The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site
Colin Speedie 
Colin discusses some of the modifications they made to their OVNI 435 to make her both a comfortable home and a voyaging machine.
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Whenever we lift our OVNI out at a boatyard, she soon attracts a lot of attention. Partly that’s due to the sight of a sizeable boat (seemingly) without a keel, sitting on her bottom, but especially the rudder in its kicked up position, pointing out behind her.
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An overview of Colin and Louise’s Ovni 435, Pèlerin.
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There’s no mistaking the profile of certain boats, so it was easy for us to recognise the red yacht transiting the Caledonian Canal one day in early April, despite the near blizzard conditions at the time. Vagabond is a well-known yacht in polar circles, and there is really nothing quite like her visually.
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Many yachtsmen who have visited the Rias of Galicia have remarked that they resemble the sea lochs of Scotland (but without the rain or the midges!). And they do, although they are far busier than Scotland, not just in terms of population and boat traffic, but also because of one of the cornerstones of the local economy – fishing, and, most specifically, fish farming.
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After nearly 20 years of going North, our decision for 2010 was to head South in search of new horizons and the sun. Last year in the Hebrides was wonderful, but when the weather broke in August we were glad to move on, and we know we’ll be back one day.
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Colin answers the most important question: how does she sail?
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Colin moves on to examine the boat in detail with many photographs.
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An in-depth look at the hull form and construction of the Boréal 44.
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Readers of my previous post on the subject will be aware that we try to generate as much power as possible via renewable resources – wind and solar. This is driven by a desire to keep the boat as simple as possible, and to avoid the need to run our engine at rest for charging – a real no-no for us.
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Totally confused about which medical kit to take onboard with you? Colin discusses some of the issues involved in choosing which kit is right for you.
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A recent article in French sailing magazine Voiles et Voiliers looked at 7 different gennaker furlers, both for ease of use and ability to handle heavy loads. The results are surprising.
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In these days of hyper-accurate GPS navigation and deck mounted plotters, it can sometimes seem like navigation has been reduced to no more than a video game.
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I’ve only ever seen one sailing magazine article by the great writer and sailor Jonathan Raban, but the first sentence of that article may explain why: “Marina is a word like rubella—it sounds far nicer than the thing it describes.” And for many marinas, maybe that’s the truth. Practical, convenient, yes, but it would be hard to describe what in many cases is just a boat park, in other than utilitarian terms.
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When you cast your mind back at the end of a season, what do you remember from it? Memory being selective as time passes, the bad stuff tends to get filed under futile, and the good just keeps coming into focus.
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