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Elan Yachts is set to redefine the concept of the modern performance cruising yacht with the launch of a brand new 49 ft (15.2m) grand tourer, the first of which is currently in build.

The keenly anticipated Elan GT6 is the result of a three-way collaboration between Elan Yachts, Humphreys Yacht Design and Studio F A Porsche. Following on from their highly acclaimed superyacht design projects, this is the first time that Studio F A Porsche has been deeply involved in the design of a sailing yacht.

A natural, upscale evolution from Elan’s groundbreaking and successful GT5, the new GT6 is also the first yacht in its class to feature the clean, stylish silhouette of a flush deck.

Styled by Porsche to turn heads and leave a striking first impression, with an innovative hull and sail plan drawn by Humphreys for exhilarating performance and a comfortable motion at sea, the GT6 encapsulates the exclusivity and luxurious sporting spirit of the classic gran turismo concept.

Built from premium materials throughout, with Elan’s unique combination of cutting-edge composite engineering, market-leading 3D VAIL infusion technology and fine traditional craftsmanship, the GT6 is optimised for fast, medium-range offshore sailing, easy handling and luxury liveaboard cruising.

'Our powerful new flagship model offers discerning sailors all the benefits of Elan build quality and Humphreys performance with the design flair of Studio F A Porsche,’ says Marko Škrbin, Director of Marine Division at Elan. ‘With the GT6 you can sail further, faster, cruise in comfort and arrive in style.’

'The fundamental idea behind the design of Elan’s new GT6 yacht designed by Studio F. A. Porsche is to create a modern and unique sailing experience that unifies nature and technology while travelling the high seas.' says Studio F. A. Porsche.

'The yacht’s exterior focus’ on combining minimalism with dynamics, while bringing watersports closer to nature. The result is a stunning aft deck composed of sculptured volumes inspired by aero-dynamic elements used in sports cars'.

Further details and specifications of the Elan GT6 remain shrouded in secrecy but more will be revealed at Europe’s biggest boat show, Boot Düsseldorf, in January 2020. 

A brand new 47ft (14.3 m) Elan Yachts flagship model is taking shape in our shipyard under a veil of secrecy.

This groundbreaking new design is the result of a unique collaboration between our own in-house design team, the renowned naval architect Humphreys Yacht Design and – in their first-ever sailing yacht project – Studio F. A. Porsche, the product design team behind the world-famous luxury carmaker.

The BAVARIA C42 is the logical progression from the BAVARIA C-line, but has its own distinct character. A modern, innovative hull shape with chines and a V-shaped bow developed by BAVARIA YACHTS guarantee both the best sailing performance and an unusually large amount of space below deck.

The clever details that BAVARIA YACHTS is known for, both above and below deck, has been further refined in the BAVARIA C42, providing this unusual 12.38m long sailing yacht with the best of the newest innovations in yacht building.

More volume and more performance

thanks to chines and V-shaped bow

BAVARIA CHINES and BAVARIA V-shaped bow: These striking hull design characteristics not only give the BAVARIA C42 more space below deck, they also provide unusual good sailing performance. The BAVARIA CHINES ensure more stability, a longer waterline and therefore better performance and a more direct feeling when steering. But the prominent angle at the stern of the BAVARIA C42 has another advantage. It yields more space for the stern cabin, providing more comfort.

The BAVARIA V-shaped bow is narrow at the waterline and broadens towards the deck like a V. It was developed by Cossutti Yacht Design from Italy and BAVARIA YACHTS to grant more volume to the hull in the foreship. The additional volume in the bow ensures less trimming when heeling, despite the broad stern, ensuring a safer experience even in swell. And the forward cabin gives the V-shaped bow new dimensions. An iron keel with a ballast ratio of 2700kg and a total weight of just 9600kg supplies sufficient righting momentum.

Extra speed thanks to more sail area

When developing the rigging and sail plan, the development team from BAVARIA YACHTS in collaboration with Cossutti Yacht Design focussed on two aspects in particular: easy handling and above-average performance. 54 square metres of sail area for the mainsail and 47 square metres for the  genoa sail provide the BAVARIA C42 with an extra portion of power from the wind.

While sailing with the wind abeam or running before the wind, a Code 0 sail (85 square metres) and a gennaker (140 square metres) ensure maximum speed. The self-tacking jib means the easiest of handling when tacking. What’s more, it’s included in the standard version of the BAVARIA C42. In order to be able to perfectly trim the two-spreader mast on all courses, a backstay and backstay tensioner are also included in the BAVARIA C42’s basic equipment.

More space for the joy of sailing

When designing the deck layout, the BAVARIA YACHTS product management team concentrated their efforts on the essential characteristics in order to make space for an important aspect: the joy of sailing. The bow area and side deck provide an unusually large amount of space for a sailing yacht of this size.

The cockpit, with its ergonomically formed L-shaped seating bench, is also a space winner. That guarantees you a comfortable, fatigue-free seating position, whether you’re sailing close to the wind or enjoying a lavish lunch at the large cockpit table.

A new dimension of spaciousness

The innovative hull design opens up new dimensions on board the BAVARIA C42, even below deck. There are individual cabin designs available to choose from, from the luxurious two-cabin version with a generous bathroom to the comfortable three-cabin version with two head rooms.

Thanks to the V-shaped bow and the large side windows, the bow cabin doesn’t simply appear spacious; when it comes to headroom and the space on offer, it’s close to unbeatable. Owners can look forward to a real king size bed with a breadth of 1.8m and a length of 2.1m. Cupboards and abundant storage space go without saying.

Tehnical specification:

• Length overall: 12.38 m (40,6 ft)
• Length including bowsprit: 12.90 m (42,3 ft)
• Hull length: 11.98 m / 12.04 m (39,3 ft)
• Water line: 11.27 m (37 ft)
• Beam overall: 4.29 m (14,1 ft)
• Standard draught: 2.10 m (6,9 ft)
• Shallow keel draught: 1.70 m (5,6 ft)
• Standard total weight: 9678 kg (21336 lb)
• Standard ballast: 2698 kg (5948 lb)
• Sail area: 100.6 qm (1082,9 sq.ft)

At 13:15 (French time) the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre starting horn was sounded and the 118 skippers in their 59 multi-coloured boats weaved across the start line in front of Cape de la Hève, beating into 12-14 knots of north-easterly wind.

The bi-annual double-handed 4,350-mile race, the longest and toughest transat in the sailing calendar, will take them to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.

Both IMOCA and Class40 fleets were tightly bunched, but line honours appeared to go to Bureau Vallée II(IMOCA) and Aïna Enfance and Avenir, the Class40 favourite. 

The Route de Café is a marathon not a sprint, but the start along the coast is never simple, especially when the blood is up and adrenaline flowing in front the crowds lining the pontoons, channel, beaches and coast. Not to mention the live TV audience. And, of course, the a choppy shallow sea with plenty of current against them as they race the 16 miles of coast to round the Region Normandie buoy off Étretat. The fastest among them should take a little under three hours before they turn to head west towards Cotentin under spinnaker.

There should be an intense downwind race in the Channel overnight when the wind will continue to strengthen. Through that time and the morning, as they all exit the Channel, it will be decision time as to whether to go east, west or further west. That could provide an early test of the different trajectories the latest generation foiling IMOCA may take, although Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss has said his priority is finishing not winning, especially after being helicoptered to safety when his boat capsized four years ago. Britain’s Samantha Davies, in an older boat but with hugely upgraded foils on Initiatives-Cœur, is keeping an open mind.

“Once we’re west of Ushant then we’ve got to make a decision,” she said. “I don’t want to make a decision yet because it’s not clear enough and sometimes if you decide in your head you influence yourself when you’re making further decisions. 

“We’re pretty open at the moment, (laughs) we’re going to have all the sails out on the deck to work out which one we’re going to use. We are at one with Initiatives-Cœurand super happy to be finally at sea and heading for Brazil.”

The small Class40 have the same dilemma. 

“Do we go west fully, for me there is still an option, but it’s a bit of a tricky one,” Luke Berry (Lamotte – Module Creation) said. “We’re still waiting for the info from our weather routers - you’re allowed a weather router before you start - so, we’ll make our decision sometime tonight. It’s not a (Class40) group decision, there are some that are going to go their own way and we’re not here to follow the others, but we’re not going to do lone cowboy either. It’s going to be more of downwind race out of the Channel, but it’s do we go up into the Celtic sea or not?

Britain’s Sam Goodchild, one of Berry’s main rivals, on Leyton, says that the risks and rewards are not clear.

“We don’t think we have to make our decision until tomorrow morning,” he said. “We’ve got all the ideas in our head, we don’t know what the risks and the gains are yet, it’s not as straightforward as if you go west, you break or you win, and if you go south you’re safe.”

There were emotional scenes on the pontoon before departure as the said goodbye to their friends, family and partners, except perhaps for Miranda Merron and Halvard Mabire, who are partners on both land and sea.

Jean-Baptiste Gastinne, Mayor of Le Havre, president of the urban community of Le Havre Seine Métropole

“There were a lot of emotions this morning seeing these boats go, and watching families kissing the skippers goodbye. The Bassin Paul Vatine is empty now after these ten days of festivities. The salt and spice of the Route du Café is that it is a race, an adventure, a sporting challenge and a mix of technologies. This year we can see the rapid change in sailing with these new boats with exceptional foils. The Transat Jacques Vabre Normandy Le Havre is a great event with this mix of man and machine that skippers that the skippers share in pairs.”

Juan Amat, President of JDE France

“I saw a start full of emotions. There are a mixture of feelings seeing the skippers say goodbye to their families from excitement to sadness at leaving loved ones. With all these new boats, it feels like watching a Formula 1 of the seas. All this week, the public were able to be close to the race, see the boats in their every detail and meet the skippers, which is very rare in high-level sport. I will be following the race closely, there is Virtual Regatta and we’re also having a competition internally, and I’ve also made my own little forecast, but I’m keeping that a secret.”

GOLDEN ANCHOR FOR MARINA PUNAT – THE BEST MARINA IN 2019 ACCORDING TO BOATERS

Marina Punat won the Golden Anchor award for the second time, a prestigious grant prize for the best marina in 2019 according to boaters.

The competition for the best nautical marina in the Adriatic is organised for the third year in a row by the leading daily newspaper, Jutarnji list, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and sponsored by the Croatian National Tourist Board. A nautical patrol consisting of 6 journalists and 2 interviewers visited as many as 34 marines, from Umag to Dubrovnik, recorded and evaluated the nautical offer and conducted more than 1000 surveys among the present boaters.

Marina Punat is especially proud to have won this award for the second time, which confirms that it is the leading marina in terms of quality of offer and service as well as customer satisfaction.

We are also proud of the fact that our quality has been recognized by professional associations year after year.  

SAUNA AND RELAX ZONE FOR COLD DAYS

Although daytime temperatures are still very high for this time of the year, the warmth of the sauna and wellness will suit many in the evenings. At the Hotel Kanajt, you can relax and enjoy one of four available saunas. In addition to the classic Finnish, aromatic or infrared sauna, there is a Turkish bath, and you can spend time with a good book on comfortable beds or enjoy a hot tub in the relax zone.

Punat is well connected to nearby towns by cycling paths, and during the day you can take one of the many hiking trails… The nearby Veli vrh offers a beautiful view of the entire bay.  

Refreshments are available at our pizzeria 9 bofora, which is open every day from 7:30 am to 10 pm this winter. In addition to a large selection of great pizzas, we also have a special winter offer of warm dishes. In addition to the traditional stew with šurlice, homemade pasta with prawns, prosciutto, mushrooms, we also have cod truffles, seafood prosciutto (smoked tuna – wasabi), and for those of you who want small sweet bites, we recommend homemade chestnut cake or chocolate pearls.  

WHAT TO DO WITH SHIPMENTS AND PACKAGES?

We are delighted that many guests see our marina as their second home. We often receive letters and packages intended for you or various merchandise for your boat. In order to divert the post and packages to the right place as fast as possible, please make sure that the sender always states your name, boat name and a contact number, preferably your cell phone number. This will greatly facilitate our identification of shipments.

Unfortunately, we have no place to store large shipments for boats, so please notify us in advance if you are planning on having a larger package delivered. In case you are not at the marina at the pickup time, you can inform our customer service and the marina staff will store this large package on your boat. This service is charged extra.  

MARKET AT THE MARINA CLOSES ON 04 NOVEMBER

The marina market will be closed for the winter from this day, but there is still a shop available – the discount store near the dry marina as well as shops in Punat and the surrounding area.

ALPE ADRIA SAILING WEEK 2020

The 14th Alpe Adria Sailing Week 2020 regatta will be held in Punat next year from 24th to 28th May.

Under the motto “Stronger together”, sailing teams from across Austria will come together once again.  

As before, there are four sailing categories:

• Alpe Adria Cup with spinnaker (ORC)
• Austria Cup in one design class with spinnaker (sailboats First 35)
• Kärntner Cruising Trophy with spinnaker (ORC)
• Alpe Adria Cruising Cup without spinnaker (ORC)

You can read more at the organizer’s website, and the host – Marina Punat will make sure of having a good time with numerous local specialties.

Registration and instructions are available for download here.

A day charged with emotion and pride has been witnessed in Punta del Este today as the crew of non-professional sailors set off for the second leg of the Clipper 2019-20 Race. The fleet slipped lines at 15:00 UTC in front of a huge crowd lining the marina, departing from the place it has called home for the past week.

Before the Slipping Lines Ceremony Qingdao AQP, Rhiannon Massey said: “I’m feeling very excited to get going again. I always have those little nerves, but I can’t wait to get back on the water and get racing.”

She continued “It’s amazing there’s so many people here already. When we turned up this morning, we had loads of locals and supporters welcoming us. And we now have the Navy band playing, and there are so many people.”

Skipper of Imagine your Korea, Mike Surridge, spoke about the hospitality they have received here: “Punta del Este has been fantastic. The food and drink has been really good, and the hospitality has been outstanding, not just at the Yacht Club Punta del Este but also the broader population.

After the teams had left the vicinity of the port, cheering, singing and dancing to their dedicated team songs, the crowd relocated to watch the Parade of Sail. The spectacle didn’t disappoint; a vibrant show of colours ensued on a choppy sea, under a dazzling sun. The fleet were joined by navy vessels and multiple spectator boats.

The race officially began at 1800 UTC and Unicef was the first across the start line, followed closely by Race 2 winners, Qingdao and then Zhuhai. Qingdao resumed a leading position, crossing the first mark ahead of the pack. The team continued in the lead for all five marks until they were out of sight, whilst Visit Sanya, China and Unicef were the second and third teams to finish the course.

Race 3 of the Clipper 2019-20 Race, named the Spinlock South Atlantic Showdown, is now underway with Qingdao top of the leaderboard with 36 points followed by Punta del Este and Visit Sanya, China both with 23 points. The 3,555 nautical mile race is a fast, short race (approximately 17 days) and could see a very close finish as the fleet tackle trade winds, unpredictable weather and great swells before arriving into Cape Town with the incredible backdrop of Table Mountain.

The fleet is due to arrive in Cape Town between Thursday 7 and Monday 11 November.

Current positions 24.10.2019 at 10.00

In month of October we will publish new videos of marinas, ports and anchorages in eastern Adriatic coast. Check the video below and se a part of premieres in October. Follow us.

This catagory is all about typical cruising boats. They need to offer enough room and comfort for you to take your family, but they should be easily enough managed to sail double- or singlehanded as well. Beyond this versatility family cruisers need to be relatively affordable which is why many come from the big production builders. While in the past the segment was mainly derived from the 30 to 45 foot range the market has seen more and more larger models lately – which also tend to become more sophisticated every year. This trend is driven in part by the charter business. By their very nature and their attractive price tags typical family cruisers are often to be found in charter fleets. But there are quite different proposals from small yards as well.

​Revising existing models instead of developing completely new yachts has become somewhat of a trend among many builders. There are boats in the market which have been updated several times over the last ten or fifteen years. So did Elan: The Slowenian brand has just released the 4th iteration of her 45-footer. With a new deck and a completely revamped interior the boat has gained a lot of appeal for both owners and charter skippers with 3 to 4 cabins and 6 to 10 berths if the salon sofa and table are to be converted into a bed. Enough to beat the competition among which there is last year's category winner from Beneteau, the 46.1? 

Specification: 

• Length: 13.00 m
• Width: 4.18 m 
• Draft: 1.90 m  (opt. 1.60 m)
• Displacement: 10.5 t
• Sail area: 99.3 sqm

The announcement of this year’s winners, will take place during the Flagship-Night on the first evening of the Boot Düsseldorf (18.01.2020).

Following the spectacle and ceremony of the fleet’s departure from St. Katharine Docks, London, the first stage of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race officially started on Monday 2 September, at 1000 BST, in the Thames Estuary.

Dare To Lead was the first team to hoist its spinnaker and had it flying as they charged for the line in the closing minutes leading up to Race Start which took place very close to Southend Pier. A treat for the many spectators who had come out to watch on the pier.

Taking the honour of being the first to cross the start line of Race 1 was Qingdao, Skippered by Southend local Chris Brooks, who maximised home waters to his advantage. Dare To Lead crossed in second position, narrowly followed by Unicef in third.

The conditions were as expected, with 10 - 12 knots (Force 3-4), from the west-south-west, a flat sea and beautiful sunshine warming the day. The breeze was stable giving a great downwind start and increased very steadily as time went on. Lessening the effect of the beginnings of the spring flood tide against the fleet at the start this, however, would only strengthen as they headed out into the Thames Estuary towards the east horizon.

Clipper Race Director, Mark Light, who oversaw Race Start said: “All yachts got away well and made a magnificent sight as they stretched out to the east with their spinnakers flying silhouetted against the brilliant sunshine.”

Racing remained tight with the Qingdao team managing to maintain a slim lead of a couple of nautical miles between themselves and the chasing pack. Qingdao Skipper, Chris Brooks, reported: “The crew perfectly correlated to achieve the plan. The idea was to time race start perfectly to hoist the Spinnaker and pull into the lead.

“We led all the way to the South East where the wind died. It was painful to watch as five yachts came through inside us with pressure as we wallowed in self pity and lifeless air.”

The fleet compressed as it reached Margate, with positions changing frequently in the fickle winds. Guy Waites, Skipper of Dare To Lead noted: “We could have taken down each others sails let alone our own we were so close by!”

However, it wasn’t long though until the wind filled in, south southwest, for an upwind beat in shore along the English southeast coast. Zhuhai Skipper, Nick Leggatt, said: “We settled into our first night with a reefed Main, Staysail and Yankee 2, as we faced the prospect of a lot of tacking through the Straits of Dover and down towards Beachy Head.

“A tiring night, and some battered and bruised bodies at the end of it, but the day has just dawned with the Zhuhai still in second place as we round Beachy Head and continue down the English Channel.”