Rollar

TypeSailing Yacht

Make/modelSail 60

Length60 feet

Berth8

Sailing from Italy , Roma

Sailing to General (Europe) , Sicily

Language spoke aboardItalian

Boat descriptionAn 18.30-meter sailboat in the style of the 1980s (reminiscent of a Nautor Swan 60), based at the Porto di Roma in Ostia. It features a cutter rig with three forestays (jib, staysail, and inner staysail), a ballasted fin keel with a three-meter draft, and sleek hull lines at the bow and stern—well-suited for sailing close-hauled in rough seas. It is a seaworthy vessel, fully equipped to handle strong winds and heavy seas. A boat that is safe by design • Weight and displacement. Thirty tonnes on 18.3 metres. A heavy boat reacts slowly to gusts and waves: no sudden movements, predictable motion, time to decide. • Deep keel, low ballast. With a 3-metre fixed fin keel, the weight sits well below the waterline. The boat heels at first, then settles and stays steady, and her righting moment increases as she heels. • Deep V hull. Round, deep sections cut through the waves instead of slamming on them. Upwind in the short summer chop she is far gentler than a modern flat-bottomed hull. At anchor she rolls slowly and progressively. • Cutter rig with a split sail plan. Three medium-sized headsails instead of one large genoa: every sail can be handled by hand, and as the wind rises you change sails rather than fight one that is too big. • Two protected cockpits. Under way you stay in the guest cockpit or the helm cockpit, and many lines lead there. A continuous handhold runs from stern to bow, away from the rail. • Redundancy on board. Generator, watermaker, radar, autopilot, and a tender with two outboards: one failure does not leave the boat without power, water, or a way to reach shore. • Build and care. A Swan-style yacht from the '80s, built strong for offshore sailing and in the same owner's care since 2000. Safety on board • We reef early. The boat sails at 10–15° of heel. Sail reduction is planned in advance for each wind range, and for night passages offshore we leave already reefed for the strongest wind expected. • Sail handling from the cockpit. Halyards, furler and downhaul are led to the cockpit, and the mainsail is hoisted with an electric winch. Going forward only when needed, never alone at night. • Careful weather planning. We leave only with a safe weather window for the whole passage and with alternative shelters already identified. Daytime legs whenever possible, with attention to wind acceleration zones such as the Strait of Bonifacio. • Briefing before every departure. Five minutes on roles, weather and plan B. In port, every manoeuvre has assigned roles and agreed hand signals. • Offshore and at night, lifejacket and harness are worn and clipped to the jacklines outside the cockpit. Three-hour watches, always in pairs or with the skipper within reach. • Equipment. Transmitting AIS and radar with guard-zone alarm for night traffic, a reliable autopilot with spares, VHF with DSC. • Man overboard. Boarding ladder reachable from the water and a lifting system using a halyard and winch, tested in port. • Maintenance. Before each season we check rigging, stay fittings and keel bolts. On board: dual diesel filters and spares for engine and autopilot. • Remote medical assistance through CIRM in Rome, the free radio medical advice service for vessels at sea.