Expert on BOARD
Will Bruton goes in search of small yachts embarking on big adventures to find out what it actually takes
Small boat offshore sailing: is your yacht up to it? Will Bruton finds small boats embarking on big adventures to find out what it really takes to cross open water
Offshore sailing does not have to mean crossing the Atlantic. Whether it is heading across Biscay, voyaging south to the Azores, or heading north to Norway and Iceland, leaving the coast behind can be the adventure of a lifetime for most coastal cruising sailors.
So what size yacht can you safely take offshore, or even across an ocean in? Yachts are getting bigger, both in waterline length and beam, but has something been lost on the never-ending search for more internal volume? And, fundamentally, what is possible in the boat you already own?
Yachting Monthly went in search of answers; talking to owners, boatbuilders, professional delivery skippers, rally organisers and a competitor in the 2018 Golden Globe Race. Rest assured, we found a Corinthian spirit alive and well in small-boat ocean sailing and, despite many sailors believing they need a larger boat, a big yacht is most certainly not a prerequisite for a big adventure…