Voiles&Voiliers magazine and Grand Large Yachting

are offering you the chance to participate in the 2nd Long-Distance Cruising Seminar

on 23 and 24 March in the Paris region.

This seminar is aimed at those who plan to set off on a long-distance cruise and who, like all the candidates, have questions at the outset.

• Is it something that will appeal to us?
• Do you do it alone, as a couple, with family or with friends…?
• What are the key factors for a successful trip?
• How do you prepare for this kind of project?

The idea is to allow yourself time for reflection, in a comfortable hotel in the Paris region, shielded from the hurly-burly of everyday life, to calmly mull over your long-distance voyage plan.

By calling in various sailing personalities under the leadership of Jimmy Cornell, together with experts and families, all lucky enough to have been on voyages in different latitudes on various types of boats, this 2-day seminar enables you to give your long-distance cruising plans a boost and exchange ideas with other voyage candidates.

A section called “long-distance cruising for women” will be reserved specifically for  women and hosted by a sailor who has spent several years with her family aboard  her boat. It will be an opportunity to discuss each person’s expectations and  anxieties and to build on practical experience.

The seminar is organised over two days with one major theme per day:

Saturday 23 March: Long-distance cruising: is it for us?

Sunday 24 March: Practical questions about a long-distance cruising plan.

Please note that the number of places is limited

Grand Large Café: When did you take delivery of your boat?

Jean: We took delivery of the boat at the beginning of April 2012. We stayed two months in Cherbourg for the sea trials in very bad weather. We beat the speed record, which was standing at 15 knots at the time by surfing once at 15 then at 17 knots. In spite of the harsh conditions, this was a worthwhile experience, which gave us confidence.

Grand Large Café: Since April, where did you sail?

Jean: We left Cherbourg at the beginning of June. We had bad weather almost all the way to Morocco. We thought the old marina in Casablanca harbour was still operational, but in fact it had been pulled down and the new one was not yet open. We headed first for Mohammedia in the middle of the night and the following day for Rabat where there is a superb marina belonging to the King of Morocco. We left the boat for a couple of weeks to visit Morocco in spite of a record 46°C temperature then we set off. The first night was hard work because we navigated through a fishing fleet after which we headed for Madeira. We visited all the islands of the Canaries except Graciosa because we had not booked and access is strictly regulated, as it is a protected natural area. We are now in Tenerife. When we leave, we will sail past the island of El Hierro where it was forbidden to land because of the eruption of an underwater volcano, which made the water boil at the harbour entrance. The latest news is that the volcano has gone quiet and the island is accessible. Then we will head for Cape Verde on the way to Martinique.

Grand Large Café: How long will you be gone?

Jean: Several years. There are three of us on the board, two more or less retired, one still working.

Grand Large Café: The three of you bought “Nao” together?

Jean: Yes. There is my brother and me, and a friend. We also play the role of mobile yacht club. We rendezvous with the family of course, our wives who are still working and friends who tell us where they will be one day and at what time and we arrange to be there. We all sail together for a week and they fly back home while we carry on our cruise. This is rather enjoyable. They don’t stay long enough to get bored and we vary our company.

Grand Large Café: What is your schedule?

Jean: Roughly – the first year we will sail northwards, from the Caribbean to New-York. The second year, we will sail south of the Caribbean and the third, we don’t know yet. We did not plan a round the world trip because it became too complicated to organise. One of us has already spent a lot of time in Tahiti and the Pacific and is not keen to go back there. We fancy the west coast of the USA and Canada, then it will depend whether we are fed up or not.

Grand Large Café: Why did you chose the Allures 45?

Jean: I am not normally keen on lifting keel monohulls. I sailed on some from other builders in the West Indies and I was very disappointed, they were unpleasant to steer and left me with unpleasant memories. But, having read the sea trial report of the Allures 45 in the press, we were convinced to try her, which we did. We found the yacht to be lively even in light winds. Amongst the three of us, there are two keen racers from a very early age. We would never consider owning a boat that would be boring to steer. This is a really exciting yacht and the interior is superb. We made some minor changes. We added a washroom forward but without a WC. The third member of the crew is a keen cook and requested an additional pan locker to be installed on top of the fridge.

Grand Large Café: Why do you like living at sea?

Jean: On a boat and at sea, I feel good and time passes quickly. This is the way I feel personally. My brother is more interested in the countries we discover. I must be happy at sea, this is fundamental. When we find a place which we enjoy, we stay. I never travelled very much until now because of my work which was demanding and I never took much time off, now I am making up for it.

Grand Large Café: When did you take delivery of your Outremer 5X “Moana”?

Christine: We took delivery of our Outremer at the beginning of June, then, at the end of July, we took it to the Canaries. We are based today in Puerto Calero on the island of Lanzarote.

Grand Large Café: You and your husband have had a long sailing experience, can you tell us more about it?

Christine: We both raced on the Whitbread. My husband on board “The Card” in 89/90 and I skippered the all-women crew of “EF Education” in 97/98. I sailed a lot of course, two-handed, single-handed, fully crewed and on an Open 60. Johan, my husband, was also three times windsurfing world champion. He stayed on the Whitbread, now Volvo Ocean Race, circuit as project manager and leader for the following editions and teams: Intrum Justitia, EF Education, Assa Abloy and Ericsson twice.

Grand Large Café: How you are you and your husband organised professionally?

Christine: For the last few months, I have been working full time on our project. I am pretty busy with the monitoring of my son’s studies, the logistics, my medical training, a diving course and the technical preparation of the yacht.
For my husband, it will be more difficult. He will get a job during the stopovers and take a break at sea.

Grand Large Café: And what about your son?

Christine: We will work alongside with his school in Cambridge. I shall look after his studies myself, with books and supervision from his teachers. He will write about our voyage, what he did, who he met…

Grand Large Café: Will you take people on board?

Christine: We will have many guests, family and friends. We will use one hull for the family and one for the guests. “Moana” is extremely comfortable – it is a floating residence with large rooms, exceptionally spacious for a boat of this size.

Grand Large Café: How do you share the work on board?

Christine: We are interchangeable and both have a hand in everything. Our professional sailing experience is a great help because we can anticipate the manoeuvres. We were closely involved with the shipyard and we designed a deck plan for short-handed sailing.

Grand Large Café: Why did you choose the Outremer 5X?

Christine: We thought about this project for a long time. We decided to set off this year because our son is 9 years old. We looked at the 52/55 footers available on the market and choose the 5X because of her high performance and the quality of the build by a shipyard renowned for building transoceanic yachts and whose customer service includes a large network of service points. We were impressed by this new generation of Outremers, which offer volume and spacious accommodation without compromising their performance. When we learnt that the shipyard had planned to produce the 5X, we were immediately interested. The fact that it was designed by VPLP was also a strong argument in their favour. We had found it difficult to commit ourselves to others shipyards but we were convinced when we visited Outremer and met their director Xavier Desmarest. We were impressed and we know we have made the right choice. We were able to adapt many things in the accommodation and the technical areas to suit our navigation schedule. We also closely followed the building of the yacht. The shipyard is highly motivated; they look after their clients even after the delivery. In the end, we have a boat that perfectly suits our needs.

Grand Large Café: What is you’re your sailing schedule?

Christine: We left on a round the world trip. At the moment, we are sailing out of Puerto Calero. We are preparing ourselves to cross the Atlantic in mid-November, bound to the West Indies. We will stopover in Cape Verde before heading to the Caribbean. Our aim is to reach the Pacific as quickly as possible to discover more remote places. After that, we haven’t really planned anything. We will learn from experience and see how our son reacts.

“Hi,

Just fun since February. Lots of fun, great fun, in particular in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Torres Straight, which we avoided the first time, Indonesia, Christmas and Coco (Keeling) Islands (Australian territories), then Rodrigues, the pearl, the jewel of the Indian Ocean, which has been spared by modern civilisations. A kind of miracle, where you travel by bus and time flow differently. Maurice and the warm welcome of its inhabitants (which we left heartbroken again, at least we know what we will die of!). We took with us a cup won during a series of traditional regattas and a model of the Superbe, which fills most of the after cabin, present indeed!…

We will come back, by plane, by boat or on camel back but we will come back.

Then Reunion, where we had never been before and whose landscapes are outstanding. It is true that the island was popularised by the “Diagonale des fous”, a running race across the island from south to north with a backpack, but with all that beauty as a backdrop, it is remarkable.
We have been sailing for 10 days now towards South Africa where we will arrive to-morrow.

If you need something, just ask.

Jean-Luc MARC “

[View with PicLens]

During the first day of the Düsseldorf Boat Show, the Outremer 5X was awarded the title of “European Yacht of the Year 2013″. Eleven professionnal journalists from all around Europe took part to the sea trials to make up their choice.

One of them, Toby Hodges, from Yachting World magazine wrote about the Outremer 5X :

Quite simply, this provides the best helm sensation of any big cat I’ve sailed. The tiller steering from the comfortable bucket seats is fantastic, matched by her performance and sleek looks. With the 5X, VPLP and Outremer have proved you can have your cake and eat it with an offshore cruising cat, as she’s addictively rapid yet certainly still boasts a very comfortable liveaboard platform and interior for a competitive price.

Grand Large Café – What was your sailing experience before you acquired your Outremer 5X “Addiction?

Jacques-François – I sailed a lot on my father’s boats. I spent all my summers with him and then, he lent me his yacht. I was very lucky as this gave me the opportunity to sail single-handed or with friends from the age of 20. We owned an Arpège, a Dufour 31, a Gin Fizz, a Gib Sea 126 and finally a Super Maramu. All these boats will mean something to your readers. After that, I bought my own yacht, a cruiser-racer, a X 41 from the X Yachts shipyard.

GLC – Did you race?

Jacques-François – In the end, not much compared to the time I spent cruising, except when I lived in the States where I raced 3 times a week with a semi-professional crew on a 40’ IMS. In fact, I only got interested in catamarans after having raced first on a 20’ Hobie Fox, then a 20’ customised all-fibreglass Ventilo with which we won several international regattas like the rallies from Marseilles and the Duc d’Albe where there are more than 100 competitors. In fact I still have the Ventilo. With the X 41, we only raced twice, we finished first at the X Cup and 4th at the Porquerolles week regattas. This year, we won the Outremer Cup with the 5X!

GLC – How did you arrive at the Outremer 5X?

Jacques-François – After the X41, I liked the Outremer 49. I was ready to buy one when the 5X project was launched, so I said to Outremer: “I have changed my mind, keep the first 5X for me”.

GLC – So did you take part in the launch of the project?

Jacques-François – Yes, that was great. I took part in many working group meetings. It felt like I was preparing the Route du Rhum. There was Van Peteghem, Michel Desjoyaux, Lorima, Incidences, the same team that prepared the winners of the Route du Rhum or the Trophée Jules Verne.

GLC – And why the 5X?

Jacques-François – We could argue about this for hours. I was looking for something I liked very much on the Super Maramu: being able to go just about everywhere in a comfortable, safe and stable yacht. I turned towards catamarans a while back, I had been very interested in a competitor’s 50-footer because of her huge living space, which I found very attractive. Then I saw the Outremer 49. I could see ideas I liked in the modern design, in particular in the interior layout, the helm stations, the deck plan, the rig and the speed of the boat, all for a reasonable price. But in the end, I spent a lot more than predicted (laughs). What I liked best was her robustness, her design as a long distance cruising yacht made for the high seas, her stability and comfort. Her speed was an extra advantage for me, but not the most important, although today I realise that I would find it hard to do without.

GLC – What is your sailing schedule?

Jacques-François – I don’t have one. It doesn’t mean I won’t sail away one day but not at the moment. Right now my aim now is to learn out to handle her. I’ll decide later.

GLC – Do you sail single-handed or with friends?

JJacques-François – Normally I sail with friends but sometimes I handle the yacht by myself. For now, I sail mainly with the skipper to shorten the handing over period and make me feel more secure. Two-handed sailing is easy. Single-handed sailing is also possible but you must learnt to harness the power of the boat.

GLC – What do you like best about your boat?

Jacques-François – This is the most welcoming of yachts with several independent living spaces. The cockpit plan is superb, the interior is most attractive and yes she is fast, easily exceeding 10 knots. We have reached 22 knots and that was not the limit. This reduces the crossing times between stopovers but above all, it is very ageable to live on board.
- You can charter “Addiction” by getting connected to her website : http://85.31.206.103/outremer5x/

When did you take delivery of your Garcia and when did you set sail on this long cruise?

We took possession of our Garcia in mid-September 2010 but the fitting out continued in Caen until the end of the month when we sailed to our homeport of Breskens in the Netherlands. We stayed there only four days (for a christening), then sailed back to the shipyard for the finishing touches (15 days). We left for good at the end of October 2010 for La Rochelle where we spent the winter. During this time, Pochon SA finished the boat’s electronics. At the beginning of April 2011, we started our long cruise with the crossing of the Bay of Biscay.

What were your stopovers until Bonaire?

The main stops were: Cherbourg, Brest, La Rochelle, La Coruna, Galicia, Portugal, the Canaries, the lesser Antilles and the Dutch West Indies (Bonaire).

How much sailing experience did you have before leaving?

We had sailed for more than 30 years, mainly in the North Sea and in the Channel but also in New-Zealand, Guadeloupe and a bit in the Atlantic. Our Garcia is our fifth sailing yacht.

How did you get your professional and personal life organised so you could cruise for several years?

I took early retirement and my wife a sabbatical. We have three children and one of my daughters manages all our business.

What do you like about living at sea?

Putting as many miles as possible between us, hassles and hasslers.

Which was you favourite stopover? Your worst?

Favourite stopovers: La Rochelle (F) – Oeiras at the mouth of the river Tage (Portugal) – Marina Rubicon (Lanzarote-Canaries) – San Sebastian (Gomera – the Canaries) – Tazacorte (Las Palma – Canaries) – Bay of St Anne (Martinique) – Les Saintes (Guadeloupe) – Marigot Bay (Saint Martin).
The worst: Santa Cruz (Tenerife – Canaries) although… I think we are very forgiving.

What made you choose the Garcia 64 for your voyage?

We didn’t choose the Garcia 64′, ours is a one-off built on specs. We chose the Garcia shipyard on the strength of their reputation, the quality of their work and also because we fell in love with the Garcia 60′, which was another one-off.

What are your plans for the rest of your cruise?

We don’t have an itinerary … Our plans depend on the circumstances and the people we meet. For now, we are spending the hurricane season in the A.B.C islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) and at the end of November, we will – probably – set off for the following round trip: Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama where we will ‘winter’. Our philosophy is rather basic: to live in comfort on our superb Garcia.

SAS 3 website : http://sas3intheworld.wordpress.com/

Grand Large Café: When did you take delivery of “ESSENTIEL”?

Christophe : We bought ESSENTIEL in September 2010, planning to set sail a year later. This is a long time compared to those people who buy their yacht only one or two months before sailing away, but this boat was a chance not to be missed and my mind was set on an Outremer 45. There was a lot of refitting work to be done (standing and running rigging, restoration of the headlining and refitting the bathrooms, renewing the upholstery, changing the autopilot, etc…).
After a year working on the boat, she was in good condition, ready for a long cruise in comfort and safety.

Après un an de travaux le bateau était prêt à partir pour un long voyage dans des conditions de confort et de sécurité requises.

Grand Large Café: What sailing experience did you have before “ESSENTIEL”?

Christophe : I must confess I didn’t have much experience. If I had to give myself a grade 0 to 5 (5 being the highest grade), it would be:

- sailing experience: 3

- racing experience: 0

- sailing experience on a yacht over 10m in length: 2

- ocean sailing experience: 0

- passion and motivation: 6

Therefore, I had to seriously improve my sailing skills, in particular in heavy weather and with a crew. I went back to school in the Glénans and took several courses, including a final session in extreme conditions (first week in February in freezing cold weather, sailing to Guernsey in force 7-8 wind, evacuation of the boat in high seas because a fire started on board, taking a crew member off…). I wanted to be put to the test before taking all my family on this adventure, I was not disappointed!

Grand Large Café: When and how did your long distance cruising project take shape?

Christophe : This project developed as an idea about four years before buying the boat. It all started with my avid reading of Moitessier, Gerbault, Damien… I also needed to take a break from a professional life that was too demanding and stopped me from seeing my children growing up. I wanted to spend time with them.

This type of project is like going back to basics: the need for freedom, adventure, real living, the urge to achieve a unique goal, to see one’s children growing up and to be a part of that.

Grand Large Café : Grand Large Café: How did you share the chores on board, you and your wife? And the children?

Christophe :I manage all the sail handling side of sailing, as my wife has no experience in this area. She quickly learnt how to drive the boat under power because I think a man is quicker when it comes to physical tasks that involve running along the deck and jumping onto the pontoons to make the warps fast, etc… Also, in case of an emergency at sea, it is essential that she can take charge of the manoeuvres under power.

The children (12-year old twins) are both responsible for the upkeep of the deck gear and ropes. To make sure they take their responsibilities seriously, one is in charge of the port hull gear and the other of the starboard hull, and that works perfectly!

As far as the other daily chores are concerned, the two of us share the cooking and the supervision of the children’s studies (each wearing the hat of our specialist’s subjects). I am forced to admit that the tedious task of washing clothes is totally assumed by Bea, but I take charge of the general maintenance of the yacht. We all take part in the provisioning, a laborious routine (more hands make light work!)

Grand Large Café: What do you enjoy most about this life on the water?

Christophe : The sea, the wind, the space, this feeling of freedom!

But also and most importantly, the people we meet during our various stopovers. Before we left, I felt sure that the richness of our journey would come from the local people we would meet, the “natives” as we sometimes say. In fact, the most enriching encounters take place on the water, and we soon made contact with other “boating families”, which the children enjoyed and many of these were other nationalities (Swiss, Canadians, Americans), which added to the experience.

As I said earlier, the great success of this project has been for the children: their life is a great adventure, making the most of this time spent together, sharing every moment (the good ones as well as the not so good ones), seeing my two sons grow up before my eyes and enjoying their happy faces, their games and their laughs.

Grand Large Café: Which were your favourite stopovers? And the worst?

Christophe : We had some exciting times, like rounding the notorious Rock of Gibraltar, which we failed twice, entering Tangiers and coming across the colours and atmosphere of Morocco, our discovery of Africa, the flavours of Senegal, sailing along the wild coast of the Siné Saloum, and of course crossing the ocean and landing in the small village of Les Saintes in Guadeloupe. I have to stop here because I feel very emotional every time the anchor drops in a new place. This is because I am apprehensive of each discovery, its uncertainty and mystery.

We don’t regret any of our stopovers. Nothing dreadful, just some less remarkable places than others. If we stopped in a place we didn’t like or if we didn’t feel that welcome, we left almost immediately. Sailing gives you that luxury, freedom of movement. You are not tied down, you have the choice to stay or move on.

Grand Large Café: On you website, we get the impression that you particularly appreciated New York, why?

Christophe : The stopover in New York was not planned as we originally wanted to sail round the world via the most isolated and paradisiacal islands and atolls. I dreamt of blue water sailing, nice wind and unlimited space, but the first mate, Bea had other dreams… Once we had given up the circumnavigation, we had to find a bolthole where we could shelter during the hurricane season. The simplest choices were either Grenada or the north-east of the United States.

We loved New York: the intensity of life in this megalopolis where the days and the nights follow each other in a whirlwind of movement, noise, people… we were quickly engulfed by this energy and we were carried far, very far from the tranquil islands and legendary blue lagoons I dreamt of. This was an extraordinary experience… You have to approach New York from the sea, the landfall in front the Manhattan skyline is quite unreal!

Grand Large Café: What itinerary have you planned for the rest of your cruise?

Christophe : We started counting down… We don’t say anymore “we are on a 2-year voyage”, but “8 months left”, so we intend to enjoy it to the full! We make the most of our visits and meticulously plan our programme so as to avoid wasting any time, and to catch up with friends on the way. We now live more intensely, rather than taking it easy as we did when we started.

The main route will take us to Boston-Washington-Annapolis, the Bahamas, Cuba, San Blas, the BVIs, Guadeloupe and crossing back from St Martin at the beginning of May 2013.

Grand Large Café: What advice would you give to those preparing their departure?

Christophe : There are thousands of recommendations; it is difficult to imagine what a great adventure this can be.

Of course, I would refer to the great classics in this area: Histoire de Partir, La Grande Parenthèse, Guide Pratique de Grande Croisière. Take the time and enjoy reading or rereading Gerbault, Monfreid and Moitessier, but do not forget that times have changed. In particular I am thinking of the type of welcome you get in some places. The reality often doesn’t come up to expectations…

I would highlight the preparation in terms of safety, comfort (if you sail as a family) and budget, which is often underestimated by all sailors.

Be happy with keeping things simple: on a boat, you learn that simplicity is a synonym for happiness and complexity means trouble. Remember also that Murphy’s law applies to navigation.

Anyway, it is essential to make the most of this chance because it is rare to have the opportunity to sail away several times as a family for so many months. Bernard Moitessier used to say, “Everything man has done, which is beautiful and good, they have built up from their dreams…”. SO? GO ON, CAST OFF!
Essentiel website : http://vogue-essentiel.fr/

“My wife and I are presently in the Baltic Sea for our first voyage on our new Allures 45 “Vagaris”. We have been sailing since May with stopovers in Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Russia. We are now making our way back slowly to Britain where our yacht will be exhibited at the Southampton Boat Show in September.

We took delivery of “Vagaris” in March 2012. Then, we spent two months installing extra equipment on the boat and finishing the fitting out to live on board.

She is our second sailing yacht. Before that, we had an Élan Impression 384 on which we sailed more than 12 000 miles in 5 years around the Mediterranean.

We are going to sail around the world, starting by the exploration of northern Europe. This is why we sailed around the Baltic Sea this year and we plan to sail around the British Isles and Ireland next year. After which we will head for the sun!

We have put together a very well equipped yacht and we are pleased to see that everything works well. “Vagaris performs well, especially downwind and the lifting keel is a real asset, which enables us to visit shallow harbours and to substantially increase our speed downwind. The aluminium construction is strong and resistant and we feel totally safe on board.

Our experience with the Allures shipyard was excellent. We had agreed not to buy a brand new boat but our impression of Allures was nothing but positive and we could customise the yacht to meet all our needs. We worked with the shipyard during all the building stages. As she is the only Allures 45 in the UK, we agreed for her to be exhibited at the Southampton boatshow because we think she is a fantastic and unique sailing yacht, which must be seen.

We sail for pleasure but we also get an income occasionally by crewing on charter boats or deliveries if it fits in our sailing schedule. We delivered many average size, fixed or lifting keel sailing yachts in Europe. I am skipper, mechanics and electronics engineer and computer technician. Jacqui has a long experience of cooking at sea and managing yachts.
Our professional website is www.ecosailing.net

Their publich website is www.slingthehook.com

Their web tv http://www.youtube.com/user/slingthehookcom

Adrian and Jacqui Evans ».

Grand Large Café will follow Adrian and Jacqui during their round the world cruise and we will keep you regularly informed of their adventures.

The Allures shipyard cooperated closely with Adrian and Jacqui in order to design their yacht so that it perfectly fitted their programme. The equipment fitted as options for this long cruise are the following:

• Coachroof electric winch.
• Cutter rig
• Mainsail roller-car
• Insulation from the aluminium structure
• heater
• Personalised layout of technical locker
• Gennaker
• Chainplate welded on the forefoot
• Boom brake.
• Bow thruster
• Spaces for washing machine and watermaker.