Oyster News 57 - Oyster Yachts

NEWS 

O YSTER® 

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF OYSTER - DOUBLE QUEEN'S AWARD YACHT BUILDERS 

New Oyster LD43 

Just Launched 

Oysters Party 

in Antigua 

OYSTER 72 

AN INSIDE LOOK 

OYSTER - WORLD LEADERS IN DECK SALOON CRUISING YACHTS 

ISSUE NO 57 

SUMMER 2005

OCONTENTS 

EDITOR 

Liz Whitman 

FROM THE EDITOR 

We publish Oyster News three times a year and we know 

from our readers that the articles they most enjoy reading 

about are the contributions from Oyster owners. If you have 

a story to tell or information about cruising in your Oyster 

please let me know. Photographs are always welcome with 

or without a story. email: liz.whitman@oystermarine.com 

FRONT AND BACK COVER PICTURES: 

Oyster 82 Cygnus, Antigua 

Photos: Richard Matthews 

Oyster News is published by Oyster Marine Ltd. 

Oyster News is for promotional purposes only, privately circulated, 

and cannot form part of any contract or offer. Views, details and 

information herein are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher 

who will not be held responsible for the consequences of any 

error or omission. Pictures and illustrations are liable to show non 

standard equipment. 

2 www.oystermarine.com 

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 

Roger Vaughan 

N3 FROM THE CHAIRMAN 

56 

Richard Matthews 

4 NEWS ROUNDUP 

7 CHRIS PACKARD – A TRIBUTE 


9 WIN FOR OYSTER 72 

Rolex Race around the Isle of Wight 

10 UBS OYSTER ANTIGUA REGATTA 

Roger Vaughan 

18 OYSTER’S NEW G5 DECK DESIGN 

20 PROVISIONING FOR A TRANSATLANTIC 

Owner report by Donna Hill 

22 HOMEWARD BOUND 

Owner report by Theresa Ruscoe 

26 OYSTER 72 

An inside Look 

34 OUR TRANSATLANTIC 

Owner report by Donna Hill 

42 THE NEW OYSTER LD43 

Afloat and ready for action 

46 ANTARCTIC RENDEZVOUS 

Owner report by David Hughes 

56 ICHI FEET’S FIRST YEAR 

Owner report by Elsie Oliver 

62 PARALYMPIC SAILING UPDATE 

Hannah Stodel 

64 RACING & CRUISING WITH WHALES 

David Blacklaws 

68 JUST LAUNCHED 

A selection of recent 

Oyster launchings 

34 

22 

42

46 

10 

26 

64 

Let’s go sailing, 

life’s too short not to. 

In our business, we get to meet people from across the world 

of sailing. 

Good health and fitness is a major issue for many of us. We 

either take it for granted or have concerns about the future. 

Some of us will be worried about the effects of terrorism, others 

concerned about stock markets, interest rates, exchange rates, 

property prices or some or all of the above. 

The message from the world of Oyster is simple. Get out there 

and go sailing, preferably in an Oyster, but if not whatever you 

can lay your hands on - life’s too short not to. 

We hope you enjoy this 57th edition of our news magazine; 

for several years our owners have taken pride in their 

contributions, which now make up the great majority of our 

pages. Thanks to all those owners who, over the years, have 

helped make Oyster News, what many readers around the 

world tell us is "a jolly good read". 

The UK season is in full swing and guess what, an Oyster is 

winning races in top competition. As this edition went to press 

we just scored a third in the big boat class at Cowes Week and 

I quote from the UK’s Daily Telegraph: 

"Sunday’s race was won by Aera, winner of the Sydney Hobart 

race, behind Aera was the Farr 52 Bear of Britain, stripped out 

and every inch a racing boat as the winner, yet in third place 

was the palatial, fully-laden and comfortable Oyster 72 cruiser 

Oystercatcher XXV" 

So who’s the real winner here? Sounds like the Oyster 72 to me! 

Fair winds and good sailing to all our readers. 


Founder and Chairman 

Oyster Marine 

www.oystermarine.com 

3

NEWS ROUNDUP 

MURRAY’S £100M 

In June, Oyster’s Joint MD, Murray Aitken, reached £100,000,000 in personally secured 

new yacht sales, representing no less than 204 new Oysters. We believe his contribution 

to Oyster’s success is probably a marine industry record for an individual. When a 

recent customer asked if he was thinking about retiring his reply spoke volumes, "You 

must be joking - I’m just beginning to get the hang of it!" 

A photo from the Oyster archives shows that Murray’s early sales technique needed 

some refining! This was followed by his more recent ruse of turning up on board his 

target’s yacht bearing a basket of fruit! As Oyster 655 owner Trevor Silver, who 

submitted the photo, commented "Beware of salesmen bearing gifts’. (Ed’s note: Is that 

a contract hidden amongst the apples?) 

Some other owners who have been lured by his charms over the years had some very 

complimentary things to say: 

"I popped in to see Murray at your St Katharine’s show, really to sponge a glass of 

champagne and talk about a possible third Oyster in the far distant future. I walked away 

later that evening having committed to an Oyster 56 wondering how he had done it! The 

important thing though was that he had not pressurised me into doing it, just helped me 

to reach one of the most life-enhancing decisions that I have made" 

John Minton, Oyster 56, Stealer IV 

"Honest, ethical, helpful, knowledgeable and bloody determined to get his sale! 

The best type of salesman" 

Steve & Trish Brown, Oyster 56 on order 

"Watch out for the ‘posh’ pen being proffered – I’ve been caught three times!" 

David Hughes, Oyster 66, Miss Molly 

NAVAL ARCHITECT WANTED 

Oyster currently has a vacancy for an additional Naval Architect/Structural 

Engineer to join our creative and highly skilled in-house team, based in our modern 

drawing office, at Oyster’s Ipswich HQ. Candidates will have at least five years 

relevant design and structural engineering experience. For more details contact 

Alan Boswell at: alan.boswell@oystermarine.com 

ONE CAREFUL OWNER 

Oyster 41/01, Bolt from the Blue, has just 

come onto the market for the first time 

since being handed over to her owner, 

Christopher Thomas, in 1980. Bolt from 

the Blue was the first Oyster 41 built and 

we suspect this could well be a record, 

as we aren't aware of any other Oyster in 

the same ownership for over 25 years. 

For more details about Bolt from the Blue 

contact Oyster Brokerage at: 

brokerage@oystermarine.com 

Heather Reickert 

We were very sad to learn of the death of 

Heather Reickert in July. Heather 

and her husband, Erick, sailed their 

Oyster 55, Escapade, many thousands of 

miles, completing a four-year 

circumnavigation in 2002, whilst Heather 

was undergoing treatment for cancer. 

Readers of Oyster News will have 

enjoyed Erick’s stories of their travels 

from around the world in previous issues. 

We send Erick our heartfelt condolences 

from everyone at Oyster. 

OYSTER 82 JOINS PACIFIC SUPERYACHT RALLY 

The Oyster 82, Darling, is the first Oyster to enter the 8000-mile 

Pacific Superyacht Rally, starting from Panama in April 2006. 

Billed as the ‘ultimate voyage of discovery’ the rally will visit the 

Galapagos Islands, Marquesas, French Polynesia, Tonga, Fiji, New 

Caledonia and New Zealand finishing in Australia in April 2007. 

Entry is limited to yachts with a minimum LOA of 20m (65’). 

Contact Rally Director, Lane Finley at: lane.finley@sypacific.com or 

see www.sypacific.com for more details.

GRENADA OYSTERS RETURN TO UK 

Following the damage caused by Hurricane Ivan in Grenada, Oyster’s After Sales department 

co-ordinated the return of four Oysters to the UK for repair at both our Fox’s and Southampton 

Yacht Services repair and refit yards. Yacht Shipping, who offer a specialist global service and 

have a wealth of experience in handling Oyster yachts, arranged the shipping. For more details 

about routes and shipping your yacht see: www.yachtshipping.com 

Congratulations 

To Jim and Marina Siepiela who were 

married on board their Oyster 56, 

Avolare, in the Caribbean, just days 

before joining the fleet at Oyster’s 

UBS Regatta in Antigua. 

SPONSOR A CHILD 

There are many children whose parents lost their livelihoods through the tsunami and are 

struggling to pay even the modest amount required for schooling. The Oyster fund has started by 

helping a few families and Barry and Christiane have let it be known that you are willing to help 

many more. They feel that this is a particularly valuable way of spending your money. To enable a 

child who otherwise may not be able to continue their education costs just £220 C320 or US$420) 

a year. If you would like to sponsor a child see: www.cocodemertsunamiappeal.com 

or contact Barry Cager details below. 

Oyster Tsunami Appeal Update 

Those of you who so generously contributed to our appeal during the London 

Boat Show, will be pleased to know that we are continuing to help those in 

most need. We were delighted to hear from Barry Cager that some of the 

money we raised has been put towards a project being co-ordinated by the 

Royal Thames Yacht Club to build a fleet of nearly 50 traditional fishing boats 

for the Nai Yang Beach fishing community. RTYC Club Commodore, HRH 

Duke of York, visited Nai Yang Beach earlier this year to inspect progress. 

One of the first boats to be completed by the Laem Pakarang Boatyard is 

Oyster Catcher and we very much hope it will live up to it’s name! For details 

of the Tsunami Boat Project see: www.tsunamiboatproject.com or contact 

Barry Cager at barrycager1@yahoo.co.uk 

2005 Diary Dates 

IJMUIDEN BOAT SHOW 

30 AUGUST - 4 SEPTEMBER 

CANNES BOAT SHOW 

14 - 19 SEPTEMBER 

SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW 

OYSTER BROKERAGE SHOW 


NEWPORT BOAT SHOW 


OYSTER OWNERS DINNER 

ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON, COWES 

17 SEPTEMBER 

ANNAPOLIS SAILBOAT SHOW 

6 - 10 OCTOBER 

OYSTER OWNERS PARTY - ANNAPOLIS 

6 OCTOBER 

GENOA BOAT SHOW 


ANNAPOLIS POWERBOAT SHOW 


UBS OYSTER TRAFALGAR 200 

REGATTA - CADIZ 


HAMBURG BOAT SHOW 

29 OCTOBER - 6 NOVEMBER 

OYSTER ARC PARTY 

LAS PALMAS 

17 NOVEMBER 

ARC START 

LAS PALMAS 

20 NOVEMBER 

2006 Diary Dates 

LONDON BOAT SHOW 

FRIDAY 6 - SUNDAY 15 JANUARY 

OYSTER OWNERS DINNER CRUISE 

SILVER STURGEON, LONDON 

7 JANUARY 

DÜSSELDORF BOAT SHOW 

21 - 29 JANUARY 


5

NEWS ROUNDUP 

TRAFALGAR We are actually going to be there! 

Oyster’s UBS Trafalgar Regatta, to be held off Cadiz from 18-21 October, is gathering momentum. A fleet of around 40 Oysters 

will take part in two days of short course inshore racing in the Bay of Cadiz with parties every evening. On 20th October 

a former commanding officer of HMS Victory will give owners and crews a ‘scene setting’ talk at a dinner in the San Marcos 

Castle, before the fleet leaves early on 21st October, Trafalgar Day, for a rendezvous at the location of the historic encounter 

200 years ago. There is talk of the British Navy sending a frigate or two to escort the Oyster fleet which, once on station, will 

take part in a memorial commemoration. The final event of the regatta will be a really special Trafalgar Night dinner, where 

owners and crews of every nation will join together for a gala dinner. For further details please contact: 

liz.whitman@oystermarine.com 

ATLANTIC RALLY FOR CRUISERS 

Organisers of the ARC, World Cruising Club, abandoned their plans to run a sister event, 

the Rubicon Antigua Challenge (RAC), due to lack of support. The fleet of around 12 

Oysters will therefore be joining the ARC when it departs Las Palmas on 20 November. 

As usual, Oyster’s service team will be on hand to support owners in the days before 

the start offering a complimentary ‘health check’ for every Oyster taking part, 

irrespective of the boat’s age. 

100th Bermuda Race 

Gary Jobson, who sailed to the Arctic aboard the Oyster 62, Oystercatcher XXIV, has 

been named as Honorary Chairman of the Centennial 2006 Bermuda Race. Starting 

from Newport Rhode Island on 16 June 2006, competitors are expected to include the 

Oyster 72, Oystercatcher XXV. 

Boysterous wins ARC Europe 

Oyster 406, Boysterous, continued her winning ways with a win in Class 2 of ARC 

Europe 2005 from Bermuda to the Azores. Owner Colin Hall commented afterwards: 

'This is meant to be a predominantly down wind course but a week's solid beating 

sorted the fleet out. We thought we might just have done enough to come third, so 

winning was a great surprise. Thank you Boysterous!' 

Atlantic Circuit Forum 

Run jointly by World Cruising Club and 

Yachting World, the forum is open to offshore 

cruisers planning an Atlantic Circuit or 

extended offshore cruise and covers planning 

and preparation, with a special emphasis on 

the ARC. The forum takes place during the 

Southampton Boat Show on 17 September. 

The forum is free, but you must pre-register in 

advance as places are limited to 200. For 

details contact: www.worldcruising.com 

or +44 (0) 1983 296060 

NEW FLEET REVIEW BROCHURE 

Oyster’s new brochure will be available 

at the Southampton Boat Show and 

once again is an elegant, large format, 

full colour publication of over 100 

pages crammed with everything 

Oyster. Pick up a copy at the boat 

shows or, if you have a serious interest 

in our yachts, please call our sales 

team if you would like a copy. 

© National Maritime Museum, London

Chris Packard 

1952 - 2005 

It is with much sadness that we have to report the death of our 

Senior Project Manager, Chris Packard, who passed away in July 

after a long struggle against cancer. 

Chris was uniquely confident in everything he did. However complex the subject, provided it 

was to do with boats, Chris would simplify every problem, take the stress and excitement 

out of it, and come up with a practical solution in plain, simple, English. As a result, 

whenever we, meaning clients, builders, designers, colleagues had a problem without an 

obvious solution, it would be to Chris to whom we’d turn to come up with a solution that we 

hadn’t yet thought of but everyone immediately understood. 

Chris crossed the divide between our owners, often captains of industry, and the most junior 

of the boatyard workers. He treated everyone at every level with courtesy and respect. He 

didn’t go to a special effort to do this; it was just his natural way. The dividend for his 

manner was that everyone at every level, from those on the workshop floor, suppliers, 

designers and, of course, those captains of industry, all came to respect Chris for his quiet 

‘lets get on with it’ manner, for the soundness of his advice and, above all, for the 

professionalism that was like an endless seam running through everything Chris did. 

Chris would do whatever had to be done and loved any opportunity to get ‘hands on’ a 

boat. I can remember arriving at the marina on a cold spring morning, the day a new owner 

was arriving to take delivery of his 68-footer. Chris had already been on deck since around 

0700, standing barefoot, hose and deck scrub in hand, giving the boat a final wash down 

with a beaming smile. 

Shortly after Oyster purchased Southampton Yacht Services, Chris became a director of 

SYS and brought his combination of technical knowledge and his uncanny knack of figuring 

out what was really going on, on the workshop floor, to the boardroom. Chris could see 

through the spreadsheets and accounts and soon helped tradesmen, managers and 

directors come to realise that improved productivity was the key to the yard’s success. 

Chris had a work ethic that, even amongst capable, hard working colleagues, put him in a 

class apart. Throughout his battle against ill health, Chris continued day by day, to the 

amazement of us all, to somehow keep going and maintain the highest professional 

standards for which he was universally respected. 

Our thoughts for the future are with Chris’ parents, his wife Jan and their children 

Ben and Georgina. 

Chris was universally liked and respected by us all at Oyster Marine – we will always miss him. 


IN A 17 YEAR CAREER, CHRIS'S LEGACY 

LIVES ON IN THE IMPRESSIVE LIST OF 

OYSTERS HE PROJECT-MANAGED. 

461/01 Blue Fox 1992 

461/02 Cabrina 1993 

461/03 Oyster Clipper 1993 

461/04 Sun Run 1993 

461/05 Principessa 1994 

461/10 Paper Moon 1994 

485/11 Bellerophon III 1994 

485/15 Lucky Seven 1995 

485/16 Eclipse 1995 

55/03 Eclipse 1999 

55/22 Snooty Fox 1990 

55/25 Alibi 1991 

55/28 Boisterous 1992 

55/33 Ostrika 1994 

55/36 Magic Dragon 1995 

55PH/37 Boundless 1995 

55/40 Wild Thing 1996 

55/42 Escapade 1996 

55/46 Emily's Moon 1997 

55/48 Free Spirit of Dartmouth 1998 

56/02 Oystercatcher XXII 1998 

56/03 Gosling 1998 

56/06 Zuleika of Poole 1998 

56/08 Forever Young 1999 

56/09 Chips 1998 

56/15 Ravello 2000 

56/16 El Capitan 2000 

56/22 Restless Farewell 2001 

56/25 Anna Lou 2002 

56/27 Renee II of London 2002 

61/01 Royal Leopard 1995 

61/02 Trailfinder 1995 

61/03 Talisman 1996 

61/04 Senex Amator 1996 

61/06 Norwegian Wood 1996 

61/07 North of 50 1997 

61/09 Galapago 1997 

62/03 Quest 2001 

63/11 Morning Star 1998 

66/01 Annacay 1999 

66/02 Saudade 2000 

66/03 Kincora 2000 

66/04 Idun 2001 

66/05 Boundless 2001 

66/06 Hakuna Matata 2002 

66/07 Sarita of Iken 2002 

66/08 Miss Molly of Wroxham 2002 

66/09 Magic Dragon 2003 

66/11 Sundowner 2004 

68/01 Viking of Algarrobo 1989 

68/02 Happy Chance 1989 

68/03 Serendipity 1989 

68/04 Starry Night 1990 

68/05 Heaven Can Wait 1990 

68/06 Thriller 1991 

68/07 Prudence 1990 

68/08 Royal Oyster 1991 

68/09 Rona II 1991 

68/10 Lord Rank 1991 

68/11 Sam's Heaven 1992 

68/12 Arzella 1994 

70/01 Infatuation 1996 

70/02 Thunder 1997 

70/03 Ravenous 1997 

70/04 No Rehearsal 1997 

70/05 Alba Venturer 1999 

80/01 Free Spirit 1993 

80/02 Lord Rank 1995 

82/01 Bare Necessities 2004 

82/02 Cygnus of Anglesey 2004 

82/03 Darling 2004 

82/04 Oceana 2005 

82/05 Sarita 2005 


7

The Oyster 72 

Oystercatcher XXV 

wins the RYS/Rolex 

Race Around the 

Isle of Wight 

Photo: Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex 

RYS/ROLEX RACE AROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT 2005 

Photo: Beken of Cowes 

On 13 June 2005, some of the largest and fastest racing yachts in the world came to the start 

line off the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes for the RYS/Rolex Race Around the Isle of Wight. 

Many of these yachts had sailed from New York on the Rolex/NYYC Transatlantic race, including 

the 140ft Mari-Cha IV who broke the Transatlantic record with a crossing time of just over 10 

days, and the recently launched Maximus, a 100ft super maxi from New Zealand. Other yachts 

included the 110ft Bruce Farr designed Sojana, the 100ft Leopard and the 90ft Enigma, a 

previous winner of both the Fastnet and Middle Sea races. 

The 55-mile course repeated the original America’s Cup, sailing clockwise around the island 

rounding a specially laid Nab lightship mark off Bembridge. A light fair tide run out of the Solent 

past Portsmouth became a foul tide beat into an 18-20 knot south-westerly all the way to the 

Bridge buoy, a turning mark past the Needles at the west end of the island. The wind freshened 

to 25 knots gusting 30 for the final run down the Solent, again with a foul tide. Mari-Cha was 

reported to be doing 27 knots as she crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron finishing line off Cowes. 

Racing under the increasingly popular IRC handicap system, the Oyster 72 Oystercatcher XXV, 

the second of this new Oyster class, won the Performance Cruising Division and was 1st overall 

in fleet, winning the Nelson Plate. The plate was presented on behalf of the Nelson Society at an 

award ceremony on the lawns of the Royal Yacht Squadron and is an exact replica of one given 

to Lord Horatio Nelson by Lloyds of London to mark his victories at the Battle of Copenhagen 

and the Battle of the Nile. 

Oystercatcher’s performance was all the more impressive as she beat the 80ft Swan, Hamilton, 

boat for boat, by 56 minutes. 

Skippered and sailed by Oyster’s Chairman, Richard Matthews, the crew aboard Oystercatcher 

XXV included the 8th Earl of Yarborough, the 1st Earl being the founding Commodore of the 

Royal Yacht Squadron and its Commodore from 1821 -1845. 

OYSTER 72 EARLY SEASON RACE RESULTS 

EAORA Pattinson Cup Line Honours 1st Class 1 

EAORA Pattinson Cup 1st Overall Fleet 

EAORA Ralph Herring Line Honours 1st Class 1 

EAORA Ralph Herring 1st Overall Fleet 

RORC North Sea Race Line Honours 1st Class Super Zero 

RORC De Guingand Bowl Line Honours 1st Class Super Zero 

RYS/Rolex Around the Isle of Wight race 1st Performance Cruising Class 

RYS/Rolex Around the Isle of Wight race 1st Overall Fleet 

www.oystermarine.com 9

10 www.oystermarine.com

THE UBS OYSTER REGATTA ANTIGUA 2005 

Oyster’s Eleven 

Keen competition in Antigua 

where it all began 

Roger Vaughan reports on the UBS Oyster Regatta – Antigua 2005


Previous page: Champagne sailing for 

Keith and Rosemary Hamilton's Oyster 62, 

Carpe Diem, overall winner of Class 1 

Right: The opening night Tot, hosted by the 

Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda 

SPONSORED BY 

Raymarine 

ON BOARD 

Watching the start of Class 2 in the first race off English 

Harbour on Tuesday, April 12, it was obvious that the 

Oyster fleet has matured, in the best sense, over the 

course of eleven regattas in the past five years. 

The UBS Oyster Regatta - Antigua 2005 was 

the eighth regatta I’ve attended and the sight 

of the tight group of boats starting in both 

classes was a clear sign that for a fleet of live 

aboard cruising yachts this fleet were welltrimmed 

and capably sailed. 

Ask any owner who has raced a couple 

Oyster regattas and he or she will tell you 

they are better sailors for it. These days 

when an owner finishes well in an Oyster 

regatta they have a lot to be proud of. The 

competition has improved that much, 

although first timers to racing are still made 

welcome and always have a great time. 

Race management has evolved as well. 

Antigua 2005 was the first time ratings, using 

Oyster’s own system, have been calculated, 

printed, and distributed to owners in advance 

of the racing. Rating Oysters is tricky 

because there can be so many differences 

even among "sister" boats: keels (deep or 

shoal); sails (battened or in-mast furling); 

masts (carbon or aluminum); and so on. The 

Oyster rating system takes all these 

variations into account, as well as applying 

age allowance (the yacht not the owner!) a 

pro crew factor, and racing with or without 

cruising chutes and spinnakers, which are 

declared before the start of each race. 

Results proved surprisingly close with little 

more than a few seconds often separating 

the first three or four places. How little 

ratings were discussed or even mentioned 

during Antigua 2005 was testament to 

Oyster’s rating solution. 

The regatta began on a Monday with the fleet 

berthed stern-to in Nelson’s Dockyard, an 

appropriate setting in this the 200th 

Anniversary year of Nelson’s most famous 

battle at Trafalgar. It was the afternoon for 

judging the Concours competition so much 

cleaning and polishing was in evidence. 

There was also an ‘open house’ where 

owners and crews are encouraged to visit 

each other’s yachts to ‘take a look’. 

The skippers briefing was, as usual, chaired 

by Oyster’s founder and CEO, Richard 

Matthews. As always, safety was one of 

Richard’s primary concerns "My three golden 

rules are: 1: Keep a good lookout – on my 

boat whoever touches the genoa sheet last 

has the responsibility; 2: Anticipate – once 

you’re inside a three-boat-length circle it’s 

too late; and 3: There’s no way you can bear 

away without easing sheets, and I mean a 

big ease." 

With that good advice tucked away, the 

throng of 120 owners and crews from 23 

yachts adjourned to the historic charm of 

Nelson’s Dockyard for a traditional tot and 

party sponsored by Mount Gay rum. Antigua 

Tot Club founder and chairman Mike Rose 

did the honours. First he introduced 

honoured guest Halsey Herreshoff, founder 

of the America’s Cup Museum in Bristol, 

Rhode Island, one of Oyster’s hosts at last 

summer’s Oyster Newport Regatta. Halsey 

was in town with his 70-year-old wooden 

sloop to participate in the Classic Regatta 

the following week. Taking Mike’s lead, we 

cleansed our palates with water, then recited 

the Tot Club toast for Mondays: "Our ships at 

sea, and the Queen, God bless her." 

Race 1 took the fleet to Green Island, an 

outstandingly picturesque location on 

Antigua’s east coast. There is one shallow 

spot in Green Island’s cove that glows almost 

white, the water is so clear. Photographer 

Tim Wright got a great shot of it from atop 

the nearby hill. It’s the stuff of mid-winter 

dreams, and I couldn’t wait to put myself in 

that picture.

A beach bar had been set up on Green Island 

courtesy of the folks from the Antigua Marine 

Trades Association and operated for them by 

Harmony Hall, a resort around the next bend 

on the mainland where we’d have dinner that 

evening. Partially submerged cocktail parties 

were soon underway in the shallows. On the 

beach, the games began. Golfers chipped 

floating balls off the sand toward a hula hoop 

anchored 60 yards out, an impossible shot. 

But it was fun watching the shanked balls 

ricochet off the rocks like bullets in a 

gunfight. There were foot races with beach 

balls balanced on nets stretched over rings, 

and spirited tugs of war. 

Romantic ambience could be redefined by 

experiencing Harmony Hall at dusk. The 

stone plantation house and sugar mill tower 

on the hill overlooking Nonsuch Bay date 

back to the mid 1800s, and the restoration is 

sublime. Trees and bushes glow with soft, 

twinkly lights. And the buffet produced by 

owners, Marilisa and Ricardo Parisi, is 

memorable for dramatic presentation, 

quantity, and gourmet quality. 

Appetites were whetted by a fire-eating 

juggler, a handsome young devil from 

Argentina named Sergio Lopez, stage name 

"El Chapa." He learned his art on the streets 

of Buenos Aires, and perfected it during two 

years of circus school. He put on a riveting 

show, juggling lighted balls to warm up, then 

flinging six flaming torches into the air, 

extinguishing the last one in his mouth. 

Above: The Oyster Fleet, stern-to in Nelson's Dockyard 

Those who had visited here before warned 

newcomers to save room for dessert. Among 

the delectables were appetizers and salads in 

profusion; quiches, cold lobster, shrimp; roast 

ham, turkey and suckling pig; profiteroles, 

tiramisu, cakes and a selection of cheeses 

and fresh fruits. 

Race 2 was a 27-mile trek around the north 

side of Antigua to Deep Bay, on the western 

most point of the island. It was blowing 20- 

25 out of the northeast, and only a few boats 

had the right MPS for the dicey beam reach 

to the first turning mark off Long Island. 

Among them was the Oyster 56 Ragamuffin, 

with Richard Matthews aboard. Under a rocksteady 

blue and white MPS, the boat slowly 

pulled away from six other 56s in the class. 

In Class 1, Voodoo set an enormous red, 

symmetrical mast-head spinnaker and took a 

long dive to leeward, well below course, with 

the sail complaining all the way. The crew 

eventually changed back to the Yankee. 

Meanwhile, Carpe Diem was again out in 

front of Class 1, with her MPS pulling like a 

train. After easing sheets around Long Island, 

Voodoo re-hoisted Big Red and took off like 

a shot, showing why this Oyster 66 had won 

its class in the 2004 ARC. In Class 2, Anni 

and Jan Matthews’ Fizz worked the jibe 

angles perfectly under its distinctive hot pink 

spinnaker, and won the day. 

Antigua doesn’t often disappoint when it 

comes to providing wind for racing. For Race 

3 it was again blowing 20-25 knots under 

THE UBS OYSTER REGATTA ANTIGUA 2005


cloud-splashed blue skies and a hot sun. 

After a reaching start, the course was just 

barely a fetch to a finish off Ffryes Beach, 15 

miles to the south. It was pure drag racing, 

with the lighter boats barely prevailing. Only 

12 seconds separated boats finishing second 

through eighth overall, proving the rating 

system was doing its job. On board Marilyn 

Kenworthy’s Flica we had confusion about 

the location of the finish line and threw in an 

unnecessary tack. Otherwise we had been in 

the hunt...seriously! (do I hear the world’s 

smallest violin playing?) 

Once again, Mount Gay provided a 

complimentary bar on lovely Ffryes Beach. 

The gourmet barbecue was catered by 

Gourmet Network - a delicious sit-down five 

star Robinson Crusoe affair amidst the surf 

and sand. 

Race 4, a 17-mile reach to Curtain Bluff 

further west on the south side, with a short 

but tricky windward leg at the end, offered 

more great sailing. Two weeks later, the wind 

temporarily blew itself out and Antigua Race 

Week would suffer from a curious spell of 

light air. But for the Oysters, there was plenty 

of power available. On board David and 

Linda Hughes Miss Molly, we got off to a 

ripping start at the leeward pin, to weather 

and barely a tick behind Sir Peter Davis’ 

Above: The fleet at anchor in Browns Bay, off Harmony Hall 

dark-hulled beauty, Cygnus of Anglesey, for 

this race helmed by Richard Matthews. The 

big boat took off like a shot and did a horizon 

job on the fleet. Fizz was again the Class 2 

winner, handling the vigorous beat to the 

finish with style. 

I sailed with David and Linda Hughes on 

board their Oyster 66, Miss Molly, joining the 

regatta in Antigua on their way back to 

England following a cruise to Antarctica in 

December, 2004. As other boats began to 

slip slowly past us, David explained the boat 

was still down on its lines, stuffed with 

special gear and spare parts taken on for the 

Southern Ocean. In fact, when we docked at 

English Harbor and extracted the 60-pound 

teak passerel from the forward locker, we first 

had to move two spare anchors, 600 feet of 

one inch poly line, a huge MPS, a spare 

rubber dinghy, and other assorted gear we 

figured weighed well over a ton. David 

laughed, and regaled us with tales of pack 

ice and penguins. He and Linda have sailed 

their fourth Miss Molly over 20,000 miles in 

two years. 

Curtain Bluff has come a long way since the 

first, rough-and-tumble Antigua Race Weeks I 

attended 30 years ago. It’s now an elegant 

resort with grand accommodations and 

gourmet dining. But happily the flora still

Above left: Green Island, a favourite 

anchorage for the Oyster regatta fleet 

Right: Close racing off Five Islands 

invades the beachfront dining room where we 

gathered. Richard presided over a glittering 

table of awards. We were treated to another 

superb buffet, followed by dancing to the hot 

(hot-hot) local band, Triple Feature, led by 

their vocalist Arianne White. 

Joining the Oyster revelers for the evening 

was Harold Lovell, Antigua’s Minister of 

Tourism, Foreign Affairs, and International 

Transportation and Trade. Lovell is an 

Antiguan with a law degree who returned to 

an Antigua practice thirteen years ago after 

working as a barrister for several years in 

England. At 50, Lovell is a dashing man with 

Hollywood flair who said it was always his 

intention to return to his home country and 

make a contribution. Tourism is Antigua/ 

Barbuda’s number one business, and Lovell 

has instituted a far-reaching education 

programme to train his citizens in hospitality 

and quality customer care. One could see the 

improvements in those areas in the last 12 

months. Lovell was delighted to have the 

Oyster fleet on hand. "We’re working hard to 

accommodate regattas like this," he said, "to 

create facilities and an ambience that will 

make Antigua attractive to cruising yachts." 

Everyone taking part in this Oyster regatta 

would certainly agree. 

Roger Vaughan 

Photos: Tim Wright/www.photoaction.com 

THE UBS OYSTER REGATTA ANTIGUA 2005 



Yachting World 

Trophy winners, 

Oyster 66, 

Goodwinds 

RESULTS 

Race 1 – Sponsored by Lewmar 

CLASS 1 

1 Carpe Diem Oyster 62 Keith & Rosemary Hamilton 

2 Moi-Noi Jodine Oyster 56 Xalopan Ltd 

3 Goodwinds Oyster 66 Richard Goodwin 

4 Avolare Oyster 56 Jim & Marina Siepiela 

CLASS 2 

1 Flica Oyster 53 Marilyn Kenworthy 

2 Boysterous Oyster 406 Colin Hall 

3 Fizz Oyster 53 Anni & Jan Matthews 

4 Moondance Oyster 49 Stuart & Valerie Ross 

Race 2 - Sponsored by Raymarine 

CLASS 1 


2 Richard Goodwin Oyster 66 Goodwinds 

3 Ragamuffin Oyster 56 Loxbeare Ltd 

4 Kuyenda Oyster 56 Jonathan Mould 

CLASS 2 



3 Blue Boojum Oyster 406 Roy & Jan Stansfield 


RACE 3 – Sponsored by Pantaenius 

CLASS 1 

1 Cygnus of Anglesey Oyster 82 Sir Peter Davis 


3 Oyster Rose II Oyster 56 Richard Harding 


CLASS 2 


2 Blue Oyster Oyster 435 Alvin & Mary Lee Towle 

3 Gualin of Cowes Oyster 53 David & Mary Parson 


RACE 4 – Sponsored by Dolphin Sails 

CLASS 1 

1 Cygnus of Anglesey Oyster 82 Sir Peter Davis 




CLASS 2 




4 Dragonfly of Upnor Oyster 53 Roger & Jo Dawe 

Concours d'Elegance - Sponsored by Antigua Rigging 

CLASS 1 

Avolare Oyster 56 Jim & Marina Siepiela 

Miss Molly Oyster 66 David & Linda Hughes 

CLASS 2 

Gualin of Cowes Oyster 53 David & Mary Parson 

Moondance Oyster 49 Stuart & Valerie Ross

THE WINNING YACHT IN EACH CLASS OVERALL IN THE REGATTA 

UBS Trophy presented by UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT 

CLASS 1 




4 Oyster Rose II Oyster 56 Richard Harding 

CLASS 2 





THE BEST PLACED YACHT IN BOTH CLASSES OVER THE 

REGATTA FOR THE YACHTING WORLD TROPHY 

(not to have won a UBS trophy) 

Above: Anni and Jan Matthew's Oyster 53, 

Fizz, overall winner of Class 2 

Right: Class 1 winners, Keith and Rosemary 

Hamilton, Oyster 62, Carpe Diem 

Goodwinds Oyster 66 Richard Goodwin 

THE WINNING YACHT IN BOTH CLASSES OVERALL IN THE REGATTA 

Galleon Beach Prize presented by Galleon Beach 

Fizz Oyster 53 Anni & Jan Matthews 

Right: Class 2 winners, Anni and 

Jan Matthews, Oyster 53, Fizz 

THE UBS OYSTER REGATTA ANTIGUA 2005

OYSTER’S NEW G5 


DECK SALOON 

It’s now over 25 years since 

Oyster brought the term ‘Deck 

Saloon’ to the nautical vocabulary. 

The new upgraded 

Oyster 53 G5 deck 

With Oyster’s success, both as a brand and as a 

company, it’s probably inevitable that our lead in this 

concept was going to be emulated. As the saying 

goes, ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’. 

The fact is, that while some of our contemporaries 

have produced Deck Saloon variants of their 

standard designs, others have gone a step further 

with designs that look like an imitation Oyster. 

Inevitably, as a market leader, we have not stood still and, while the majority of the industry 

is still feeling their way with their Mark 1 Deck Saloons, we have continued to refine, 

innovate and develop. 

The Oyster Design Team have been burning the midnight oil and, using fully integrated CAD and 

3D modelling tools, the boys have come up with some really handsome designs that make that 

concept a reality. Our tool and pattern makers in the UK and Auckland have been simultaneously 

working on a range of G5 deck upgrades to create an even more stunning outboard profile. 

For 2006, most of the yachts in the Oyster range will feature our fifth generation, or G5 Deck 

Saloon. These yachts include the Oyster 53, 56 and 62, which all have the new G5 decks offered 

as a no cost option to the original specification, whilst the new Oyster 46, 655, 72 and 82 already 

have the subtle G5 styling and curves that take Oyster yachts to the next level.

49 

53 

56 

62 

82 

LD43 

OYSTER AT THE 2005 BOAT SHOWS 

SOUTHAMPTON PREMIÉRE FOR 

THE NEW 46, 72 AND OYSTER LD43 

Following their London show première earlier this year, where 

they received outstanding reviews, our Southampton Show 

line-up features the new Oyster 46 and Oyster 72. Alongside 

will be the record-breaking Oyster 56, now with nearly 60 

yachts sold, and the new Oyster LD43 powerboat, making her 

World première. 

As a courtesy to all the owners who have kindly loaned us their 

yachts for the shows, and so that everyone has the opportunity 

to view, we operate a Viewing by Appointment only system on all 

our yachts. We do get extremely busy and calling us ahead of 

your visit to book a boarding pass should ensure you get on 

board without having to wait. 

For boarding passes please call: 

UK/EUROPEAN SHOWS: UK office on Tel: +44 (0) 1473 688 888 

USA SHOWS: USA office on Tel: +1 401 846 7400 

IJMUIDEN SEAPORT (HISWA) 

30th August – 4th September 

Oyster 66 

Berth Nº E01 

CANNES 

14th – 19th September 


Berth Nº QSP114 

NEWPORT (USA) 




Dock: Oldport Bridge 

SOUTHAMPTON 





Oyster LD43 

Berth Nº 77, 78, 79, 29, 298 

ANNAPOLIS SAILBOAT SHOW (USA) 

6th – 10th October 




Dock: I 

ANNAPOLIS POWERBOAT SHOW (USA) 

13th – 16th October 

Oyster LD43 

Dock F2 

HAMBURG 

29th October – 6th November 




PROVISIONING FOR AN ATLANTIC CROSSING 

By Donna Hill, Oyster 53, Baccalieu III 


Our three friends, Ray Graham from the R.V.Y.C., Bob Medland and Arthur 

English from the R.C.Y.C. joined me and my husband, Mike, aboard 

Baccalieu III for the ARC Transatlantic crossing last December. 

Five people at sea for sixteen to twenty days, 

unpredictable seas, and the possibility of 

equipment failure made the job of 

provisioning appear overwhelming. In 

addition to that, I recognised that having the 

entire crew coming together for a meal, just 

before night watches, should be a time for 

everyone to look forward to. 

I made a list of storage compartments; 

behind the settees, under the seats, 

indicating port or starboard, and a floor 

layout of the bilge space available, 

numbering the floor boards and listing the 

items we stored under them. Canned 

vegetables, sauce, soups, tuna, bouillon 

cubes, rice, flour and yeast, sugar, long life 

yogurt and milk, tea and coffee were some of 

the staples we stored under our settee. On 

the top of each can I wrote what was in the 

can in black indelible marker to make each 

an easy find. 

Our desalinator can produce one hundred 

litres of water per hour using the power from 

the generator. To back it up, we carried one 

litre of bottled drinking water per person per 

day, approximately 100 litres, sixty cans of 

sodas, seventy-two cans of beer, twenty litres 

of UHT milk, ten litres of juice and three

ottles of champagne to help celebrate 

special occasions. 

We have a pretty complete galley on our 

Oyster 56; a three burner Force Ten stove 

and oven, microwave, a spacious freezer, a 

refrigerator that is easy to access, a 

processor that I can place on the counter 

and a bread maker. With that in mind, I would 

be hard pressed to find an excuse not to 

provide good meals. Our cockpit table has a 

refrigerated compartment that we filled with 

beverages, allowing me to take control of the 

refrigerator. Fresh produce and a variety of 

meals was a priority, and without a grocery 

store just around the corner, it was a 

challenge. I had to know every item that I 

was going to use and I planned every meal, 

two meals a day for twenty days in advance 

of the trip. Breakfast, was a get-your-own 

cereal, fruit, and yogurt meal, although at 

times, I baked muffins, cinnamon rolls, and 

breakfast bars. 

Preparation ahead of time was paramount and 

I made several dry mixes to make baking 

possible under rough conditions and to 

simplify galley clean up. Corn bread mixes, 

muffins, hot roll mixes, bread mixes, cookies 

and loaf mixes, and stove-top stuffing for the 

pressure cooked roast chicken. I froze cheese 

stuffed potatoes to accompany the roast beef, 

pastry to make quiche, precooked lasagne, 

and cooked chicken that I could use to make 

chicken enchiladas, Caribbean banana pasta, 

soups and salads. Humus freezes well and by 

the time Happy Hour rolls around everyone is 

ready for a snack whether it is smoked salmon 

on crackers or a dish of nuts. 

I organised the freezer by placing the beef, 

poultry, pork, and lamb into large coloured 

shopping bags. A different coloured bag for 

each kind of meat and each package colour 

coded so that I could tell at a glance that the 

red sticker indicated five chicken breasts, the 

blue sticker indicated four to a package and 

so on. This may seem like a lot of work, but I 

knew that the less time I spent standing on 

my head inside the freezer meant happy time 

for me. The irony was, that the condensation 

that formed on the bags, glued everything 

together the size of an ice block and I had to 

unload the freezer to get it out. After 

separating it the idea worked. I then listed 

everything that went into the freezer in a 

book and crossed off what I used. We carried 

42 chicken breasts, 25 chicken thighs, five 

and a half pounds of ground beef, six pounds 

of sliced beef, five pounds of thickly sliced 

good quality steak, a beef tenderloin and a 

pot roast. Five pork chops, a three pound 

pork rolled loin, a leg of lamb, and five 

salmon steaks, all packaged and vacuum 

packed with the number of pieces I would 

need for the dish I was going to prepare. 

I have never been a big sandwich eater and I 

preferred to pies, salads, pasta or a cold 

seafood mousse made with a fresh caught 

Dorado for lunch. There were lots of night 

hours put under the keel and a basket 

containing chocolate bars, candies, cup-asoups, 

hot chocolate, mints, and gum, was 

put out each night beside the basket of fruit. 

When I had my grocery list completed, I had 

two long pages of provisions to find in a very 

well stocked store in the Canary Islands 

where all the labels were printed in Spanish. 

OUR TRANSATLANTIC OWNER REPORT 

It took me hours to decipher the packaging 

and to find what I needed, and sometimes I 

bought items that did not end up to be what I 

thought they were! But after filling five 

grocery carts, the Cortes Inglis grocery store 

boxed everything, sent the refrigerated items 

to the cooler, the meat order to the butcher 

to be packaged and frozen, and stored the 

canned goods until delivery was made to the 

stern of our boat. 

Two days before we embarked on our 

transatlantic, Arthur and I shopped at the 

market for fresh produce. As we stepped 

inside the market, we were ushered to the 

basement to a cold storage room where we 

chose from a vast supply of fruits and 

vegetables. We washed most of the produce 

in a water and bleach solution to eliminate 

bringing insects aboard and let them dry a 

short time in the sun. I backed up the fresh 

vegetables with a few packs of frozen corn, 

and peas. On route, I would check the 

produce frequently and use what ripened first. 

When cruising, it is sometimes the little 

things that make a big difference; a side dish 

of tempura, a Popsicle on a hot afternoon, or 

a dish of homemade ice cream at the end of 

a rough day, Nothing has to be complicated 

when you gather together with friends to 

share sailing adventures and fishing tales. 

It is hard to improve on that combination. 

Donna Hill 

A diary of Mike and Donna Hill’s transatlantic 

can be found on page 34. 



Bound 

Homeward 

By Theresa Ruscoe, Oyster 42, SAPPHIRE OF LONDON 

Oyster 42, Sapphire of London rounds Cape Horn 

Photo: Tom & Vicky Jackson

“We enjoyed what 

must surely be a 

rarity – a sparking 

and thoroughly 

enjoyable rounding 

of the Horn” 

HOMEWARD BOUND OWNER REPORT 

Sapphire at anchor in Puerto Hoppner 

Kev (my husband and skipper) and I left St Katharine Dock, London in February 2004 in our 

Oyster 42 Sapphire of London, bound for Australia via South America. We have since had a 

big change of plan and, instead of crossing the Pacific this season, have decided to continue our 

exploration of South America and intend to head north up the coasts of Chile, Peru and Ecuador 

before making for the Galapagos. From there we are off to the Caribbean via Panama and hope 

to take part in the Oyster Regatta in the British Virgin Islands in April 2006. We had Sapphire built 

specifically for our journey, having previously owned Cooktown Orchid, the last Oyster 406 built. 

Buenos Aries exceeded all of our expectations. The city is vibrant and inexpensive; the food and 

wine superb and the people exceptionally generous and hospitable. Sapphire was berthed at 

Puerto Madero in the heart of Buenos Aries, an area that has recently been regenerated and is 

surrounded by cafes, restaurants and bridges. It reminded us very much of London's Docklands. 

We could have happily spent more than our allocated month exploring Buenos Aires but time was 

pressing, and the temperature rising to an uncomfortably high level, so we were once again 

southward bound. 

One disadvantage of visiting Buenos Aires in a yacht is the need to cross the River Plate. This 

delta is over 150 miles in width and length and is notorious for unpredictable and inclement 

weather. By the time we arrived in Mar Del Plata, Sapphire was covered in mud from the lumpy 

seas kicked up in the shallow water. Here we stocked up with as much food and delicious 

Argentine wine as we felt we could get on board before bracing ourselves for the next passage to 

Golfo Nuevo, a trip that would see us enter the ‘Roaring Forties’. 

As we had been on the receiving end of a great deal of heavy weather sailing down the coast of 

Brazil, we did not know what to expect from our next leg. Sapphire had always taken this in her 

stride, which is more than can be said for her Mate! Happily our passage was fast and uneventful 

and we arrived in Madryn thee days later, entering Golfo Nuevo at dawn. This is a marine wildlife 

sanctuary and on our way to anchor we saw dolphins, Megallanic penguins and an elephant 

seal. The following morning we discovered we had guests - two sea lions had made 

themselves at home in our tender. The male was so big that we were very concerned that he 

would push the transom out of the tender. The only way that we could convince him to 

vacate the dinghy was by starting Sapphire's main engine. That did the trick though he left 

us with a lot of cleaning to do! We spent several days here enjoying our first real taste of 

Argentine wildlife before leaving our rolly anchorage and continuing to Santa Elena. 

At 45 degrees south, this is probably the best cruising region of Argentina with several 

fabulous and very different anchorages within easy reach of one another. We sailed for 

Caleta Sara only a short day sail further south across Baia Camarones. This part of 

Argentina remains a wilderness and the weather is nearly always dry and bright, 

consequently the air seems to have clarity unlike any other place we have seen. This 

little cove is home to the tiny little Club Nautico (complete with "restaurant"). The 

owner very proudly keeps a photographic log of visiting yachts. The log is not very 

long! Here we visited a large colony of Magallenic penguins, which is part of a 

National Park. There were thousands of penguins busily squabbling with each other, 

preparing their burrows and fussing over their chicks. We also saw several guanacos. 



A female sealion makes herself at home in the dinghy 

“We consider 

ourselves lucky indeed 

to be able to enjoy 

the splendour of this 

very special part 

of the world in such 

a capable and 

comfortable yacht” 

The safe anchorage of Caleta Horno. Outside the wind was howling at over 35 knots

Our next port of call was Caleta Horno, a safe 

hurricane hole and only 20 miles from Caleta 

Sara. Horno is Spanish for Oven and this little 

cove is appropriately named. It is formed from 

baked clay and the colouring reminded me 

very much of Australia's Dead Heart. By the 

time we arrived at Caleta Horno the wind was 

howling its usual 35+ knots. Inside the 

anchorage there was hardly a ripple on the 

water. Reluctantly leaving what had been 

arguably the best anchorage we had ever 

sheltered in, we continued south and spend a 

night in Caleta Sur before arriving in Puerto 

Deseado where we involuntarily remained for 

several days due to winds exceeding 40 

knots, which kept us pinned to and slamming 

into, our mooring pontoon. The sight of the 

water was phenomenal. With the benefit of 

hindsight we may have been better off 

missing Deseado. The town has very little 

going for it, the tide and wind are notorious 

and the shelter is not great. 

We left 

Deseado in the 

first good 

weather 

window we had and 

turned our bows 

towards the 

Falkland Islands. 

We were fortunate 

to pick up a 

strong northerly 

wind and 

Sapphire was in 

her element 

belting across the 

huge seas. After a 

very fast passage 

and with only 20 

miles to go to Port 

Stanley we were 

caught out by a 

squall and crash gybed. The gybe snapped 

the preventer line we had rigged and as the 

mainsheet ripped across the cockpit it took 

the electronic instruments that were mounted 

on the steering pedestal with it. We made our 

way gingerly into Stanley harbour and to our 

surprise spotted the two Oyster 66 yachts, 

Miss Molly and Magic Dragon tied up 

alongside! After anchoring Sapphire we 

radioed Miss Molly and found ourselves 

chatting with Oyster’s Customer Care 

Manager, Eddie Scougall. We had spoken to 

Eddie before leaving England and knew that 

he would be with Miss Molly on her voyage 

to Antarctica but certainly did not expect to 

find anyone we knew in Port Stanley. 

Eddie was a tremendous help as he 

managed to repair our electronics for us. The 

skipper of Magic Dragon, Chris Smith, helped 

us to repair the fibreglass and a local man 

repaired the stainless steel. In short, Sapphire 

was as good as new in no time. We spent 

three weeks exploring this very British 

outpost and marvelling at the incredible 

abundance of wildlife. The highlight for us 

was a visit to Volunteer Point where we 

wandered along a pure white beach in the 

company of three species of penguin, 

including the aptly named and extremely 

beautiful King Penguin. 

We made our way to Port Stephens in West 

Falkland and waited for a weather window to 

bring us back to Argentina. We took the 

decision to leave with a forecast of a 

northerly gale – experience had shown us 

that this forecast usually means more than 

that. Still the wind would be coming from the 

right direction and we were confident that 

this would present no problem to Sapphire, 

so we were off. This was the fastest passage 

we have made to date and also the coldest. 

The seas seemed enormous but for as long 

as they stayed aft of the beam we were 

happy to romp back to Argentine waters. 

With two miles to go, the clouds lifted to bring 

Isla de los Estados into view. It is craggy and 

tall, with a rugged beauty that brought 

Yosemite to mind. The entrance to Puerto 

Hoppner was boisterous. Kev had to dodge 

not only breaking waves around the entrance 

but also the violent gusts (rachas) of 50 knots 

screaming down from the mountains. It was 

here that we christened our 50 lb Luke 

Anchor that we used in tandem with our 60 lb 

CQR. (We had bought the Luke with kelp in 

mind.) We also tied two lines ashore. Our stay 

in Puerto Hoppner was a delight. We saw lots 

of wildlife including a turkey vulture and most 

excitingly, an otter. We also saw some little 

Magallenic penguins fishing around the boat. 

They are a joy to watch as they paddle 

around face down looking for food. 

After a few days rest in this little corner of 

paradise, we decided to attempt a crossing 

of Estrecho de la Maire. We set off under 

HOMEWARD BOUND OWNER REPORT 

reefed main and genoa and the first two 

hours were a pleasure. This in itself was 

enough to make me suspicious as these 

conditions just don't seem to last. With a 

depressing predictability the winds and seas 

kicked up once we had covered about 12 

miles. Before we knew it we had 35 knots in 

our faces. This strait of water is notorious as 

the strong tides travelling north from Cape 

Horn converge with the west running tides 

from Isla de los Estados and when these two 

bodies of water hit the prevailing westerly 

winds, the result is often very confused seas 

and breaking waves. This is exactly where we 

found ourselves. At less than 25 miles away 

and visually clear, the mainland and our 

destination were tantalisingly close. With 

both the winds and seas increasing we were 

not too proud to admit defeat and ran back 

to Hoppner where we reset our anchors and 

settled in for the night. We only had to wait a 

couple of days before the winds permitted an 

enjoyable crossing of the Strait and day-sail 

to the Beagle Channel. 

We had expected our next main port of call 

to be Ushuaia though we have since 

realised that in the Channels, you tend to 

arrive at your expected port when the wind 

allows! After commencing a 35-mile 

passage from our anchorage at Relegada to 

Ushuaia the wind increased and funneled 

directly down the channel, Sapphire was 

making no headway. We decided to clear 

into Puerto Williams in Chile instead. This 

turned out to be a most fortuitous decision 

indeed as we met a large group of fellow 

cruisers to whom we had been speaking on 

the "Patagonia Cruisers' Net" for a couple 

of months. As luck would have it, two days 

after our arrival the weather presented us 

with an ideal window to visit Cape Horn. 

We enjoyed what must surely be a rarity – 

a sparking and thoroughly enjoyable 

rounding of the Horn. The experience was 

made doubly special by sharing this with 

friends, Tom and Vicky Jackson on their 

beautiful wooden Sparkman & Stephens 

yacht, Sunstone. We left Puerto Williams 

and rounded Cape Horn in company. 

We relished our time in Puerto Williams, tied 

up to the Micalvi (where incidentally we 

placed a Fox's burgee) and made the most of 

the breath taking scenery before we 

continued our passage north through the 

Chilean fjords. This part of the world places 

heavy demands on the yachts that choose to 

sail here. Sapphire has looked after us 

superbly. We consider ourselves lucky indeed 

to be able to enjoy the splendour of this very 

special part of the world in such a capable 

and comfortable yacht. 

To follow Sapphire’s progress see: 

www.sapphireoflondon.org 

Theresa Ruscoe 


25

72 

NEW OYSTER 


“ The 72 is quite an achievement with her beautiful sleek lines that are a 

marked evolution of the Oyster family line. Her eye-catching looks are the 

talk of every port we have visited to date. All this is combined with the 

quality of build and attention to detail that brought me to Oyster in the 

first place. A joy to behold and to own.” 

MARK BLYTHE, OYSTER 72/01 LUSKENTYRE 

A FAST CRUISING YACHT

WITH WINNING WAYS 

Oyster 72/02, Oystercatcher XXV, shows her paces in the Solent, during the RORC IRC Nationals 

Photo: www.beken.co.uk 


72 

NEW OYSTER 

The Oyster 72 was conceived from the outset by Rob 

Humphreys and the Oyster Design Team, to blend the 

live-aboard and seamanlike qualities of a typical 

Oyster, with a design where high performance was an 

equal or greater priority. 

Modern composite engineering using high performance resin and incorporating Kevlar and carbon 

fibre has produced a hull that’s both light and stiff without compromising the strength and 

durability for which Oysters are well known. Unlike many other performance-orientated designs, 

the Oyster 72’s uncompromising hull is of solid single skin construction for impact resistance and 

is built from a female mould giving a smooth gel coat finish. 

Rob Humphreys’ state of the art hull skilfully blends the designer’s art with VPP optimised hull 

lines to create the potential for a real step forward in performance, while retaining ease of 

handling and good manners in heavy weather that every Oyster owner expects. 

Maintaining all the advantages of the proven Deck Saloon the new Oyster 72 has one of our 

sleekest deck and cockpit designs ever. The helm station is far enough aft to appeal to owners 

who, until now, thought an aft cockpit yacht was the only way to go. The latest G5 deck design 

72 breaks new ground for Oyster with her sleek rolled edge side decks, transom stairwell and a 

host of small features which together add up to make a big difference. 

Good looks combine with practical features such as the well-known ergonomically designed 

cockpit first developed in conjunction with Loughborough University’s Ergonomics Department. 

The split cockpit configuration places winches and other sailing controls adjacent to the steering 

cockpit. This in turn keeps the large forward cockpit area clear for guests. The twin wheel 

configuration provides the ideal helm position on either tack upright or heeled, and makes for 

easier docking. A side benefit of this arrangement is the easy deck level walk-through from the 

stern deck to both cockpit areas, good for convenience and safety. 

The standard rig is a cutter with push-button in-mast furling, with other rig options available. 

Powered primary winches and a bowthruster come as standard, ensuring ease of handling 

with a small crew. 

The 72’s interior layout will be configured to best match each owner’s requirements. Like her 

smaller sister, the Oyster 68, the 72 has the advantage of full standing headroom under the 

cockpit floor. This allows a centreline passageway aft, with two twin or double guest cabins 


Owners cabin, 

Oyster 72/01, 

Luskentyre 

The stunning saloon, fitted out in teak with stylish 

leather upholstery, Oyster 72/01, Luskentyre

“ Palatial, fully laden and comfortable.” 

DAILY TELEGRAPH, COWES WEEK 2005 


72 

NEW OYSTER 


and leads to the spacious owners stateroom aft, with it’s 

own ensuite heads and shower and companionway to 

the aft deck. 

The main saloon area is spacious by any standards and 

makes best use of the yacht’s beam by placing the 

settees outboard under the side decks. Oversize opening hull ports give a useful outboard vista 

when seated and excellent athwartships ventilation when conditions allow. 

Most owners in this size range will appreciate the advantages of locating the crew and galley at the 

forward end of the yacht. The U-shaped galley and counter space opposite can incorporate a fridge 

and a large deep freeze compartment. There is also a considerable amount of unused space under 

the floor of the galley and forward cabin areas that may be fitted out for longer-term stowage of 

food, beverages and equipment. The forward bulkhead of the galley area can be fitted with a ladder 

to give deck access for crew and sail handling possibilities. For owners requiring MCA classification, 

the galley and main saloon can be separated by an optional, watertight door. 

The forward area has space for two cabins in double or twin configuration and one or two heads. 

Depending on the configuration chosen there can also be a forepeak store for sails and other gear. 

The standard layout has been optimised to make the best use of space, while continuing to offer 

a host of practical seamanlike features for which Oyster yachts are known throughout the sailing 

world. Nevertheless we will be pleased to configure a custom layout to best match an owner’s 

individual needs and priorities. 

“ Early sailing trips in the most diverse of conditions have revealed 

her to be a powerful yet nimble craft. She accelerates quickly to 

faster than wind speed in benign conditions. We clipped along at 

7-8 knots with barely that over the deck. Even in lighter winds of 

just 5 knots we were still purring along at 5-6 knots, the large 

lightweight sail plan does the trick. At the other end of the scale, 

we battered our way into 30+ knot headwinds from the Needles 

to Dartmouth, averaging just under 10 knots. She quite literally 

leapt from wave to wave, her rigid hull cutting through the water. 

Easing off a few degrees saw her flying at 12 knots plus.” 

MARK BLYTHE, OYSTER 72/01 LUSKENTYRE 

The spacious galley arrangement, 

Oyster 72/02, Oystercatcher XXV 

Oyster 72 - Standard Layout

Owners cabin, Oyster 72/02, 

Oystercatcher XXV 


With offices in both the UK and USA, Oyster Yacht Charter 

offers a specialist charter brokerage service and represents a 

growing fleet of professionally crewed Oyster yachts from the 

Oyster 45 to the flagship Oyster 82. 

Sail Sail the the dream dream 

Yachts within the Oyster charter fleet are based on both sides of the Atlantic so, according to 

the season, charters may be offered in the UK, Mediterranean, Caribbean or East Coast USA. 

Your Oyster charter will be at your pace - adventurous sailing or lazy days in a secluded 

anchorage, it’s your choice. Relax, unwind and soak up the lifestyle on board. Whether you 

are an expert yachtsman or complete novice, Oyster Yacht Charter offers "the" quality choice 

- great boats and experienced crew in beautiful locations, enabling you to sail the dream. 

Yachts are usually chartered by the week, but longer or shorter options are available and 

Oyster Yacht Charter can also assist businesses with corporate day charter options. 

Details of Oyster yachts available for charter, with specification details, interior layout plan, 

crew profile information and sample menus to tantalise the taste buds can be viewed on the 

Oyster Yacht Charter website. 

O YSTER® 

YACHT CHARTER 

Tel: +44 (0) 1473 688888 (UK & Mediterranean Charters) 

Tel: +401 846 7400 (USA & Caribbean Charters) 

Email: info@oysteryachtcharter.com 

www.oysteryachtcharter.com

Mike and Donna Hill took delivery of 

their new Oyster 56, Baccalieu III, during 

the summer of 2004 and joined a fleet of 

over twenty Oysters taking part in the 

2004 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). 

Our transatlantic 

By Donna Hill, Oyster 53, Baccalieu III 


PREPARATION 

We sailed the ARC two years ago, crewing 

on another Oyster 56 and this year, as 

owners and skipper of our own boat, the 

responsibility lay with us for a safe trip. 

Our job was to sail as quickly as possible, 

avoid bad weather, feed and water the 

crew for 16 to 20 days, avoid injury and 

keep the crew happy. 

We carried spare parts to replace and fix 

bilge pumps, fridge and freezer pumps, 

vacuum pumps, watermaker pumps and 

air con pumps. Plumbing spares, winch 

and sail repair kits, toilet kits and rigging 

kits. Engine and generator spares, 

impellers, fan belts, and anodes. Holding 

tank filters, hydraulic filters, fuel, oil and 

racor filters. 

Our safety equipment was extensive. 

A six-man life raft fitted with parachute 

flares, high-energy food rations, simple 

fishing equipment, drinking water and 

other supplies to meet emergency needs. 

A `ditch’ bag, which included an EPIRB, 

portable VHF radio, hand bearing compass 

and first aid kit, was ready to grab if we 

had to take to the life raft. Two throwing 

lines with floats were attached to our stern 

rail in readiness of ‘a man overboard’. We 

wore life vests with personal strobe lights 

and used tethers to secure ourselves to 

the boat during night hours and rough 

conditions. 

LAS PALMAS, GRAN CANARIA 

The docks filled quickly with boats arriving 

from over 25 countries, making a fleet of 

over two hundred yachts. We were the

only boat flying a Canadian flag. 

During the first week, we passed each 

other on the docks sharing local 

information that would help our 

preparations. Ray, from Vancouver Island, 

and Arthur and Bob from Toronto, all 

competent sailors, joined us for our 

passage. Suddenly two people became 

five and provisions that were meant for the 

trip started to disappear. In my planning I 

forgot that five people had to eat the week 

before we left! 

Leading up to departure day the marina 

was a city of busy people. Groceries were 

delivered in cardboard boxes and we 

unloaded them above decks so as not to 

carry cockroaches and their eggs below. 

Vegetables and fruits were brushed or 

washed in mixtures of bleach and water 

on the dock before being stowed below. 

Stalks of green bananas hung from biminis 

and emergency water containers, half filled 

so they would float if crew and ship were 

separated, were lashed to the stern. 

Our boat was checked by an ARC official 

for proper safety equipment and before 

receiving committee approval we added a 

second life ring and identified all life 

jackets with the boat name in the event of 

a man over board drowning. The Oyster 

team checked deck fittings, rigging and 

the engine, looking for potential problems. 

DAY 1 - Departure day 

We were given a time to depart and two 

hundred and twenty five boats were 

divided into three groups according to 

boat size, race or cruising division. We 

were in the cruising division, but telling a 

sailor that 200 boats travelling to the same 

destination is not a race, is like telling a 

group of dogs that there is no need to get 

to the dinner bowl first. A navy ship and 

power cruiser formed an imaginary start 

line and everyone tuned into their VHF 

radios for warning signals and countdown. 

As 200 boats merged, choosing their best 

approach to the line, competitive spirits 

shifted into first gear and many forgot that 

they were participating in a rally rather 

than a race, and the finish line was 2600 

miles down the road. An hour and a half 

out, we picked up a good tail wind and 

threw up the cruising spinnaker. Soon 

evening was upon us and we broke our 

first rule. Never fly the chute after dusk, 

but it was hard to give up a good thing. 

By midnight our fleet had dispersed and 

we saw the occasional navigation light on 


the horizon. Early morning saw two racing 

division boats, previously caught in light 

airs behind us, truck past with their 

spinnakers full, leaving us behind like we 

were standing still. At 04:00 hrs, the wind 

gusted to twenty knots and we decided to 

take down the chute. 

Routing to St.Lucia is not difficult. Some 

say, "Go south until the butter melts and 

turn right," but the challenge was to find 

the wind, use it to our full advantage and 

stay out of reach of unsuitable weather 

conditions. To help us accomplish that we 

downloaded weather grid files and used a 

professional weather service. At the time 

of leaving we were advised the crossing 

would not be a fast one. The northern 

route looked attractive due to good trade 

winds but a mid Atlantic gale could kill off 

the trades and bring strong winds on the 

bow. We took the longer route south and it 

was game on with Mother Nature. 

DAY 2 

We divided our shifts into four-hour 

parcels. Two people shared a watch 

including one shift captain, and the other 

on standby. This format gave us six hours 

off. The off hours melted away with setting 

the sails, navigation, radio time, cooking, 

cleanup and naps. We seldom saw all five 

of us at one time except at Happy Hour 

and dinner. 

We chose a westerly route to take 

advantage of the steady downwind 


35

“ The evening was 

perfect for cockpit dining. 

The moon shimmered on 

the water and looked like 

crackled silver on an 

antique platter ” 

pushing us at up to 10 knots. Sometimes 

we heard from our sister ships and shared 

locations, problems and fishing stories. 

Other times they were out of range and we 

waited until evening when we download 

the divisions locations. 

We caught Baccalieu`s first fish, a small 

Dorado and made a quick kill by spraying 

vodka into the gills. During dinner 

preparation, a large wave rolled us to 

starboard causing the meat to slide off the 

counter onto the floor. I quickly picked it 

up and threw it back into the pan. 

Sunset brought out the best in dolphin 

play and our 8 knots of speed was only 

puppy play to the two-dozen that joined 

us. Bursting with energy they accelerated 

well beyond our speed, dodging the bow 

and each other, jumping off the tops of 

waves. Later we spotted an empty 


container ship approaching from the stern. 

At 10 knots of speed it slowly came closer 

and threatened to cross our bow at an 

unsafe distance. We reduced speed by 

reefing the yankee to let it pass. The ship 

slowed, matching our speed, and hovered 

less than a mile off our beam. They did not 

respond to a radio call. We sat, observing 

the ship through binoculars and waited. 

After several minutes the ship moved 

forward, crossed our bow and continued 

with their mysterious mission. That 

evening we celebrated crossing the tropic 

of Cancer. 

DAYS 3/4 

Ray, our fishing expert, caught our 

second Dorado today - a two serving 

size this time. We hoped to catch 

another so that we could share a feast 

together. Early afternoon we heard the 

fishing rod chattering. Our wishes had 

been answered. Three of us got into 

action to land the beast. The rod was 

handed to me so that I could experience 

my first catch. There was so much drag 

it was challenging to turn the reel. 

Determined to do it myself I struggled 

until I landed it. Hanging off my lure was 

a piece of green plastic. 

DAY 5 

World Cruising weather suggested all 

boats sailed as far south as possible to 

avoid the upcoming strong southeast 

winds. With good navigating and weather 

diagnosis we were situated in the SW 

quadrant of ELSIE, which was a good 

position to be in. We thought of others in 

the northeast and hoped that they could 

ride south in time. I did a vegetable check 

and found the carrots and fennel already 

deteriorating. 

By afternoon, time was running out to 

catch a supplement to the other fish in the 

refrigerator. Suddenly the reel spun out 

and with great effort I turned the handle to 

see a large fish swim back and forth 

across the surface before the reel jammed. 

The fish continued to fight for freedom, 

broke the 60-pound test line and escaped 

with the lure. I have four people to verify 

this story. 

Ray, made sushi to accompany our fresh 

catch of Dorodo. The evening was perfect 

for cockpit dinning with the moon 

shimmering on the water and the gentle 

wind offered us a smooth, flat ride. 

DAY 6 

The pace had been slow. Light winds 

prevailed and demanded that the chute be 

gibed several times. With 1000nm under 

our keel, we celebrated with a dinner and 

movie night. 

DAY 7 

We had not seen any other boats for two 

days. The VHF and SSB radios were silent. 

We spotted the occasional sea bird and

flying fish landed on the deck at night. The 

full moon was smothered in grey clouds 

but illuminated the night like a light bulb 

shinning through an opaque lampshade. 

Occasionally it found a hole and sent a 

beam spotlighting the green, white and 

blue colours of the labouring sail over the 

bow. The water was calm and we would 

gladly have swapped it for some wind and 

matching seas. The forecast advised that 

we had several more days of light winds 

ahead. The young trade winds did not 

have the strength to press power into our 

sails. We had used diesel power for a 

short time but realized that could not be a 

long-term solution. In these conditions, the 

chute was our most valued instrument and 

Bob coaxed it with patience and a finesse 

we admired. 

DAY 8 

It was getting warmer as we moved south 

and we were presented with the problem 

of staying comfortable especially at night. 

Fans and dorade vents were our only 

weapon against heat and humidity. We 

had experienced minor problems over the 

past few days and found a foot of 

seawater in the engine room and 

determined it was a leak through a hose 

clamp on the water separator to the 

generator. The second problem occurred 

when the generator voluntarily shut down. 

Lying on their stomachs looking into the 

belly of the boat, Arthur and Mike 

discovered the main intake was sucking 

air and had dried out the impeller. We 

replaced it with our last impeller. 

DAY 9 

We threw out the old rules and threw up 

the chute to fly day and night. We used 

the fore guy and sheet interchangeably 


without a donut on the sheet end. It 

caused a smooth but deep groove in the 

spinnaker pole. 

DAY 10 

This morning we woke up to St. Andrews 

Day – another reason to celebrate. Bob 

appeared before us wearing a red wig, 

beret and a green towel tied around his 

waste. How many Canaries can a 

Scotsman put under his kilt? It depends 

on the size of the perch! 

DAY 11/12 

We crossed our half waypoint today and 

celebrated our successful first half with a 

pork loin roast and a bottle of 

champagne. We had travelled 1450nm. 

We congratulated ourselves for choosing 

the southern route and making the most 

of the light airs we had experienced. 

Upon hearing we were proud of our 

sailing talents, the sea gods jammed 

our fishing reel, just when Ray was 

pulling in what would have been several 

meals. On inspection, the gear was found 

to be stripped and put an end to our 

fishing career. 


37

At 05:00 the spinnaker halyard broke, 

freeing the spinnaker and sheets to ride 

underneath the boat. Streaming 

downwind it filled with wind and water 

and covered the dingy and everything 

else that was on the stern like shrink 

wrap. We laboured to pull the sail out of 

the water tearing it further and rendering 

it useless for further work. Various ropes 

tightened around the prop, spinning a 

nest of trouble as the prop had somehow 

engaged. We had no choice but to cut 

the lines to save further damage to other 

equipment. 

When the sun rose and gave us enough 

light to work, Mike suited up in scuba 

equipment to free the rope. The water 

was warm but swells and current 

complicated the task. The boat was 

layed to wind but the current dragged 

him, preventing him from descending 

deep enough to escape the swells that 

heaved the boat. We attached a safety 

line to his equipment to avoid losing him, 

and another hand line to propel him as 

needed. He reached the tangled lines 

that were streaming below the surface 

and freed them with a tug. 

We all felt let down with our loss. The 

chute had been our right hand in the light 

airs, it challenged us and brought us 

together as a team. We were now under 

white sails and our pace slowed. 


DAY 13 

We celebrated 1000nm left to go with lunch 

and Brave Heart. We received a Pan Pan (a 

call for emergency assistance) from a boat 

a few hours away with a crewmember with 

an exposed bone injury. We responded with 

an offer of medical supplies and 

prescription pain reducers but they were in 

need of a medical doctor. The end result 

saw them re-routed to Barbados where 

professional assistance and international 

flights would be available. 

Early morning brought rain followed by 15knot 

winds. The sea came alive with white 

caps and five foot swells and we were 

happy to be sailing. We were revelling in our 

new mode of travel when the mainsail clew 

pulled away. Two webbing straps joining the 

clew to the clew plate severed cleanly from 

the plate, causing the third to stress and rip 

apart with the result the sail flew freely from 

the boom. Ironically, we now had the wind, 

but were minus a sail. Sailing under Yankee 

alone left us unbalanced and gave strength 

to the rolling swells. We desperately needed 

the mainsail. Pooling our talents, we decided 

to drill three holes into the reinforced portion 

of the clew, insert three shackles and finish 

the job with line. It proved to be effective 

and outlasted the wind. 

DAY 14 

The wind came and went and tested the 

shackled main which appeared to be 

holding well. We had just 700 nm to go. 

I took stock of the food supplies today. We 

were down to our last fresh fruits and 

vegetables. Surprisingly the tomatoes had 

lasted even in the heat and the small tasty 

Canary oranges were as sweet as ever, 

but the bananas ripened one day and were 

mush the next. The carrots let me down 

long ago. I hoped everyone liked cabbage 

because cabbage lasts a LONG time. 

We had drunk about 100 litres of bottled 

water and burnt 400 litres of fuel. We 

should have been lighter, and lighter 

meant faster. We continued to make water 

and kept the tanks at an emergency 

reserve level. Five people taking showers, 

and hand washing their clothes, was 

taxing on the system, but the water maker 

remained loyal. 

DAY 15 

We were sailing! Chewing into those miles 

to go, and passing the occasional boat we 

saw in the distance felt good. Everyone 

was in radio contact and chatty. They were 

happy to have someone new to talk to, 

even the radio watchman on the lone 

freighter. 500nm to go and an excuse to 

celebrate with champagne and brunch. 

We saw our first seagull. Land was out 

there somewhere. 

DAY 16 

Two years ago, sailing the ARC, we had 

arrived in St. Lucia on the 16th day. This 

trip had been quite different with light

“ The crossing has 

not only been a passage 

of distance, but a 

passage into an 

intertwined friendship 

that will last forever ” 

winds and we had to work very hard to 

turn those weak winds into miles. But our 

sailing friends were keen and their 

enthusiasm was contagious. 

DAY 17 

Without a spinnaker, our night sailing was a 

little less tense and we could let the person 

on standby bed down in the saloon, close 

enough for a quick step up the 

companionway if assistance was needed. 

DAY 18 

The trade winds had finally shown up. 

Better late than never. We were fuelled 

with 18-20 knot winds and kept a steady 

headway of 8-9 knots under poled yankee 

and main. We could easily have done a 

200-mile day, but who needed it now. We 

were coming down the home stretch with 

just 140 nm to go. 

TOUCH DOWN! 

At 7:13 am local time we charged the 

finish line on a reefed port tack and a 30degree 

heel. A classic finish to a great 

race, I mean ‘rally’. After 18 days at sea, 

covering 2900 nm, out of sight of boats for 

most of the venture, five boats converged 

from their independent routes and were on 

the radio within minutes of each other 

notifying the ARC finish line of ETA`s and 

instructions for the shore crew to get the 

rum punches ready. Incredible as it was, 

one of our sister ships ,whom we were 

competing against, came in just minutes 

before us, but after motor time was 

declared and calculated, we placed ahead. 

A small personal victory. We had motored 

48 hours, including our cruising chute 

retrieval and prop line entanglement. 

A welcome committee of ARC officials and 

locals welcomed us with a breakfast of 

rum punches and local fruits. Tired from 

shifts that congealed into long hours 

during the last part of the run, some were 

filled with adrenalin spirit, and others 

subdued calm, with the reality of a long 

voyage coming to an end. We mustered 

our last bit of energy to wash down the 

boat and bed down gear that would not be 

used for a while. 


Making the 2900 nm passage in a sailboat 

is a challenge. Each of our friends believed 

they had something to offer to make it a 

safe and effective passage. In fact they 

had given us so much more. There was 

not a day without laughter. Ray’s quick wit, 

Bob’s sunny disposition, and Arthur’s 

funny stories, helped to keep us in high 

spirits. They brought with them sailing 

techniques, mechanical experience and 

enthusiasm. The journey was not always 

easy and presented personal challenges. 

Bob’s bunk and personal effects were 

soaked with a fresh water leak. Ray’s 

fishing reel broke and Arthur was always at 

the ready, helping us through mechanical 

difficulties and eager to help when Mike 

was untangling lines in the water. Everyone 

needs a strong leader and Mike skippered 

the boat with navigational expertise, 

weather interpretations and saw us 

through mechanical breakdowns. The 

crossing was not only a passage of 

distance, but also a passage into an 

intertwined friendship that will last forever. 

Were we winners in the race, I mean, rally? 

We sure were. 

Donna Hill 


39

RELAIS 

V IGNAL E 

VIGNALE 

Welcome 

FATTORIA 

Halfway between Florence and Siena in the 

village of Radda in Chianti, the Relais Vignale 

extends a welcome and offers its guests 

a delightful and unforgettable stay. 

The hotel is part of the original manor house and has been carefully restored 

while preserving the ancient architectural features. During your stay you will be 

able to rediscover the relaxing, rural atmosphere of the early 19th century, 

while still having access to all modern amenities. 

Today, Vignale is still the legal seat of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium 

and thanks to its extensive historical archives, it also houses the Centre of 

Historic Studies of the Chianti region. 

The hotel has 34 tranquil rooms and 6 suites at its guests’ disposition and all 

have air-conditioning, telephone and mini-bar facilities. There are also three 

lounges with an open fire where guests are free to relax; a private bar, a drawing 

room, a conference room that seats 25 people, a heated swimming pool, 

large garden, private parking, wine shop and wine bar. 

The restaurant is situated in the historic wine cellars of the hotel where 

one can eat during Spring and Autumn. During the summer months meals are 

served outside on the panoramic Relais terrace. The dishes proposed reflect 

a traditional but innovative style and use local seasonal produce. The bread, 

pasta and cakes are all home-made using organic flour and cereals. 

Together with Vignale estate wines, the wine list offers a selection of over 

300 Italian and Tuscan wines. 

RELAIS VIGNALE 

Radda in Chianti, Siena 

Tel +39 0577 738300 

Fax +39 0577 738592 

www.vignale.it vignale@vignale.it 

RISTORANTE VIGNALE 

Tel+39 0577 738094 

Fax +39 0577 738094

Pelagos Yachts 

International Yacht Consultants 

Leasing 

VAT and Tax Services 

Marine Finance 

Insurance 

Commercial and Private 

Yacht Registration 

International Safety Management 

ISPS 

Project Management 

Yacht Management 

Crew Employment 

Pelagos Yachts Limited, Auldyn House, 7 West Quay, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 1DW. 

Tel: + 44 (0) 1624 819 867 Fax: + 44 (0) 1624 819 887 

Email: info@pelagosyachts.com www.pelagosyachts.com


“ Built in Auckland by McDell Marine, the Oyster LD43 was 

designed by Oyster Marine and has all the style, finish and build 

quality that one would expect from an Oyster yacht.As in Oyster 

sailing yachts, dedication to the finest detail is clearly evident ” 

BARRY THOMPSON, PROPELLER MAGAZINE

Photo: Alan Boswell 

THE NEW 

OYSTER LD43 

The Yachtsman’s Powerboat 

Lunch and dinner in style... 

...she’s afloat at last and ready for action. 



“ One of the most ingenious features of the LD43 is the full 

width glazed stainless steel rear bulkhead that divides the saloon 

from the cockpit.The side panels drop vertically to open up the 

cockpit/saloon space and extend the on-board living area plus 

provide a natural air flow through. Even when fully enclosed during 

bad weather, the clear glass bulkhead gives a sense of space that 

breaks that traditional divide between indoor and outdoor living ” 

BARRY THOMPSON, PROPELLER MAGAZINE

ON SATURDAY 9 JULY, THE FIRST OYSTER LD43 UNDERWENT 

BUILDER’S SEA TRIALS IN THE HAURAKI GULF OFF AUCKLAND. 

With the wind blowing a solid force six and with a choppy sea to match, the Oyster LD43 

proved the value of her deep V hull, cutting comfortably through the short seas at an easy 

25 knots. Designed by Oyster’s own in-house team, her tank-tested hull incorporates 

weight saving carbon and Kevlar for maximum strength. 

With a top speed in excess of 30 knots, the Oyster LD43 is powered by twin Yanmar 

420hp diesels driving Hamilton water jets and is believed to be the first vessel fitted with 

Hamilton’s new Blue Arrow computerised control system. This system gives unsurpassed 

low speed manoeuvrability, with fingertip control on a single joystick and without the 

need for a bowthruster. 

The Oyster LD43 (L and D standing for Lunch and Dinner) is an ideal boat for entertaining. 

At the touch of a button, the cockpit and saloon can be combined together as a single 

open space for outdoor dining and relaxation, or closed to provide secure, weatherproof 

comfort. Both saloon and cockpit feature a dining area with space for at least six to sit 

down and dine in style. 

The Oyster LD43 offers comfortable overnight cruising, with a double owner’s cabin forward 

with heads and shower, an optional compact twin-sleeping cabin, and saloon settees, 

which also double as single berths. 

Oyster will present the first LD43 at the Southampton Boat show 15-25 September, while 

the second boat will be at the Annapolis Powerboat Show 13-16 October. 

With a distinct retro look, Oyster quality and after sales support, the eye-catching Oyster 

LD43 is expected to find wide appeal as the yachtsman’s powerboat. The first three Oyster 

LD43’s are already sold to existing Oyster owners, although several boats will be available 

for 2006 delivery. 

For appointments to view the Oyster LD43 at the shows please call: 

Southampton Boat Show +44 (0) 1473 6888888 

Annapolis Boat Show +1 401 846 7400 

DIMENSIONS (approximate) 

Designed by the Oyster Design Group 

Length overall (including platform) 13.26 m 43’ 6" 

Beam 4.09 m 13’ 1" 

Draft 0.68 m 2’ 3" 

Fuel capacity 1680 litres 365 Imp gals 

Water capacity 340 litres 75 Imp gals 

Displacement (dry) 9500 kg 20950 lbs 

Maximum speed (approx) 31 knots 

Cruising speed (approx) 24 knots 


Antarctic 

Rendezvous By David Hughes, Oyster 66 MISS MOLLY 


ANTARCTIC RENDEZVOUS OWNER REPORT 

“Let's meet up in Antarctica” This was a loose arrangement entered into after too many drinks during a 

reunion of the participants in the Trade Winds Round the World Rally early in 1998. A few years, two Oyster 

66s and a lot of ocean miles later, Miss Molly (my boat) and Magic Dragon (Stephen and Catherine Thomas's 

boat) met up in the Melchior Islands off the Antarctic Peninsular. We took a few photos, yarned and had a 

drink or two and went on our way. That's it really. For those who might care to go after, I hope the following 

will be of interest. 

Oyster 66s, Magic Dragon and Miss Molly, meet up in Antarctica 

“ Tales of the heroic age of 

Antarctic exploration had 

been our main source of 

literature for months and from 

this we had all formed the 

opinion that Antarctica is 

lonely and very remote ” 


47

Panama to Cape Horn 

First you have to get to Puerto Montt. 

The obvious kicking off point for cruising 

the Patagonian fjords or "canals" as they 

are known locally. Puerto Montt has 

everything for the cruising sailor that will not 

be readily available for the next thousand or 

so miles. The cynical might add, like traffic 

and crowds, but you know what I mean. 

We tied alongside at the Marina Del Sur, a 

small yacht haven tucked up an inlet 

where the fishing boats shelter. Arriving 

late, in depressingly relentless rain, after 

a long passage from French Polynesia 

culminating in a fraught, misty, landfall 

and a long series of windy inter-island 

passages, we were warmly welcomed by 

Rodrigo Rocas. Did we need water? 

Electricity? Supplies? Diesel? All in good 

time. What we did need, I hinted, after 

three thousand miles of winter in the 

South Pacific (with just a taste of 

Southern Ocean), was a large steak with 

lots of chips, preceded by a couple of 

Piscos Sours and accompanied by a 

bucket or two of red wine. No problem. 

Rodrigo scuttled off to his office and 

returned with the information that a car 

would pick us up from there, (he gestured 

to the top of the gangway) at seventhirty 

and take us to a local Fogon, and 

collect us for the return a couple of hours 

later. The Fogon turned out to be a 

homely little restaurant where the 

proprietor, hunched over a vast charcoal 

grill, prepared half a cow between the 

four of us. Slowly, the harsher memories 


of 21 days at sea mellowed and back on 

board Miss Molly we reckoned that 

Rodrigo should win a Customer Service 

Award. Top Guy! 

Provisioned, fettled and ready for 

Patagonia, sporting two very long warps 

coiled and stowed on the transom ready 

for tying to trees or rocks, (the approved 

Patagonian mooring method), two long ice 

prodding poles and with the storm jib in 

place of the staysail, we bravely set off 

south. This was a big moment. We had 

planned this section of our trip for a long 

time but the summer spent in Polynesia 

was hardly the preparation needed for 

cruising in these southern latitudes. 

However we had experienced a "bit of a 

blow" on the Pacific crossing and the wind 

had absolutely howled through the 

moorings in Puerto Montt from time to 

time. We had also received a Satcom C 

forecast talking about eighty knots further 

south, so we knew what could be in store 

for us and whilst nervous, we were excited 

and ready to give it a go. 

Our first anchorage provided us with 

(although not necessarily in this order) a 

lesson in stern-warp-manship, freezing 

cold night time temperatures, dolphins 

playing around the yacht, an exciting 

scramble to view our first wilderness 

waterfall and a rough RIB ride across the 

fjord to experience the natural thermal 

springs. These hot springs proved very 

popular and we spent a happy hour or two 

lazing in steaming rocky pools filled with 

water of exactly the right temperature, 

each with its own incredible view. Looking 

out over the mountains from my own 

private little pool, I reckoned that this was 

going to turn out to be some trip if our first 

couple of days were anything to go on. 

Other days stand out. Our first encounter 

with penguins was a winner. Anchored and 

stern warped (we were getting slicker at 

this) we took to the dinghy and crept up 

on a little group of Magellenic Penguins. 

They were sunning themselves on a 

smooth rock just above the water and 

allowed us to approach just so far before 

deciding that our cameras were an 

unwelcome intrusion into their day and 

indignantly diving off the rock one by one. 

We spent that day in hot sunshine 

pottering round an idyllic bay strewn with 

little rocky outcrops and tiny wooded 

islets. Full of wildlife, the digital cameras 

clicking away, we had a wonderful taste of 

Chilean cruising at its best. With the books 

out later that evening we reckoned our 

best sightings were the Southern Crested 

Caracara and the Carpenteria Negra - a 

beautiful and rare woodpecker. There was 

a lot of deleting and laptop editing going 

on after dinner (a regular feature of this 

cruise) before we were satisfied that we 

had the photos that did the place justice. 

Collecting Eddie Scougall, Oyster’s 

Customer Care Manager, who would be 

joining us for a few months sabbatical, 

involved anchoring at the head of the 

Puyuguapi Canal and taking a four by 

four drive of some six hours down the 

Carreterra Austral; something I had been

looking forward to. I had wondered, not to 

say worried, how the logistics might work 

out for this, but as in most back of beyond 

places something turned up after a few 

enquiries; in this case, Joss and his Jeep. 

And so the next morning we slowly made 

our way through the high Andes on the 

legendary track, awed by incredible 

waterfalls and glimpses of high snowy 

peaks. The airport at Balmaceda, the only 

option for a crew change, is located 

beyond the mountains on the flat Pampas 

that begins here at the Argentinian/ 

Chilean border and stretches all the way to 

the Atlantic coast. Stopping for a leg 

stretch and a coffee contada at a small 

panaderia, I realised just how remote this 

part of Chile really is and how on the next 

leg, the long passage south to the 

Magellan Straits and the Beagle Channel, 

we really would be cast on our own 

resources. 

Out into the Pacific for the thirty-six hour 

passage down and across the dreaded 

Gulfo de Penas, made necessary because 

of the lack of a linking channel, exercised 

our sea legs (and our stomachs) again. We 

had become used to the windy but flat 

waters of the fjords and a rising gale 

pushing the ocean swell in the shallow bay 

made for interesting conditions. 

A series of long days followed as we 

progressed south. We established the 

alternative routines of either an early start 

(six-thirty, cup of tea and away) or "comfy 

start"; the luxury of breakfast first. Long 

daylight hours enabled us to cover eighty 

Chonos 

Islands 

Puerto Montt 

Chiloe 

Cabo 

Raper Golfo 

de 

Panas 

Caleta 

Connor 

Puerto 

Eden 

A N D E S 

miles or so daily and 

still have plenty of daylight 

to reconnoitre a proposed 

anchorage and establish our 

lines and anchors. 

We had been advised by old 

Patagonian hands in Puerto Montt, and 

this proved to be a valuable tip, to secure 

the boat each evening assuming that it 

would certainly blow like hell during the 

night from any direction. We had some 

quiet nights it is true but then again..! One 

night I wondered if the boat could stand the 

buffeting of the williwaws screaming down 

the mountains and tearing the water, of 

what had been a tranquil cove at bed-time, 

into a smoking spray of rough water at four 

in the morning, with the boat jabbing 

furiously from side to side restrained by the 

warps made fast to carefully selected trees 

and rocks and the two anchors set really 

hard with ample chain. Dramatic but no 

worries! Most mornings thankfully turned 

out calm enough for the tricky process of 

un-hitching the hundred meter long warps, 

stowing the RIB on the davits, hooking up 

seventy or eighty meters of chain and the 

one or two anchors before setting off. 

We found navigating the channels 

straightforward enough, taking into 

account the sometimes inaccurate charts 

and the un-nerving habit of the echo 

sounder jumping instantly from good deep 

water to just a few meters; a result of the 

layering of waters of different 

temperatures. We knew that we had 

enough depth but just the same it caught 

us out every time. After a number of heart- 


N 

PUNTA 

ARENAS 

TIERRA 

DEL FUEGO 

Ushuaia Beagle Channel 

Puerto 

Williams 

Rothera (UK) 

Cape Horn 

DRAKE 

PASSAGE 

Deception Island 

Gerlache Strait 

Cierva Cove 

Anvers Island 

Enterprise Island 

Waterboat Point 

Alexander Island 

Left to right: 

Castro Market, Chile 

The Beagle Channel 

David and Linda - Cape 

Horm abeam to port 

Port Lockroy 


Elephant 

Island 

49


David and Linda Hughes with crew, Mark and Charlie 

stopping panics we put the cover over the 

display and got on with the important 

business of enjoying the fabulous scenery. 

It is not every day that we pass enormous 

glaciers tumbling into the water just a few 

meters away from the yacht. We couldn’t 

resist the photo opportunities and spent 

many happy hours pushing ice floes away 

from the topsides as we nudged our way 

as close as possible to the ice, anchoring 

on one occasion for lunch immediately 

under the icefall. I don’t remember a more 

dramatic anchorage. 

The days became more memorable as the 

latitude increased. The Straits of Magellan 

gave us sixty knots from the west and a rip 

roaring downhill ride; eighty miles in eight 

hours. How the early navigators made their 

way to windward, I just cannot imagine; 

perhaps they just waited for a rare easterly. 

The Beagle Channel, after the thrill of the 

glaciers, gave us absolute contrast; a 

freezing cold day of relentless rain and 

extremely low visibility as we headed east 

to Puerto Williams and a sparkling crystal 

clear sunny morning for the return trip 

west to Ushuia. 

To put this briefly, it is necessary to check 

out from Puerto Williams in Chile before 

proceeding to Ushuia in Argentina, 

irritatingly situated twenty-five miles west 

of their Chilean neighbour. This stretch of 

water becomes quite familiar, as all the 

cruising boats headed for Antarctica and 

on have to return to Puerto Williams to 

carry out their official departure from Chile 

and South America.

We just needed the latest weather 

forecasts and the ice reports from the 

Chilean Navy, or the Armada as they are 

known locally and we were ready for the 

big one; Cabo de Hornos. And then we 

would join the dozen or so private yachts 

that were preparing for the frozen south 

and slip into something thermal and get on 

with it. Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego 

had been just amazing; what would 

Antarctica be like? 

Towards Antarctica 

Well all right I admit it. We were nervous. 

In fact we were very worried about 

heading south to the ice. This anxiety 

stemmed from a variety of sources; not 

least of which is the redoubtable Antarctic 

Pilot which, whilst essential reading, 

provides relentlessly harsh information 

about Antarctica. Reading about the 

Peninsular, our chosen destination, we 

learned about channels being swept by 

icebergs carried on three knot tides; a 

selected anchorage was encumbered by 

frequent calving of a glacier causing a 

"disagreeable swell" and the Gerlache 

Strait, the main highway between the 

Peninsular and the offshore Islands is 

troubled, according to the Pilot, by north 

east winds which may blow with great 

violence for several days. Oh, and it says 

that this is a frequent occurrence. 

Like all sailors approaching new cruising 

grounds, we were sponges for information. 

In the Chilean harbour of Puerto Williams 

we holed up for a while berthed with other 

south bound sailors against the old wreck 

Micalvi which serves as both dock and 

club house (their boast being "this is the 

most southerly yacht club in the world"). In 

the cosy bar, warmed by a log stove 

complete with steaming damp dog who 

had popped in out of the rain for a warm 

up, we listened in awe to those who had 

ventured south before. 

"Oh, you may need a woolly jumper, 

mate". This in answer to a natural enquiry 

about how cold it was likely to be. Yeah, 

really. I thought about my carefully 

selected technical clothing featuring a 

"layering" system, which would hopefully 

keep me warm, supplemented by a 

possum fur hat and gloves purchased in 

New Zealand, all of which I hoped would 

do the trick. I bet he wears more than a 

woolly jumper! I will gloss over the bar 

room stories about dinghies being blown 

away, anchorages choked with ice 

trapping the yacht for days and the 

consequences of technical failure. One 

hard-bitten veteran of the area described 

the passage south as "a rough ride 

followed by a load of ice". Well never 

mind, we were going to give it a try. 

A few days later we were on our way after 

a wonderful Christmas spent with a 

Chilean family in the tiny and more or less 

deserted fishing pueblo of Puerto Toro. 

Vladimir, the Armada "port" captain who 

was in reality the Chilean Naval presence 

in the area, his wife and three children 

became our surrogate family, generously 

inviting us to their home for Christmas 

lunch; an act of true hospitality. We felt 


“ At 62 degrees 45 minutes 

south, first showing at twelve 

miles as a solid blip on the 

radar, gradually out of the 

gloom, there appeared a 

massive iceberg ” 

that we were the only people in the world, 

so remote is that region and so sparsely 

populated and it seemed natural for us all 

to join together for Christmas. I should say 

here how impressed I was by the Chilean 

Armada. This professional force, modelled 

on the Royal Navy, were never short of 

courteous, helpful and friendly advice and 

we felt that the twice daily position 

reporting system was as much for our own 

security as it was for their requirement to 

know who was navigating in their waters. 

Vladimir furnished us with the latest 

forecast as we prepared to take our leave 

on Boxing Day and we bashed out of the 

Wollastons heading west so that we could 

run past Cape Horn downwind. Good 

plan; it was howling! I must say that I 

would have been disappointed to see the 

famous Cape in a flat calm, but we were 

disappointed not to have had the chance 

of landing and visiting the lighthouse. 

However, Miss Molly took it all in her 

stride, rolling comfortably over the huge 

seas under a triple reefed Yankee. A longheld 

ambition fulfilled, we hauled sheets 

and headed south across the Drake 

Passage. I casually wrote in the log " Cape 

Horn abeam to port". We were now 

"Capehorners." 

"Wake up!" I called the off watch sleepers. 

I was certain that they would not want to 

miss the first iceberg. At 62 degrees 45 

minutes South, first showing at twelve 

miles as a solid blip on the radar, gradually 

out of the gloom, there appeared a 

massive iceberg. I was not disappointed 


51

“ Gusts of more than forty 

knots became the norm as the 

snowy hills to the north added a 

katabolic effect to the wind, 

whipping the surface of the 

water into white smoky spray ” 

by my first sighting, no tiny calved chunk 

this; it was enormous - about the size of a 

respectable island. Digital cameras clicked 

and video film ran before the ‘off watchers’ 

sloped back to their bunks happy with 

their first real Antarctic experience. 

I watched the appropriately named Snow 

Island pass to port with its attendant 

icebergs, now frequent, and at last, after 

just three days at sea, Deception Island 

was in sight. Our first Antarctic anchorage. 

Through the tricky Neptunes Bellows, a 

narrow gap in the walls of what is 

essentially a volcanic crater (although on a 

massive scale) having successfully avoided 

the rock awash in the centre of the 

channel, we scouted around for a sheltered 

spot. Telefon Bay and Fumerole Bay, both 

supposedly acknowledged anchorages, 

(according to such information as we had 

gleaned) proved to be untenable in the 

strong northeasterly. 

Back to Whalers Bay just to the north of 

the Bellows. We had passed this on our 

way in and rejected it as being too large 

and unprotected, but we decided it was 

the best of a bad lot. Digging the anchor 

in we found good holding. Good job, for 

that night, all the next day and night, the 

wind screamed through the anchorage. 

Gusts of more than forty knots became 

the norm as the snowy hills to the north 

added a katabolic effect to the wind, 

whipping the surface of the water into 

white smoky spray. A second anchor was 

set as far to windward as we could 

manage and we settled down to wait for 


Miss Molly, tied up alongside the wreck of the Gouvernoren at Enterprise Island 

improvement. Was this one of the Pilot’s 

Gerlache Straits specials? 

We finally got ashore on New Year’s Eve 

and explored the abandoned whaling 

station complete with boats buried in the 

volcanic ash, huge rusting tanks and 

boiling apparatus and a godforsaken 

series of derelict huts full of snow. Several 

graves and an empty coffin complete the 

dismal scene. Much better to concentrate 

on the wildlife. Deception Island houses a 

rookery of around a million chinstrap 

penguins. We were unable to anchor off 

the rookery due to the weather but down 

on the beach Chinstrap and Gentoo 

penguins posed happily for photos and a 

snoozing Weddell seal sent us back on 

board, camera cards full, for Gala Dinner, a 

toast to the New Year and boozily to bed. 

Should I mention the cruise ships? We had 

expected to be alone at the end of the 

world. Tales of the heroic age of Antarctic 

exploration had been our main source of 

literature for months and from this we had 

all formed the opinion that Antarctica is 

lonely and very remote. The hoards of 

Zodiac-ferried tourists that clog up the 

popular spots such as Deception Island 

tend to somewhat dilute the thrill of the 

place. We had to be content with the fact 

that we had at least sailed all the way from 

the UK to be there. The next morning, as 

we carefully eased our way out of the 

Bellows, Bremen and Royal Princess were 

heard discussing on the VHF the rota for 

the day’s landings in the Bay. Time for us 

to find the real Antarctica. 

Our next lesson in Antarctic seamanship 

was learned the hard way. After a long, 

fast (and very cold) passage south, 

bound for the Gerlache Strait, now using 

the north easterly to our advantage, we 

reckoned on anchoring in Cierva Cove, 

situated on the south east side of the 

Strait. Arriving at suppertime we would 

have plenty of time to anchor and relax 

in the long austral twilight. Not to be. 

The entrance to the bay (never mind the 

cove) was absolutely blocked solid with 

ice floes. Back to the charts. The next 

shelter was five hours away and it was 

still blowing hard. Would we be able to 

make it before eleven thirty, which was 

more or less the end of reasonable light? 

We should have expected something 

similar and left enough daylight to reach 

an alternate anchorage in good time. 

However, on we went, pushing hard. 

Colder and colder. 

The anchorage on Enterprise Island, 

hidden from view until we were right up 

against the island proved to be the most 

unusual we have ever visited. The deal is 

this (learned from the old salts in the bar 

on the Micalvi); manoeuvre your way into a 

shallow icy cove, surrounded on three 

sides by towering ice cliffs. Locate the 

derelict rusty wreck of the Gouvernoren 

(bows out of the water, stern deep under) 

turn to face bows out (shallow and 

extremely tight), lie alongside, spring cat 

like (thank you Mark) on to the wreck and 

secure. Ensure fenders protect topsides 

and set mid-ships line to inconvenient rock 

ashore to haul off a little for added

protection in case of williwaws. Midnight 

whisky tots before bed. Lesson learnt. 

After a couple of peaceful nights and a 

wonderful ice-filled day cruising around 

the little inlets in the RIB we pushed on to 

our next hard lesson; Waterboat Point at 

the entrance to Paradise Bay with the 

persistent nor-easter still blowing. The 

drill here is to reverse into an inlet 

between mini-bergs, lay sixty metres of 

chain and tie stern lines to shore. Sounds 

easy enough. Well! We bailed out in a 

hurry having chucked the warps into the 

water (to be recovered in due course by 

the RIB) and having touched bottom with 

the yacht sheering around on the chain. 

Nowhere near enough room for us. I really 

should have realised this sooner, but 

there you are. We were very lucky to get 

out without damage. 

Waterboat Point is in reality unsheltered, 

shallow, tight and rocky and is choked 

with ice. What were we doing there? 

I wondered how valuable some of the 

information we gathered really was. Maybe 

we would be better finding our own spots. 

Happily our alternate anchorage of 

Paradise Harbour was only five miles away 

and proved to be as dramatic as you 

could wish for and had the enormous 

advantage of being actually on the 

continent. We were actually there at last. 

David Hughes 

Photos: David Hughes, Linda Hughes & Eddie Scougall 



53

stop 

Ultimate Boating Control. 

Cruising is supposed to be a breeze.When you leave the dock, your bow thruster 

should ease you out with nothing more than a whisper. En route to your favorite 

spot, your steering, and sail control systems should take you there with complete 

control. And when it’s time to anchor, why not enjoy pushbutton windlass 

performance and a fast, solid hold on any seabed? When it comes to cruising, we 

at Lewmar believe there’s nothing wrong with perfection. 

and and drop drop 

www.lewmar.com

Proud to have built the sails for the new Oyster 46 and 72 

UBS OYSTER REGATTAS 2004 

BVI 

CLASS 1 

1ST ROULETTE 

2ND DORADO 

CLASS 2 

1ST BOYSTEROUS 

COWES 

CLASS 1 

1ST SCARLET OYSTER 

(PART INVENTORY) 

CLASS 2 

1ST SABA 

2ND FIZZ 

Oyster 72 Oystercatcher XXV - showing D4 headsail - 1st RYS/Rolex Race Around the Isle of Wight 

THE CHOICE OF OYSTER MARINE 

Oyster 72 Lukentyre - Carbon Sails 

PALMA 

CLASS 1 

1ST ROULETTE 

CLASS 2 

1ST TUSITALA 

ARC 

CLASS 1 CRUISING 

1ST VOODOO 

ANTIGUA 

CLASS 1 

2ND CARPE DIEM 

CLASS 2 

1ST FIZZ 

Oyster 46 Clabbie Dubh 

400 Main Road • Harwich • Essex • CO12 4DN • Tel: +44 (0)1255 243366 • Fax: +44 (0)1255 240920 • sails@dolphin-sails.com • www.dolphinsails.com


BY ELSIE OLIVER 

OYSTER 56 

ICHI FEET 

Arriving in Lysefjorden, Norway 

Atlantic Ocean 

Waterford 

Kinsale 

Celtic Sea 

Mull of Kintyre 

Douglas 

Irish Sea 

Ben Nevis 

Oban 

Loch Ryan 

Milford Haven 

Lundy 

Penzance 

Scapa Flow 

Dartmouth 

Lerwick 

London 

Ipswich 

Bergen 

Skudeneshaven 

Stavanger 

North Sea 

English Channel 

Amsterdam 

Boulogne 

Ostend

Christening party in St Katharine's Dock, London Ichi Feet off Landing Beach, Lundy 

“ Lock into 

Penzance to really 

experience a working 

Cornish harbour, 

used regularly by 

fishing boats and 

crabbers ” 

ICHI FEET’S FIRST YEAR OWNER REPORT 

Having taken delivery of our new Oyster 56 in Ipswich, we had a short trip 

to Ostend, before sailing back to St Katharine’s Dock in London for 

Oyster’s Private View. While we were London based we took the 

opportunity to have a christening party on Ichi Feet for our family and 

friends, followed by an evening dinner cruise on the Thames, a great night. 

THE PLAN 

We decided to take a shakedown cruise around the UK, which proved to be an excellent 

decision as the usual ‘teething’ problems associated with a new boat were easily attended 

to by co-ordinating with Oyster’s After Sales department. But let’s talk about the trip, and 

what we considered to be the high spots of our cruise around the UK and Norway, before 

reaching Ijmuiden in Holland for the boat show where Ichi Feet was to be exhibited. 

UK SOUTH COAST 

After a quick trip across the Channel to Boulogne, in France, to see friends and to stop a 

while to look at the history of this little French town, explore the castle, museum and the 

Cathedral, it was back to the UK to continue along the south coast. Memorable places have 

to be Dartmouth, where the town quay is available for an overnight berth, but must be 

cleared by 0900 when the ferry service starts up again for the day. Cruising up the rivers on 

a rising tide till we touched the bottom, then back down again and anchoring in the Helford 

River for the night with no one else around. There are mooring buoys in these rivers but 

they tend to be only suitable for boats up to 45ft, plus a few rickety pontoons. It can be 

busy and rafting is normal, but lock into Penzance to really experience a working Cornish 

harbour, used regularly by fishing boats and crabbers and, as is often the case with the old 

harbours, the town is on the door step, with a good variety of local shops. 

www.oystermarine.com 57

The Caledonian Canal, Scotland The west coast of Lundy 

LUNDY ISLAND 

For those of you who don’t know Lundy, this small island is in the Bristol Channel, 3.5 miles 

long and half a mile wide, and is owned by the Landmark Trust, which is associated with 

the National Trust; there is a small landing fee payable at the office in the village. 

We arrived as darkness fell and anchored in the landing beach bay in the southeast. On top 

of the island is a large church and in the past the island was owned by a Reverend Heaven 

and known at that time as ‘The Kingdom of Heaven’. A walk up past the church and on 

through the village, up one side of the island and down the other allows you to see plenty 

of interesting rock formations along the way: the Logan stone, Constable Rock, Totem Pole, 

the Cheeses, and many more. There are two new lighthouses one at the south and one at 

the north, but in the centre of the island is the old Light, which is usually open and you can 

climb to the top. In the lantern room there were two deck chairs – truly a room with a view. 

There is a shop and bar/restaurant, and as far as we are concerned it is certainly worth the 

detour up the Bristol Channel. 

THE IRISH SEA 

A stop in Milford Haven and then across to Waterford in Southern Ireland. We had dolphins 

swim the bow wave on the trip across St George’s Channel. We worked our way along the 

south coast as far as Kinsale, a pretty town with live music in many of the pubs in the 

evening all serving the best Guinness and also the local Kinsale lager, which only seems to 

be available around the town. 


“ Life moves at 

a slower pace up 

here, where the air 

is fresh and clean 

and the people 

very friendly ” 


Most sailors choose to carry on around the west coast, but as our home is on the Isle of 

Man, (another small island, this time in the middle of the Irish Sea) we had decided to call 

there. The inner harbour at Douglas is small, with a bridge and sill retaining water, there is 

only one spot in the harbour where there is enough depth for our keel, however our friendly 

harbour master Eric, had cleared a place for us and we took the opportunity of getting 

some warranty work done whilst there, which worked very well. 

The Isle of Man was a major holiday destination in the 1950’s and 60’s well before foreign 

package holidays really took off, but is now more of a financial centre. It is home to the 

famous TT motorcycle race every June, and it has a wealth of Viking and Celtic history, with 

many museums. The Tynwald Parliament dates from Viking times and in July there is 

Tynwald Day, when the parliament sits in the open air on the old Viking parliament site, this 

is one of the oldest surviving parliaments. In the summer months from the ferry port in 

Douglas Harbour there are horse drawn trams to take you along the promenade, where you 

can switch to the electric railway and travel past the Laxey Wheel, an enormous water 

wheel, either up to the top of the ‘mountain’ Snaefell, or on 

to Ramsey town. The Irish Sea can be a bit unpredictable, so 

watch the weather and watch out for severe overfalls at the 

north east point. 

SCOTLAND AND THE 

CALEDONIAN CANAL 

On leaving the Isle of Man we made for the Caledonian Canal 

stopping along the way at Loch Ryan, Troon, around the Mull 

of Kintyre to Gigha Island and on to Oban. If you have time 

to spare, consider going on to the islands of Mull, Skye, and 

the Hebrides. 

Started in 1803 and completed in 1822, the Caledonian 

Canal runs for 60 miles along the Great Glen from Corpach, 

near Fort William, in the southwest, to Inverness in the 

Kinsale, Southern Ireland 

northeast passing through Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch 

Ness, famed for its monster. If the weather is kind this is a 

beautiful trip, with spectacular scenery along the way, including views of Ben Nevis. There 

are 14 locks up and 15 locks down, probably the most interesting being Neptune’s 

Staircase, which is a ladder of eight locks that raises vessels to a height of 70 feet above 

sea level over a distance of just 500 yards. There are anchorages and piers marked on the 

chart, but the lochs are deep and the anchorages small, some of the piers are small and 

rickety, which we felt weren’t strong enough for Ichi Feet. We found the best thing was to 

stop at the waiting pontoons each side of the flights of locks or bridges. Watch your timing 

as the locks and bridges close at 1700 hrs. Most of the lock keepers were very helpful 

where lines were concerned, but you do need your own dedicated rope walker when 

moving from lock to lock, a good fender board or long inflatable fender is also necessary. 

The waiting pontoons can get full in some places, but if the lock was open we would motor 

straight in, much to the chagrin of the other waiting charter motor boats and yachts. I well 

remember the grin on the lock keepers face, he had spotted our move, came back from 

lunch to find the lock full and ready to go. After all if he didn’t want us in there, he would 

have closed the gate wouldn’t he? 

If you have time spend a couple of nights in Inverness at the end of the canal, go into town, 

and visit the Castle. We stopped at Buckie where you enter the harbour past the piers for 

the fishing boats, and into the visitor area at Nº 4 pier. There’s quite a tide here at springs 

so make sure you leave plenty of slack on the lines if you go into town. At Wick, alongside 

the north pier, we discovered Old Pulteney scotch, a very nice scotch indeed. 


59

Tied up in Bergen, Norway 

ORKNEY AND SHETLAND 

We sailed on through Scapa Flow to Stromness Harbour Marina, where we were greeted 

with a welcome pack with local information. We took a tour from Kirkwall that stops at 

Neolithic sites, amongst them Maes Howe tumulus dating before 2700BC, with the largest 

collection of runic inscriptions in the world; the Ring of Brogar stone circle and Scara Brae, 

northern Europe’s best preserved Neolithic Village. This semi-subterranean village is some 

5000 years old and was preserved under the dunes until a violent storm in 1850 unearthed 

a huge midden and the ruins of ancient dwellings almost intact with stone furniture and 

cupboards, (the real life Fred Flintstones). 

We wanted to spend more time at Scara Brae than was allowed for in the tour, but how 

to get back to Kirkwall? "No problem" said the bus driver, "Get the bus from Scar Brae 

to Stromness and tell him you need to catch the Kirkwall bus, which he will pass on its 

way out of Stromness". Sure enough he put us off the bus, where we needed to catch 

the Kirkwall bus and what’s more he waited until the bus came to make sure that it did. 

Life moves at a slower pace up here, where the air is fresh and clean and the people 

very friendly. 

After leaving Kirkwall we anchored for the night at Otterswick on Sanday, ready for the push 

to Lerwick, Shetland early the next day, which turned out to be a foggy one. We arrived in 

Lerwick as darkness fell and were instructed to moor up on the Wharf of the Albert Dock. 

We didn’t have as much time to explore Shetland as we would have liked, but there is lots 

of history and plenty of interesting places to visit. From Shetland you have two choices, 

down the east coast of the UK or across to Norway – our destination. 


Eidfjord, Noway 

“ Mooring fees are 

paid at the parking 

meter, but make sure 

you select boat not car 

or you could find 

yourself parked 

underground! ”

FACT BOX 

For information on cruising and 

visiting the places visited by Itchi 

Feet see the websites below: 

www.destination-cornwall.co.uk 

www.dartharbour.org.uk 

www.helfordrivermoorings.co.uk 

www.lundy.org.uk 

www.irelandwide.com 

www.isle-of-man.com 

www.scottishcanals.co.uk 

www.shetlandcoastguard.co.uk 

www.visitnorway.com 

www.stavanger-web.com 

Sunset over Kinsarvik, Norway 


NORWAY 

We cruised the fjords starting at Bergen, then into Hardanger fjord. As with the Caledonian 

Canal the water is deep and anchorages few but, with the advent of a road system between 

towns, many former ferry quays are now redundant and have been made into guest-quays. 

We found these excellent; many run on trust, with an envelope to pay dues of only a pound 

or two with water and electric thrown in. Kinsarvik, Nordheimsund and Sundal all have 

guest-quays. If you feel energetic, walk from Sundal into the mountains for an hour or so, 

about 5 miles takes you to the foot of a glacier. 

Heading south, Skudeneshaven is a ‘must see’ town. We cruised into the ‘harbour’ only 

to find that the ‘harbour’ is the middle of the town, it’s also the town where the foghorn 

was invented and there is a really interesting little museum of local history. From here to 

Forsand and Lysefjord where you can stand on top of the famous pulpit rock, some 3000 

feet above the water. 

Stavanger was to be our jump off point for Holland and we moored port side-to in the town, 

just before the small boat marina. Here mooring fees are paid at the parking meter, but 

make sure you select boat not car or you could find yourself parked underground! 

IN CONCLUSION 

To any owner we would say this, a cruise round the UK and Norway is an excellent way 

to shakedown a new yacht, the seas can be challenging, the weather unpredictable, but if 

you’re as lucky as we were and have some fine weather, there is much to see and we 

have been left wanting to see more of it. 

61

STUDENT YACHTING NATIONALS 

Everything has been quiet on the Sonar front 

since we came back from our long string of 

events in America earlier this year, which has 

given me an opportunity to catch up on work for 

my degree course at Loughborough University. 

In April, I joined a team from the University to 

compete in the Student Yachting National 

Championships in Southampton, where I sailed 

as tactician on board a Sunsail 36 in order to 

get some much-needed practice on the Solent. 

It was a challenge getting used to sailing with 

eight other people but overall we sailed 

consistently throughout the event. 

BUSA TEAM RACING FINALS 

The British University Sailing Association circuit 

runs throughout the academic year and this year 

saw us competing at universities around the UK, 

as well as hosting our own event here in 

Loughborough. 

This year’s finals were held at Derwent Reservoir 

in the Lake District and we arrived to be greeted 

by heavy mist and no wind. After two days of 

some very competitive racing, we found 

ourselves at the top of the silver league with a 

chance to race the bottom of the gold league in 

order to progress to the quarterfinals. 

Unfortunately, I think our nerves got the better of 

us and we thought we had the race won. We 

were caught on the line and out of the 

competition. 


The quality of competition was extremely high 

this year and I look forward to another very 

competitive year of team racing at the start of 

the next academic year in October, when I will 

be captaining the "mens" first team! 

TWO BOAT TUNING WEYMOUTH 

As we had no Sonar events until the summer, 

we decided to organise some two-boat tuning. It 

is hard to find crew willing to sail in Weymouth 

when it is cold and raining, but luckily at 

Loughborough there are a few people mad 

enough to want to! Gary Fryer, Dan Parsons and 

my Mum, all came along to make up the second 

boat. The aim of the training was to identify 

ways to maximise our speed to improve our 

performance at the forthcoming World 

Championships. We also invited along the RYA 

Technical Manager, Peter Bentley and coach, 

Colin Merritt. Both Peter and Colin had some 

very interesting insights into what we should be 

doing. My Mum was also looking scarily fast at 

the helm of the RYA boat, Riposte. I hope she is 

not planning to make a comeback in the near 

future, because she may be a threat! Overall, it 

was a very successful week of training and 

Chimera is now fully geared and ready for the 

World Championships. 

29er WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 

SAN FRANCISCO 

The 29er World’s in San Francisco were 

supposed to be an event for fellow Paralympian, 

Helena Lucas and myself, to show what the 

Paralympic 

Sailing 

Update 

ladies could do in a skiff. However, the weather 

in San Francisco took us both by surprise with 

strong winds before and during the event, which 

meant that we had to concentrate on survival for 

most of the time and were not always 

successful with that! 

In a 78-boat fleet and a 10-race qualifying 

series, we managed to qualify near the top of 

the Silver fleet. A fairly commendable 

achievement, as no all-lady crew managed to 

get into the Gold fleet of the top 25 boats. 

However, that was as good as it got, with us 

getting completely blown away in the strong 

winds and swimming being the order of the 

day! We did manage to finish 3rd ladies overall 

but we will need to get plenty of practice in for 

next years World’s in Weymouth if we are to 

achieve our ambition of being the best all-lady 

skiff crew around. 

It is starting to get hectic, but once again my 

plans, goals and aspirations would not have 

been made possible without the support of 

Richard Matthews and Oyster. Thanks for all 

your support, Happy Sailing! 

Hannah Stodel

acing and cruising 

W I T H W H A L E S 

By David Blacklaws on board Jack and Marion Sullivan’s Oyster 46, FLYING EAGLE 

Sunset over the Broken Islands 

RACING 

"Thar she blows" is an unfamiliar call, to say the least, to hear on the racecourse but 

not so if you are taking part in the Seattle Yacht Club’s NORPAC regatta held on 

Barkley Sound on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. My wife, Mabel, and I were 

fortunate to have been invited to join Jack and Marion Sullivan aboard Flying Eagle, 

their Oyster 46 for this event held biannually in August. 

Barkley Sound is a large indentation on the west coast of Vancouver Island forming part of 

the Pacific Rim National Park. The scenery is absolutely spectacular! The sound covers an 

area of approximately 800 square kilometers that includes the Broken Group of islands, plus 

hundreds of others, none of which is larger than two kilometres across. The sound is 

guarded by the fishing villages of Ucluelet to the north and Bamfield to the South. The 

sheltered nature of the area allows for superb cruising in the settled summer months but it 

is subject to heavy Pacific Ocean swells in the winter. 

The few days prior to the regatta were spent exploring the very scenic islands and 

secluded anchorages in the Sound. We were treated to memorable sunsets and, one 

evening, the presence of a huge bald eagle perched on a tree less than 25 yards 

away. His imperious look seemed to be saying "Hi Guys get out the pool 

where I expected to catch supper". 

One of the aims of this regatta is to encourage Seattle Yacht Club 

members to extend their cruising area, explore the adventure of 

transiting the Straits of Juan de Fuca and experience the 

vastness of sailing on the rim of the Pacific Ocean. 


The fleet consisted of 27 yachts ranging from a Santa Cruz 50 to a 

Hunter 34 and included a couple of Swan’s, Hallberg Rassy’s, 

Beneteau’s, a Moody, a Fisher 38 and an Oyster 46. Surprisingly 

almost half the fleet was made up of boats built in Europe. Most 

of the boats were sailed by family crews with children and some 

by couples who had been away from base, cruising for a number 

of weeks. Indeed at least three boats had reached the area by 

going north about round Vancouver Island over a six-week trip. 

This is a feat in itself, sailing through Discovery Passage with some 

of the fiercest tidal currents in the world. Without exception we were 

welcomed amongst these fine folk who, like cruising sailors everywhere, 

were pleased to share experiences and notes on navigation and pilotage in 

these pretty remote but very beautiful waters. 

Burke Sound 

Queen Charlotte Strait 

With such an eclectic mix, splitting the fleet into six classes ensured the event’s 

success, with opportunities for all to gain podium places on at least one of the five 

races held during the week. The programme of races and social events are a 

moveable feast with courses set around various islands and designed to allow the fleet 

to finish each day to anchor or moor up together in time for happy hour before 

participating in the social event of the evening. 

And what social events they were – Opening night party on the Albernie Yacht Club’s 

outstation pontoons set the tone for the rest of the week, which included a gourmet 

meal at Eagle Nook Wilderness Resort, which otherwise can only be reached by float 

plane, a ‘potluck’ supper on the beach after a superb exercise in seamanship forming a 

26 boat star raft and the final evening prize giving and dinner held in the Boat Basin 

Restaurant in Ucluelet. 

The NORPAC fleet at Ucluelet 

Bella Coola 

W 

N 

S 

Discovery Passage 

VANCOUVER 

ISLAND 

Ucluelet 

Barkley 

Sound 

PACIFIC 

OCEAN 

E 

Port Alberni 

Port Alberni 

Yacht Club 

Bamfield 

Straits of Juan de Fuca 

Williams Lake 

Vancouver 

www.oystermarine.com 65 

Seattle

The stunning scenery, Whistler 

Back to those whales – it is quite true that we heard the call "Thar she blows" over the VHF 

during the last race of the series but the concentration required to hold onto our second 

place in class didn’t allow us to digress. We did however see plenty of whales; Orca (Killer 

whales), Grey and Humpbacks during our extended cruise in the second part of our visit to 

this wonderful area. 

CRUISING 

As with any extended cruising plan the logistics of crew changing and placement of cars 

etc. is always problematic. By the time of the Norpac regatta Flying Eagle had been away 

from her berth in Seattle for over six weeks and had negotiated the inside passage North 

about round Vancouver Island to reach the area. As Chair of the Regatta Committee, Jack 

had reason to visit Seattle at this time, which he did by floatplane from Ucluelet. This 

coincided with our arrival in Seattle from the UK and we were packed in the car along with 

essential regatta supplies (beer, wine, polo shirts etc, etc.) for the drive to Ucluelet. We also 

had the privilege of returning the car back to Seattle! 

A few discussions and phone calls later we were booked on an extended cruise (by car) 

which included visiting Mabel’s cousin in Nanaimo and a ferry trip across the Queen 

Charlotte Straits from Port Hardy to Bella Coola in Mainland BC with the prospect of a 

1200Km (745 mile) drive through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. 

WHALES 

British Columbia ferry The Queen of Chilliwak is scheduled to take 13 hours for the passage 

across the Queen Charlotte Strait and up Fitzhugh then Burke sounds to Bella Coola. 

A glance at the chart will have you wondering why such a long day, but after 15 minutes 

aboard realisation will set in. This is a ferry trip with a difference and for the price of your 

standard ferry ticket you have your own personal whale-watching cruise ship. We saw killer 


Flying Eagle at anchor

whales, grey whales and humpback whales and we stopped to take a careful look at each 

group we came upon. Breeching, tail slapping, blowing, these animals are a wonderful sight 

and Captain McDonald and his crew did their utmost to make sure we saw them all. 

SCARY OR WHAT! 

Canadian Highway 20, covering the 485 kms (300 miles) from Bella Coola to Williams Lake 

shows on most maps just like any other major Canadian road. That is until you get the local 

map where it disappears into a dotted line for almost 70 kms (43 miles) of gravel road. 

Heckman Pass, otherwise known as "The Hill" rises 5000+ feet in two miles on a single lane 

gravel track with an almost vertical drop off increasing all the way to the top. In 1950 the 

residents of Bella Coola asked the State to build the road for them and as their request was 

rejected they decided, in 1953, to build the road themselves – and it shows! To the locals 

this trip may be nothing, but we would be proud to wear T-shirts proclaiming, "We’ve driven 

THE HILL BC". 

The scenery on this trip was totally astounding, and scary. It’s the first time we’ve been 

cruising and found ‘Beware of the Bears’ notices posted on the dock! 

BACK TO CIVILIZATION 

Returning from the Wild West feel of the Highway 20 via the famous Frazer River gorge 

to the modern and beautiful cities of Vancouver and Seattle was a steady progression 

and easily accomplished in three days. We were invited to a wine tasting, hosted to a 

tour of Seattle and driven to the airport by Jack and Marion’s daughter Louise and her 

husband Dom. Perfect hospitality and logistics – so long as the car didn’t suffer too 

much from THE HILL. 

David Blacklaws 

FACT BOX 

See the links below for more 

information: 

SEATTLE YACHT CLUB 

www.seattleyachtclub.org 

SEATTLE 

www.cityofseattle.org 

VANCOUVER ISLAND 

www.islands.bc.ca 

VISAS 

For information on Visa requirements 

see US Department of State: 

www.travel.state.gov 


67

JUST Launched 

A selection of recent Oyster launchings 

OYSTER 46 CLABBIE DUBH 

After making her première at the London Boat Show, where she received excellent 

reviews, Oyster 46/01, Clabbie Dubh, returned to Ipswich prior to handover to owners, 

Joe Reynolds and Faith de Sancha. Clabbie Dubh is currently on a shakedown cruise 

around Joe and Faith’s native Scotland, taking in Inverness, the Caledonian Canal and 

the Western Isles. 

OYSTER 53 CRISTOBAL 

Owned by Leonardo Rossetto, Cristobal is a beautifully finished example 

of the very popular Oyster 53. Italian registered, she will be based in 

Puntalla, near Elba, on Italy's west coast. Leonardo is keen to enter some 

Oyster Regattas where we expect he will be tough competition with his 

Spectra sails and big red MPS. 

OYSTER 56 A SULANA 

Owned by David and Anne Fass, A Sulana had a family launching at 

Oyster's Fox's Marina before making the trip to London to St. Katharine 

Dock, where a naming ceremony and blessing, conducted by their local 

Rabbi, was followed by a party for family and friends. 

OYSTER 62 ALIARA 

Owned by sailing partners Roland Dane and Andrew Jackson Aliara has a cherry 

interior with exquisite furnishings and every conceivable ‘extra’, and was much admired 

when shown at the Düsseldorf boat show earlier this year. Equipped with broadband 

Internet access, Roland and Andrew plan to run their global business from the comfort 

of their chart table. When they are not racing somewhere in the world, they will be 

sailing Aliara down to the Mediterranean and then on through Asia 

and eventually to Australia. 

OYSTER 56 JAENICO VI 

It took seven years for Jacques and Nicole Poli to take the plunge 

and buy a sailboat and when they did, it was the well-proven 

Oyster 56 that they decided was the boat that would meet their 

exacting requirements. With her dark blue hull and maple interior 

she will be a great sight along the south coast of France and 

Corsica where she will be extensively used by her proud owners, 

children and grand children. 

OYSTER 66 LA FLORIDA V 

Owner of the Rubicon Marina in Lanzarote, Enrique Martinon saw 

an Oyster 66 berthed in the marina and asked her proud owner if 

he could visit her. A few days later he called Oyster and ordered 

one! La Florida V will be cruising the Mediterranean before 

returning to her home berth at Marina Rubicon where owners of 

all Oyster yachts are assured of a very warm welcome. For details 

see: www.marinarubicom.com 


David and Ann Fass 

and family launch 

A Sulana, shown below 

at St Katharines' Dock 

Joe Reynolds and 

Faith de Sancha 

Oyster 46, Clabbie Dubh

Robert and Diane 

Moore 

John and Jane Marren 

Arjen Terpstra and Tjarda Faber (left) owners of the Oyster 82, Oceana 

OYSTER 82 OCEANA 

Owned by Arjen Terpstra and Tjarda Faber, Oceana was sailed to the Netherlands via the 

Channel Islands. She has been fitted out with a special keel arrangement allowing for a 

draft of 2.4m and this, along with her shorter mast, enables Arjen and Tjarda to moor her at 

their home in the typical Dutch Frysian village in Grou. Oceana has a highly customised 

interior, which features an extra large owner’s cabin and bathroom fitted with a full size bath 

and separate shower cubicle. Oceana will be on show her at this year’s Cannes and 

Hamburg Boat shows, where she is sure to attract a lot of attention. 

OYSTER 56 INTO THE BLUE 

Having previously owned an Oyster 485 of the same name, Into the Blue 

owners, Robert and Diane Moore, are no strangers to the Oyster family and 

are keen Oyster regatta participants. Into the Blue will spend the summer in 

the Mediterranean and, after taking part in Oyster’s Trafalgar Regatta in 

Cadiz, will be based in Mallorca over the winter. 

OYSTER 56 CINDERELLA III 

John and Jane Marren recently took delivery of their Oyster 56, 

Cinderella III. Cinderella I and II were both motorboats, so this is a 

new departure into sailing for John and Jane, fuelled by their twoweek 

charter in the Caribbean aboard the Oyster 56 Roulette. 

Cinderella III will be kept in Spain. 


Marina & Boatyard 

Specialists in Oyster Refits • Repairs • Rigging 

Workshops 

GENERAL REPAIRS • NEW DECKS • REFITS 

ENGINEERING • 10,000 SQ FT OF COVERED 

WORKSHOP SPACE 

Rigging 

MASTS & SPARS • RIG SURVEYS 

RUNNING & STANDING RIGGING 

Electronics 

SALES • INSTALLATION • REPAIR 

COMMUNICATION & IT SYSTEMS 

Stainless 

FABRICATION • CUSTOM FITTINGS 

REPAIRS • POLISHING 

Sprayshop 

HEAT & DUST CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT 

TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS 

Osmosis 

THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND 

HULL DRYING EQUIPMENT 

Chandlery 

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVELY 

STOCKED CHANDLERY ON THE EAST 

COAST FOR BLUE WATER CRUISING 

Marina 

TRAVEL HOIST AND DOCK WITH CAPACITY 

TO LIFT BOATS OF 85' OVERALL LENGTH 

AND 22' BEAM, UP TO 70 TONS WEIGHT 

Fox’s Marina Ipswich Ltd 

Ipswich Suffolk IP2 8SA 

Tel: +44 (0) 1473 689111 

Fax: +44 (0) 1473 601737 

Email: foxs@foxsmarina.com 

www.foxsmarina.com 

AN OYSTER GROUP COMPANY 

A UTUMN 

B O A T 

S H O W 

2 0 0 5 

16 – 25 September at Saxon Wharf Southampton 

Also see us at stand G020 Ocean Hall Southampton Boat Show 

Please visit our website for further details 

www.oysterbrokerage.com 

or call us on +44 (0) 1473 602263

46 Deck Saloon 

THE WORLD'S YOUR OYSTER 

53 Deck Saloon 62 Deck Saloon 


OYSTER MARINE LTD 

FOX’S MARINA IPSWICH SUFFOLK 

IP2 8SA ENGLAND 

TEL: +44 (0)1473 688888 FAX: +44 (0)1473 686861 

EMAIL:YACHTS@OYSTERMARINE.COM 

New 

O YSTER 

Double Queen’s Award Yacht Builders 

WWW.OYSTERMARINE.COM 

68 High Level 

Deck Saloon 


OYSTER MARINE USA 

5 MARINA PLAZA 

GOAT ISLAND NEWPORT RI 02840 

TEL: +401 846 7400 FAX: +401 846 7483 

EMAIL: INFO@OYSTERYACHTS.COM 

82 High Level 

Deck Saloon 

LD43 Power

Oyster News 57 - Oyster Yachts

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?