Where: Port Ginesta, Barcelona
Wind: 6-12 knots; sea state slight with swell
Model tested: four cabin layout, with options including hydraulic stern platform, fabric cockpit enclosure and flybridge bimini, Code 0 with electric furler and 3kW solar panels
It’s a light wind early autumn day in the Mediterranean and we’ve been sailing alternately under Code 0 and genoa at boat speeds occasionally touching 8 knots in 10-12 knots of true wind. It’s easy and fast sailing, with the boat tracking easily, yet surprisingly responsive to the helm.
Approaching an anchorage for a short stop we sail in to the 10m contour, furl the headsail and round up into the wind to drop the mainsail. At the same time the anchor goes down and we use the weight of the boat to set the hook, checking transits as the boat finally settles head to wind. Sailing into an anchorage like this is, of course, familiar to most who have sailed reasonably nimble monohulls of modest size. However, this time I’m on a vessel two stories high, that’s almost 27ft wide and
