Winner Report #1

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WINNERREPORT

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WINNERREPORT WINNERREPORT

You cannot enjoy the carefree use of your Winner yacht until you have insured it

properly. Because we have more than 65 years of experience in insuring yachts,

we are specialists in this field. We know the risks associated with your hobby

better than anybody else. Would you like to receive a tailor-made quotation? Just

call us or visit our website www.yachtinsurance.nl.

Steer a safe course

P.O. Box 116NL-8440 AC Heerenveen

Tel. +31 (0)513 61 44 44Fax +31 (0)513 62 37 42

Y A C H T I N S U R A N C E S

[email protected]

WINNERREPORT

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Wind and waves, running with the tide. A beacon for shelter, a safe harbour in sight. S. Huisman

Photos: Erik Nachbar

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5345-Yanmar-AdvWinnerJournal.indd 1 17-08-15 15:59

Winner Yachts introduces the first annual Winner Report.

It has been a busy year at Winner Yachts!Things started with the introduction of our performance range, together with the launch of the new Winner 8. Along with all these new developments we decided to go for a whole new corporate identity, flying the Winner logo with pride.

Next to that we are very happy to have delivered a lot new Winners to their owners. Thanks to our dealers, we have now Winners sailing in various countries spread over Europe. You will learn more about our dealer network later in this Report.

In the meantime our development team is already well under way in creating a fully new Winner 11. We have asked Simonis Voogd Design to draw her lines and she looks stunning already just on the drawing board. The Winner 11 project will start later this year. We will keep you informed on our progress. You will find a sneak preview further on in this Report.

We sailed a very competitive Winner Cup in very nice circumstances and in a relaxed atmosphere. A well deserved “Winner” came out after two races in W12.20 Horizon. Just after the Winner Cup we prepared our move to our new location in Medemblik. As of July 1st we are now based in Medemblik, offering the Winner sailor more flexibility in production, better service and better storage facilities as well gaining from the synergie of joining experience on producing grp sailing yachts.

So we have been a little busy, showing why a Winner will always be Way Ahead! We will continue to do so and like to welcome you at the yard or at the various boat shows. In the mean time, team Winner Yachts wishes you happy sailing!

Remco SolDirector Winner Yachts

winnernews

Winner Report is published by:

Winner Jachten BVOverleek 71671 GD MEDEMBLIK

Tel. +31 (0)228 316 [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook.com/winneryachtsTwitter: @winneryachtslinkedin.com/company/winner-yachts

AdvertisersADB YachtingDekker WatersportHarkenKuiper Yacht InsuranceMore MarineOverzeilenRaymarineYanmar

CompositionWinner Yachts, Medemblik

Graphic designDock27 communicatie, Hoorn

No part of this publication may be reproduced without express permission of Winner Yachts.

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IN THIS EDITION

A delivery with the Winner 9 demo 06

New location Winner yachts 08

A tour to St. Petersburg 10

The new 11, pure sailing pleasure 16

Meet four Winner dealers 20

Events calendar Winner Yachts 23

Subtropical isles of Scilly 24

A Winner 9, the right choice 32

Everybody is a Winner, WinnerCup 2015 36

The WinnerClub activities 38

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Of course headlines are just a headline. After

working in an office for many years, Jirja found out

that it’s sailing that makes her world spin. Working

as an sales expert in a marine store in the Caribbean,

she found out that there could be a market for

delivering not only the large boats (50 ft +) But there

should be people who are just in love with sailing,

with a short amount of time. Or older people sailing

for years but in need of an swift hand every now

and then. She went back to the Netherlands and

started Overzeilen/Lastminute Sailor.

At the 2013 Amsterdam boat show she was

introduced to Remco and Jan Willem from Winner

Yachts. There was a connection. “it’s all about sailing”.

They asked her to do a delivery from Duinkerken to

Enkhuizen onboard the demo Winner 9, returning

from the La Rochelle boat show. Piece of cake one

would say… Well… 3 day’s and an astonishing 14kts

speed, followed by 48.7kts of wind later. The 9 was

in Enkhuizen. In one piece. With a happy crew and

avery happy Winner Team.

It is an honor and eminent pleasure to have a chance

to sail the different Winners. Every time I make a

delivery, I am amazed by how fast and steady they

are. Its working with boats like this, that actually,

make Jirja’s job one of the best ones in the world.

It’s the actual headline of a newspaper article written about Jirja de Kool Founder of

Overzeilen / Lastminute Sailor.

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Best Job in the world!

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WINNERREPORT

New 50N PFDMade of ultra exible foamLow proole for extra comfortAvailable in 4 sizes and 3 colors

Compact and light 17N lifejacketVery good shape and therefore extremely comfortableOptional with sprayhood and Pylon light5 years warranty with ”Through Life Support”

Lifejacket with harnas for children of 20-50KGCompact and light 100N lifejacketOptional with sprayhood and Pylon light5 years warranty with “Through Life Support”

It’s your life on the line

Ronstan Orbit blocks are the strongest and lightest blocks in their range. A Dyneema loop and the 2-stage bearing system have created a block for sailors who are more demanding when it comes to boathandling!

Available in 170N and 275NLightweight, with extreme comfortIncluding sprayhood, lifeline and Pylon light5 years warranty with “Through Life Support

Ronstan Core blocks are unique in their 2-stage bearing system. Low friction during the low-load using the ball bearing system. At higher loads the sheave rotateson a highly polished SS plain bearing making the blocks extremely strong. Core blocks can be used for almost every application on your Winner!

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winnernews

Winner Yachts has left its old location on July 1, 2015 and has settled in

Medemblik.

Full galley option on WINNER 8Next to the daysailer version of the Winner 8, we now are able to offer a full

galley option on our Winner 8. Upon various requests we have made a top

loading fridge and a gimballed 2-burner stove with oven, while maintaining

storage space as well. See our latest price list for actual pricing.

Under deck - Auto pilot drive on Winner 9Due to the option of a steering wheel version, the

general lay-out under deck of the steering system

makes it possible to offer a permanently installed

auto pilot on both steering versions (tiller and wheel).

The possibility to be able to just push the “Auto”

button while steering, offers a comfortable, but

foremost safe option for those sailing short-handed.

Technically, installing this pilot afterwards is possible

on all Winner 9. Our service department will be

able to tell you more about that upon request.

Removable cutterstay on Winner 9 with hanked or furling working jib

Standard galley Winner 8

Full galley option Winner 8

The decision to move to a new location was due

to the successful growth in recent years and the

expansion of the model range. The new location is

also easily accessible for our customers by water

or road.

At this appealing location, the expertise from

Winner Yachts, Medemblik Yacht Service and Rake

Rigging will be combined. Together with their

neighbour, Contest Yachts, this will be the centre

for building and maintaining composite sailing

yachts in the Netherlands.

With this move, we will be able to serve you even

better in future.

As Winner 9 is not only being used on lakes and in

coastal waters, we had several request from clients

wanting to use a working jib or storm jib without

having to take down the HA-jib from the furling

system. By changing the spinnaker-uphaul into a 1:2

purchase system and adding a folding pad-eye (with

special reinforcement on the inside construction) on

the fore-deck, a clean and simple removable cutter

stay system comes available. This system will also be

available on our other models from 9 up to 12 meter.

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WINNERREPORT

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winnerstory

A dream come true

By: Martin Marks & Liesbeth van Sterkenburg

a sailing tour to St. Petersburg

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WINNERREPORTWINNERREPORT

was moved 2 miles north so we had to search the

entrance. Lesson one: never rely on electronic charts.

Two days later we encountered the same problem by

Norderney: the Schluchter was moved 2 miles north

3 days before our arrival. Both days the sight was very

good, so we had no problem to find the entrance.

The second part of our trip went along the German

Baltic coast. We stopped in Rendsburg (we didn’t

want to do the channel in one day), Strande,

Fehmarn, Warnemünde, Stralsund and Wieck. In

Stralsund we stayed two more days, because it is a

beautiful place. In Wieck we had to stay four days

because of very bad weather. After the German

coast we sailed along the Polish coast. The wind was

north and very cold. Every day we had fog and also

we had to take into account shooting areas. When

the navy was practicing these areas were forbidden.

In Poland we had language problems. Most people

didn’t understand English or German. When we

arrived in Ustka to our surprise there was a bridge

(not on our brand new chart). We tried to contact

At the end of January of 2014 we started the

preparation. We not only needed a lot of charts,

but we also needed visas to enter Russia. However,

before you can apply for visas you need an invitation

from someone in St. Petersburg. With help of fellow

sailors we found Vladimir Ivankiv. He sent us the

invitations and the CIBTvisas shop in The Hague did

the rest. Also worth mentioning is, that we could

borrow charts from Maarten van der Kooij, a member

of the Winnerclub. He also told us, that the blue

camping gas bottles were not obtainable in Poland,

the Baltic States, Russia and Finland and that it was

very useful to have an electric kettle aboard.

After having supplied ‘Windekind’, we left Enkhuizen

May 12. Our first goal was to reach Brunsbüttel at

the entrance of the Kielerkanaal. We wanted to

sail as much as we could by day, so we stopped

at Makkum, Vlieland, Lauwersoog and Norderney.

During this part of the voyage we encountered two

problems. The last week before we left, I had

updated all my electronic charts, but the Westgat

Twenty years ago some sailing friends of ours made

a tour to St. Petersburg. At that time this was far

beyond our possibilities. We had a small sailing boat

not suitable for 0and began to explore the seas. The

first year we reached Denmark. We could stay there

for one week, then we had to go back because our

holidays were ending. The following holidays we went

further and we even got to the isle of Bornholm in

five weeks home and away, but St. Petersburg stayed

out of reach. In 2006 we had ‘Windekind’ built to our

specifications, suitable for longer journeys. Since last

year we are retired so now we had plenty of time to

make our dreamvoyage.

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the harbourmaster via our VHF but there never

came an answer. So we moored along the kay

pending the bridge opening. While waiting an

officer came to us only speaking Polish so we didn’t

understand a word. In the end we understood he

wanted us to sail away. We didn’t want to go back

to sea: north 7. But when he put up five fingers to

tell the bridge was opening in five minutes, we did.

Then we understood why. It was a swinging bridge

and we were in the turning circle.

The last Polish stop was Gdansk, a very beautiful

town. From there we had to go to Klaipeda in

Latvia at one time, 120 nm. Between Poland and

Latvia there is a Russian enclave and we were not

allowed to enter the Russian territorial waters there.

We started at eleven o’clock in the morning and

arrived the next morning at seven. A nice bonus

was, that in that region the nights are very short:

the sun went down at eleven and came up at four.

It never was completely dark.

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The next goal was to reach Tallinn. We first went

to Liepaja, and after that to Ventspils, Kuressaare,

Kuivastu, Haapsalu, Dirhami and at last Tallinn.

That period the weather was very bad. The wind

was north and stayed north and we had to go north,

so it wasn’t nice and easy, but we arrived at Tallinn

June 23. That was the day our visas for Russia

became valid. We became a bit in a hurry, because

we had to leave St. Petersburg July 3. Despite that

fact we stayed one more day in Tallinn, because it is

a very beautiful town, and we still had bad weather.

We still had to do two stages. First we had to go

to Haapasari, 98 nm. There we have to go through

customs. And after that the last stage to

St. Petersburg, also 98 nm. We decided to sail by

night. We started at Tallinn 2 o’clock in the afternoon

and arrived at Haapasari at 7 in the morning. It

is a beautiful small island and to us it seemed a

paradise. We slept from seven to eleven and then

we started to discover the island. There was no

traffic at all. There were only holyday houses and

a well-stocked shop. So we bought food for the

next trip and enjoyed our lazy day. Half past five we

went to the customs office and half past seven we

left. We contacted Vladimir Ivankiv. He wanted to

know at what time we would pass the Russian

border because he had to inform customs. That

night we had no difficulties. The coastguard left us

alone. The next morning about 10 o’clock Russian

time we arrived at Kronhstadt at Russian customs.

Happily Vladimir had send an assistant to help us

to fill out all the forms, for the officers only spoke

Russian. The only English word he knew, was

“open” while pointing a closet. And when we had

to go to the customs office, he held his mobile

screen in front of me with the sentence: ”You have

to go to the customs office now.”, while pointing a

building. The whole procedure took 2,5 hours, but

then we were allowed to do the last 15 miles to

St. Petersburg. There we arrived at 3 in the afternoon.

We were welcomed by the harbourmaster and

Vladimir and we got a very nice berth in the Krestovsky

Yacht Club. It was a very modern marina with all

possible facilities. Vladimir gave us a lot of useful

information. The metro was a ten minute walk and at

five we stood already in the centre of St. Petersburg:

The Nevsky Prospect. Our visas were still valid a

week, so we could see a lot of this interesting city.

The next days we got a good impression of the city

and the week went by very fast.

July 3 we had to leave Russia. The day before Vladimir

Ivankiv visited us. He wanted to know at what time

we would leave the harbour. He had to inform

customs when we would arrive there. At eight in

the morning on July 3 we left the marina to get fuel

first. We got diesel for a nice price: € 0,70 per liter.

At half past eleven we arrived at customs. The

procedure didn’t last very long and half past twelve

WINNERREPORT

the sun went down at eleven and came up at four. It never

was completely dark.

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we could leave. We expected to be at Haapasari

at 3 in the morning. Despite the bad weather we

managed to be there, but because of the bad

weather we couldn’t see the buoys (no lights) that

marked the harbour entrance. We decided to wait

for daylight and then we found out that the Russian

coastguard constantly knew where we were. They

called us on the VHF if something was wrong.

When we explained the problem it was okay.

At four in the morning we could see the harbour

entrance and we went to customs. The Finnish

officers were very friendly and let us sleep until

eleven o’clock. They checked our documents and

we could stay there another night for free.

On Saturday July 5 we started for our next stage.

We wanted to go along the Finnish archipelago

to Helsinki, Mariehamn and then Stockholm. We

also stopped at several other harbours for we had

two months to go back. The Finnish maps are very

detailed and that’s a good thing, but every day you

need 5 or sometimes 6 different maps for one tour.

Another useful option is the green route. That led

you through the most beautiful islands and was

signed from the east to the west so it was not difficult

to navigate.

In Helsinki we stayed for three days in the marina

of the oldest yacht club of Finland: very beautiful

harbour and also a very interesting city. In Stockholm

we stayed four days in the Wasahamn. Also a city

where you can’t get bored. Nearby the marina there

is one museum you can’t skip: the Wasa-museum.

It tells the story of a famous warship (1628) that

had to become the pride of the fleet, but sank after

1,5 miles on her maiden trip.

After Stockholm we went south. The weather was

very beautiful: 30 to 35 degrees Celsius. But this hot

weather caused also thunderstorms. They developed

very fast. And in front of the harbour of Visby on

Gotland we were caught up in such a storm. In

five minutes the wind increased from 0 to 8

Beaufort and it started to rain so heavy that we

couldn’t see the harbour entrance any more. So

we had to stay at sea for half an hour. That was

very frightening, but nothing bad happened.

Visby is an old Hanseatic you must have seen. Also

worth mentioning is the town of Kalmar with a big

castle where you can learn a lot of the history of

South Sweden. South Sweden has been Danish in

de sixteenth century and Kalmar was the last Swedish

bastion. After Kalmar we went to Kristianopel.

Originally that was a Danish bastion. It was the

pendant of Kalmar. The harbourmaster still felt

Danish. As evidence thereof he used the birth year

of a famous Danish king as toilet code.

The next stop was Hanö, a beautiful small island.

Next stop Simrishamn en then Ystad, well-known

by the Wallander-books. There we had to stay for

two weeks: the wind became south-west six to

nine Beaufort and stayed from that direction. Since

Ystad has very good train connections our stay

didn’t get boring. We also had a wedding in The

Netherlands and by train it was only one hour and a

quarter to get to the airport Kastrup. We also made

trips to Copenhagen and Malmö. So we enjoyed a

varied stay. After two weeks the weather got better.

We went to Klintholm, Heiligenhaven, Rendsburg

and Brunsbüttel. When we arrived there the wind

turned east so we had no problems in the German

Bight. September 5 we arrived in Lauwersoog and

from there we went along the canals to Leeuwarden,

Hindeloopen and at last Enkhuizen. Fellow sailors

prepared us a great welcome: balloons, flags,

champagne, hooting the ship horn by several boats

and at last a home-cooked meal.

Our fantastic trip was ended and we can’t wait for

next year: four month sailing was a great experience.

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Our visas were still valid a week, so we could see a lot of this interesting city.

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11pure sailing pleasure

From the drawing boards of Simonis-Voogd Design. Elegance, Comfort and Performance par excellence. She will be available in our standard and as well in our renown performance edition featuring a deep draft keel and carbon rig for those looking for just this little additional performance.

WINNERREPORTWINNERREPORT

metres of

newwinner

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WINNERREPORT

The boat is finished down to the finest detail. Just

take a look, for example, at the leather- covered

mast support and grab handles.

The Winner 11 is more than simply a fast yacht.

The spacious interior styled by our in house Design

Team has been created by and for yachtsmen.

Luxury and comfort play a major role here. She

comes in 2 interior lay-outs (and sleeps 6 to 8

people in 2-3 cabins).

Large beds, luxury mattresses, a spacious saloon

and a large, sea-proof galley. In other words, the

Winner 11 makes a long or short stay aboard much

more than a pleasant experience.

Winner 11 Performance

Length: 11.00 m

Length waterline: 10.10 m

Beam: 3.65 m

Draft: 2.20 m

Displacement: 5.600 kg

Mainsail: 44 m2

Jib: 36 m2

Spinnaker: 95 m2

Gennaker: 125m2

Winner 11

Length: 11.00 m

Length waterline: 10.10 m

Beam: 3.65 m

Draft: 1.75 m

Displacement: 5.900 kg

Mainsail: 42 m2

Jib: 32 m2

Spinnaker: 95 m2

Gennaker: 125m2

Steering: tiller / double wheel

Engine: Yanmar 29hp saildrive

CE-certificate: CAT-A

the latestbreed of

winneryachts

W11 interior graphics: BONT.

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Gary and Morag Warr of SBS Performance Yachts

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WINNERREPORT

Norbert Marquart of Boot-Styling & Yachting

winnerview

Norbert: Dear sailing fans, my wife Monika and I

are for over three decades water sports enthusiasts.

We started with a motorboat on Lake Constance.

Because of our offshore training we could inspire

ourselves for sailing but because our jobs we didn’t

have a sailing boat. By reorientation we decided to

establish ourselves in the area of boat trade. First

with a Dutch steel motoryacht of Jetten Yachting. In

this way we could gain experience in this field. The

next step was to find a sailing brand that fitted our

company philosophy.

Gary and Morag: Winner Yachts are distributed

in the UK through Simply Brilliant Stuff Ltd. This is

a small family business run by Gary & Morag Warr.

Gary and Morag found each other about 10 years

ago and have been sailing together since the

beginning. When they discovered the Winner 9

they realized immediately they had found their

perfect boat. The boat was too good to keep to

themselves so it wasn’t long before Winner Yachts

was added to the Simply Brilliant range.

Francois: I have just celebrated my 50th birthday

with my family and two fine daughters of 21 and

17 years old. I’m sailing for 30 years now and come

from offshore racing, did 14 transatlantic races

(some single handed) and a world tour. I was second

captain on the big multihull with B. Peyron and

F. Cammas. Six years ago I started my own company

and now I have seven boats for distribution in France,

five Winner yachts and two Seascape yachts.

Christoph and Henning: The merger of two

companies left the company Nordic Yachting eK

Could you describeyourself in a few sentences?

arise. One was dedicated to small yachts, trailerable

sailboats and accessories. The other brought their

achievements in the field of large to mega yachts

in the form of construction supervision, overpasses,

refits and advice on conversions. Both areas came

together in one Company to join forces and to

exchange experiences. For more than 10 years

successful in yacht trade and services, Nordic Yachting

considers it important to maintain stable and to go

for long-term partnerships. Nordic Yachting is since

nine years the German Distributor of Winner Yachts.

The ability to develop the products and improve -

always in touch with the wishes and suggestions

of our customers - make our business so successful

that the company can continue to grow steadily

and healthy.

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THREE questions for four Dealers

Boot-Styling & Yachting - Switzerland

SBS Performance Yachts - United Kingdom

Winner Distribution France - France

Nordic Yachting - Germany

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Norbert: Various positive constellations have resulted

in the fact that we are also active in the sailing boat

area now. The question was, what representation of

sailing boats makes sense for our sailing area. Winner

Yachts fulfilled all our wishes. Optimal length/width

ratios, good quality, high reliability and a young,

innovative and competent team. This way an optimal

cooperation is possible.

Gary and Morag: The Winner brand is very

interesting for the UK market. Of course (like

everywhere) there are vast numbers of buyers more

interested in price and superficial features than the

true qualities of the boat - these people will not be

interested in a Winner. But we are an island nation

with many true sailors who have very different

demands. For them the way a boat is built and the

way it sails is far more important. These people

will love Winner. Then we have the newcomers to

sailing, perhaps looking for their first boat. They

want a safe and well made boat which will look after

them and for them resale value is really important,

these people will love Winner too. Of course

introducing a new brand in such difficult financial

times is not easy but the brand is being well received

and with every new magazine test and every test

sail the legend grows.

Francois: I choose Winner Yachts because the

boats offer a good balance between comfort and

performance. They are well engineered with a hull

and interior made of good quality.

Christoph and Henning: We place a high value

on good and detailed advice and training on the

new ship which goes far beyond the normal test

drive and where we like to show our experience

to our customers. The Winner yachts are as varied

and diverse as their owners. But one thing connects

them all: excellent sailing performance!

Norbert: A special tip on Lake Constance is certainly

the RUND UM regatta, which takes place in June.

Otherwise, Lake Constance which is sited at the

Why is Winner a good choice in your particular market?

What would be your favorite sailing trip in your country?

Francois Coutant of Winner Distribution France

tripoint of Germany/Austria / Switzerland offers a

lot. In the summer there are many fantastic festivals

such as the Lake Night Festival and Bregenz Festival.

Also concerts at the Lake, culinary highlights,

beautiful bays and well-developed port facilities.

Gary and Morag: Our favourite sailing trip is across

the channel from our home port of Weymouth to

the Channel Islands and then down to Brittany. The

combination of great sailing followed by gorgeous

food is difficult to beat!

Francois: In front of Concarneau, you have the

archipelago of Glenan. It’s a wonderful place for

sailing and mooring, with water as blue as in the

Caribbean!

Christoph and Henning: The many trips and

many races, especially in Scandinavia have shown

us countless ports and anchorages that we look

forward to discover more of, every year again.

Henning Neumann and Christoph Becker of Nordic Yachting

EVENTS CALENDARWINNER YACHTS

Hiswa Amsterdam in-water Boat Show1 - 6 September 2015 Amsterdam - Netherlands

Southampton Boat Show11 - 20 September 2015 Southampton - United Kingdom

Grand Pavois16 - 21 September 2015 La Rochelle - France

Interboot19 - 27 September 2015 Friedrichshafen - Germany

Hanseboot31 October - 8 November 2015 Hamburg - Germany

Nautic Paris Boat Show5 - 13 December 2015 Paris - France

Boot Düsseldorf23 - 31 January 2016 Düsseldorf - Germany

Winner Cup3 - 5 June 2016 Medemblik - Netherlands

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WINNERREPORT

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Windsong

winnerstory

a trip to the Isles of Scilly, Wight and Channel Islands

We leave our homeport Den Oever with a feeling of great anticipation. Our Winner 12.20 ‘Windsong’, can’t wait to be out on the open seas. The wind forecast is favourable for our trip to the Isles of Scilly, our fuel tanks are full to the brim and we have enough provisions on board to last several days.

By: Ad de Kruijf en Yolanda Schippers

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battery, so we steer closer to the shore and call Arjen

de Boer of the service department. Luckily he answers

his phone and after some testing Arjen informs us

one of the relays is broken and offers to replace it

the next morning in IJmuiden Marina. For the rest

of the trip our battery will work perfectly normal.

Thanks again, for the great service, Arjen and Winner.

The weather is glorious when we head out again.

Every now and again when the wind fades we

start the engine, which simultaneously helps us

to recharge the batteries and allows us to take a

refreshing shower.

Falling into a comfortable routine we watch the

English South Coast go by. In the midst of the night

The locks into the Waddenzee are open and we

clear them without even having to wait. As the

wind is too weak to sail we motor the first stretch

to the town of Den Helder. It picks up when we

enter deep tide-race Schulpengat and we shut the

engine, hoist our sails and relax.

When we check the battery condition meter to

update our logbooks we discover that the battery

capacity has decreased. Which is strange as we

just used the engine for quite some time. After

restarting the engine we soon learn the battery

doesn’t recharge anymore.

We are unsure what to do next as a multi-day trip

is just not possible without a properly working

We slow down a bit to make sure we enter Falmouth

in daylight and moor at 8:30 in the morning. Despite

three days at sea we feel fit enough to spend the

day wandering around and end up buying several

charts and pilot books for our next leg to the Scillies.

Knowledgeable locals provide us with suggestions

for good anchorage spots.

It might take less than a day to sail but we have

been looking forward to this particular passage for

years. This is after all The Ocean, even if it is the

very edge of it. We pass Wolf Rock Lighthouse, a

lonely beacon built on a treacherous rock, and soon

after discover the first contours of the islands on

the horizon.

We anchor in Port Cressa, St. Mary’s southerly bay

and find a spot with a wonderful view over the

ocean. Our boating neighbour is Dutch Warber

owned by well-known Dutch female nautical

author Anje Valk who kindly shares some of her

insights and experiences before leaving again the

next morning.

Over the next days we sail the archipelago. We anchor in

beautiful bays and wander these gorgeous subtropical

islands admiring its flora and remarkable rock

formations. Abbey Gardens on the island of Tresco

is an absolute delight with its collection of tropical

plants and trees sourced from all over the world.

The islands are only a short distance apart and we

can’t resist the temptation of sailing into the ocean

a bit further. Hoping to see more dolphins we sail

we pass Wight on our starboard and navigate our

way through the busy traffic of ocean ships with

their sudden turns to enter The Solent.

The following day a pod of dolphins ‘disturbs’ our

quiet, with the cheekiest animals swimming next

to the cockpit as if to say hello. We quickly grasp

our cameras and make our way to the bow where

they play in the waves. They swim so close that you

can actually look them in the eye. We have been

looking forward to a dolphin encounter for a long

time and enjoy every moment of these animals

swimming alongside and under our yacht. To top

off this unforgettable day it ends with an incredibly

beautiful sunset.

26

Hoping to see more dolphins we sail past famous

Bishop Rock.

28 29


past famous Bishop Rock. Unfortunately, this time

we only discover a pod frolicking in the distance.

A week has passed already when we anchor in one

of St. Agnes’s bays. We plan to spend the day on

this southernmost populated island of the Scillies

before heading back to Falmouth. Unfortunately

the plan falls through when a French yacht next

to us fails to lift the anchor while leaving port. The

owner dives overboard and discovers that his anchor

is stuck behind an electricity cable. The narrow bay

means we will have to move to allow him to

manoeuvre and rather than risking to get stuck

ourselves we decide to leave early. St Agnes will

have to wait for our next visit.

We return to Falmouth, simply because we can’t

resist this lovely town. During the trip we experience

quite some wind and lots of rain and when we arrive

in the evening we are soaking wet. Thankfully the

weather clears up and the following morning we

head out for a walk and follow the river to Penryn

then cross to the other bank and walk to Flushing.

At the end of the next day we leave Falmouth and

cross the Channel during the night to benefit from

a favourable tide when we reach Brittany’s

Lezardrieux early next morning. The trip goes as

planned but for some inexplicable reason the river’s

entrance doesn’t appeal to us and we don’t feel

tempted to continue. After consulting our maps and

tidal charts we decide to continue to the Channel

Islands instead.

When we call St. Peter ports harbour master later

that day we learn that we have arrived on a busy

day. Waiting times to enter the actual harbour

will be considerable and space for a boat with our

draught is very limited anyway. We change plans

yet again and sail the short distance to the island of

Herm with anchorage near a beautiful sandy beach.

That night, after the day guests have left, we enjoy

this lovely little bay with its almost Caribbean

atmosphere.

We sail to busy Sark and after lunch continue to

Alderney, which too is always a pleasure to visit. On

our way in we closely sail past the rocks of Les Etacs

with its colony of thousands of northern gannets.

They are incredibly noisy and the place has a distinct

smell but the view is impressive nevertheless.

We now have spent two and a half weeks and have

to start planning our return trip. Once again we

cross the Channel to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight

and admire the many gannets that accompany us.

When the tide pulls us into the Solent we sail along

the infamous Shingles Bank. The strong current

easily moves vessels sideways and we need to pay

full attention to steer in between the buoys.

For the first time since we have left home we moor

at a jetty, which means we won’t have to row home

after dinner in the local pub. The downside of our

mooring is that several other boats disturb us later

that evening when they moor alongside us. One of

them is a Frenchman who turns out to be quite the

expert on Winner yachts.

The following morning we take a bus to St. Catharines

Point and walk the coastline to Ventnor, one of

those unknown gems of Wight. The area is called

Undercliff, due to its position under the escarpment

and the resulting protection from northerly winds

gives rise to a subtropical character. The terrain

comprises of beautiful vegetation mixed with large,

isolated houses.

28 29

WINNERREPORT

WHEN I CALCULATE OUR SPEED IT TURNS OUT THAT WE TRAVELLED THIS LEg WITH AN AVERAgE SPEED OF 7.3 kNOTS. WHAT A FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE!

30 31


During the short walk from the marina bus stop to

our boat a sudden cloudburst leaves us soaking wet.

It is the messenger of worse weather to come. An

8-9 bft storm is blowing in and we quickly leave for

Brighton when we realise we are probably going to

be stuck for a few days.

The next day we stay onboard to keep an eye on

things. We remove the launch, mount many fenders

and make sure our sails; the tent and all lines to

neighbouring boats are secured. Satisfied with our

efforts we sit back. That night, while we are enjoying

a ‘quiet’ read a loud bang makes us jump from our

seats. We have been slammed by a 46-footer, a late

arrival who lost control of his boat. A deep scratch

is the result.

As if one accident is not enough, two days later the

same skipper hits us again when he wants to leave

port. Despite onshore wind he takes a wide turn

to manoeuvre away from us and not much later

his lifeboat, hanging in the davits, is playing guitar

with our stanchions. Again we suffer damage to

our vessel, which is even more annoying because

this accident would have been perfectly avoidable

if only the skipper had spent more time practising

manoeuvres under steam.

We spend three days in Brighton (with many walks:

to the pier, alongside the cliffs, in the old city) before

the winds weaken to 20-25 knots. Because of lost time

we decide to return to IJmuiden in one go. Eastbourne

will have to wait for a next time, just like the Paulus-

feesten, an annual festival in Belgian Ostend.

Riding a strong tailwind we sail with the speed of an

express train. We pass the English coastline again,

this time in the opposite direction and before we know

it we are approaching Dover. Tacking downwind to

avoid the busy ferry route we enter the TSS clearway

and to avoid a fine we quickly turn around and

head to the coast again. Almost immediately we

receive a text from a friend at home, a skipper who

apparently follows us on the AIS-site, asking us what

we are doing and if anything is wrong. Clearly, there

is no place left to find rest anymore.

The strong winds persist and we keep making good

speed even when the currents are shifting. During

the night it feels as if we go twice as fast but the boat

keeps sailings comfortably and we feel reassured by

the hard working autopilot. Just before we reach

IJmuiden however the wind wanes and we are

forced to use the engine to reach the marina. Still,

when I calculate our speed it turns out that we

travelled this leg with an average speed of 7.3 knots.

What a fantastic performance!

The following day we sail the last stretch to homeport

Den Oever where we finish our trip with a dinner in

our local favourite.

de meest gesorteerde

watersportspeciaalzaak

van nederland!

most assorted

water sports store

in the Netherlands!

make a pleasure cruise of your visit to our shop!

moor and stayovernight for free!

PIETER GHIJSENLAAN 4, 1506 PV ZAANDAM, TEL.: +31(0)75 - 6 163 362

FOR A COMPLETE OVERVIEW OF OUR OFFERS: WWW.DEKKERWATERSPORT.NL

Dekker Watersport offers you a lot of extra water sports fun if you are visiting us with your boat. Moor for free, right in front of our store and stay overnight for free so you can take your time with visiting our store.

From the North Sea Canal you sail into side channel F or Schiethaven channel. At the end you go along the Bruynzeel halls and turn right. Here you can moor for free and upon request stay overnight FOR FREE.Water and 220V are available.

For an advantageous course, our coordinates are: N 52.25.872 E 4.49.307

ROUTE TO ZAANDAM BY ROAD

From Amsterdam: Motorway A10 follow signs Zaanstad. Via A8, exit Zaandam-Zuid (exit 1). At the end of the exit turn right to Kolkweg / Thorbeckeweg, than straight ahead. Over the Den Uyl bridge at the crossing with the traffic lights go straight ahead. Next crossing turn right. You find Dekker Watersport on your left side at the end of the road.

From A7 Hoorn: Motorway A7 follow direction Zaandam/Amsterdam (A8). Exit Zaandam-Zuid. Again exit Zaandam-Zuid and at the end of the exit turn right to Kolkweg / Thorbeckeweg, than straight ahead. Over the Den Uyl bridge at the crossing with the traffic lights go straight ahead. Next crossing turn right. You find Dekker Watersport on your left side at the end of the road.

From A9 Alkmaar/Beverwijk: Exit 10, Castricum-Zaandam Zaanstad, follow the secondary road to Zaandam. After trainstation Zaandam (on your right side) take the third exit to the right. Next crossing turn right again. You find Dekker Watersport on your left side at the end of the road.

Dekker Wa•Adv Eng.indd 1 06-08-15 17:44

32 33


At Boot Düsseldorf, January 2012, I learned about

Winner Yachts for the first time and I could see

the quality of the Winner 10.20 exposed. They

said they would build a 9m yacht that I saw at Boot

2013. I was pleasantly surprised, she was a real little

sailing yacht and much more than I had expected on

forehand. The Winner 9 was the cruiser that fulfilled

all my expectations: design, strong, equipment,

seaworthy, aesthetic and handy to sail even alone.

In March I went to Enkhuizen where I sailed on a

winter day and where I also saw the professionalism

of the yard team. At the end of the day I signed with

Remco the purchase agreement.

I had seen many boats before and with 65 years of

age this was the boat I needed. It was time to have

my own boat and there was no time to lose. I chose

the classic version with 1.90 m draft keel.

Until today my boat was a Laser. All my life I have

sailed with friends or as a professional. My first

Atlantic crossing was in 1973. Then the Admiral’s

Cup 75, 77 and 79, the Parmelia Race from Plymouth

to Perth and the Whitbread Round the World Race

in 1981-82, which was won by FLYER II from

Dutchman Cornelius van Rietschoten.

Back to the Winner 9. Remco easily understood my

special requests regarding deck equipment and

rigging. On October 2013 she arrived in Estartit at

winnerview

Why I chose a WINNER 9?

By: Tomàs Gallart

32

34 35


the Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain. Fully equiped,

even with a removable cutterstay and jib. It’s number

16, named “CUERETA” the name of a small bird.

My wife and I cruise a lot. This summer we sailed

around Menorca where we went for anchor in a

creek every night. But one night we were lying in

Mahon, a landfall worthwhile. We sailed in all

conditions including a suddenly Mediterranean

storm that blew for three hours and reached till

46 knots of true wind. I chose to reef the main

and waited. Now we have the boat in l’Escala a

little further north in the Gulf of Roses. In these

winter months we are sailing in the sun with the

snow mountains in the background.

After the first year of navigation I knew I was right

when I chose this fantastic sailing yacht.

34

Yachtservice - Refit - Brokerage

TEL. +31 (0)6-53 56 82 81 - [email protected]

Yachtservice - Refit - Brokerage

-Installation of Yacht electronics

-Rigging and deck equipement

-CarpEntry

-Advice and Saleswin

ner y

acht s

ervice

36 37


The annual Winner Cup took place on June 5 and

6 - 2015 in Enkhuizen. Friday evening started with

a nice get together, first on board in the harbour

and later at “de Mastenbar”. Not everybody was

present yet, but during the evening more and

more Winners came in and made the harbour

look like a real Winner harbour!

On Saturday morning, our principal race officer, Henk

Sol, welcomed all the sailors and started the skippers

meeting, explaining the rules, the course and the

starting procedure. As for some of the competitors

this is their first regatta ever, this explanation is

important and is meant as a learning experience as

well. Main goal is to have fun, to keep everything in

one piece and enjoy the real Winner feeling. After all

questions had been answered, we could go out and

go sailing. We had some lovely conditions, sun, 25

degrees, force 5 slowly dying to force 4 and a lot of

other Winners to play with!

As racing was scored using the ORC-measurement

system, all Winners started at the same moment,

Winner 8 against Winner 12, thus creating some

nice situations! Afterwards this scoring is some hard

work for the organisation, but makes sure we have

fair results.

Shortly after the first start, Horizon and Antoinette,

(two 12.20’s) took off with “Nine” (Winner 9

performance) on their heels. Then a small gap and

some close racing between various Winner 9, 8, 9.50

and 10.10/10.20 took place. 2 up-wind – down-wind

courses were sailed and just after an hour all boats

finished.

At the 2nd start one could see a clear split in the

field, but the wind changed a little in direction,

causing a slightly different line up a the first mark

compared to the first race. In the last lap, Winner

10.10 – Mare Liberum caught the weather mark

around her rudder, causing some confusion on about

50% of the fleet, but it is always good to have

somebody watch the mark while racing…

Horizon, Antoinette and Nine were Way Ahead

again, resulting in an overall win for Horizon. Well

done to Mr. Doets and his crew!

The pricegiving ceremony started around 18.00 with

some drinks at “de Mastenbar”. Thanks to our

supplier and event sponsor More Marine, we were

able to have a price for every competitor as well as

some special prices for the “Winning Team”.

A well-deserved barbecue started just after all these

prices. And I think all competitors can say, after this

exhausting day, everybody is a Winner!

36 37

WINNERCUP 2015

See you all next year!

winnercup

38 39

WINNERREPORT WINNERREPORTON-DECK b.v. - LEIMUIDERDIJK 478A - 2156 MX WETERINGBRUG - [email protected] - WWW.ON-DECK.NL - Tel: +31 71 331 3366 - Fax: +31 71 331 3387

CRUISING GEAR

Built to last, easy to use,

minimal maintenance required.

Put the pleasure back into cruising

Harken Winner Journaal.indd 1 8/17/2015 2:15:34 PM

23 - 25 May 2015Expedition IJsselmeer - WinnerClub weekend

5 - 7 June 2015WinnerCup

28 July 2015Cross to England

4 - 6 September 2015End of season trip North - Volendam

Autumn 2015End of season trip South

14 November 2015Course FIRST AID on board

Autumn 2015Tour KNMI - De Bilt

Race training

Winter 2015/2016Workshop Schieman “Oud touw en tijd in overvloed”- WV Aalsmeer

Winter walk Zuiderzeemuseum - Enkhuizen

2016Course Maneuvering on engineCourse Sail trim

For further information, please take a look at our website: www.winnerclub.nl

winnerclub

WINNERCLUBCALENDAR2015 - 2016

While I am writing this article for the Winner 2015

Report we have just left Mallorca and are now heading

to Ibiza, a light breeze pushes our Winner 12.20

‘FairWinds’ forward. The most idyllic picture a sailor

can think about? My son Robbert and his cousin Jord

left for the trip to the south coast of Spain right at

the re-start of the Volvo Ocean race in the Hague.

A most spectacular event. They had a smooth trip,

caught a big Tuna, (and ate too much of it) had

a max wind of 39 knots (close to BF9) and tipped

regularly 15 knots of boat speed before we took

over the boat in Malaga. Our Winner FairWinds has

brought us so far to destinations of which we could

only dream of.

The WinnerClub activities of this year so far are really

successful. During the winter season there was of

course the new year’s party, visited by nearly 100

members in early January. Ada Kerkstra and Akko

Kalma shared with us their round the world sailing

experiences in a very gripping and personal way.

Martin and Liesbeth Marks told us vividly about

their exciting 2014 trip to Sint Petersburg in the

Amsterdam pub ‘the Schreierstoren’, a nice place to

meet fellow WinnerClub members during a too long

winter period of non-sailing.

Finally, after the start of the sailing season a new

remarkable event ‘Expedition IJsselmeer’ was organised

by Tjarda Adema, one of our members of the event

committee. Around 15 winner club yachts had to

find their way across the IJsselmeer based upon cryptic

descriptions and had to answer some nautical riddles.

At the end of the day we all joined a tasteful buffet

in the ‘museum of steam’ in Medemblik.

The WinnerClub is a lively organisation which has

its activities throughout the year. The objective is to

bring likeminded Winner yacht sailors together, to

support them with technical questions and most

important to have sailing events like the Expedition

IJsselmeer and lectures during the winter season.

Now, back to today, we will prepare the boat for a

safe trip back home. The boys have planned for about

six weeks to do this trip. A number of friends will

join them for various trips. The biggest challenges

we expects are the Portuguese continuously blowing

wind from northerly direction, which can be quite

strong at times and the crossing of the Bay of Biscay.

Erik Nachbar, Chairman Winner Club

40

WINNERREPORT

Evolution (UK) No Pricing 210 x 297.indd 1 13/11/2013 08:28

Documents

Winner Report #1