Yachting Monthly – May 2018

Keith Homan / Alamy

A trip down memory

lane on Trimley Maid
How good to read Will Bruton’s piece on the
2017 ARC featuring Trimley Maid (YM, March
2018). She may be 39ft over spars but she
is only 32ft on deck. This was not her first,
and may not be her last Atlantic circuit, having
done one under her previous owner, Michael
Walden. Michael was the late commodore of
the Hillyard Owners Association and I have
sailed with Michael in Trimley Maid on several
occasions from the Dutch canals to Milford
Haven. I have also sailed in her in company
with two other 9-tonners, Lady Ailsa (1955)
and my own Tashana (1958). These are great
seaworthy vessels, albeit a bit heavy and slow,
but as it has often been said: Hillyards may
starve you, but they will never drown you.
Dave Stickland, honorary secretary, Hillyard
Owners Association

LM Vitesse 33
Your article in the February issue of Yachting
Monthly on finding a deck saloon cruiser was
interesting, but I would like to draw readers’
attention to one excellent and always-
neglected vessel – the LM Vitesse 33.
The Danish-built range of LM boats
comprised mostly the smaller models, the
29 and 31, and there were only about 40
of the Vitesse 33s made. Our boat, Vega,
was built in 1990 and we acquired her in

2002. Since then, she has taken both of us
      comfortably to and from the Channel Islands,
      France and the Netherlands, and completed
      two circumnavigations of Britain. The second
      of these, in 2017, included the Orkney Isles.
      The Vitesse sails well in all weathers,
      handles easily even singlehanded, with
      the option of tiller steering in the cockpit
      or a comfortably sheltered
      wheel in the deck house.
      We have spent a lot
      of time around the
      Hebridean Islands and
      Vega has often been
      admired as an ideal
      craft for the sometimes
      less than hospitable
      Scottish weather
      conditions. The boat
      is not easy to obtain,
      but I can recommend
      the Vitesse highly if
      you are seeking the
      combination of comfort
      and good sailing.
      Irving and Cate Benjamin

For the many,

not the few

I have noticed a small typo in Graham

Snook’s article ‘Find Me A... £50K

singlehanded cruiser’ (YM, January

2018). The article suggests that ‘the

Beneteau Oceanis 323 might not be

the first choice for many and concludes

that the Victoria 34 is the best boat to

sail singlehanded around the UK. I put

it to you that the Oceanis 323 has sold

in much larger numbers than the Victoria

34, so while the Victoria 34 may be the

first choice for some, the Oceanis 323

is the first choice for many.

I must admit, however, that while we

have good intentions of circumnavigating

the UK in our Oceanis 323 each year, there

seems to be some magnetic force which

pulls us south to France each time we leave

Southampton. I also have to admit that

there would not be much use for the bathing

platform and transom-mounted shower while

in Scotland. Steve Collins

The oldies

are the

goodies

Am I alone in looking

at most new yachts and

seeing them to be boxy

and low masted with

cocked-up booms? Do

they have the ‘Row Away’

factor? Would you like

the look as you go ashore?

I’m not sure of the IKEA

look down below either.

Still, judging by my local

marina, few of the new

yachts venture far. The wide-open spaces

won’t cause a problem in a seaway as most

won’t ever experience it. John Connelly

Breaking the mould

I thoroughly enjoyed Holly Turner’s article

‘Great Expectations’ (YM, December 2017).

I note, however, that she was aghast on

finding the boat covered in mould and

mildew in the tropics. They had left the boat

for six months with an airflow through the

boat. I have seen this happen several times

to people who leave their boats ventilated

in the tropics. A friend of mine leaves his

boat, a Hallberg-Rassy 38, in Malaysia for

six months every year during the south-west

monsoon. Humidity and temperatures are

sky high. Prior to leaving the boat, he cleans

every surface with a mild bleach solution

and then seals every vent, hole, and any

point through which air can enter the hull

with clingfilm or masking tape. He also seals

all holes in the mast and boom. She is then

covered overall with a tarpaulin. The interior

of the boat is in immaculate condition on his

return. It proves that inducing airflow only

introduces damp and even worse, allows

termites into the boat. Angus M Macleod

Trimley Maid prior to

the start of ARC 2017

The Benjamins say the

LM Vitesse 33 is perfect

for Scottish cruising

LETTERS

In the tropics, cut out

airflow to prevent

mould and mildew

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