I’ve just returned from the first round of this year’s European Yacht of the Year testing in Ijmuiden, Holland, where the effects of Hurricane Katia were making themselves very apparent. The wind was a consistent gale Force 8 on the Monday with gusts up to gale Force 9 as we tested the Oyster 625 and Halberg Rassy 64, with similar conditions on the Tuesday (largely Force 7) when sailing the Bestewind 50.
In such conditions, the sand from the miles of beach to the south gets everywhere, literally, and it was tough to simply walk back along the pontoon after testing, let alone getting the boats on and off the dock.
It was no surprise that the smaller boats didn’t want to go out. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like in such conditions, both in the marina, and once outside, check out the video snippets below from Norway’s Axel Nissen-Lie (Seilas Magazine).
It was a real pleasure to see how well these large cruising yachts coped with these conditions. (With thanks to their expert skippers, owners and agents for their berthing skills!)