agent and stevedore here, the town used to attract 30 ships a month, many running fuel across from Milford Haven. Modern ships are now too big to access the port, and the commercial fishing harbour is now so little used that the marine fuel pumps have been taken away. Never mind, this friendly chap gave us and our fuel cans a lift up to the local petrol station as part of the service.

There is a modern shopping centre within a short walk away, and on the opposite side of the river is the Bridge pub offering us friendly faire and our first Guinness. Pictures on the wall give an image of an earlier time when Arklow was a thrusting wooden ship and boat building centre. Among the famous vessels to have been launched down John Tyrell & Sons slipway has then the Irish sail training vessel Asgard II and Gipsy Moth III ,the yacht that carried Francis Chichester to victory in the first Observer solo transatlantic race back in 1960.

Now, sadly the river Avoca is better known for its pollution – raw sewage pumped directly into the water from its 13,000 + inhabitants. Plans have been afoot since 1993 to build a sewage plant, but only now are the foundations being dug at the entrance to the harbour and a finish date for the plant some time in 2025. Other boaters have posted complaints of industrial noise, but it was all quiet during our weekend stay.  Good for an overnight stop is my view.

Howth, on the northern arm of Dublin Bay is by contrast, a place I would have willingly stayed at for a few days. The Howth Yacht Club dates back to 1895 and the Club’s fleet Howth 17 footers designed by Walter Herbert Boyd two years later, is the world’s oldest one-design racing keelboat class. The Club and its facilities have moved with the times, with a new fan shaped club house and marina completed in 1987.

Here, we were given a warm welcome not only from member and staff, but my old colleague Winkie Nixon who was on the dockside waiting to greet us. Winkie and I go back more than 50 years, when I, as a cub staffer on Yachts & Yachting magazine subbed his Irish yarns for a cruising column he wrote every fortnight. Winkie, I’m pleased to report, is still spinning yarns. Just a pity we couldn’t spend longer together.

Time and tide waits for no man, and after a night of rain and wind, my friends on Helvalua persuaded me to accept a dropping forecast and set out on the evening tide for Ardglass, a Viking fishing port just south of Strangford Lough.  Within minutes, I wish we hadn’t as Sea Jay, bucked about by a vicious cross sea, strong tide and NE head winds, struggled to make more than 2 knots. Outside the shelter of the harbour entrance, a Laser sailor performed a spectacular Chinese gybe which flipped his boat upside down. Should I go to assist, or would I be needing his assistance once he had got his dinghy upright? It was touch and go for a short while.

Out at sea, conditions calmed down and Sea Jay and I soon fell into solo mode with Basil the tiller pilot holding our course and my trusty iCom hand-held AIS VHF bleeping whenever a vessel came within 3 miles range. We arrived off Arklow early the following morning. With rock cliffs north and south, the entrance was difficult to ascertain, and it took a bit of blind faith to follow the Garmin chart plotter track and Imray digital chart. But sure enough, as we got closer, the harbour entrance, which runs north within the cliffs, suddenly opened up and I followed the buoys straight into Ardglass marina.

Bathed in the early light, this is a beauty spot with a marina well sheltered from the winds. A place I was happy to leave Sea Jay for 2 weeks while I flew home to recruit a crew.

To be continued.

The post Barry Pickthall’s Cruising Blog: Milford Haven to Ardglass, via Arklow and Howth appeared first on Sailing Today.