2018 EUROPEAN YACHT OF THE YEAR, THE NOMINEES (2).

Continuing with the Multihull category, above the Fountain Pajot 47, below the Neel 51 and the Leopard 45:

Two cats and a trimaran, neither of them a performance boat. I hope they don't chose the Leopard . I find it incredibly ugly. I am very curious regarding the test sails of the other two, that are not very different in size and to see if the Neel is really considerably faster than the Pajot, or not. Saw a Nell 51 test sail on a French magazine and they said well about the boat but when they talked about upwind sailing, close to the wind to the Neel are 60º !!! Maybe the Pajot does not make a big difference regarding that too. Leopards used to be  pretty bad upwind. Anyway, these boats are not made for upwind sailing but they seem to be worsening regarding that instead of getting better.

The last category, Special Yachts, it could have been called the racing category since this year no daysailer was nominated. All the boats are great but I think that if the Figaro III (above) sails as well as all expect we will have an anticipated winner. Pity for the other two that are also very interesting, the Flaar 37 and the TF 10 trimaran that this year is the only American boat nominated.

2018 EUROPEAN YACHT OF THE YEAR, THE NOMINEES (1).

Starting with the Family Cruisers: Above the Jeanneau 440, below the Oceanis 51.1 and the Hanse 548

Three boats very similar in design. Good looking boats that manage well to disguise a high freeboard and a big interior volume. All of them beamy boats with the beam brought back, boats maximized for downwind sailing and with a clear influence of solo racers in their hull shape. 

Above the Halberg Rassy 44, one of the boats on the Luxury Cruiser class. The other two (below) are the Amel 50 and the Ice 60.

On this group 3 very different boats, the Rassy, one of the best from the last years, continues a North European tradition of central cockpit boats, the Amel 50 is quite revolutionary for an Amel, with only one mast, two spade rudders and a "normal" transmission. The Ice 60 is certainly a luxury boat but also a performance boat and therefore it is very different from the other two in design criteria.

Above the JPK 45, one of the boats on the category of Performance Cruisers. The other two (below) are the Club Swan 50 and the Grand Soleil 34.

Again, three very different boats, so different that it is hard to understand how they form a group: the JPK 45 is a fast performance voyage boat the other two are cruiser racers, much more pointed to racing than cruising and while the Swan is a luxury cruiser-racer the Grand Soleil 34 is much more modest even if with a nice but spartan cruising interior. All are great designs and they are already three winners no matter the one they are going to chose.

I will leave the two other categories (Multihulls and Special Yachts) for another post.

HALLBERG RASSY 340 ON THE WATER AND TESTED

One of the nicest Halberg Rassy ever and that is amazing because it is only a 34ft boat and it is more difficult to design a good looking small boat than a bigger one. Chapeau to German Frers!

And it does not only look good as it sails very well and has a beautiful interior. The testers of Yacht.de could not be more enthusiastic about the little Rassy: "Hallberg-Rassy 340 - the ideal sailing yacht; Conservative? That was once! The HR 340 rings the generational change in a spectacular way. One of the best sailing yachts that Hallberg-Rassy has ever built".

Those that thought that I was exaggerating regarding  the Halberg Rassy 340  design quality, when I commented about it here:
 http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2017/05/halberg-rassy-340.html can see that the Yacht.de testers go even farther on the boat appraisal: "the ideal sailing Yacht".

The  Yacht.de movie test, below a link for more great photos from the same origin and at the end a movie from the shipyard where we can see how well the boat sails:

http://www.yacht.de/magazin/heft_info/rassys-renner-die-neue-hallberg-340-im-exklusivtest/a113928/fotostrecke/10780052/10798190.html

COMFORTINA 46, WHAT A BOAT!!!

I am back at my sailing desk, now that my boat is on the hard waiting for next spring and what better boat to mark the beginning of the blogging season than the Comfortina 46?

I had already posted about the design and said that Comfortina yachts always have impressed me by their quality and always have pissed me by their old designs. It was time for stopping with that crippling defect and finally they have now a beautiful classic performance yacht, but not an outdated one. Good for them and good for all that like beautiful sailboats.

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2015/12/comfortina-46.html

The Comfortina 46 is on the same league as Arcona and it is a kind of German Solaris, not as stylish on the design but featuring the kind of cozy classical interiors that some prefer. The one of the first boat (that we can see on the videos) is particularly good for offshore sailing, curiously due to the space needs of a lifting keel.

Certainly not the nicest or more agreeable to live and socialize at anchor or at the marina (for that the other version is a lot better) but one that creates small spaces with body support everywhere, no matter what tack the boat is sailing on.

Yacht.de have already tested the boat and made a movie where it its clear how well the boat sails and the quality of the interior: http://www.yacht.de/yacht_tv/test_technik/flaggschiff-comfortina-46-im-test/a113366.html The photos are here, way better than the ones on the boat site:
http://www.yacht.de/yachten_jollen/neue_boote/erste-bilder-vom-test-der-neuen-comfortina-46/a112473/fotostrecke/10480240/10482576.html

I am envious of the position of the winches that look perfect for solo sailing and there is only one thing that I don't like and strikes me as odd: the lack of port hulls.

Come on guys, classic is alright but today even much more sportive boats like j boats, XP yachts or JPK have them and they don't represent a structural problem.The saloon really looks a bit claustrophobic without them. Please put some scenery on the interior, cruisers will appreciate that for sure.

That is about the only thing I dislike...well, I don't like the price that is inevitably high and goes with the quality but should not be very different than the ones of a X yacht or an Arcona. A very nice yacht, a very interesting blend between luxury, tradition, cruising amenities and sail ability, a sailor's boat.

PERFORMANCE OF A MAIN MARKET LIGHT CRUISER VERSUS A PERFORMANCE CRUISER WITH 16/18K WINDS

I know that many of you, like me, want to really know the differences between the behavior and speed of different types of boats but unfortunately you will not find that on a magazine and in this case nothing like real experience and that's what happened yesterday when I had the opportunity to sail with a brand new Hanse 415 at the same course as my Comet 41s. 

 Note that this is not about the Hanse 415 versus the Comet 41s but much more about two different types of boats, the differences would not be very different if instead of a Hanse it was a Beneteau or a Jeanneau and, instead a Comet, a First 40, a Salona 41, a X40 or a J120.

 It is not also about light wind performance or upwind performance where the differences between the two types of boats would be huge but about sailing with wind on the beam or downwind with 16/18K wind and about not sailing the performance boat with a crew and a Spinnaker (where it would be much faster) but sailing the performance boat under canvassed, with only a genoa versus a fast main market boat sailing with full sails.

 They advertise the Hanse, with its self taking jib as a very easy boat to sail (and it is) and on the other hand people would think a performance boat a more dificult boat to sail and it is, if the boat is sailing exploiting its full speed ability, like racing, but what would you say if I say to you that the Comet 41s only with a Genoa is has fast as a Hanse 415 with full sails? Faster when the wind hit 17 or 18K.

 Do you think that an under powered boat with only a genoa, far from the limit, is more dificult to sail than a full powered boat with full sails near the limit where it needs to reef the main (not a furler main)?

 This experience could only happen because my wife had yesterday a small surgery and asked me to sail only with the genoa for the boat to be more comfortable since I have the autopilot working badly and she could not make any effort. Normally even with a short crew or solo with a working autopilot I would be sailing in these conditions with full genoa and a main on the second reef, with a huge safety margin (the boat would be good for 25k winds with just a bit furled genoa). On those conditions I would be sailing with that wind between 8.6 and 9.6k and no way a main market cruiser could take that pace with only 16 to 18k wind. 

MAGIC SUNGLASSES

Magic is perhaps a strong word LOL and they are not really nice but they were the best buy of the year in what regards yachting. I know that it seems odd but if you are more than 50 years old tel me  how many times you had to take away your sunglasses and get another spectacles to see better some  small detail in your plotter?

That's quite pissing specially for guys with a 100/100 vision and that now have to resource to a glasses with one or two dioptres to see fine details.

That's finished, I mean that stupid game of changing glasses and there is some magic in it. I bought them at a boat show in Croatia half believing that they would not really work in real conditions. They are normal polarized ones but with a small lent with dioptres on the right place and they really work effortlessly. I am so happy with them that I had to share it. They are really usefull, the gadget of the year!!!.

The brand is Australian:
http://barzoptics.com/polarised-sunglasses-with-bifocal-reader-lenses
Don't buy the bifocal ones, I mean the ones without the cuts on the middle of the glass. They are nicer but don't work as well as the other ones, not by a long shot.

MY SAILING SEASON, PHOTOS AND COMMENTS

On winter and Fall I post, on Spring and Summer I cruise and sail. For the ones that are new on the Blog and would like to have a look at my sailing log (with lots of photos) you can do it here: https://web.facebook.com/paulo.pernao

 I prefer it that way. This blog is about interesting sailboats, not about my cruising season. Fair winds and nice sailing to all ;-)