Nutty snack

PIC’S, THE MAKERS of New Zealand’s top selling peanut butter, have devised an entirely new way of eating peanut butter.

“Lots of our customers eat their Pic’s straight from the jar,” says Pic, “and many of them were feeling bad about it, as if it might not be the done thing. So we created Pic’s Slugs to make them feel better.”

Pic’s Peanut Butter Slugs are a shot-sized sachet of lightly salted smooth peanut butter designed to be eaten straight out of the pack.

The 30g slugs are available singly, or in packs of six – the latter includes a Pic’s star-branded bulldog clip for sealing half full slugs for eating later.

“Peanut butter makes a marvellous snack,” says Pic. “It’s full of protein and good healthy oils, and with Pic’s you know exactly what you are eating.”

The Pic’s Slug is the first of Pic’s products to carry the Health Star rating, a consumer guide to healthy foods. Having been awarded five out of a possible five stars, Pic’s Slugs are a delicious and healthy choice for anyone looking for a nutritious snack that can be eaten as is, or squeezed onto fresh fruit or vegetables for a super-healthy gluten and dairy-free lunch.

Pic’s Peanut Butter Slugs are available from www.reallygood. co.nz and coming soon to selected New World supermarkets, specialty food stores and outdoor lifestyle shops. Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter www.reallygood.co.nz

There’s no escaping that in racing mode the cockpit will be humming with crew. They’ll be tending to six Harken winches: primaries, secondaries and two on the coachroof, either side of the companionway. Then there’s the full-width traveller recessed into the cockpit sole just forward of the helms, the German mainsheet system and an adjustable backstay. In addition, someone will be playing the genoa track cars and the jib in-hauls to achieve better angles upwind.

So in the heat of battle, the cockpit will be a busy place – which would awkward if the crew were confined and forced to scramble over a fixed cockpit table. This one, sensibly, is designed for easy removal and stowage below, leaving an expansive platform with plenty of elbow room.

The cockpit layout also caters for shorthanded sailing. Most of the sail and rig tweaks can be attended to from the helms. It’s also a good cockpit for cruising and relaxing.

Cushions transform the bench seats into settees and, with the traveller/mainsheet pulled to one side the flow from the cockpit to the open transom is unimpeded. I like the deep cockpit locker under the starboard bench seat; it swallows a remarkable amount of gear.

ACCOMMODATION

With the performance-orientation up on deck, you’d be forgiven for anticipating a minimalist interior. It’s actually pretty comfortable and contemporary – light and airy thanks to the light oak veneer on the cabinets and plentiful windows and hatches.

Elan has opted for impact-resistant glass windows rather than the more traditional polycarbonate models. Glass windows are less likely to suffer from UV damage and crazing.

The E4 is available in a two or three-cabin version. This is the former, with the sleeping arrangements divided between a traditional V-berth in the forepeak and a roomy quarter berth to port that extends under the cockpit. The three-cabin version sees two identical, slightly smaller quarter berths on port and starboard. I assume this also means a correspondingly smaller/ shallower starboard locker in the cockpit.

“...genoa track cars and jib in-hauls to achieve better angles upwind.”

loft set superbly and, despite the biting cold 15-knot southerly we took every opportunity to play with the rig.

Broad-reaching under gennaker saw the speedo consistently hovering at around 10 knots. Her upwind performance is also impressive – 8.0 - 8.5 knots, pointing at a respectable 25 – 26o, and that streamlined keel offers great agility – no-fuss tacks. The best part, though, is the stability.

For me this stability is easily the E4’s stand-out characteristic, reflected in the ultra-light, easy helming. She exhibits solid tracking, no fighting weather helm, no suggestion of rounding up in the gusts, even when sailing hotter angles with the gennaker. A pleasure to sail.

I like the wind instruments set into the fascia above the companionway. They are easy to read at a glance because