A yacht in Lorient, Bretagne, France

A yacht /ˈjɒt/ is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries. After its selection by Charles II of England as the vessel of choice to return to Britain from Holland for his restoration, it came to be used to mean a vessel used to convey important persons.

In modern use the term designates two rather different classes of watercraft, sailing and power boats. Yachts are different from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose, and it was not until the rise of the steamboat and other types of powerboat that sailing vessels in general came to be perceived as luxury, or recreational vessels. Later the term came to encompass motor boats for primarily private pleasure purposes as well.

Yacht lengths generally range from 8 metres (26 ft) up to dozens of metres (hundreds of feet). A luxury craft smaller than 12 metres (39 ft) is more commonly called a cabin cruiser or simply "cruisers." A mega yacht generally refers to any yacht (sail or power) above 30 m (98 ft) and a super yacht generally refers to any yacht over 60 metres (197 ft). This size is small in relation to typical cruise liners and oil tankers.

History[link]

An 18th-century Dutch yacht owned by the Rotterdam chapter of the Dutch East India Company. This yacht has the gaff rig and leeboards of the period.

Yacht ( /ˈjɒt/, from Dutch/Low German jacht meaning hunting or hunt, compare Standard German/High German Jagd) was originally defined as a light, fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries. They were also used for non-military governmental roles such as customs duties and delivering pilots to waiting ships.^[1] The latter use attracted the attention of wealthy Dutch merchants who began to build private yachts so they could be taken out to greet their returning ships. Soon wealthy individuals began to use their 'jachts' for pleasure trips. By the start of the 17th century 'jachts' came in two broad categories - speel-jachts for sport and oorlog-jachts for naval duties.^[1] By the middle of the century large 'jacht' fleets were found around the Dutch coast and the Dutch states organised large 'reviews' of private and war yachts for special occasions, thus putting in place the groundwork for the modern sport of yachting. Jachts of this period varied greatly in size, from around 12 m (39 ft) in length to being equal to the lower classes of the ship of the line.^[2] All had a form of fore/aft gaff rig with a flat bottom and lee boards to allow operations in shallow waters. The gaff rig remained the principal rig found on small European yachts for centuries until giving way to the 'Bermudan sloop' rig in the 1960s.

Charles II of England spent part of his time in exile during the period of the Commonwealth of England in the Netherlands and became keen on sailing. He returned to England in 1660 aboard a Dutch yacht. During his reign Charles commissioned 24 Royal Yachts on top of the two presented to him by Dutch states on his restoration.^[2] As the fashion for yachting spread throughout the English aristocracy, yacht races began to become common. Other rich individuals in Europe built yachts as the sport spread. Yachting therefore became a purely recreational form of sailing with no commercial or military function (see, for example, the Cox & King yachts at the beginning of the 20th Century), which still serves a broad definition of both the sport and of the vessel.

Yacht ensign[link]

Belgian yacht ensign

Some countries have a special flag worn by recreational boats or ships that indicates the nationality of the vessel. Although inspired in the National flag, the yacht ensign is not always corresponding with the civil or merchant ensign of the state in question. The US yacht ensign for example, has a circle of 13 stars and a fouled anchor in the canton instead of the 50 stars, being quite different from the the Ensign of the US, which is the flag of the United States.^[3]

Yacht ensigns differ from merchant ensigns in order to signal that the yacht is not carrying cargo that requires a customs declaration. Carrying commercial cargo on a boat with a yacht ensign is deemed to be smuggling in many jurisdictions.

Construction materials and techniques[link]

Until the 1950s, almost all yachts were made of wood or steel, but a much wider range of materials is used today. Although wood hulls are still in production, the most common construction material is fibreglass, followed by aluminium, steel, carbon fibre, and ferrocement (rarer because of insurance difficulties). The use of wood has changed and is no longer limited to traditional board-based methods, but also include modern products such as plywood, veneers, skinned balsa and epoxy resins. Wood is mostly used by hobbyists or wooden boat purists when building an individual boat. Apart from 'space-age' materials like carbon fibre and aramid fibre, spruce veneers laminated with epoxy resins have the best weight-to-strength ratio of all boatbuilding materials.^{[citation needed]} Many classes of small racing dinghies can only be built in wood to conform to class rules.

Sailing yachts[link]

A small sailing yacht

Sailing yachts can range in overall length (Length Over All—LOA) from about 6 metres (20 ft) to well over 30 metres (98 ft), where the distinction between a yacht and a ship becomes blurred. Most privately owned yachts fall in the range of about 7 metres (23 ft)-14 metres (46 ft); the cost of building and keeping a yacht rises quickly as length increases. In the United States, sailors tend to refer to smaller yachts as sailboats, while referring to the general sport of sailing as yachting. Within the limited context of sailboat racing, a yacht is any sailing vessel taking part in a race, regardless of size.

Modern yachts have efficient sail-plans, most notably the Bermuda rig, that allow them to sail towards the wind. This capability is the result of a sail-plan and hull design.

Classifications[link]

Day sailing yachts

Day sailing yachts are usually small, at under 6 metres (20 ft) in length. Sometimes called sailingdinghies, they often have a retractable keel, centreboard, or daggerboard. Most day sailing yachts do not have a cabin, as they are designed for hourly or daily use and not for overnight journeys. they may have a 'cuddy' cabin, where the front part of the hull has a raised solid roof to provide a place to store equipment or to offer shelter from wind or spray.

Weekender yachts

Weekender yachts are slightly larger, at under 9.5 metres (31 ft) in length. They may have twin keels or lifting keels such as in trailer sailers. This allows them to operate in shallow waters, and if needed "dry out"—become beached as the tide falls.This is important in the UK waters where many moorings are in tidal creeks. The hull shape (or twin-keel layout) allows the boat to sit upright when there is no water. Such boats are designed to undertake short journeys, rarely lasting more than 2 or 3 days . In coastal areas, long trips may be undertaken in a series of short hops. Weekenders usually have only a simple cabin, often consisting of a single "saloon" with bedspace for two to four people. Clever use of ergonomics allows space in the saloon for a galley (kitchen), seating, and navigation equipment. There is limited space for stores of water and food. Most are single-masted "Bermuda sloops", with a single foresail of the jib or genoa type and a single mainsail . Some are gaff rigged. The smallest of this type, generally called pocket yachts or pocket cruisers, and trailer sailers can be transported on special trailers.

Cruising yachts

An offshore sailing yacht

Cruising yachts are by the far the most common yacht in private use, making up most of the 7 metres (23 ft)-14 metres (46 ft) range. These vessels can be quite complex in design, as they need a balance between docile handling qualities, interior space, good light-wind performance and on-board comfort. The huge range of such craft, from dozens of builders worldwide, makes it hard to give a single illustrative description. However, most favour a teardrop-planform hull, with a fine bow,a wide, flat bottom and deep single-fin keel with ample beam to give good stability. Most are single-masted Bermuda rigged sloops, with a single fore-sail of the jib or Genoa type and a single mainsail. Spinnaker sails, are often supplied for down-wind use. These types are often chosen as family vessels, especially those in the 26 to 40-feet (8 to 12 m) range. Such a vessel will usually have several cabins below deck. Typically there will be three double-berth cabins; a single large saloon with galley, seating and navigation equipment; and a "head" consisting of a toilet and shower-room. The interior is often finished in wood panelling, with plenty of storage space. Cruisers are quite capable of taking on long-range passages of many thousands of miles. Such boats have a cruising speed upwards of 6 knots. This basic design is typical of the standard types produced by the major yacht-builders.

Aside from this fairly standard design, built in numbers and using methods approaching mass production by the large yacht-building firms of Europe and North America, there are some common variations to suit a yacht for a more particular role or to emphasise one aspect of performance rather than the wide range of abilities needed in a standard design. The classic 'long keel' yacht, where the keel is integrated into the lower portion of the hull and extends for all or most of the hull's length, rather than being a single fin attached to the hull at the centre, is still being built in small numbers. The long keel generally provides better directional stability , especially in rough weather, at the cost of greater weight, a narrower hull which decreases interior space and poorer handling when under engine power or in tight conditions such as a marina.

The Twister is an example of a long-keeled yacht designed in the 1960s.

Whilst the cutter rig with twin foresails was once the standard rig for most cruising yachts until the 1960s (when it began to be replaced by the two-sail sloop rig) it is now only commonly found on larger cruising yachts (usually around 15 m (49 ft) and over). Other rig variations are found on many different sizes of yacht such as the yawl, ketch, schooner and even unusual sail plans such as the junk rig.

A yacht may also be a 'cruiser-racer', which as the name implies is a blend between the cruiser and racing variants. This is often a builder's existing design with changes to the rigging, sails, keel and controls to provide better peformance. Some of the interior appointments may be reduced or removed to save weight.

The fixed fin keel is most commonly found on modern cruising yachts world wide but some are still built with twin 'bilge' keels or with lifting fin keels which retract into the yacht's hull. In both cases these allow the yacht to sit upright on the seabed in shallow water or on areas that dry at low tide.

Most large yachts, 16 m (52 ft) and up, are also cruisers, but their design varies greatly as they are often "one off" designs tailored to the specific needs of the buyer.

Luxury sailing yachts These yachts are generally 25 metres (82 ft) or longer. In recent years, these yachts have evolved from fairly simple vessels with basic accommodation into sophisticated and luxurious boats. This is largely due to reduced hull-building costs brought about by the introduction of fibreglass hulls, and increased automation and "production line" techniques for yacht building, especially in Europe.

On the biggest, 130-feet-plus (40 m) luxury yachts, every modern convenience, from air conditioning to television, is found. Sailing yachts of this size are often highly automated with, for example, computer-controlled electric winches controlling the sails. Such complexity requires dedicated power-generation systems. In recent years the amount of electric equipment used on yachts has increased greatly. Even 20 years ago, it was not common for a 25-feet (7 m) yacht to have electric lighting. Now all but the smallest, most basic yachts have electric lighting, radio, and navigation aids such as Global Positioning Systems. Yachts around 10 metres (33 ft) bring in comforts such as hot water, pressurised water systems, and refrigerators. Aids such as radar, echo-sounding and autopilot are common. This means that the auxiliary engine now also performs the vital function of powering an alternator to provide electrical power and to recharge the yacht's batteries. For yachts engaged on long-range cruising, wind-, water- and solar-powered generators can perform the same function.

Racing yachts

Inshore yacht racing in Sydney Harbour, Australia

Racing yachts try to reduce the wetted surface area, which creates drag, by keeping the hull light whilst having a deep and heavy bulb keel, allowing them to support a tall mast with a great sail area. Modern designs tend to have a very wide beam and a flat bottom aft, to provide buoyancy preventing an excessive heel angle and to promote surfing and planning. Speeds of up to 35 knots can be attained in extreme conditions. Dedicated offshore racing yachts sacrifice crew comfort for speed, having basic accommodation to reduce weight. Modern racing yachts may have twin rudders because of the wide stern. Since about 2000 water ballast tranfer pumps have become more common as have transversely swinging keels. Both these stiffen the yacht and allow more sail to be carried in stronger winds. Depending on the type of race, such a yacht may have a crew of 15 or more. Very large inshore racing yachts may have a crew of 30. At the other extreme are "single handed" races, where one person alone must control the yacht.

Yacht races may be over a simple course of only a few miles, as in the harbour racing of the International One Design; long-distance, open-ocean races, like the Bermuda Race; or epic trans-global contests such as the Global Challenge, Volvo Ocean Race, Clipper Round the World Race and Mini Transat 6.50.

Propulsion[link]

The motive force being the wind, sailing is more economical and environmentally friendly than any other means of propulsion.^{[citation needed]} A hybrid type of vessel is a motor sailing yacht that can use either sail or propulsion (or both) as conditions dictate.

Many "pure" sailing yachts are also equipped with a low-power internal-combustion engine for use in conditions of calm and when entering or leaving difficult anchorages. Vessels less than 7 metres (23 ft) in length generally carry a petrol outboard-motor of between 3.5 kilowatts (5 hp) and 30 kilowatts (40 hp). Larger vessels have in-board diesel engines of between 15 kilowatts (20 hp) and 75 kilowatts (101 hp) depending on size. In the common 7 metres (23 ft)-14 metres (46 ft) class, engines of 20 to 40 horsepower are the most common. Modern sailing yachts can be equipped with electric inboard motors in order to reduce consumption of fossil fuel. The latest technology are outboard electric pod drives that can also regenerate electricity (motogens). These motogens can be made retractable to increase the efficiency of the yacht. Some of these yachts are extremely efficient and do not need additional diesel generators. This technology is called Green Motion. Tests can be seen and read in the following magazines: Yachting Monthly, November 2010; the German magazine Yacht, January 2011;the Water kampioen from the Netherlands, May 2011 and in Voile magazine in December 2011 in France. The Mansura Trophy was awarded for this new propulsion system in May 2011.

Hull types[link]

Monohull yachts are typically fitted with a fixed keel or a centreboard (adjustable keel) below the waterline to counterbalance the overturning force of wind on the vessel's sails. Multihull yachts use two hulls (catamarans) or three (trimarans) widely separated from each other to provide a stable base that resists overturning .

Motor yachts[link]

Motor yacht at Gdańsk Bay in Poland

Classification[link]

Motor yachts generally fit into the following categories:

• Day cruiser yacht (no cabin, sparse amenities)
• Weekender yacht (one or two basic cabins, basic galley appliances and plumbing)
• Cruising yacht (sufficient amenities to allow for living aboard for extended periods)
• Sport fishing yacht (yacht with living amenities and sporting fishing equipment)
• Luxury yacht (similar to the last three types of yachts, with more luxurious finishings/amenities)

Propulsion[link]

Yachts moored at Rowe's Wharf in Boston Harbor

Motor yachts typically have one or two internal combustion engines that burn diesel fuel or gasoline. Depending on engine size, fuel costs may make motor yachts more expensive to operate than sailing yachts.^{[citation needed]}

Hull types[link]

The shape of a motor yacht's hull may be based on displacement, planing, or in between. Although monohulls have long been the standard in motor yachts, multihulls are gaining in popularity.^{[citation needed][citation needed]}

See also[link]

References[link]

• Origin of the yacht

• Fraser, Antonia,"Royal Charles". A number of editions exist.
• Gardiner, R & Lavery, B, "The Line of Battle : The Sailing Warship 1650-1840", 1992 (2004 edition), Conway, ISBN 0-85177-954-9
• Partridge, Eric, "Origins, A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English", Greenwich House, 1983, ISBN 0-517-41425-2
• International Sailing Federation Racing Rules of Sailing

External links[link]

• Sailing yachts database

Look up yacht in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yachts

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (April 2011)

Bernard Moitessier (10 April 1925 Hanoi, Vietnam – 16 June 1994 near Paris) was a renowned French yachtsman and author of books about his voyages and sailing.

In 1968 Moitessier participated in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a race to become the first sailor to circumnavigate the Earth alone and non-stop. Although Moitessier stood a very good chance of winning, he abandoned his effort seven months into the race, and continued on to Tahiti rather than returning to England.

Vagabond of the South Seas[link]

Moitessier grew up next to the sea in Indo-China and left it at the beginning of the Vietnam War as a crew member of sailing trade junks. In Indonesia he purchased the dilapidated junk Marie-Thérèse in 1952 to travel slowly further to France by singlehanded sailing. On the first leg to Seychelles he had to stop her from leaking in the middle of the Indian Ocean by diving underneath it.^[1]. After 85 days of sailing through monsoon weather he ran aground on Diego Garcia, because of the lack of navigational instruments and it took him three years' work in Mauritius, to where he was deported because Diego Garcia is a military restricted area, before he could sail again in a boat he had built himself. This he sailed via stops in South Africa and St. Helena to the West Indies, but on a trip from Trinidad to St. Lucia he once again was shipwrecked due to tiredness. Picked up and taken back to Trinidad by friends, he decided to go to France directly, as the only place he could earn enough to build himself a worthy boat. He was able to get work on a cargo ship which got him via Hamburg to France where he found work with a medical company whilst writing a book about his experience (Vagabond des Mers du Sud). He then moved to the south of France, where he married Francoise, the daughter of family friends, with whom he was to sail the world.

With the money from his book, he commissioned a 39' steel ketch which he named Joshua, in honour of Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail around the world solo. Finally he and Francoise left Marseille in October 1963, leaving her three children in boarding schools. After wintering in Casablanca they sailed first to the Canaries and then to Trinidad and through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos Islands. After two years of spending time in each of these places they arrived at Tahiti, which was one year too late. At this time they realised that they were running out of time and that there were just eight months left to return to their children. So the idea was born not to sail via the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal, as originally planned, but via the quick route, the much feared Cape Horn, which they completed by Easter, 1966. At this time it was with 14216 nm the furthest and with 126 days the longest journey of a sailing yacht, which made him internationally known as one of the bravest yachtsmen in the world.

Solo around the world[link]

Voyage of Joshua – "The long route"

Discussions between Moitessier and his friends Bill King and Loïck Fougeron about a solo non-stop trip around the world came to the notice of Robin Knox-Johnston who also started preparations before the Sunday Times offered their Golden Globe award for the race. Somewhat reluctantly, Moitessier decided to sail to Plymouth in Joshua to meet the criterion for the race of leaving from an English port, but left months after several smaller and therefore slower boats.

He finally left on 23 August 1968 and was off the Cape of Good Hope by 20 October 1968, where he managed to collide with a freighter in the process of transferring a canister of film and reports for the Sunday Times. A couple of days later Joshua was knocked flat by a breaking wave but he was able to recover the damage. A succession of gales and calm periods characterised his trip through the Southern Ocean till he passed Cape Horn on 5 Feb 1969. In all this time he got no feedback on the progress of other competitors from local radio stations.

From the time of calms in the Indian Ocean where he was depressed and discovered yoga as a means of controlling his moods, he started to think of not returning to Europe which he saw as a cause of many of his worries. The aim of continuing his voyage on again to the Galapagos Islands strengthened as he passed through the Pacific though he was determined to complete the circumnavigation first. Finally having passed Cape Horn he had a crisis when a south-easterly gale started blowing him north again, and his account of his thought processes before he turned for the Cape of Good Hope shows that he may have been very close to a breakdown.^[2]

The decision to abandon is instructive of Moitessier's character – although driven and competitive, he passed up a chance at instant fame and a record, and sailed on for three more months. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston went on to both win the race and become the first man to circumnavigate the globe alone without stopping.

Although he abandoned the race, Moitessier still circumnavigated the world, crossing his path off South Africa, and then sailing almost two-thirds of the way round a second time, all non-stop and mostly in the roaring forties – a total of 37,455 miles in 10 months. Despite heavy weather and a couple of severe knockdowns, he contemplated rounding the Horn again. However, he decided that he and Joshua had had enough and sailed to Tahiti, where he and his wife had set out for Alicante, Spain, a decade earlier. He thus completed his second personal circumnavigation of the world (including the previous voyage with his wife) on 21 June 1969. He then started work on his book.

It is impossible to say whether Moitessier would have won if he had completed the race, as he would have been sailing in different weather conditions than Knox-Johnston; based on his time from the start to Cape Horn being about 77% of that of Knox-Johnston, it would have been an extremely close race. His book, The Long Way, tells the story of his voyage as a spiritual journey as much as a sailing adventure and is still regarded as a classic of sailing literature.

Subsequent life[link]

It took him two years to finish the book about his trip in Tahiti, during which time he met Ileana Draghici with whom he had a son, Stephan. They moved to the atoll of Ahe, where Moitessier attempted to cultivate fruit and vegetables. Ileana encouraged him to move to America to complete films about his sailing but he left after two years in his boat Joshua. Joshua was beached, along with many other yachts, by Hurricane Paul at Cabo San Lucas in 1982. It was salvaged and restored, and is berthed in La Rochelle, France. After further travels, Moitessier returned to Paris to write his autobiography.

Moitessier was an environmental activist against nuclear weapons in the South Pacific. He died of cancer on 16 June 1994 and is buried in Bono, in Brittany, France.

Partial list of works[link]

• Un Vagabond des mers du sud 1960. Translated by Rene Hague as Sailing to the Reefs.
• Cap Horn à la voile: 14216 milles sans escale 1967. Translated by Inge Moore as Cape Horn: The Logical Route.
• La Longue route; seul entre mers et ciels 1971. Translated as The Long Way by William Rodarmor, 1973.
• Tamata et l'alliance 1993. Translated as Tamata and the Alliance by William Rodarmor, 1995.
• Voile, Mers Lointaines, Iles et Lagons 1995. Translated as A Sea Vagabond's World by William Rodarmor, 1998.

Quotes[link]

"You do not ask a tame seagull why it needs to disappear from time to time toward the open sea. It goes, that's all."

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present. In this limitless nation, this nation of wind, light, and peace, there is no other ruler besides the sea."

"I wonder. Plymouth so close, barely 10,000 miles to the north...but leaving from Plymouth and returning to Plymouth now seems like leaving from nowhere to go nowhere." (Written after rounding the Horn in the Golden Globe race.)

"My real log is written in the sea and sky; the sails talking with the rain and the stars amid the sounds of the sea, the silences full of secret things between my boat and me, like the times I spent as a child listening to the forest talk." (from "The Long Way")

"The geography of the sailor is not always the one of the cartographer, for whom a cape is a cape with its longitude and latitude. For the sailor, a great cape is both very simple and extremely complex, with rocks, currents, furling seas, beautiful oceans, good winds and gusts, moments of happiness and of fright, fatigue, dreams, aching hands, an empty stomach, marvelous minutes and sometimes suffering. A great cape, for us, cannot be translated only into a latitude and a longitude. A great cape has a soul, with shadows and colors, very soft, very violent. A soul as smooth as that of a child, as hard as that of a criminal." (From "The Long Way")

Notes[link]