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Trapped in thick fog with my 8-year-old daughter whilst on passage to France 0shares
John Beck navigates through fog in the Alderney Race, relying on his depth sounder and a Seafix receiver
Navigating through fog is frightening. At 91 years of age my sailing career is over, but I can’t grumble as I have some wonderful memories. Recently, whilst reading about the latest navigation aids, I was reminded of how it used to be. In particular, I recall a frightening occasion when we encountered thick fog during a passage from St Peter Port to Cherbourg.
My boat at the time was a Colvic 26 Sailer that I had purchased as a bare hull from Cobra Yachts at Chichester in 1974. We named her
6th May 2021
Maxi Edmond de Rothschild holds the outright multihull record for the Rolex Fastnet Race having completed the course in 2019 in 1 day 4hrs 2mins 26 secs
Credit: Eloi Stichelbaut
While the Vendée Globe grabbed headlines over the winter with a record fleet of 31 boats, France boasts a yet more extraordinary fleet of boats – the Ultimes. Developed over the last 30 years by teams attempting to break the non-stop round the world record, the Jules Verne Trophy, these giant 32m long by 23m wide flying multihulls are the fastest offshore racing yachts by far. In August several will be competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race. If adequately brisk conditions materialise, these craft are more than capable of finishing in less than a day, despite the new course to Cherbourg being longer at 695 nautical miles.