Matching the demands and the solutions for winched control of loaded lines onboard any sailboat present a challenge to find the perfect fit. For any boat over 25ft in length you need the speed, power and geared mechanical advantage that only a winch can provide, but this comes at a cost: weight, reliability, maintenance, physical footprint, installation hassle and price of the unit itself can be mitigating factors in selecting the right winch for the job…

And even when all other requirements are right in the selection, there will be circumstances when you need both speed and power from the same device. Achieving both efficiently is another significant challenge, because the more gears needed to meet the speed and power requirements, the more the size, weight, complication and operating difficulty of the winch.

Without resorting to electric or hydraulic power sources, Pontos has devised a new twist on this age-old conundrum by introducing a product line of new four-speed winches that offer a geared solution to balancing line speed with power in a manually operated device.

Called the Grinder and the Trimmer, these devices offer a clutched method to allow the operator to automatically change the gearing based purely on the loads on the line, similar in manner to how the gearing in an automobile transmission will change when the load changes on the car. This represents an ideal solution for when there are limited crew, cockpit space and resources to invest in multiple winches or a pedestaldriven system. With three sizes available, Pontos offers a perfect solution for boats 30-45ft in length, the most popular size range in recreational sailing.

The secret to the success of the Pontos design is in the inner clutch mechanism that activates a second range of gears when the line is loaded, thus offering four speeds rather than just two. For high-speed applications on raceboats, the Grinder offers stunningly fast line recovery speeds: putting an effort of only 16kg into the winch handle in the first of the two high-speed gears sheets in 70cm of line with each turn of the winch handle. Once the slack is in and the line starts to load, the Grinder moves automatically up into the standard third and fourth gears to complete the operation.

The choreography of the typical tacking manoeuvre, for example, is now made much easier and more efficient with the Grinder, especially for the shorthanded crew, because it is no longer necessary to sheet in by hand, load the tail into the self-tailer and then activate the geared power of the winch. Now you can anticipate the tack by pre-loading the self-tailer and win back those critical seconds when the sheet is starting to load but the sail is not yet trimmed in place.

Achieving this efficiency in tacking with a conventional winch requires countless hours of practising with a skilled team of two or more on the task… with the Grinder this can be achieved by one person after a few turns.

The Grinder can also be a great solution for use in halyards where initial speed is important in raising the sail, followed by high loads when making fine adjustments in the trim.

For scenarios where speed in line recovery is not as important as having less load on the handle in top gear, the Trimmer is again an excellent solution. Whereas ordinary twospeed winches necessitate an effort of 16kg on the handle, the Trimmer was developed by Pontos to function with an effort of only 8kg. Tests have shown that while an average man can develop a force of 16kg momentarily, he usually cannot, unless he is highly trained, maintain that effort for the full 30 seconds or so required to complete a manoeuvre.

In these scenarios some resort to electric drives, with their added weight, complication and expense, but with the Trimmer there is no longer any need to resort to this to get more comfort. Halving the winch handle load now allows a greater variety of crew to join in the manoeuvre, making the activity more accessible to family, friends and others who are not highly trained in sailing.

Sailors are the best salesmen for innovation, and here is what Loïck Peyron has said about the Pontos winches on his own 39ft Walter Greenedesigned trimaran Happy:

‘Pontos has reinvented winch technology, working on new ideas in areas that we thought were definitive, but never quite are. Pontos has come up with a real innovation. We have the same philosophy when working for the America’s Cup. The main principles in winch design have been established over the years, thanks to the America’s Cup, and I believe Pontos has gone one step further, bringing simplicity and ease of use, corresponding exactly to the size and specificity of my multihull.

‘My idea of a simple and easy deck layout true to Happy’s early design matches perfectly the Pontos philosophy. I like to try new things. And a four-speed winch without extra buttons sounded exciting. In the America’s Cup we spend an enormous amount of time searching for maximum efficiency. Pontos, with its Grinder or Trimmer model, brings us some very well thought out simplicity. It does take a little time to adapt to it, but the principle works beautifully. I could have chosen any type of winch, but on Happy Pontos is providing me with a simpler, easier, more streamlined boat. All the people who’ve sailed with me so far just love Pontos.

‘I think it’s fantastic that Darryl Spurling and Michel Chenon have had the courage to bring change to this niche. They’ve made a revolution in the village. Their approach is intelligent and very well thought out. I like their way of thinking…’

And Peyron is not the only fan: nearly 20 per cent of the Class40s and Rhum Class of the 2014 Route du Rhum chose to upgrade to Pontos winches. The ‘revolution in the village’ is spreading fast…

Click here for more information on Pontos»

If, like many people, your serious racing hours decrease in direct proportion to the increased hours you spend at the desk, fitting in a winter race escape has become harder than ever. If that sounds familiar then the plug-and-play solution of race charter is a great option for winter re-energising.

If you’ve already experienced any of the key regattas on the Caribbean circuit you’ll know that the charter fleets are expanding in both number and range. Today the wide variety of Caribbean regattas is now well matched by the vast number and variety of boats available for charter – from wallowing to warp speed – from family friendly to first to finish. A range of options is now available throughout the Caribbean regatta circuit.

Crew choice can be just as diverse – from the many bareboat options to an Olympic coach as skipper with a pro crew. Within what is now a relatively mature market all options are now in place. And not only do all options exist at the events themselves – but they are also often available on the far from unpleasant offshore passages between events.

The Caribbean Sailing Association has done a lot of work around easing out the regatta calendar to minimise overlap of similar events on the circuit, primarily to ensure that hardened race junkies can maximise the number of events they can race in a season (check out the full calendar at www.caribbean-sailing.com). So whether you have time for only one event, or plan to head down and pick up two or three regattas around the same window in the calendar there is a lot of well-structured and well-managed racing on offer.

Race charter is the growing trend whether it be whole boat or individual berths (head boat charter), with many mainly UKbased companies now taking in the entire circuit. A substantial proportion of the boats arrive in the Caribbean each winter via the ARC Race, following which they have a few weeks to rest up and get the boat race-ready before receiving guests for the first regatta which is the Mount Gay Rum Race Series in January… There then follows a well-spaced stream of attractive events concluding with Antigua Sailing Week at the end of April.

Although modern charter packages inevitably vary slightly from boat to boat and company to company, generally they all now include one to two training days, entry and berthing fees, yacht, fuel, water and gas costs. Accommodation will depend on the size of the crew and boat type – typically in large crews some will stay onboard and some on shore. All the race charter companies are also now able to organise or certainly recommend great places to stay (and eat), with many companies going as far as to offer completely bespoke packages right down to including customised race gear (you have to have the T-shirt, right?).

It’s also worth getting in touch with the regatta offices themselves as many, if not all, already offer a full concierge service and will happily give you the inside scoop on the best marina spots, accommodation, transport and local service providers. Remember their entire objective is to get you to their event and to then ensure you enjoy it so much that you come back and tell your friends to come as well. So be sure to use the support that is on offer (and always provide feedback during and after the event).

Once you have chosen the event or events you wish to compete in, it is then a question of selecting a boat and charter company. Before taking this next step make sure that you have clearly defined your team’s priorities and be clear with the charter company on the type of boat you are looking for... and your team’s experience level.

Finally, ensure that you enter events where you will find competitive classes of like-minded sailors… after which it is just down to enjoying our consistent trade winds and glorious weather conditions! On the following pages we’ve listed some of our charter members that you might like to consider.

Click here for more information on Carribean Sailing Association»

Patrice Carpentier catches up with developments at the prodigiously successful Archambault shipyard

From the first days when Thomas Duhen went to sea on a sailing boat in Brittany in his early teens it was a point of no return: a passion was born. From that day onward any vacation, in any season, could only be taken on a sailing boat, first from Camaret, then from Dahouët, an ideal departure point for the Channel Islands, Cornwall, and up to Ireland, via the Scilly Isles and the famous Fastnet Rock.

What could be a better place to spend his Christmas holidays but sailing upwind between the Skelligs and Kenmare River? A sailing instructor at 14, skipper at 16, when the time came to decide on a career, surely the naval architecture of sailing boats was the only possible choice? However… with no dedicated school existing in France back in 1975, it was felt that an engineering degree would at least provide the young Duhen with a good starting point.

By his graduation in 1980 Duhen’s ‘simple’ desire to sail had become as strong as his original ambition to design boats. So now what was the fastest way to acquire what was to his mind the ultimate cruising boat, a sturdy aluminium Romanée, and still be able to live his passion? Working in the offshore oil drilling industry, which offered good income, work by the sea… and plenty of free time for sailing between those long stints offshore.

That Romanée, built in aluminium by Pouvreau to a Philippe Harlé design, was indeed acquired after just one year of very hard work and careful saving, and any free time would from now on be spent onboard, hopping between ports of call during each vacation period. But coastal hopping was never ever really enough, and Duhen’s cruising horizons steadily expanded as far as Africa, Dubai and eventually Brazil… with a Brazilian wife and in turn family somehow being recruited along the way!

Jocelyn Blériot catches up with Armel le Cléac’h… about what might have been and about what is assuredly yet to come

With arguably the best adapted and most proven shorthanded ‘Ultime’ multihull, Armel Le Cléac’h could legitimately dream of a Route du Rhum triumph, which would have beautifully concluded his 2014 string of offshore solo successes. Yet if instead of a Caribbean cocktail he had to stick to Breton cider, the man himself still has plenty to look forward to – the next Vendée Globe being top of his list.

We caught up with Armel just as he was taking delivery of the latest addition to the Banque Populaire fleet, a diminutive multihull that undoubtedly will provide an interesting visual counterpoint to her big sister in Lorient, where the team is based. ‘We’ve just received our new Diam24 trimaran, she was being hoisted onto the trailer as the phone rang,’ explained the skipper.

‘We’ll be doing Spi-Ouest France on her plus a couple of other events, but not the Tour Voile [of which the Diam24 is the new official one-design], as we’re launching our new Imoca 60 in March and will be busy putting her through her paces this summer,’ added Armel before admitting in his usual straight-talking manner that ‘It’s good to have such a big milestone to look forward to, it certainly helps me get over the disappointment of the Rhum affair… that has been a tough one.’

If most of us will mainly recall Mr Peyron’s outstanding performance and the great teamwork that made it possible, from Armel’s point of view things are obviously slightly different and leave an aftertaste of a job half-done – not to mention the sheer frustration which is in direct proportion to the man’s immense competitive spirit. ‘It was a stupid domestic accident. I cut myself quite badly, damaging a tendon and a nerve. It required surgery, and straight after the operation the surgeons told me that basically I’d have to get used to the idea that I would not be on the Rhum startline.