yacht sail numbers uk

The global authority in superyachting

• NEWSLETTERS
• Yachts Home

The Superyacht Directory

• Yacht Reports
• Brokerage News
• The largest yachts in the world
• The Register
• Yacht Advice
• Yacht Design
• 12m to 24m yachts
• Monaco Yacht Show
• Builder Directory
• Designer Directory
• Interior Design Directory
• Naval Architect Directory
• Yachts for sale home
• Motor yachts
• Sailing yachts
• Explorer yachts
• Classic yachts
• Sale Broker Directory
• Charter Home
• Yachts for Charter
• Charter Destinations
• Charter Broker Directory
• Destinations Home
• Mediterranean
• South Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Boat Life Home
• Owners' Experiences
• Conservation and Philanthropy
• Interiors Suppliers
• Owners' Club
• Captains' Club
• BOAT Showcase
• Boat Presents
• Events Home
• World Superyacht Awards
• Superyacht Design Festival
• Design and Innovation Awards
• Young Designer of the Year Award
• Artistry and Craft Awards
• Explorer Yachts Summit
• Ocean Talks
• The Ocean Awards
• BOAT Connect
• Between the bays
• Golf Invitational
• BOATPro Home
• Superyacht Insight
• Global Order Book
• Premium Content
• Product Features
• Testimonials
• Pricing Plan
• Tenders & Equipment

The Superyacht Directory is the world’s largest database of private luxury yachts, with over 12,000 megayachts listed. It’s the most authoritative place to find everything you need to know about superyachts – including new builds, historic vessels and the most famous boats of all time.

You can filter your Superyacht Directory search results by a number of specifications including speed, length and year of build, or select the builder, exterior designer or interior designer to narrow your search. With the Superyacht Directory, you can be as precise as you like, with options to filter by engine power, draught or displacement, propulsion system or hull material and more. You can use the Superyacht Directory to search by yacht type, breaking down your results into motor yachts, sailing yachts, explorer yachts or classic yachts.

Yacht search

Popular yachts, the fastest yachts in the world, the longest superyachts in the world, from our partners, sponsored listings.

• sail-numbers

Sail Numbers

 offshore sail numbers.

The RYA Technical Department issues offshore sail numbers, essential for all racing yachts and advisory for cruising yachts venturing to sea.

These sail numbers are an important way of uniquely identifying a yacht for search and rescue purposes, and are a requirement of the Racing Rules of Sailing, Rule 77 - Identification on Sails. The RYA recommend that all yachts have a unique sail number.

If the owner sells the boat on, except in exceptional circumstances, the sail number remains with the boat and details of the new owner should be passed on to the RYA Technical Department with the appropriate registration fee. Sail Numbers will be in the form of: GBR four digit number with a suffix of L, T or N e.g. GBR 4567T. Multihulls will be given a suffix of M.

Allocation of a single number is free of charge to RYA Gold Members,  £20.00 RYA Personal Members, and £40.00 to non members and companies. Click here to apply for an Offshore Sail Number .

It is also possible to obtain an Out Of Sequence  sail number. These are a great way of personalising your vessel with a meaningful number. These are subject to availability, for further details and prices please contact either [email protected] or call 02380 60 4200. 

Dinghy & Keelboat Sail Number Allocation/Building Fees

The RYA issue sail numbers and collect the building fees (design royalties) for all the following classes:

For all RYA administered International Classes, except the Dragon, the fee is £40.00 unless the application is accompanied with a current RYA Membership number when the fee is £20.00. The Dragon Class fee is £50. All prices are inclusive of VAT at 20%.

Windsurfing Sail Numbers

To apply for a Sail Number for your windsurfer please contact [email protected] or phone 023 8060 4200 and have your RYA membership number available.

Block of Sail Numbers

If a class or builder is interested in reserving a block of sail numbers, then please contact the RYA Technical Department. For example, the Hunter 707 Class have the GBR 7000N series, the 1720 Sportsboats have the GBR 1720L series. It is possible to reserve a batch of sail numbers and pay as and when the next boat is built. In addition special numbers either singular or in block, can be made available at special rate. Just ask. If you would like anymore information on sail numbers please contact us by email  or on 023 8060 4200.

• Small Ships Register (Part 3)

Registering a vessel for leisure use

If you own a vessel in the UK that you intend to go to sea with, you can register it with the UK Ship Register. The Small Ships Register (Part 3) has been developed for UK pleasure vessel owners who may wish to take their vessel into international waters and want the peace of mind that they can prove the vessel’s nationality easily. 

Any UK resident who meets the UK Ship Register's eligibility criteria and owns a boat or yacht for personal leisure use, that is less than 24 metres in length overall (LOA), and who are ordinarily resident in the UK for 185 days in a 12-month period, can join the Small Ships Register no matter where in the world the boat is based. 

Ensure your vessel is classed as a pleasure vessel. Marine Guidance Note 599 (M) provides a definition of what a pleasure vessel is. If your vessel is not being used as a pleasure vessel it may need to be registered on Part 1 of the UK Ship Register .

Cost to register your private leisure boat or craft

The fee to register a boat on the Small Ships Register is £35 and lasts for five years.

Why you should register your boat or craft for leisure use  

Registering your vessel with the Small Ships Register is not compulsory, but there are many benefits to doing so:

• You can prove your boat’s nationality when sailing outside of UK waters
• Some marinas and ports abroad may require you to prove a vessel is registered before allowing you access
• If your vessel is stolen, damaged or goes missing, registration can help authorities or emergency services to trace you as the owner(s)
• Registration may also help with insurance or registering a claim following an incident

New Registration

Change Details

Change Ownership

Re-Registration

Onboard safety

Tips and advice for staying safe onboard

Managing your registration online

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974

COLREGS, 1972

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea

Find your service

• Search forums
• Yachting Monthly's Scuttlebutt

Anyone know this boat? Is there a website/register of sail numbers?

• Thread starter Robert Wilson
• Start date 4 Dec 2014

Robert Wilson

Well-known member.

Robert Wilson said: Sail No 3048. Classic Yawl circa 38' - 40' perhaps. Click to expand...

Robert Wilson said: Sail No 3048. Classic Yawl circa 38' - 40' perhaps. She sailed into Gruinard bay (in front of my house) in 2004. I can't see by enlarging my image if she has the Fife Dragon on her bow. I thought she belongs to someone named Scobie, from these parts, but I think his is a sloop, of similar design. Is there a register of sail numbers, with other details of boats and/or owners? Many thanks PS. Quirkily, the image number from my camera/download is 3048 - same as the sail number!! Click to expand...

JumbleDuck said: However, a google search for "sail number 3048" gives this http://www.britishyachtingarchive.org.uk/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=3048:Snooy+IV Could that be her? Click to expand...

You could try googling racing results in the area? The RYA is the issuer of most sail numbers, unless it's a manufacturer's class number. Around here, we have the Solent Year Book, which lists a lot of classes with numbers and owners.  

pvb said: I don't think you can have read that page you linked to - it says the boat's sail number is S95 and it's only 8.9m long! Click to expand...

lw395 said: The RYA is the issuer of most sail numbers, unless it's a manufacturer's class number. Click to expand...

JumbleDuck said: Not on the West Coast of Scotland it isn't, or wasn't. Click to expand...

lw395 said: You're right. Didn't the McRoyal clubs issue K numbers with a letter suffix? No suffix = RYA or RORC? or did RORC have R as a suffix? BTW, last time I used this method to track down a boat, I found it had secondhand sails on it... Click to expand...

A1Sailor said: What a horrible view Robert has from his house. No sunshine, no blue sky - just a bit of boring old sand and a boat. Now we know why the Solent is so popular. Click to expand...

sailorman said: Could be a Kim Holman Rummer Class Click to expand...

Robert Wilson said: It could be. Well done. Any idea if there are records available? Click to expand...

http://www.classicboat.co.uk/articles/the-life-and-designs-of-kim-holman/ I had the pleasure of chatting to Kim many yrs ago over a pint in the HPYC on the Orwell Kim`s last boat was a Hustler 35 Pssssssst i have a Holman & Pye designed yacht :encouragement:  

sailorman said: http://www.classicboat.co.uk/articles/the-life-and-designs-of-kim-holman/ I had the pleasure of chatting to Kim many yrs ago over a pint in the HPYC on the Orwell Kim`s last boat was a Hustler 35 Pssssssst i have a Holman & Pye designed yach t :encouragement: Click to expand...

Robert, Robert. Will ye never learn, man? Your picture makes the place look so nice and tranquil that you run the risk of the bay being filled with yachts, mobos and jetskis next year. Sheesh!  

A1Sailor said: Robert, Robert. Will ye never learn, man? Your picture makes the place look so nice and tranquil that you run the risk of the bay being filled with yachts, mobos and jetskis next year. Sheesh! Click to expand...

JumbleDuck said: Perhaps he should talk about the anthrax more? Click to expand...

Members online

• georgebertie
• Sticky Fingers
• afterpegassus
• Wandering Star
• Chiara’s slave
• Corkysailor
• Irish Rover
• Moodysailor
• justanothersailboat
• James_Calvert
• Fantasie 19
• Tuesday_night
• Slipstream 34
• Bobby Fisher

Share this page

• Yachting Monthly
• Digital edition

Understand your boat and her statistics

• April 28, 2015

Nigel Calder and Chris Beeson explain how to use boat statistics to understand your boat, or choose the right boat for you and your cruising

There are a huge number of factors to consider and many statistical tools you can use Credit: Malö Yachts

The perfect cruising boat doesn’t exist and cannot be designed. Different sailors have different budgets and varied experience and requirements. Some coastal cruisers prefer to spend their weekends marina-hopping. Others might prefer to avoid marinas and get away from it all, exploring creeks and quiet anchorages. Some offshore sailors will head across Biscay to the Mediterranean or cross the North Sea to explore the delights of Holland or Scandinavia and the Baltic. Each of these three common types of yacht owner has a completely different idea about what makes the perfect boat.

Marina-hoppers are spoiled for choice. Brokers’ yards are bursting with nippy, spacious, comfortable, well-equipped, good-value cruisers, with fin keels and spade rudders, easy to handle and maintain. Creek crawlers will need a shoal draught yacht that can dry out – one with a skeg rudder and centreboard or bilge keels. The offshore cruiser will need something more bulletproof and more expensive, possibly longer keeled with a skeg rudder – a yacht that can look after herself in a blow without constant attention.

The key to lifelong contentment on the water is to find out what makes your perfect cruiser. There are a huge number of factors to consider and many statistical tools you can use but, before you can find the right answers, you need to ask the right questions.

Desirable attributes

Nigel chose his Malö 46, Nada, after he and wife Terrie took a long hard look at themselves and the way they sail

Everyone has a different cruising style. It’s important to select a boat suited to your aspirations. How and where do you want to sail? Here’s our list of desirable attributes that you can rank in your own order of importance:

• Speed, on various points of sail
• Comfort, at sea and in harbour
• Short-handed sailing
• Directional stability
• Security in all conditions
• Manoeuvrability under power
• Fun to sail
• Shoal-draught cruising
• Galley specification
• Space for entertaining (saloon and cockpit layout)

You can probably think of some other important factors to add to your personal wish list.

Many sailors dream of selling up and sailing to exotic landfalls, sitting on a palm-fringed beach with a rum punch cocktail. But you could spend a fortune on a bulletproof blue water cruiser only for your dreams to fade. For most of us, the reality is coastal cruising in a boat which is typically less expensive, more fun to sail and much more suitable.

With modern weather forecasting and communications, the coastal boat should never be in conditions that can capsize her. This means the design envelope can be pushed towards performance in ways that are not safe for the offshore boat.

The coastal boat will make relatively short passages with the occasional overnighter, whereas the offshore boat will make passages of days or weeks. Once again, the design envelope on the coastal cruiser can be pushed towards performance over comfort. The coastal boat will carry substantially less payload than the offshore boat.

6 key decision-making tools

When it comes to choosing your yacht, you’ll find the published statistics -are very useful decision-making tools, including:

• Displacement/length (D/L) ratio
• Ballast ratio
• Sail area/displacement (SA/D) ratio
• Angle of vanishing stability (AVS, also known as LPS, the limit of positive stability)
• The stability index (STIX) number
• Polar charts

The one problem with these indices is that the boat’s displacement is a key parameter in all of them. In almost all cases the published displacement number, used in the calculations, is the yacht’s ‘light ship’, or unladen weight. For cruising boats, this is unrealistic as the laden weight is much higher. As a general rule of thumb, coastal cruisers should add at least 1,360kg (3,000 lb) to the displacement, and offshore cruisers at least 2,270kg (5,000 lb).

Much of this weight is liquid – water and fuel. You also have batteries, chargers, inverters, calorifiers and other add-ons, a toolbox and spare parts. Don’t forget extra sails and almost certainly a roller furler on the genoa. Then there is the crew and all its kit, plus groceries, a dinghy and its outboard, maybe a liferaft, probably a small but deceptively heavy library. Over time, ‘stuff’ accumulates on almost all boats – when did you last empty yours? – which steadily adds weight in small increments, and this affects every aspect of the boat’s performance.

Remember to account for the actual displacement of your yacht when using the following calculations – for a more detailed explanation, you can refer to Chapter 1 of my Boatowner’s Practical and Technical Cruising Manual . It’s best not to treat your yacht like a shed and load her to the gunwales with paraphernalia you’ll never use, but at the same time don’t imagine that the displacement figures published for your boat or any other are realistic in cruising trim.

1. The Displacement/Length ratio

The equation for working this out is:

D / L = Displacement in lb/ (0.01 x Waterline length in ft) 3

Alternatively, you can search online for a ‘displacement length calculator’ and input your yacht’s stats – use imperial or metric, whichever is specified, and be consistent.

Heavier boats, like this Bowman 42, are less affected by payload

The D/L ratio gives a sense of a boat’s speed potential – the lower the number, the faster the boat. The trade-off for speed potential is a lighter boat with a more rapid, less comfortable motion, OK for a coastal cruiser but not nearly so much fun offshore.

The Starlight 39 is a solidly built cruiser, capable and well behaved

Also, if you take a boat with a low D/L ratio and put a cruising payload in her, it will have a proportionately bigger impact on performance than putting the same payload in a boat with a higher D/L ratio.

Short waterline length makes the Rustler 36 seem deceptively slow

In the table below, the Rustler 36 looks slow, even as a moderate displacement boat. This is because waterline length is part of the D/L formula, and the Rustler has long overhangs and a short waterline. As soon as she heels, it’s a different story. I’ve put her in here to demonstrate that these performance ratios work best when comparing boats with similar design features, and have to be used with caution where the designs differ significantly. In crude terms, the D/L ratio can be correlated with boat cross-sectional shapes as shown in this graphic.

The performance of lighter boats takes a much greater hit than that of heavier boats, with the same cruising payload

Today’s nippy cruisers, like this Elan 360, are quicker on flat water

As a general rule, a boat with lower D/L ratio performs better in the light to medium wind range that coastal cruisers enjoy, due to lighter displacement and longer waterline length. In marginal conditions however, Force 6 and above, the lower the D/L ratio, the greater the discomfort upwind – a heavier boat with a well immersed forefoot will not leave the water so readily and so doesn’t slam like a lighter boat.

Lighter boats, like this J-105, are disproprtionately affected by payload

Also, the lower the D/L ratio, the flatter the bottom and the less volume there is beneath the cabin sole for tankage, which then takes up stowage space beneath the saloon settees and the berths, and the less the bilge volume to accommodate any water that comes aboard. This means it’s more likely that it will end up in the cable runs and lockers when the boat heels. And so on…

I’ve always been an offshore cruiser and 30 years ago most offshore cruising boats had laden D/L ratios well above 400. For example, I estimated that our 39ft Colin Archer double-ender weighed in laden at around 14,515kg (32,000 lb). This gave us a D/L of 436. These boats are real clunkers in terms of sailing capability, but are very safe and secure – we happily cruised with two babies on board. With modern boatbuilding materials and design trends that increase internal volume by removing overhangs, D/L ratios for all types of boats have steadily shifted to lower numbers. For a brand-new coastal cruiser, using published numbers, I would look in the 150 (racer/cruiser) to 250 range, and for an offshore boat, in the 250 (pretty good performance) to 350 range.

If you’re calculating the figures for your boat, is she statistically as lively or sedate as you thought? Have you occasionally wondered if she’s a bit docile for you, or too much of a handful? You might be right. On the flip side, a docile boat requires less intervention and allows you to relax a bit more, while a lively performer rewards your sail trimming and will sail in light winds when others need to fire up their engines.

Boats with a high D/L ratio will give you a smoother ride in the rough stuff. Compare the Rustler 42 (right, D/L 309) to the Bénéteau First 45 (left, D/L 186)

2 The Ballast ratio

The ballast ratio is the percentage of the boat’s weight that is ballast. For example, a boat that displaces 13,608kg (30,000 lb) with a 4,536kg (10,000lb) ballast keel has 33% ballast ratio. If we add a 1,360kg (3,000 lb) coastal cruiser payload to the boat, the gross displacement is now 14,968kg (33,000 lb) and the ballast ratio drops to 30%. The lighter the boat, the greater the impact of payload.

Think of the ballast ratio as a measure of ‘stiffness’ – the resistance to heeling. It’s relevant to short-handed sailing because unlike racing boats, we don’t have five fatties on the rail to increase righting moment when sailing upwind. However, equally important are the ballast’s draught, shape and composition – a boat with a lead bulb on a cast iron fin will be much stiffer than a lead fin keel of identical weight.

There’s also ‘form stability.’ A catamaran, for example, has no ballast but very high form stability thanks to its beam, and the principle also applies to beamy coastal cruisers. Ballast ratio is a rather crude indicator but has its uses.

The J-105 again. She has a high ballast ratio, so she’s stiff and performs very well upwind

High performance monohulls may have a ballast ratio approaching 50%. A J-105, for example, has a light ship weight of 3,515kg (7,750 lb), with 1,542kg (3,400 lb) of ballast, for a ballast ratio of 44%. Traditionally, offshore boats have had a ballast ratio of 30-40%. The trend in recent years has been to push more volume into boats, which increases the beam. This, in turn, increases the form stability, reducing the need for ballast to maintain stiffness.

Despite a low ballast ratio, the Bavaria 40’s prodigious beam gives her form stability

It’s now not uncommon to see ballast ratios below 30%. A Bavaria 40, for example, has a light ship weight of 8,680kg (19,136 lb), with 2,736kg (6,032 lb) of ballast, for a nominal ballast ratio of 31.5%. With a 1,360kg (3,000 lb) coastal cruising payload, this drops to 27%. Despite this low figure, the Bavaria 40, with her extra beam and form stability, is a capable coastal cruiser. For offshore work, I like to have the loaded ballast ratio above 30% (this requires light ship ballast ratios above 35%, increasing to 40% on a weight-and-performance-conscious boat.

As most of us sail short-handed, stiffness is an important factor, so how stiff is your boat? Have you ever thought her a bit tender on the wind? Do you find yourself reefing before anyone else? Maybe your boat has the beam to forgive a low ballast ratio?

3 The Sail Area/Displacement ratio

SA / D = Sail Area in square feet / (Displacement in cubic feet) 2/3

Alternatively, search online for a ‘sail area displacement calculator’ and input your boat’s stats – use imperial or metric, whichever is specified, and be consistent

The Regina 40’s SA/D ratio is low, at 15.2, so she’s easily handled but not exhilarating to sail

The SA/D ratio is a measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. In this case, the higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. A SA/D ratio above 20 is getting into the lively performance category. I was once on a custom-built racing boat with a SA/D ratio of 40. She was doing 8 knots in 8 knots of true wind speed. The wind gusted up to 12 knots and the boat was completely out of control.

An SA/D of 17 means the Westerly Corsair is a well mannered cruiser

The SA/D number is significantly affected by adding weight to the boat and by how the sail area itself is measured – it should be measured as the area of the mainsail plus the area of the foretriangle ((I x J) / 2, where I is the distance from the mast boot to the genoa halyard sheave and J is the distance from the mast boot to the forestay tang) or a 100% jib. Many manufacturers quote the area of the sails, and the genoa could be 140% or more of the foretriangle, so the published numbers have to be taken with a substantial grain of salt but we can make some useful generalisations.

The Najad 373’s SA/D of 19 means she’s quite fun but easily managed

For coastal cruising, I’d be looking in the 18 to 24 range, with 24 being very much on the ‘fun to sail’ end of the spectrum, a performance cruiser that rewards tweaking and tuning. On older, heavier cruising boats, the SA/D number was almost always below 16, and often as low as 12. These boats need 12-15 knots of wind to get going and their owners almost always motor if the apparent wind is below 10 knots. My target for a more modern offshore cruising boat is in the 17 to 20 range for published numbers.

With an SA/D of 23.8, the X-40 is a real performer but more demanding

The Regina 40, for example, is a solid Swedish offshore cruiser with impeccable sailing manners and extremely safe but a little under- canvassed, is at 15.2; a Westerly Corsair 36 is at 17; a Najad 373, a solid cruising boat with reasonable performance, is at 19; the racy X-40 scores 23.8.

Perhaps you enjoy the cut-and-thrust of the odd Wednesday night race with friends, but you also want some drama-free cruising with the family at the weekend? Don’t forget that you can’t add sail area without spending lots of money, but you can reduce it in seconds by reefing, so it might be best to err on the side of better performance.

4 The Angle of Vanishing Stability

Here we compare the AVS of the traditional, well-ballasted Contessa 32, to the more modern, beamy Bavaria 32

The angle of vanishing stability (AVS) is a measure of how far a boat can heel before she rolls over and inverts – in other words, her resistance to capsize. Before the AVS is reached, the yacht’s centre of gravity (G) is inside its centre of buoyancy (B), creating a positive righting moment (RM). At the AVS, G is directly above B, but once B moves inside G, the yacht has a negative RM and will need an external force, like wave movement, to right. The smaller the area between the inverted curve and the zero axis, the quicker she is likely to right.

Almost all yachts can put the masthead well under water and still not capsize. An AVS of 105 degrees, for example, means the boat can theoretically roll to 105 degrees (with the masthead 15 degrees below horizontal) before capsizing. An AVS of 140 means the masthead can be 50 degrees below horizontal before the boat capsizes. There will be water flooding in through cockpit lockers and any open portholes and hatches, but the boat should right herself. Multihulls are the exception. If they heel to beyond 90 degrees, they roll over, and once upside-down are just as stable as when right side up.

Even with her mast 66 degrees below horizontal, the Contessa 32 still rights herself

There is another component to the AVS number. The higher the number, the quicker, in theory, the boat will right herself if capsized. With an AVS of 120, if the boat capsizes she should right itself within two minutes. Traditionally, 120 has been taken as the lower limit for cruising boats. However, when I stick my head under water in the bath and hold my breath, I can’t come close to two minutes. I prefer a higher AVS number (the Fastnet Race requires a minimum of 130), but often this translates into heavier, more comfortable, less sprightly boats. These days, numbers as low as 105 are not unknown for coastal cruisers.

With her mast 39 degrees below horizontal, the Bavaria 32 will invert

The boat’s weight is an important part of the AVS calculation, and more particularly the distribution of the weight. Adding weight higher up lowers the AVS, whereas adding it below the centre of gravity raises it. It is important to remember this when adding stores and gear to boats. Heavy roller-furling or in-mast furling gear will have a significant impact, as will a radar radome or wind generator high on the mast, a large outboard engine hanging on the pushpit, or jerrycans of water and fuel stowed on deck. Ideally, heavy items should be as low down as possible and on the centreline.

After tests conducted for his book Heavy Weather Sailing , Peter Bruce concluded that any yacht will capsize if hit beam-on by a wave higher than half her overall length. Fortunately, with reasonable attention to weather forecasts, coastal cruisers need never encounter waves of that size, so it’s not a big issue, just worth a glance. If you’re planning to spend a lot of time sailing offshore, choose a yacht with a higher AVS. It’s worth noting that the inquiry into the 1979 Fastnet Race found that downflooding with a ton of water makes it easier to right a capsized vessel, and two tons makes it easier still. It seems counter-intuitive, but it’s the same effect that destabilised, then capsized the cross-Channel ferry Herald of Free Enterprise .

5 The STIX number

The AVS calculation is a pretty crude measure of stability. Following the 1979 Fastnet Race, the European Union began work on a much more sophisticated approach that incorporates more measures of stability and also takes account of other important factors, such as the angle of heel at which open portholes and hatches will start to flood the boat.

The Malö 46’s STIX, 56, suggests she’s statistically very seaworthy

STIX (short for ‘stability index’) defines four categories of boats. Of interest to us are the ‘A’ (for offshore) and ‘B’ (for coastal) categories. To be classified in the ‘A’ category, boats have to score 32 or higher on the STIX scale. To be classified in the ‘B’ category, the STIX score has to be 23 or higher. My own sense is that Category ‘A’ is not conservative enough. Given that the STIX number is considerably affected by the length of a boat, with longer boats scoring higher numbers, for offshore work I consider a better rule to be as follows: the STIX number should be at least equal to the length of the boat in feet – a 40ft boat should score 40 or higher. My own Malö 46, for example, has a STIX number of 56.

The Ovni 395 has a STIX of 33.41 – very low for offshore work, but she’s a proven ocean cruiser

It took over a decade to reach agreement on STIX and there are still some anomalies. Some boats that are universally considered suitable for offshore cruising (some of which have sailed extensively in high latitudes) do not receive an offshore rating, while others that should really be considered coastal boats do get an offshore rating. For example, the Ovni 395 – a proven offshore cruiser – just squeaks into the offshore category at 33.41. Interestingly, she also has a low AVS, at 115 degrees, because of her internal ballast.

6 Velocity Prediction Programs

For years now, most boat design work has been done on computers using sophisticated software. The computer can spit out performance predictions that previously would have taken long hours of tedious calculations. The usual result is a ‘polar diagram’, generated by a velocity prediction program (VPP).

The VPP plots boat speed against true wind speed and true wind angle. It assumes all kinds of things, such as flat water, an optimum suit of sails, and a crew that knows how to sail the boat to her optimum capabilities. In real life, it’s sometimes hard to achieve the same results. Nevertheless, the VPP provides a fair indicator of a boat’s performance.

The polars show that the J-133 is faster all round, especially broad reaching with her spinnaker set. The Malö 43’s chart indicates, literally, a more rounded performance but at lower speeds

According to the VPP-generated polar graph, a J-133 sailing at 135° to 20 knots of true wind, with her gennaker flying, should make 11 knots. Sailing at 45° to a 12-knot breeze, under main and jib, she should make 7.5 knots.

When comparing boats, I like to take the VPP charts, blow them up or down on a photocopier until they are the same size, and then put them on top of each other on a light table. If I was a bit more computer-savvy, I could scan them and do this more effectively with my computer. In any event, you immediately get a sense of which is the better performing boat on different points of sail.

Your horse, for your course

Do you really need the facilities – and expense – of a big blue water-specified boat like this Allures 44?

Or will you actually spend your time pottering around the coast, in which case a bilge-keeled Legend 39 like this suits better

I’ve skimmed over many significant issues on which experienced sailors have strong, differing opinions. At the end of the day, our personal idiosyncrasies are a key part of the relationship we have with our boats. If you can temper yours with the kind of objective data I described at the beginning of this article, you will be able to understand better why your boat behaves the way she does. If you’re looking for a boat, these tools will help you narrow down the search and find the perfect cruiser for you. And who cares what’s perfect for anyone else?

Enjoyed reading this?

A subscription to Yachting Monthly magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price .

Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals .

YM is packed with information to help you get the most from your time on the water.

• Take your seamanship to the next level with tips, advice and skills from our experts
• Impartial in-depth reviews of the latest yachts and equipment
• Cruising guides to help you reach those dream destinations

Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram.

• MYA Districts
• MYA Ranking Lists

• Registration Records of MYA Class Boats
• Measurement & Certification

Introduction

Older boats will occasionally be sold with a measurement certificate that provides the owner with some provenance. More often than not the certificate will have been lost. However, the identity of older boats that have been issued with a measurement certificate can sometimes be traced if the boat has any of the following:

• A hull registration number engraved of bonded in
• A three or four digit sail number (two digit for really old boats)
• A name recorded on the hull

If you have any of that information the current Class Registrar, or the keeper of the historical records, may be able to provide information about the original ownership of the boat.

The records of certificates issued since the early days of the current classes represent a considerable sized archive for the more popular classes. The current registrars, except for the IOM Registrar, have only relatively recent records and are only able to provide information for boats registered more recently in the class’s history.

The Vintage Model Yacht Group

Older records are lodged with the Vintage Model Yacht Group who provide a valuable service to the MYA by acting as archivists and by providing information to enquirers.

The VMYG’s Digital Archivist, currently Charles Smith, reports his job is to:

• ensure that as far as possible digital copies are made of registers which deteriorate with age
• create data bases in such a way that they can be searched readily
• extract historical information by comparing the relative strengths of the various classes in different parts of the country
• recreate from scratch as far as is possible the missing registers

Several members of the VMYG are active in this work and, where relevant, they are identified below.

How to search for information

The following pages log the whereabouts of the various register records in late 2022 and is provided to assist with a search for information.

Please see the MYA Website Knowledge Base, Measurement and Certification, Class Registrars page for the contact details of the current Class Registrars.

Please see the MYA Website Classes, Vintage page for the contact details of the Vintage Model Yacht Group.

IOM Registrar

The Registrar has: Records kept in a database (Excel spreadsheet) starting from boat number 1 up to present. 75 ring binders of certificate copies.

M Registrar

The Registrar has: 15 files with certificate copies and MFs for boats number 4000 to the present 473 digital records of modern certificates. 1 binder with one sheet certificates for about 200 pre-4000 boats Excel spreadsheets (6 in total) for each batch of 1000 ‘boats’ logging basic data records.

Vintage Model Yacht Group

David Mathers has the earlier Marblehead Register, which is on filing cards and he is working to produce a digitized record. Martin Bandey has a filing cabinet containing the Marblehead declaration cards in alphabetical order but the content is not complete.

10R Register

The Registrar has: Records from boat registration number 3000 to the present.

Charles Smith holds the original 10R Registers from number 1 (1925) to number 2137 (1982). A digitised version of the records have been completed up to number 1395 (1948).

Although boats in the class date from the 1880s, and the class was adopted by the Model Yacht Racing Association in 1914, a register was not started until the MYA AGM 1925 after which boats could race to the MYA rules. Many of the earlier boats were then registered.

Declaration card for numbers 1774 to 3132 and miscellaneous copy certificates for numbers 1 to 3249 are held. However, there are gaps where records are missing.

There is also a short record of the 18 Footer Class, muddled within the 10 Register.

A Class Registrar

The Registrar has: Class registers in both paper and electronic (Excel) formats information from numbers 1000 to 1800 Vintage Model Yacht Group Martin Bandey has, in addition to the A Class Register in a red book, a series of both declaration and registration cards for numbers 1 to 1244. Robert Hobbs prepared an electronic version of the MYA’s records up to boat number 1000 in connection with the publication of a book and may be approached for a copy of this material.

36 Registrar

The Registrar has: Paper certificates from numbers 1720 to 1940 (current September 2022) Electronic copies of certificate from around 1830. Electronic record of data for numbers 1 to 1000.

Martin Bandey holds the following records: 1st book numbers 1 (1930) to 698 (1950) 2nd book numbers 699 to 953 (1957) 3rd book numbers 954 to1229 (1982) Declaration cards for numbers 234-1719 with some gaps including 1685-1698 and 1712-1713

6M register

The Registrar has: Class registers in both paper and electronic (Excel) formats information from numbers 850 to 1140. The register for the 6M up to number 850 was disposed of before it could be recovered from the Registrar’s widow. However the Scottish MYA Register for the class is complete.

My thanks go to the MYA Class Registrars, Nick Cowern, Roy Stevens, Richard Uttley, Bill Green and Martin Dovey, and members of the VMYG, Martin Bandey, Charles Smith, and David Mathers, in preparing this resume of the information.

Graham Bantock MYA Technical Officer 10th October 2022

Attachments

• previous post: A Guide to Entering Races
• next post: MYA Major Event Check List

High School and College Sailors - 15% Off Apparel & Accessories - LEARN MORE

• Call Us +1-503-285-5536
• Sign in & Register
• Recently Viewed
• General Parts

Sail Numbers

Display your sail number on your sail with adhesive-backed sail numbers. These insignia numbers are made from a sticky back dacron material and do not add any significant weight to the sail. We carry pre-cut style "Euro" numbers and the traditional 'Digital 8' style numbers, which can be cut to any specific number, in a variety of number heights and colors. For Laser sails, select the 12 inch numbers in either Digital 8 or Euro style. We also stock Hobie Cat specific numbers for boats like the Hobie 16, Hobie 17, and Hobie 17 plus Tasar class specific red numbers.

Digital 8 - These are universal numbers in the shape of the digit '8' from which you can cut any specific number you need. 

Pre Cut / Euro  - Unlike Digital 8 numbers, 'Euro' style or 'Pre Cut' numbers are cut to specific numbers or letters for a clean finish. These are preferred by many sailors as they have a higher quality look on the sail.

• Qty in Cart

Sail Number 12" Pre-Cut Euro

Sail Number 12" Digital

Sail Number 9" Pre-Cut Euro

Sail Number 9" Digital

Sail # Country Code Set (2ea) - 12in Euro - USA (Black)

Sail # Country Code Set (2ea) - 12in Euro - USA (Blue)

Sail # Country Code Set (2ea) - 12in Euro - USA (Red)

Sail # 10-Pack - 12in Digital 8's (Black)

Sail # 10-Pack - 12in Digital 8's (Blue)

Sail # 10-Pack - 12in Digital 8's (Red)

Sail # 10-Pack - 9in Digital 8's (Black)

Sail # 10-Pack - 9in Digital 8's (Blue)

Sail # 10-Pack - 9in Digital 8's (Red)

Tasar Sail Numbers

• Total: items /
• Add all to cart

Adding your products to cart

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Sign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive discounts, new product announcements, and upcoming sales.

• Soling 1 Meter Sails
• Dragon Force 65
• Dragon Flite 95
• Sail Numbers
• Used / Discounted Inventory
• All Products
• About the Sailmaker
• Regatta Results
• Gift Certificates

Sail Numbers DF65 - DragonForce

DF65 SAIL NUMBERS

New! Updated to be compliant with the  new 2023 Version 1.8.3 Rules change  on number size! Unlike vinyl number that are stiff and can shrink, insignia cloth is a very soft, flexible number material that does not shrink or fade in the sun over time.

Price shown is numbers for both sides of the sail plus $1.50 Shipping. To order more than 1 set, change the Qty after you add to cart.

Sail Numbering :

Sail numbers shall be applied to the Mainsail and Jib. 

They shall conform to the dimensions shown in Table 1. On the Mainsail they shall be positioned below a line joining Sail Points E-I and above a line joining C-K (see Diagram 3). Two or three digits can be used but must be consistent on all rigs and the same on both Main and Jib When using two digits, there shall be space in front of a sail number for a numeric prefix. National letters shall conform to the dimensions shown in Table 2 and positioned on the Mainsail below a line joining Sail Points C-K. National letters are only mandatory for international events. All numbers and letters shall be filled in solid, in a strong contrasting colour and arranged for maximum legibility. Guidelines are available on www.dfracing.world Sail numbers, and national letters if fitted, shall be applied to both sides of the sail with port side numbers and letters positioned below starboard side. Sail numbers, and national letters if fitted, shall be applied using either self-adhesive material or ink. Sails made before 1st June 2023 shall be grandfathered.

(The following has been removed from Version 1.7 of the class rules to bring the DF65 sail numbering rule in line with IRSA Release notes for Appendix E - Identification on Sails When the sail number is in the range 00 to 09, the initial 0 shall be omitted and the remaining digit positioned to allow space for both a prefix and a suffix. 0 shall not be used as a prefix.) To aid boat identification for race officials and competitors the sail number, national letter dimensions and spacing are more clearly defined in Tables 1 & 2. Sail Number Dimensions and Spacing

• Practical Boat Owner
• Digital edition

What I learned during a boat knockdown while sailing alone

• August 22, 2024

Freya Terry gets an early lesson in the perils of single-handed sailing when she embarks on a round-UK and Ireland circumnavigation in her distinctive She 31

When the knockdown threw Freya across the boat, her head struck the bulkhead Credit: Claudia Myatt Credit: Claudia Myatt

The wind is sitting at about 25 knots, and I’m 15 miles north of Padstow, but the tide is against me, writes Freya Terry .

Although I’m making good speed (4 knots), I just can’t point. So, I put in a tack, and it takes me almost 180° around due to the tide.

I’ve missed the tide and will have to sit it out till midnight when I can head to shore. It’s going to be slow, but I know I can do it.

I’ve already lost my engine and most of my battery power .

I’m only using battery to power my navigation lights, but luckily there’s not a boat in sight, so I’m not too worried.

I’m back to old-school navigation so I head down below to fill in the log and mark my position on the chart, and that’s when it happens.

I feel something, and the boat starts to tip. I make a desperate dash for the tiller.

Freya Terry and her Sparkman & Stephens She 31 Pink Delta built in 1977. Credit: RYA Cymru Wales

I’m too late; the force of the knockdown throws me across the boat, and I hit my head on the bulkhead by the window.

I scream in pain, but no one hears. I’m alone on a boat miles out to sea.

I fall as Pink Delta rights herself, landing painfully.

For a moment, my whole world is pain, and then I’m sick. I take a moment and check my head—no blood, that’s good. I get up and go on deck; everything is the same like nothing even happened.

Pink Delta is sailing along beautifully, 50° to the wind. I sit still, marvelling at her incredible resilience.

I turn on my handheld radio but as soon as I start to transmit, the screen loses power.

Okay, the ship’s radio next. It turns on, and I transmit a Mayday message.

After a few minutes, I hear nothing back. I try again… nothing. I think it must not be getting enough power.

Freya Terry is a dinghy, keelboat, multihull, power-boat and jetski instructor from Pembrokeshire. Aged 21, after restoring a She 27 yacht (bought for £1 from a friend’s garden), she upsized to a She 31 for her solo circumnavigation around Britain and Ireland. Freya won a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Cymru Wales Impact Award for her achievements at Pembrokeshire Performance Sailing Academy. She has now made repairs and restarted her circumnavigation. www.she-sails.co.uk

My head is foggy, and I know I should be calling for help. So I clip in and climb back on deck, and then I’m sick again.

I know I need to set off my personal locator beacon (PLB) , but I don’t want to. I wanted to do this trip alone.

I think I can make it back to shore, and I don’t want to worry everyone back home.

I know that if I do this, people will judge me. I’m only a few days into my trip, and I feel like I’ve already failed.

But I know I need to put my safety first, so I do the adult thing, the thing I’ve always avoided doing—I ask for help.

I set off the PLB and then I cry. I’ve overcome so much already on this short journey. I was proud of myself, but this… this I can’t deal with alone.

The journey before the boat knockdown

Some background and how I ended up in this situation. I’m 21 and I grew up on the water.

I first learned to sail at Fishguard Bay Yacht Club in a Topper when I was 12, then I moved up to a Feva and a 420.

I’ve raced and trained extensively, even representing Wales.

I’ve worked as a dingy instructor for five years and, last year, I bought my beloved Sparkman and Stephens She 31 from Aberystwyth.

I spent months refurbishing her, including painting her bright pink inspired by Jessica Watson .

I re-named her Pink Delta and spent the summer sailing her from Aberystwyth down to Neyland, exploring along the way.

We spent the winter in Neyland marina, where I dreamed of big adventures. I was determined and set my sights on sailing around Great Britain and Ireland.

Freya did much of the work herself to prepare Pink Delt a for the circumnavigation. Credit: Matt Cottingham

As a young person this seemed financially impossible, but I set up a GoFundMe and started seeking sponsors (I’m still looking), I aimed to raise awareness for mental health issues, and I began speaking openly and honestly for the first time about the extreme mental health difficulties I faced from a young age.

As funds came in, I bought essential safety kit and prepared the boat. I set an ambitious launch date of 11 May 2024 to give me all summer sailing.

My voyage isn’t about speed; I’m intentionally embracing a slower pace, engaging with communities and sparking vital conversations about mental health.

Things were a little chaotic in the run-up to the launch, but I had everything under control. I’d serviced the engine and had it up and running.

The electronics had been checked by an electrician the day before I left. It was busy but mostly final touches.

All in all, I was happy that the boat and I were ready.

The conditions were stunning  on launch day– clear blue skies, sunshine, and about 15 knots of wind, not the usual Welsh weather.

Loads of my friends and family came to wave me off and wish me good luck. It was heartwarming and emotional but at 1015 my lines slipped and I was off.

Once out past St Ann’s Head, I was comfortably sailing at 7 knots and with the tide behind me, I made the best course to wind. I made some food and settled in, but by mid-afternoon, the wind dropped to 5-8 knots and began shifting a lot.

I hand-steered and tried to keep my speed up. To try and arrive before dark I switched the engine on, but that wasn’t meant to be.

After an hour, the engine ground to a halt.

Watersports instructor Freya Terry from Pembrokeshire was among the first to be honoured in the RYA Cymru Wales Impact Awards. Credit: RYA Cymru Wales

I suspected a fuel problem, so I changed the filter and connected it to a jerry can of fresh diesel. I bled the engine and eventually, she started up again.

I congratulated myself and carried on, but an hour later, the same thing happened.

I went below, adjusted some things, and the engine started once more.

But after 40 minutes, it cut out yet again. I was a few miles from the island. I started swearing at the engine, I was so close; couldn’t it have kept going just a little longer?

Almost as if they heard me, three dolphins appeared to reassure me I’d be okay.

I kept an eye on my position and spent nearly an hour trying to get the engine going – nothing worked. I realized I was going to have to sail to Lundy.

As it got dark the wind dropped completely, barely propelling me forward at around 1 knot.

I finally anchored safely by 0300 and I turned on my anchor lights before going to sleep. Poor weather meant I stayed at anchor for two days,

I tried everything I knew to do to start the engine without success.

Then, on the evening of 13 May, I started having battery problems,

Despite a voltage reading of 12.1V before bed, I awoke four hours later to a flashing warning light at 6.5V which I didn’t understand.

The next morning, I checked again – my leisure battery was dead. I still had some power in my engine battery but it was low from all the time cranking and trying to fix the engine.

On 14 May, while there was a good wind, I set sail for Padstow as I’d planned. I didn’t want to be stuck in Lundy Island with no power, and knew once I arrived in Padstow I could get things fixed.

I had a portable battery for my phone and I updated my family and the RYA SafeTrx app to my passage plan.

It took me a while to get the anchor up and sail away from the island, so by the time I was on course for Padstow, I knew I’d likely missed the tide window but chose to sail on.

I left a message for the harbour master to let him know I’d probably be arriving the next day instead and tried to update my SafeTrx, but I was already out of signal.

I knew it would likely be a late night, and I planned to find somewhere along the way to anchor for a little while.

Though fighting the tide, the strong wind gave me good speed but its angle prevented a direct course to Padstow.

Down on power, I was running my nav light from the engine battery. I was back to using Imray paper charts for navigation, a difficult feat alone in a Force 6.

RNLI rescue after the boat knockdown

But I was coping. I’m a sailor, and I was simply sailing my boat. I had nav lights so other boats could see me. I had charts to navigate.

I didn’t need anything else –fancy chart plotters, radios, AIS, even engines – are all luxuries we don’t actually need to sail.

I knew it was going to be another late night, but once the tide turned, I’d sail into an anchorage.

Unbeknown to me (as I had no communication), the harbour master didn’t receive my message and contacted the coastguard about my overdue estimated time of arrival.

Falmouth Coastguard, noting my SafeTrx, sent the Padstow lifeboat to look for me at my last known location, 20 miles away from where I now was.

Their search was stood down at nightfall.

I was simply dealing with the conditions at hand.

Later, at around 2200, was when I was knocked down. I hit my head and, believing I had a concussion, I activated my PLB.

It took the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) crew nearly an hour to get to me, and for a while, I wasn’t sure if the PLB had even worked.

I can’t say what I felt at the time; my brain was a little foggy. I was running on autopilot, just doing what I knew I needed to.

Positive vibes

I didn’t know if the lifeboat was coming out to me, but if not I knew the tide would change around midnight and then I’d be able to sail to shore.

All the same, seeing the coastguard helicopter and then the lifeboat was such a relief. I knew I needed them. I wasn’t alone anymore, and I knew I’d be safe.

I have to thank the amazing team in Padstow – the harbour master, everyone on the lifeboat, and those in Falmouth co-ordinating my rescue.

Since this incident, I’ve experienced such incredible kindness, support and encouragement.

And since beginning this journey I’m more connected to family, friends, followers, and even strangers than I have ever been.

I have faced criticism and judgment at every step.

But before judging me too harshly, remember I’m a young person struggling with mental health issues.

Please be kind; words do hurt.

Things go wrong at sea, and good seamanship is how you handle them.

Despite my preparation and experience, my boat was knocked down, causing a head injury and concussion.

That is a Mayday call, regardless of age, experience, preparations or crew size.

I’m confident I did everything I could to keep myself as safe as possible but there are always lessons to be learned.

I’m glad to know that even when I was experiencing communication problems, the systems I’d put in place worked.

I’m so grateful to everyone involved in the search, and to Falmouth Coastguard and Padstow RNLI for their support.

Lessons Learned from the boat knockdown

• Remember that this is sailing: You can survive without electronics, engines, or radios.
• Have paper charts and know how to use them: I use Imray charts on Pink Delta .
• Keep your emergency contact informed of your passage plan. If it’s a difficult passage, inform the Coastguard.
• RYA SafeTrx and emergency beacons can save your life but make sure they are registered and updated regularly. The more detail you provide, the better.
• Practice using your VHF radio and PLB so it’s second nature.
• Things will go wrong at sea – it’s how you deal with them that counts.
• Don’t be scared to ask for help. If you need help, that’s what the lifeboats are there for.

RNLI incident report on Freya’s boat knockdown

Lifeboat view of Pink Delta with two RNLI Padstow crew aboard assisting Freya. Credit: RNLI/Padstow

At 1927 on Tuesday, 14 May 2024, Padstow lifeboat launched to look for an overdue yacht, Pink Delta .

Pink Delta was not at her last known location, 27 miles north of Trevose, so the lifeboat crew began a search.

Meanwhile, Falmouth Coastguard discovered that the yacht was in fact not due into Padstow Harbour until 15 May, so the lifeboat crew was stood down.

At 2220, just as the crew were returning to the station, they were tasked again because a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) alert had been received from Pink Delta – 16.5 miles north-west of Stepper Point.

Coastguard Helicopter 924, also tasked, was first at the scene. The air crew confirmed it was the Pink Delta with one person on board and were stood down.

Two Padstow lifeboat crew went aboard the yacht to assess the casualty who had fallen and hit her head. Due to the conditions, the two RNLI crew stayed on board Pink Delta , while Padstow RNLI lifeboat towed the yacht into a Camel Estuary mooring, arriving at 0333.

The casualty was transferred to the lifeboat and taken to the station at Trevose, where paramedics took her to the Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) for observation.

Padstow Coxswain Richard Pitman said: “It was great to see the skipper had the means to call for help and we were glad we could be there. We don’t see many bright pink yachts. We wish her all the best with the rest of her solo sail around the UK.”

Expert response

Richard Falk

Richard Falk, RYA director of training and qualifications, responds: “Hindsight is a powerful tool, and a willingness to share experiences (good and bad) and to reflect on what might have been done differently is equally as powerful, both for the person involved and for readers.

“Freya is an experienced sailor who has clearly put much time and effort into preparing both herself and Pink Delta for her challenging voyage. She had carried out extensive maintenance, had planned her voyage , had all the sensible safety equipment on board and most importantly, she knew how to use it, and when.

“Without knowing the cause of Freya’s engine woes, it is difficult to comment on that, other than to say that after any period of maintenance, it is always advisable to spend some time running all relevant equipment and sea trialling it before an extended passage.

“It’s interesting to note that despite the engine and subsequent power supply issues Freya encountered, she was not daunted by this. She took those setbacks in her stride and was content to navigate her way to a safe haven using pencil and paper, something many people are ill-equipped to do in this day and age. Freya’s real problems began with the knockdown which resulted in a head injury.

“Put simply, that could have happened to anyone. It could just as easily have occurred by slipping down the companionway steps while at anchor. However, despite the impact of that injury Freya was not panicked, and made the wise decision to seek assistance by activating her PLB. Head injuries are unpredictable and while she was conscious, she was aware that her condition had the potential to deteriorate. Having the right equipment on board, knowing how to use it and, importantly, exercising good judgement in when to use it is something all skippers should aspire to.

“Thank you Freya for sharing your experience and we wish you well in your exciting undertaking.”

Freya Terry rescued following the knockdown of her yacht just days after starting her solo circumnavigation around Great Britain and Ireland

Freya Terry was sailing towards Padstow in her SHE 31 when the boat's engine failed while fighting the tide; the…

Jessica Watson – the real sailor behind the True Spirit film

Whilst the new Netflix True Spirit movie was being filmed, celebrating Jessica Watson's real-life teenage solo, non-stop global circumnavigation, the…

Sailing in storms and squalls

One crew's brisk breeze and exciting sail can be another's gale, even if sailing similar boats. So what makes the…

Why you should still make a passage plan

Cruising guide author Robert Bailey explains the importance of not being completely dependent on electronic chartplotters and why it is…

Want to read more seamanship articles like What I learned during a boat knockdown while sailing alone?

A subscription to Practical Boat Owner magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price .

Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals .

PBO is packed with information to help you get the most from boat ownership – whether sail or power.

• Take your DIY skills to the next level with trusted advice on boat maintenance and repairs
• Impartial in-depth gear reviews
• Practical cruising tips for making the most of your time afloat

Follow us on Facebook , Instagram, TikTok and Twitter

• Competitions
• British Yachting Awards
• Southampton Boat Show
• Print Subscription
• Digital Subscription
• Single Issues
• Advertise with us

Your special offer

Subscribe to Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting today!

Save 32% on the shop price when to subscribe for a year at just £39.95

Subscribe to Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting!

Save 32% on the shop price when you subscribe for a year at just £39.95

INEOS Britannia Team Profile: Royal Yacht Squadron

The 37th America’s Cup racing is underway, and here’s a full team profile on INEOS Britannia, the crew and their yacht club, the Royal Yacht Squadron…

Team profile.

Nationality: Great Britain

Representing: Royal Yacht Squadron

Key people: Ben Ainslie, CEO; James Allison, CTO; Martin Fischer, Chief Designer.

Key sailors: Ben Ainslie (skipper) , Giles Scott (helmsman) ; Freddie Carr; Dylan Fletcher; Leigh McMillan; Neil Hunter.

About INEOS Britannia

This is Ainslie’ third attempt to win the Cup for Great Britain, and it’s a team that is all about the tech. Backing from Sir Jim Ratcliffe gives the team access as part of the INEOS Sport Group to Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team , with live data link-ups to the Mercedes Applied Science team in Brackley, as well as working with the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team .

The Formation of INEOS Britannia

The British team was formed in 2014, representing the Royal Yacht Squadron, with Ben Ainslie leading the charge.

After winning the America’s Cup with Oracle Team USA in San Francisco (2013), Ben Ainslie set out to win another, but this time with a British Team. The British Team made it to the semi-final in Bermuda (2017), but were knocked out by Emirates Team New Zealand . 

In 2018, the British Team joined forces with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and became INEOS Britannia. 

The 2024 37th edition of the America’s Cup in Barcelona marks the first time a British team has competed in 3 consecutive America’s Cups since Sir Thomas Lipton and the Royal Ulster YC bids between 1899 to 1930.

The America’s Cup began in 1851 in Cowes, Isle of Wight, organised by the Royal Yacht Squadron, and predating the modern Olympic Games by 45 years. Since losing the first competition 173 years ago against the Americans (New York Yacht Club), the British (Royal Yacht Squadron) are still yet to win…

The Royal Yacht Squadron

The Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Isle of Wight, is a highly prestigious and exclusive yacht club with over 200 years of rich history . They host a wide range of events and races throughout the year, including Cowes Week and the Round the Island Race , as well as marking the finish line for elite offshore competitions like the Ocean Globe Race . 

Founded in 1815, the Royal Yacht Squadron, or “The Yacht Club” as it was then known, was situated at Thatched House Tavern in St James’s, London.

The Prince Regent was welcomed as a member in 1817, and in his later ascension to the throne as George IV, Royal was added to the club’s name. The club kept a close association with the Royal Navy, with early honorary members including Nelson’s Captain at Trafalgar, Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy. 

The RYS Clubhouse: Cowes Castle

Built in 1539 as part of Henry VIII’s chain of coastal defences, Cowes Castle has a long royal naval history . After being decommissioned in 1855, the Castle was taken over by the Royal Yacht Squadron and became their clubhouse.

More on the America’s Cup

• America’s Cup Boats: What it’s like helming an AC75
• 37th America’s Cup: Key Info, Dates & How to Watch
• Ben Ainslie’s Team Update: America’s Cup Countdown

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Cannes Boat Show 2024: Top Six New Boats

Cruising Gone Wrong: Jess Lloyd-Mostyn’s Column

New October 24 Issue: On Sale Now!

Offering a wealth of practical advice and a dynamic mix of in-depth boat, gear and equipment news, Sailing Today is written cover to cover by sailors, for sailors. Since its launch in 1997, the magazine has sealed its reputation for essential sailing information and advice.

• Telegraph.co.uk

ADVERTISING

© 2024 Chelsea Magazine Company , part of the Telegraph Media Group . | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy

Find anything you save across the site in your account

Prada At Sail: How The House’s Luna Rossa Yachts Inspired Its Linea Rossa Line – And Blew Onto Its Runways

This weekend the fashion world’s attention will be turned firmly towards the runways of New York. At Prada , however, they will be keeping at least half an eye on the Mediterranean waters off Barcelona. For this is where the Milanese house is driving its seventh attempt to win the world’s oldest international sporting competition: The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup.

The Prada Linea collection at the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup.

Fashion and sailing typically only intersect during preppy revivals (deck shoes) or at parties off Cannes (where the superyachts don’t come with sails, so strictly don’t even really count). Yet since 1997 and driven by the passion of chairman Patrizio Bertelli, Prada has persistently been locked in a deadly serious campaign to claim the sport’s greatest prize. Miuccia Prada christened the team’s latest boat – the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli AC75 – earlier this year and during its opening days of competition over the last few weeks it has only narrowly avoided being struck by lightning as this year’s competition heats up.

The Prada Luna Rossa in the Mediterranean.

While the ultimate objective is to contribute to Italy’s first-ever successful attempt on the (currently New Zealand-held) cup, Prada’s involvement in sailing has also indirectly helped steer it through the choppy waters of fashion. Back in 1997, as Prada prepared its first Luna Rossa challenge, it launched the Linea Rossa – the line in which it has outfitted its sailors ever since.

As Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group’s CMO and Head of CSR, said in an email: “Prada has combined the knowledge gained from developing technical sportswear for the Luna Rossa team with Prada’s aesthetics, resulting in the Linea Rossa collection.” He added: “The attitude to introduce technical fabrics and refinements typically belonging to sportswear into the everyday formal wardrobe embodies Prada’s unconventional spirit.”

Prada Linea Rossa autumn/winter 2021 campaign. Photo: Courtesy of Prada

Most especially in menswear, “technical” is often used as an adjective to indicate high-performance function – or at least the appearance of it – through technologically advanced fabrications. At Linea Rossa, the garments, footwear and eyewear are all rooted in that core performance sailing origin, which means the functionality and robustness of the products is more reliably high-spec, akin less to fashion pieces and more to items of industrial design.

Prada, spring/summer 1999 menswear. Photo: Courtesy of Prada

Prada, autumn/winter 1999 menswear. Photo: Courtesy of Prada

That functionality hasn’t sunk Linea Rossa’s chances of the occasional appearance on Prada’s highest podium. In 1999, Linea Rossa featured on both men’s and women’s mainline runways (the menswear linked-hands section was especially memorable), and it made a return in 2000. The red line reappeared on both runways for a relaunch in 2018, just at the point when the house was setting sail from its longstanding home on Via Fogazzaro to its new berth at Fondazione Prada. The next time we saw Linea Rossa on the runway was during a stand-out section of its spring/summer 2020 show in Shanghai. It most recently re-emerged during the doldrums of Covid, for spring/summer 2021’s The Show That Never Happened .

Prada, spring/summer 2020 menswear. Photo: Courtesy of Prada

Prada, spring/summer 2021 menswear. Photo: Courtesy of Prada

Prada, autumn/winter 2018 menswear. Photo: Courtesy of Prada

According to Vogue ’s skeleton crew of sailing watchers (just me, I think) this year’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli craft and crew seem strong contenders to emerge from the opening “challenger” stages as winners of the right to take on New Zealand for the America’s Cup. For fashion reasons as much as sailing ones let’s hope they do it – because such a famous victory would surely herald another Linea Rossa runway moment.

More From British Vogue

All Of The Best Celebrity Fashion At The 2024 Venice Film Festival

Read Kylie Jenner’s September Cover Interview In Full

Subscribe To The Vogue Daily Newsletter

The Key Autumn/Winter 2024 Trends To Know Now

Join British Vogue ’s Whatsapp Channel

Fri 6 Sept 2024

2024 newspaper of the year

@ Contact us

Your newsletters

Spain’s plan to stop migrant boat crossings – and if it could work in the UK

The spanish pm has signed deals for 'circular migration' to try to reduce numbers arriving by boat.

Spain has signed a “circular migration” deal with African nations in a bid to reduce the number of migrants arriving by boat in the Canary Island – but experts believe such an approach would have limited success for Britain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, on a visit to Mauritania last week, signed a deal to issue temporary work permits for Mauritanians to Spain and grant €500,000 (£421,000) to train local security forces in better policing of migration.

Madrid signed a similar deal with The Gambia over a system known as “circular migration” – in which temporary work visas are given to migrants who can spend a fixed amount of time in a country but then must go home.

The system already exists in Spain, which has similar deals with Morocco, Senegal and some Latin American countries. In 2022, 16,000 people took advantage and could stay for up to nine months.

Fruit-pickers from Morocco regularly come to southern Spain on work visas then return home.

In the first eight months of this year, 35,456 migrants arrived in Spain a 62.8 per cent rise compared with 2023. Of these, 25,524 made the perilous journey across the Atlantic from West Africa to the Canary Islands, a rise of 123 per cent compared with last year.

Spain’s left-wing government hopes the circular immigration plan will stem this wave of migrants.

“Immigration is not a problem but a necessity that entails certain problems,” said Mr Sánchez.

Spain approves new rights for undocumented migrants – should the UK do the same?

Spanish authorities have said between 200,000 and 250,000 immigrants are needed each year to fill empty jobs and maintain Spain’s welfare and public pension systems.

Britain has a similar plan in which about 40,000 seasonal agricultural migrants come to the UK from countries like Ukraine and Uzbekistan and are strictly controlled so they return.

However the UK Government is still scrambling for a way to reduce boat crossings in the English Channel. On Wednesday more than 200 migrants tried to leave French shores for the UK – just a day after 12 people died trying to make the journey in an inflatable boat which sank – killing a pregnant woman and six children.

So far this year 21,720 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the channel, according to provisional figures from the Home Office. This year’s total is 3 per cent higher than the same period last year, when 21,086 came to the UK, but 19 per cent lower than in 2022, when the total was 26,692.

However, Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said circular migration would have limited impact on Britain or Spain.

“There is not enough evidence about the impact of work visa programmes on people’s decisions to migrate illegally, to be confident how this policy would affect migration to Spain (or the UK),” she told i .

“In theory, if work visa programmes are very large and target the same groups of people who would otherwise move without permission, they may have an impact. If the programmes are small, however, they risk rapidly becoming oversubscribed and those who don’t get a place may still decide to take unauthorised routes.”

Ms Sumption said a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in the US, which was published in April, found legal visas reduced illegal border crossings but not dramatically. It found that there were three fewer illegal crossings for every ten legal ones.

“If Spain caps these routes at a low number not everyone will get in and they will try other routes. (These schemes) are not a waste of time, and they can be of use, but it can just be an extra route (rather than) impacting the existing routes,” Jonathan Thomas, a migration expert at the Social Market Foundation, a British think tank, told i .

Legal migration has proved a controversial issue in Spain, with opposition parties claiming it will encourage illegal immigration.

“It is irresponsible to encourage the pull effect during the worst-ever illegal migration crisis,” said Alberto Núñez-Feijóo, leader of the conservative opposition People’s Party.

Santiago Abascal, the leader of hard-right Vox, Spain’s third-largest party said Mr Sánchez’s policies would prompt “an invasion” by migrants.

Most Read By Subscribers

Albufeira: Sailing Boat Cruise BBQ & Open Bar on the Beach

The Albufeira Sailing Boat Cruise offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the captivating beauty of Portugal’s southern coastline. Featuring a delightful BBQ lunch and an open bar on a secluded beach, this 6-hour adventure promises an unforgettable day on the water. With a small dingy trip to explore stunning caves and rock formations, as well as ample opportunities for swimming, this family-friendly cruise has earned an impressive 4.8/5 rating from satisfied customers. But what truly sets this experience apart is the chance to savor a celebratory glass of champagne , leaving one to wonder what other delights await on this remarkable journey.

• 6-hour sailing cruise along the stunning Algarve coastline, featuring mesmerizing rock formations, caves, and a BBQ lunch on a secluded beach.
• Includes a glass of champagne to toast the end of the day and various onboard drinks available throughout the cruise.
• Small group setting for a personalized experience, suitable for ages 5 to 99, but not recommended for those with mobility issues or low fitness levels.
• Rated 4.8/5 based on 38 reviews, with praise for the friendly crew, high-quality BBQ, and access to a secluded beach.
• Departs from the Marina de Albufeira, with a convenient check-in process and a chance to explore the Algarve’s picturesque landscapes.

More tours and experiences nearby.

• From Algarve: Private Seville Day Trip With Transfer
• Bordeira Beach – Horse Riding Tour at Sunset
• From Algarve: Private Ayamonte Van Tour
• Welcome to Carrapateira Horse Riding Tour

Activity Overview

Departing from the Albufeira Marina, this 6-hour sailing boat cruise along Portugal’s stunning southern coastline offers a unique opportunity to witness the region’s renowned rock formations and caves.

Priced from $106.33 per person, the activity is likely to sell out, so early booking is recommended. Participants can enjoy a BBQ lunch on a secluded beach, swim in the ocean, and toast the end of the day with a glass of champagne .

The cruise is suitable for adults and children, though those with mobility issues or low fitness levels may find it challenging.

With an impressive 4.8/5 rating based on 38 reviews, this activity promises an unforgettable experience.

Experience Highlights

Cruising along Portugal’s southern coastline, participants on this sailing boat excursion will witness the region’s renowned rock formations and caves at Benagil, Galé, and Carvoeiro. After taking in the stunning scenery, guests can look forward to a BBQ lunch on a secluded beach, where they can swim in the ocean and sunbathe. To further enhance the experience, a small dingy trip to nearby caves is included, as well as a glass of champagne to toast the end of the day.

The cruise package includes a boat journey, a BBQ lunch with various options, and an open bar with onboard drinks.

The BBQ menu features:

• Chicken kebabs with either bacon and pineapple or vegetables
• Algarvian salad
• Chips and bread
• Seasonal fruit

An included glass of champagne caps off the experience, allowing guests to toast the end of a memorable day on the water.

With the boat cruise, lunch, and open bar, this tour provides a comprehensive and enjoyable way to explore the stunning Algarve coastline from the comfort of a sailing vessel.

Participant Information

Participants for the Albufeira Sailing Boat Cruise must be between the ages of 5 and 99.

The experience isn’t suitable for individuals with mobility impairments or low fitness levels, as it involves activities like swimming and accessing a secluded beach.

Guests are required to present a valid passport or ID at check-in, which takes place at the Algarve Charters office in the Marina de Albufeira.

The small group setting allows for a more personalized experience, with the crew providing informative and friendly service throughout the day’s activities.

Whether you’re an adult or bringing the whole family, this sailing adventure offers a unique opportunity to explore the stunning Algarve coastline .

Customer Feedback

The sailing cruise has garnered overwhelmingly positive customer reviews , with an impressive overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars based on 38 assessments.

Reviewers consistently praise the friendly and informative crew, with one participant noting their "exceptional service and knowledge of the area."

The high-quality BBQ and unique access to a secluded beach have also been major highlights, with one customer describing the meal as "a delicious and memorable experience ."

While some suggestions have been made for more sailing time and less motoring, the vast majority of feedback emphasizes the cruise’s ability to provide an unforgettable day on the water .

The key points of customer feedback include:

• Friendly and informative crew
• Delicious BBQ lunch
• Unique access to private beach
• Desire for more sailing time

Departure and Meeting Point

Departing from the Marina de Albufeira at the Algarve Charters office, you will need to present their passport or other valid ID at check-in to embark on this captivating sailing cruise along Portugal’s stunning southern coastline.

The meeting point is conveniently located at the marina, allowing for a seamless start to the adventure.

Once checked in, guests will board the boat and set sail, seeing the breathtaking views of the Algarve’s picturesque landscapes and rock formations.

This comprehensive experience promises to deliver an unforgettable day on the water, complete with a delicious BBQ lunch and open bar , allowing participants to fully indulge in the beauty of the region.

Cruise Route and Sights

From the Albufeira Marina, the sailing boat cruise takes guests along Portugal’s stunning southern coastline, providing breathtaking views of the region’s iconic rock formations and caves.

The cruise offers a chance to witness the natural beauty of the Algarve, including:

The mesmerizing Benagil sea caves, a natural wonder carved by the relentless waves.

The dramatic Galé cliffs , home to a variety of seabirds and unique geological formations.

The picturesque fishing village of Carvoeiro, nestled between towering limestone cliffs.

The chance to take a small dingy trip to explore the caves and coves up close, offering a truly immersive experience .

Onboard Dining and Beverages

During the sailing cruise, guests can indulge in a delectable BBQ lunch served on a secluded beach.

The menu features a variety of options, including chicken kebabs with bacon and pineapple or vegetables, an Algarvian salad, crispy chips, freshly baked bread, and seasonal fruit.

To complement the meal, an open bar with a selection of drinks from the onboard bar is available.

As the day winds down, guests can toast the end of the adventure with a refreshing glass of champagne .

Here's a few more nearby tours and experiences we think you'll like.

• Coasteering Adventure
• Coasteering and Cliff Jumping Near Lagos
• Benagil Caves and Dolphins Tour – Salema Beach
• Dolphin Watching Along the Algarve Coast
• Algarve: Seville Full-Day Shopping and Sightseeing Tour
• Coasteering Adventure With Snorkeling

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Bring My Own Food and Drinks on the Cruise?

Bringing your own food and drinks is generally not allowed on sailing cruises, as the operator typically provides meals and an open bar as part of the experience. Check with the tour provider about their policies prior to your trip.

Are Life Jackets Provided for the Entire Duration?

Life jackets are provided and must be worn at all times for safety during the entire duration of the cruise. The crew ensures all participants have access to life jackets to enjoy the experience comfortably.

What Is the Maximum Number of Passengers Allowed on the Boat?

The activity does not specify the maximum number of passengers allowed on the boat, but it mentions that the experience is suitable for adults and children. The small group size suggests there is likely a capacity limit, but the exact number is not provided.

Is Photography Allowed During the Cruise?

Photography is generally allowed during the cruise. Passengers are encouraged to capture the stunning coastal scenery and unique experiences throughout the tour, such as the BBQ lunch on the secluded beach and the glass of champagne toast.

How Long Does the Boat Stop at the Beach?

The boat stops at the secluded beach for approximately 2 hours, allowing participants to enjoy the BBQ lunch, swim in the ocean, and sunbathe. This provides ample time to relax and soak in the beautiful coastal scenery.

Not for you? Here's more of our most recent tour reviews happening neaby

• Algarve: Jet Ski Rental in Armação De Pêra
• Albufeira: Sunset Paragliding Flight
• Professional Content Maker Photo Alagrve @ivetta_photos
• Algarve: Photoshoot for Couple, Family, Portrait
• Algarve: 30-Minute Jet Ski Experience
• From Albufeira: Full-Day Off-Road Quad Tour
• Algarve: Half Day Getaway – 3 Hours off Road Buggy Tour
• Ria Formosa National Park Segway Tour & Seafood Lunch
• Lagos: Guided Scenic Quad Tour
• Albufeira: Off-Road Buggy Adventure
• Albufeira: Full Day Off-Road Buggy Tour With Lunch & Guide
• Romantic Sunset Tour in the Ria Formosa From Faro
• The Colors of Ria Formosa: Sunset Boat Trip in Faro
• Professional Photographer Algarve @ivetta_photos
• Algarve: Wedding Photoshoot

This Albufeira Sailing Boat Cruise offers a unique opportunity to explore Portugal’s stunning Algarve coastline . Featuring a delightful BBQ lunch , open bar, and champagne toast, the 6-hour adventure includes swimming, cave exploration , and gorgeous scenery. With an impressive 4.8/5 rating from satisfied customers, it’s an unforgettable family-friendly experience that’s sure to leave a lasting impression.

Similar Posts

The Real Hidden Santorini-Private Tour

Day Trip to Pompeii, Positano and Amalfi Coast From Rome

Victoria waterfall, skywalk, trestle, castle and whales.

Boston Ghosts Boos and Brews Haunted Pub Crawl

Venice: 1-Hour Gondola Ride on the Grand Canal With Guide

Da Nang City With Golden Bridge &Hoi an Old Town 2 Days Tour