Comedies Under Sail or Real Races by Real Amateurs

By John Champion

These yacht races actually happened as unlikely as it may seem. There is nothing educational, serious or worthwhile in these tales but you may get a laugh from them. The first 50% is free so don't blame me if you don't like it!

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Champion
• Release date: May 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301047253

John Champion

The author, John Champion is currently living aboard in Malaysia after a three year stint working in the marine electrics industry in Thailand. A regular writer for sailing magazines he has lived aboard since 1999 and sailed perhaps 22 000 sea miles. Much work in sail training and the charter industry has allowed him to test many dozens of different yachts and catamarans. He now needs a bigger boat so please buy a copy for a friend!

Book preview

Comedies Under Sail or Real Races by Real Amateurs.

John Champion

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 John Champion

Chapter 1. Fear and Loathing in Airlie Beach;Hunter Versus Hunter

Hunter Marine, Florida, USA. One of the worlds larger production yacht manufacturers. Most of us are familiar with the name; have seen the ads or read the blurb but how good are they and are they getting better? This crowd have been pumping out boats for years now and it happens I owned an old one and have worked on numerous newer models. Naturally, this meant comparisons were made and opinions were voiced. Surprisingly, the conversation degraded rapidly, insults were exchanged and profanities offered. Airlie Beach was too small a town to ignore the outrageous claims and challenges were soon thrown down. The Great Hunter Duel became inevitable!

The combatants

The participants in this grudge match, (all Hunters remember) were, the new at the time 356 , the recently superseded 340 model and my old superannuated 34, built over two decades ago in 1984. These boats represent three generations of the same model size, (there are only a few inches between the smallest and largest) and illustrate the evolution of a manufacturer (as if we cared!) Each yacht was made by Hunter, has the B & R rig, roughly similar dimensions and two sleeping cabins but that is pretty well where the similarities end. The 356 and 340 were bareboats available for charter in the Whitsundays; the ancient 34 carries the cargo required for two people to live aboard, a conservative extra tonne to submerge the waterline. Speaking of waterlines, the old 34 has the shortest by quite a margin.

The weapons

Only working sails were allowed for our duel as the two charter boats are simply equipped with a main and genoa. The 356, had the standard, Hunter issue, (UK Sailmakers) sails; a semi battened main and roller furling headsail. The 340 also had the standard issue Hunter sails. The old girl of the fleet had a new semi battened mainsail and rig after a dismasting; the headsail, to the best of my knowledge was original issue. The newer yachts are fractional rigged but the 34 is a masthead and has a smaller mainsail thanks to a relatively short boom. The mast however is