MASTERCLASS

RACHAEL SPROT ON HANDLING BIGGER BOATS

- RACHAEL SPROT

If there’s one trend that’s true across all areas of sailing, it’s that yachts are getting bigger. Advances in technology have made ever-larger yachts more affordable while sail handling systems have evolved to make them easier to handle. Whereas a 50-footer was once likely to be a ‘flagship’, now most manufacturers have at least one model over 50ft, often an entire range, many of them capable of being sailed short-handed.

The trend is repeating among the charter market: Sunsail now offers a 52ft monohull in their bareboat range, making large yachts accessible to those with an RYA Day Skipper Practical certificate and above. Yet there are not many opportunities to train on this size of the vessel. We take a look at some of the factors that need to be considered when making the step-up:

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