The Cornish town of Fowey, about 20 miles west of Plymouth, has long been hugely popular with cruising sailors. We go there several times a year. However we hadn't been up the river itself for many years, so last week seemed a good opportunity to do so. It's crowded with moorings near the mouth, and has a shallow, twisting channel further inland which makes it all somewhat challenging. So we wanted to concentrate on navigation on the trip upriver. Thus this video starts at St Winnow and its famous water front church, and then makes it way back down to the sea. I have been further upstream (it's possible to get to Lostwithiel) but the river narrows very quickly - too narrow to turn a 30ft x 20ft catamaran round, we didn't want to back out! The upper reaches are basically empty, no moorings, no waterfront houses. That all changes at Golant, a village just north of Fowey. Even though most of it dries out at low water it's still full of small boat moorings. A mile further downstream and, somewhat bizarrely for what seems a sleepy Cornish river, we motored past the commercial docks. Usually exporting china clay, from Cornwall's biggest industry. Turning the last bend we reached Fowey harbour and the town and picked up a mooring. But not before passing the small car ferry and then the house once owned by famous author Daphne de Maurier (of Frenchmans Creek, Jamaica Inn etc fame) In the evening we watched the local dayboats - the Troy class - race in a fading wind. Totally ignoring the china clay ship leaving port. It looked huge going out, but nothing compared to the cruise ships we have seen in the river! As always, there is no audio on this short video (you wouldn't like my choice of backing music, nor the constant noise of an engine). Having said that, the appropriate sound track would of course be something by Oasis, as "Definitely Maybe" was recorded in a water front studio just north of Golant. Yes I know, I should have filmed it as we passed.

This video is an extract of a longer video of Uli's latest trip, primarily to show what its like sailing a small multihull at speed in strong winds (comfortable and dry is the answer!) Uli writes: During the summer of 2024 I made another long trip in my Eagle. From Germany I sailed to Norway (Egersund) and then further on, to Unst (Shetland) via Lerwick, round Cape Wrath to Kinlochbervie (Scotland). Sailing up wind south through The MInch and The Sea of Hebrides and, later, The Irish Sea was not really a joy. Throughout August cyclones crossed these area nearly every day. So small windows of opportunity and strong southerly winds dictated the trip. From Greystones (a harbour I do not recommend), near Dublin, to Fishguard I sailed up wind. The wind blew between 28 and 30 knots for more than six hours.(I lifted the daggerboards a little.) The wave got high - between 4 and 5 m - and stipply with white crests. In this, my experience and the weather reports are the same. The trip overall took less than ten an half hours. It was very wet. The Eagle sailed very well. From Fishguard to Lands End I again sailed up-wind, but in more moderate winds - force 4 to 5 - averaging between 8.5 - 9 knots. All the way I put my faith in the Eagle and the new autopilot. I sailed singlehanded about 2.400 nm, and I got a little bit more know-how about how to sail a multihull. You can see more of the Eagle here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/455-eagle-24 and a video of a previous trip here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpX_fEAYLFU

This video was taken on my 7th trans-atlantic crossing, from the Canaries to Prickley Bay, Grenada - via the Cape Verdes - in late 2024. I was on board a Dutch 11m Nimble catamaran with two other crew. We generally had light winds and calm seas, in fact gentle enough so that on most days I could have sailed my dinghy. My first three trans-atlantics were with boats without autopilots, so we had to hand steer all the way. These days it's very different, there's no need to steer (nor, of course, navigate by sextant) unless something goes wrong with the autopilot or electronics. So this was something of a boring trip - reflected in the video I guess. With no real stress there was plenty of time for reading and relaxing. Thus the video shows no exciting moments, because there weren't any - which is as it should be when ocean cruising. As always, there is no audio on this short video. You can read more about this trip, see my designs and much more, all on my website www.sailingcatamarans.com

As always at this time of year I video the multihulls in the storage yard at the Multihull Centre, Millbrook, Cornwall, UK. In the video you can see several of my designs - 4 Sagittas, a Flica, a Strider Club and a Duo. And also: Several Prouts, Dazcats, Lagoons, Fountaine Pajot, Kelsall, Outremer, Catana, Shuttleworth, Grainger, Freebird, Iroquois, Hirondelle, Heavenly Twins, Ocean Winds, Twins 36, Le Rouge, Marples, Dragonfly, Farrier. And a number of designs unknown even to me. (And three monohulls, looking very out of place) You can also see lots of empty space, that's because there are at least 16 more multihulls to be lifted out. So if you are thinking about buying a multihull the Multihull Centre is a great place to go, especially in the winter. https://www.multihullcentre.com/multihull-centre

We try to get out on the water whenever we can, either sailing a dinghy or a catamaran. But sometimes, as on this trip, sails would have no use. So we motored our Chat 18 instead. Once again up the river Lynher, this time past Forder and on further west, to Dandy Hole. This is a very popular anchorage as it has deep water even at low tide. But we were able to anchor for a lunch stop in the shallows. Hard to believe we were only two miles from the largest naval dockyard in Europe! We use OpenCpn on our old OLPC XO laptop as a chart plotter - we've been using it like this for 15 years. All the world's charts on one SD card. USB GPS. Splash proof screen, 12v supply, daylight viewing. Running on Linux. As we motored along past Antony and Whacker Quay we discussed fitting a bimini. "no need" we said "it's never that hot in England". After lunch we said "let's go home, it's too hot here". So we did. Fitting a bimini has now moved further up the "must do" list! As always, no audio on this short video More on the Chat 18 here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/475-chat-18-daysailing-catamaran and the similar Skoota 18 here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/6-powercats/489-skoota-18

Here is the last (for now) video from the Douarnenez Boat Festival. This time taken over several days from the shore. I was there helping out on the (DCA) Dinghy Cruising Association stand, see here for more https://www.dinghycruising.life/ (as always, no audio on these short videos)

Another video from the Douarnenez Boat Festival. This time taken from on board Mark's 11ft Gull dinghy. A huge variety of boats, old and new, all out sailing on what was the best day of the festival. As always, no audio on this short video

At long last here is a "walkthrough" of the Chat 18 catamaran. Slightly modified, with wheel steering for the outboard. Which makes it pretty much the same as the Skoota 18. Obviously the latter doesn't have the keels and also has a slightly deeper transom. I apologise for the poor paint job - it hasn't been touched since launching 4 years ago. The engine uses the "old fashioned" rope steering rather than a push pull cable - mainly because I had most of the bits in my spares box. It's a 6hp which gets us to 7 knots but we usually cruise at around 6. Mounted on a lifting bracket - on the Skoota 18 its fitted in a nacelle. The cockpit has very comfortable seats, long enough to lie down and sleep. So a cockpit tent would mean a couple and two young children could (just) sleep on board. For privacy the forward windows are fake, the aft cabin entrance is a roll up curtain rather than washboards, which are always a pain to stow when removed. Two deep cockpit lockers for sail bags etc. Plus several smaller ones for fuel tanks, pumps, spare rope etc. The cuddy is similar to a two person backpacker tent. 2.4m wide and 1.2 m fore/aft (8ft x 4ft) means there's room for a small galley and a double bunk. Although only a single airbed is on board, plus the rolled up cockpit cushions. Headroom is limited of course - 1100mm, 40in - just as in a tent. Apart from the space inside it also gives a lot of protection for the crew in the cockpit - no spray on board! More on the Chat 18 here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/475-chat-18-daysailing-catamaran and Skoota 18 here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/6-powercats/489-skoota-18 (as always, no audio on this short video)

I helped out on the Dinghy Cruising Association stand at the 2024 Douarnenez Boat Festival in France. I made several short videos of the event, and this is the first: There are thousands of people called "Roper" and hundreds of "Ropewalks" in coastal towns and cities around the world. This video shows why they were so named, and how ropes were traditionally made. Obviously this setup is just for demonstrations, as a real rope would be much longer than the 10m/30ft one being made here. Clearly there is a LOT of walking backwards, and co-ordination between the rope winder and the thread twister is essential. The video should be self explanatory so no commentary is needed.

An earlier video showed our Chat 18 being used as a power cat fitted with a 6hp outboard and cruising at 6 knots up a Cornish creek. This video is of the same boat, but taken from the shore. Thus rather too shallow water (under 1m - 3ft), so the stern "sucked" more than usual (thank you Froude) and thus limited speed. Deep water is cruicial for optimum speed on all non-planing power boats. A fairing on the outboard leg (as drawn on my Skoota 18, 20 and 24) is essential for larger engines as otherwise there is too much aeration and drag from the leg. Another job for another time.... You can see more on the Chat 18 here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/475-chat-18-daysailing-catamaran and the very similar Skoota 18 here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/6-powercats/489-skoota-18 (The Skoota has more buoyancy aft and of course no sailing rig, deck gear, nor LAR keels.) (as always, no audio on my short videos)

My Chat 18 sailing catamaran and Skoota 18 powercat are very similar designs, but not actually identical. The Skoota hulls have more buoyancy aft to take the weight of the engine and of course it doesn't have a king post/mast support or keels. We've been sailing our Chat in the Plymouth area for several years but this year decided to use it as a motorboat. That would allow us to cruise to places inaccessible to most sailing boats. We fitted a 6hp outboard (the biggest the existing bracket can take - and anyway there is a 10 knot speed limit in the river Tamar) which gives a near 8 knot speed. We added a simple rope controlled steering wheel. No remote throttle or gear controls as they would be complicated to invent, and it is simple enough to adjust them from the back of the cockpit. The Tamar river and its estuaries hide many gems inaccessible to large boats. So our first trip was up the creek that runs from the Lynher to the small waterfront village of Forder. I've lived on the banks of the Tamar for over 40 years, yet this was first time I've ventured this far inland. There was just room to do a three point turn at the head of the creek. It dries out completely at low water, one reason why only small shallow draft boats are moored to its banks. The other of course is the railway viaduct! A very successful evenings motor. We plan lots more exploring later this summer, including going up the Tavy, which has a fixed 7m high rail bridge at its mouth. From exploring by land we know there's a great waterside pub at Bere Ferrers, and of course Buckland Abbey (home to Francis Drake) at the head of the navigable river. So definitely worth a trip by water. More on the Skoota 18 here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/6-powercats/489-skoota-18 (As always with my short videos there is no audio.)

It's been a while since I last posted, but here is a short video of Sagitta's first sail of 2024. The forecast was for sun and light winds, we were also promised a warm day. In the event only the "sun" part was correct. The wind was 15-18 knots when we started sailing, but slowly moderated during the afternoon. And it was cold, too cold for Jetti, who stayed in the cabin all day. (When we got home we checked last year's logbook, our first sail in 2023 was nearly a month later and it was also cold). Buying diesel for the central heating is now top of the "to do" list! You will see that, despite sailing at 8 knots+, Sagitta will steer itself for long periods. The "portrait" video was taken by Henry, sailing with friends on a Plymouth University J80 and shows Sagitta's new colour scheme, now back to almost the same colours as it was when first launched, back in 1991. More Sagitta videos to come during the year! You can see more on Sagitta here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/171-sagitta (as always, no audio on my short videos)

As I posted in an earlier video, I have been slowly developing my 12ft Kiwi dinghy. It's getting there now, all I have to do is sail it better. So I'm hoping for some fun racing later in the year (first race is February 4th) This is a short video, taken by Chris Rowsell, and shows me sailing at the start of this years New Years Day race. My first time out with a new Highwater Sails mainsail. A big improvement on the old one (which had holes that I could put my fingers through) Obviously any sailing in mid winter is weather dependant. We were lucky that we finished the race before the wind increased to the predicted 20 and then 40+ knots. Even so there were several capsizes - while I sailed more cautiously than I would have done in warmer weather. But we didn't escape the rain! Air temperature was about 9C, say 48F, the water felt colder! Oh, I finished 2nd. But, as always, it was the sail that was the important thing, not the results.

I spent the summer of 2022 building a much modified 12ft Farr 3.7 singlehanded racing dinghy, which I called Kiwi. Then, before I had fully developed it, I unexpectedly bought back my 30ft Sagitta catamaran which I had sold nearly 30 years ago. That needed a lot of work and so my dinghy development took a back seat until this summer. Kiwi is very much a mongrel design. The yellow hull is the wood plug used by the UK builder when he built a grp mould. The decks are my invention - I didn't want to fit a trapeze, as on the original 1971 Bruce Farr design, instead I fitted detachable wings. The foredeck has a recessed trough to allow for the spinnaker chute. The mast, boom and rudder are from a 14ft Phantom (cut down as required). The daggerboard is a cut down Fireball centreboard. The bowsprit a Laser top section. Mainsail is a cut down Laser2000 while the spinnaker came from a RS200. Most of the deck gear I found in my spares box. So this video is the first of the nearly sorted boat. I just need to practice sailing it a lot more, as my general sail handling is still erratic, in part as I have been changing the layout after nearly every sail. Over the winter I will have a new mainsail made - hopefully one without the holes I have now! I will also move the wings further forward. I originally fitted them aft as I was unnecessarily worried about nosediving offwind. Having them further forward will make hiking when sailing to windward more comfortable. You can see more of the original Farr 3.7 here https://www.3-7class.org.nz/the-boat.html

The south coast of Devon and Cornwall is one of the major English cruising areas. Lots of safe all weather harbours and no outlying dangers - apart from the well marked Eddystone and Wolf rocks. Just west of Start Point is Salcombe and about 20 miles SE of my home port of Plymouth. So it is surprising that I hadn't sailed there for maybe 40 years. Fortunately last weekend's forecast was for light NW winds switching the next day to a light SE wind. Perfect for a broad-reach there and back. Furthermore the tide was good and, surprisingly, for late September, it was going to be warm and sunny. We left our mooring on Sagitta about 11am, with more wind than forecast and also with a lumpy sea, left over from the previous days gale. No matter, as we were reaching down the coast. I have never fully understood why, but the shoreline from Bolt Tail to Salcombe seems to produce steeper waves than normal. I assume because the swells bounce back from the steep shore. They extend some way out, so its always worth staying at least a mile offshore. As soon as we had cleared Plymouth breakwater the auto pilot was put on and then, as they say, we "sat back, relaxed and enjoy the trip" We had wanted to go all the way up to Kingsbridge, but the harbour master wasn't sure if there'd be room, so that's for another time - hopefully before 2063! I'd forgotten how fast the tide runs in the mooring field off Salcombe town. Another reason for going further up the harbour towards Kingsbridge. And that same tide makes crossing the entrance bar very dangerous, in fact impossible, in a strong southerly wind. Even in the light conditions we had overnight the swell was noticeable. It took 4 hours to get to Salcombe, but sailing home was quicker. We crossed Salcombe bar at 9am, were off Plymouth breakwater by 11 and having lunch on our mooring by 12.15. Fortunately, after a lot of work in the spring and early summer, Sagitta is much more habitable than it was a year ago, so we are enjoying living on board. One major job still outstanding is to replace the saloon sidelining. Foam backed vinyl has a nominal 15 year life, Sagitta's is over 30!, so no wonder it's falling down in places. Just another winter job, along with finishing the deck painting, to add to the, once again, growing list. You can see more on Sagitta here: https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/171-sagitta As always, there is no audio on this short video

Our 30ft Sagitta catamaran has now been in the water for a month. I have reported elsewhere about our first races, alas no videos as racing is all a bit too stressful, especially with a largely inexperienced crew. So here is a video showing the first daysails of the year. Fortunately the first day was a gentle sail, up the Tamar and then into the Lynher river. But at least we were able to check out the - not previously hoisted - masthead screecher. I was pleased to see the boat would still steer itself in light winds, just as it did 32 years ago. Our next sail was out to sea, a bit more wind, but still too chilly for comfort. So we spent much of the time sitting below with the autopilot on. A great new genoa from Highwater Sails, complete with a fancy foot to match the cabin top, and leech battens, all to maximise area. Our new mainsail should be arriving in the next few weeks, again from Highwater Sails. Heading photo shows the ex-monohull spinnaker, we will be trying a J80 asymmetric soon. More on Sagitta here, https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/171-sagitta and lots more Sagitta videos from 30+ years ago on my youtube channel.

Although this video has been on my channel for some time it was originally uploaded as two "shorts" and so some viewers may have missed them. Thus I have combined them into one, both showing catamarans sailing at speed whilst towing a "vessel". Just, in the case of the first video! The second part shows one of my 8ft Crayfish designs being towed at speed behind a 25ft Sango catamaran. This boat was home built in Portland, USA and is seen here being sailed in Mexico - a long way to trail the boat! You can see more on the Sango here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/160-sango and Crayfish here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/46-beach-cats-and-dinghies/1-crayfish-8 And following is the text for the first video: We had an interesting final sail on Peter's Firebird in the most wind I sailed in when in Barbados - we sailed with 2 reefs. Peter's friend Eric has a foiling wakeboard and he wanted to foil behind the Firebird. In the end he managed it, but there was lots of falling in at the beginning. It was hard work for Peter and I as we had to start at near zero speed, so Eric could grab the tow rope, then slowly accelerate to about 7 knots so he could get ready for lift off. Then accelerate to 10 knots very quickly, so he could lift out. And then control the speed at 10-12 rather than surge up to 15-18. But of course the wind would drop, or he'd fall in or.... but, as I say, after 2 hours he did manage to fly for maybe 30 secs. Although, if we were quick enough, we could stop and heave to after he fell in, sometimes we sailed on too far and then we had to pull in the tow rope (we discovered it was too easy to get it entangled on rudders and daggerboards), tack round and sail back. As always it was scary how quickly a head disappears from view. But interestingly we could easily see him when he was in the sun, it was when he was north of us that he became invisible (one of his sons kept a very close eye on Dad, religiously pointing to his position). Flat water helped, and lots of passing day charter cats got a bit confused by seeing a swimmer apparently a mile out to sea but happily waving!

The last video I uploaded showed the singlehanded cruise of a Eagle catamaran from Germany to Norway and back. It was a home built plywood boat and this video shows the build - as before I've shortened a longer video. It's mainly still photos, with some German subtitles but no audio as the photos are self explanatory. More details on the Eagle here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/455-eagle-24

After several videos featuring my own sailing here is one of a customers boat. It's of the famous black, lengthened and somewhat modified Eagle 24 catamaran. Originally a long video with German commentary, I have shortened it and there is no audio, as I don't speak German - so couldn't translate it. Another video showing the build of this boat will be uploaded shortly. More on the Eagle here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/455-eagle-24 ============================ I report on the maiden journey of my Eagle catamaran "Über-Winden". It was my first trip at sea on a multihull. In brief. I started in Bremerhaven, Germany and sailed non stop nearly 300 miles to Farsund, near Lista, the southwestern corner of Norway. For the first 50 miles I sailed upwind in force 2-3. The next 250 miles was downwind in force 3-6. The Eagle sailed very comfortably. Easy on the helm under any conditions. No tendency to pitchpole when I sailed between 13,5 and 14,5 knots in a force 5-6 down steep waves. On a broad reach it would be faster of course. But I didn`t change direction, as the tillerpilot was not working well. The last seven hours I reduced the sails, as I wished to reach the rocky coast in daylight. So I took 42 hours for the trip. All the way it sailed very easily and the structure seems to be very strong. The potential top speed I'll try for, when I have more experience and when I have an autopilot that works reliably, rather than sometimes, as on this trip - I'm always sailing solo. The potential of the Eagle shines, when I surfed downwind in gusts of more than 25 knots. The weather forecast predicted 2,5 to 3 m waves. I overtook waves in gusts for several hours. Under these conditions I heard the noise not only from waves, but sometimes vibrations from the hull and rudder dominated. But no spray on deck! The speed? I don´t know. Far more than 15 knots. My instrument shows only windspeed and direction. Although the speed was probably more then 20 knots, that says nothing. More important is the control of the boat. I could steer it anytime with my fingers. The way back was, as I expected, not a joy. The first 11 hours I hand steered and for 30 hours mostly in the direction of Great Britain rather than Bremen. The trip back lasted round about 55 hours. More than 50% at the helm. ( Late in autumn I got a new tillerpilot from Simrad. But I'll not take it in future. I decided to take a outsized system with extra computer, compass etc.) Ulrich

It may seem strange that I have posted a video of a "square rigged tallship" on an essentially multihull related channel, but I am always interested in alternative and traditional boats and how they sail. So in the past I've uploaded a video of sailing on the replica of the Bligh mutiny boat and racing on a Bahamas Class A sloop. The "Tres Hombres" is actually a brigantine (so has square sails only on the foremast). It is used to carry cargo between Europe and the Caribbean in the traditional way. With no engine it has to be towed in and out of port. It's seen here sailing off the west coast of Barbados and was filmed from the 100ft schooner "Ruth". It sails surprisingly well, reaching faster than Ruth (although we did have rigging issues which slowed us) and would certainly be faster downwind in the trades. The tack looks ponderous, but is actually completed in less than a minute. You can see the squaresails are left aback so the boat makes a sternboard which ensures a smooth turn. Clearly with so many sails the crew have to be experienced to sail the boat efficiently - there's a lot to be said for the "Average White Boat". More here https://fairtransport.eu/en/our-fleet/tres-hombres/