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Imagine yourself on a beach, it’ssummer and the sun is settingover the deep blue sea… Aroundyour campfire, you take advan-tage of these moments with yourfamily before going to sleep inthe tent… Tomorrow, a wonder-ful new day awaits you: you willtake the helm of your little cat(or trimaran – delete wherenecessary) and head off to ano-

ther sublime creek where onlyyou can land, thanks to yourshallow draft and unequalledmanoeuvrability! You like thesound of it? Then you must havethe coastal camping virus…

BUT WHAT IS COASTAL CAMPING?

As its name indicates, coastalcamping is an activity in which

COASTAL ‘RAIDS’58A deserted beach, three families bivouacking…

What more could you wish for?

From Brittany to Corsica, via Scandinavia or the West Indies, coastalcamping is fantastic! (photo : Nauticaltrek)

Coastal camping:the pleasure of sailing,

quite simply!YOU HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT LEAVING ON A BOAT AND EXPERIEN-CING AN EPIC ADVENTURE WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY, FOR YEARS … WELLCOASTAL RAIDS ARE MADE FOR YOU. WITH A BASIC SPORT CATAMARAN,OR A MACHINE SPECIALLY BUILT FOR RAIDS, YOU WILL HAVE A GREATTIME! HERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS, FOR A SUCCESSFUL HOLIDAY…

You are leaving for several days on the water and a few nights

under the stars…“ ”

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you sail along the coast in yourlittle multihull (it works with amonohull too, but it’s not asnice…). As its accommodation isoften reduced to the simplestform, the only solution when youstop is to pitch a tent, either onthe beach or on the boat’s tram-poline. This way of sailing has(very) many advantages: youcan change your cruising area atwill, as these boats are easilytransportable, they are notexpensive, either to buy ormaintain, and cruises are quitefrankly economical - no marinasand no excessive provisioning...In short, a leisure sailor’sdelight!

WHERE AND WHEN TO GO?The formula’s advantage is thatno destination is excluded…With the boat on the trailer, youcan go anywhere you want to,from your ‘home port’. Even theother side of the sea, if youorganise your boat’s transferearly enough. Once at your des-tination, all you have to do isleave the car and the trailer in a

car park (if it has a guardian, somuch the better for finding yourtrailer again), and the adven-tures are yours for the taking. . Amongst the favourite destina-tions of coastal raid lovers, wefind Corsica, Brittany (with thesuperb Golfe du Morbihan), aswell as Scandinavia, Scotlandand its canal, the Adriatic andits anchorages, which are asnumerous as they are deser-ted… Finally, the only limit ofthe formula is your imagination. The cruising period is mucheasier to define: coastal raidsdemand real commitment fromthe crew. With little or no inter-ior living space, coastal campingmultihulls are more tiring andoffer comfort and protectionwhich is only relative. Unlessyou are looking for the ultimateexcitement of an extreme raid,you would be well advised tochoose the summer period toenjoy your cruise, and especiallyyour anchorages, to the full.

WHAT BOAT FOR WHAT TYPE OF RAID?

You would not choose the sameboat to go on holiday with thefamily in Corsica as for a compe-tition raid… In the family of raidor coastal camping multihulls,we find barely-modified sportcatamarans, sport trimarans,with or without a small cabin,and cats and trimarans withcomfortable liveability for asmall family, allowing you toavoid the tent on the beach orthe trampoline. All these boatshave in common the fact thatthey can be dismantled and are

easily transportable, to takeyou to discover the playgroundof your choice.

THE SPORT CATAMARANSFrom the Hobie 16 to the latestmodel F18, sport catamaranscan easily be adapted to raids.Over the last 20 years or more,Hobie Cat Aventures has welco-med more than 5,000 raiders,from Sierra Leone to theSeychelles, via Thailand orTurkey, on the good old Hobie16 or 18…

For a successful raid on a sportcatamaran, it is best to have amachine without daggerboards,and one which is not too power-ful. It will be easier to handle,and thus more comfortable forthe crew. The ideal is to have a

reef fitted so you can reduce thesail area. This is not always pos-sible, unless you do away withthe hook and replace it with aclassic halyard. In terms ofsafety, it is better. As for therest, some watertight containersfixed with elastics to the tram-poline will be perfectly ade-quate for setting off to discoverthe world… Note that a few ‘hotheads’ have crossed oceans onsport catamarans (the craziestof which has to be our friendAlessandro di Benedetto whocrossed the Pacific singlehandedon a 20-foot sport catamaran).

Which definitely proves thatwith a sport cat, you can enjoysome good cruising! Amongst the sport cats endor-sed by our readers for a success-ful raid, we find the hard-wea-ring Hobie 16, the Nacra 570(with no daggerboards and noboom – it is really ‘easy’), theMystère 5.0, KL Warp and theDart 18… In fact it is often withthe boat that is lying in the backof the garage that you will enjoyyour best raid. Note that in this family, we find

several sport catamarans spe-cially designed for coastal raids.There is the brand-new HobiePearl, and, especially, theAventura 20, which has justbeen launched. With its wings,its big watertight lockers in each

float and its rigid cockpit, it is aperfect boat for raids or coastalcamping…

RAID CATAMARANS

Here is the family of catamaransspecially designed for raids orcoastal camping, with a mini-mum of comfort and sufficientwaterline length for safety,which will allow you to envisagea few longer passages, andabove all, spending a week ormore with your family, indepen-dently. These catamarans arereally nice to sail and lively,

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Whatever happens, leave your bivouac even cleaner than you found it!“ ”

Any old sport catamaran will be good enough to use for a raid… And in addition, you will be able to have fun between two bivouacs!

Before leaving, you will have to stow all the food and camping equip-ment aboard. Not always simple!

Only a little multihull could offer you thepossibility of this type of anchorage.(photo : Nauticaltrek)

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78 COASTAL ‘RAIDS’60 If you want exoticism, nothing is better than an organised raid on the other side of the world… (Photo : Hobie Cat Aventures)

whilst remaining reassuring –ideal for sailing as a family.With a space to protect the chil-dren when sailing, these boatsare perfect for a coastal cam-ping holiday as a family or withfriends. The only problem comesfrom the fact that they take a lit-tle bit longer to assemble anddismantle than the ‘little sis-ters’, the sport catamarans… In this family, we find the VirusV8 (see the full test in the follo-wing pages), as well as, forexample, the Aventura 23.5Raid, the Bicok or again, theRaid 22 or the Twist…

THE LIGHTWEIGHT TRIMARANSHalf-way between the excite-ment of a sport catamaran andthe liveability and comfort of araid catamaran, there are thetrimarans. The Virus Magnum21, Astus 22.1, Tricat 22 Raid,Tricat 23.5, Multi 23 aremachines which are fun to sailand will also take a good load,including a family with all itscamping equipment… Easy todismantle, and transportable ontheir trailers, these trimaransallow you to envisage multi-plying the cruising areas, whilstoffering much better comfortthan the sport catamarans. The

The trimaran’s quality/price/fun/comfort aboard/ease of use

ratio is unbeatable…“ ”

Aboard these two Corneel 26s, a group of friends are certainly spendingtheir best holidays ever.

A brand-new sport catamaran, designed for raids: the Aventura 20.

RAID - INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

You have chosen to spend your holidays on a raid… Excellent choice! Youare leaving for several days on the water and a few nights under thestars… A real pleasure! When leaving for a raid, you must understand that you are going to beliving in the wild, far from any taps or water sources, far from any shopsand in almost complete independence, but without the reserves that thebig cruising catamarans offer. This demands excellent organisation, unlessyou want to see the atmosphere aboard deteriorate rapidly… Speaking ofatmosphere, you must also bear in mind that the members of your crew(and those on the boats you will probably be leaving with) have to get onwith each other and accept the idea of living as a self-sufficient communityfor these few days.

With this prerequisite understood, you are going to sail during the day ona sea which is always blue (we hope so, for you), perhaps even turquoise,always more beautiful, amongst fabulous scenery… Scenery from yourdreams will roll by, from arid or lush vegetation-covered mountains to she-pherds’ camps perched up high, typical villages, perhaps some archaeolo-gical ruins, or even a lagoon, and deep blue nightfalls, etc… If you arelucky, you may even see some dolphins. No need to continue, you arealready under the spell of this type of sailing.And then there is the bivouac. A beach or a little creek to yourselvessomewhere will become your shelter for the night. Be careful, dependingon the legislation in the country you are visiting, you will be allowed tocamp on the beach between sunset and sunrise, or you will have to remainaboard your boat for the night. Whatever happens, leave the place evencleaner than you found it. No trace of camp fires or rubbish. Think aboutthose coming after you. As a general rule, before settling in, have a walkround the area and talk to any inhabitants you may meet. This will give youprecious information about your bivouac spot and the risks you run, andoften allow you to meet some nice people.

For a successful raid, even more so than for any other cruise, it is essentialto have prepared your navigation meticulously. There is actually nothingworse than having miscalculated the length of a stage and finding yourselfaboard with the children freezing cold, and disapproving looks from theirmother. And I won’t mention a late arrival in a tricky creek, not sure whereyou can land… You must therefore plan for short sails and alternative solu-tions in the case of headwinds or crew fatigue. This will call for meticulouspreparation of your navigation and a good knowledge of each stage, to beable to alter your programme according to conditions. In certain places, youcan find a welcoming, protected beach easily; sometimes you will have tocover several miles before finding a precarious shelter…

Some advice: enjoy every minute, as these are moments which are all toorare, and some more advice: take as little as possible, you will need vir-tually nothing.

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quality/price/fun/comfort aboardand ease of use ratio is unbea-table. Moreover, the success ofthese trimarans on the market

clearly shows the public’s infa-tuation with this formula. Cleverboats for sailors looking for exci-tement and space!

COASTAL CAMPING MULTIHULLSWITH ACCOMMODATION

Amongst the lightweight, easilytransportable raid catamaransand trimarans and the big crui-sing cats, there are a few clevermultihulls which offer the easeof maintenance and handling ofthe ‘small’ boats, but with realliveability, which would be theenvy of many larger monohulls.Those over 20 will rememberwith affection their first sail ona Corneel 26, a Drop 26 orStiletto 27… Today we find afew catamarans on the marketwhich meet the needs of thosewho want above all to enjoy thepleasures of sailing, without

having the problems that gowith too big a boat. Amongst the catamarans, thereis for example the Edel 4xCat 28or again, the Aventura 28,whilst amongst the trimaransyou will easily find somethingto have fun aboard, with theTriptyque 22, Tricat 25, oragain, the Corsair Sprint 750.Boats capable of taking youcoastal cruising over a long dis-tance, for a long time, with agood level of comfort. We’re stilltalking about coastal camping,of course, but at a three starlevel…

And with a bit of luck, you will be able to sail close to the dolphins…

Essential equipment for a safe raid:

Essential equipment for a safe raid:In addition to everyone’s personal comfort elements, and for obvious safety reasons, equip yourselves with at least:

- A folding knife- A means of communication: VHF or portable telephone

- A waterproof torch- A lifejacket for each crew member

- A long line (minimum 15m) with a good attachment point, for towing the boat- A serious anchor warp and a good quality anchor

- A paddle (at least)- A chart of your cruising area

- A GPS and a hand bearing compass- A pair of binoculars, an anemometer, hand flares, a first-aid kit and a radio for receiving weather forecasts…

- A watertight bag in which to keep papers and money, as well as the VHF or portable telephone.

A raid can also be extreme: here is Alessandro di Benedetto duringhis singlehanded crossing of the Pacific…

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