1 – Returning from a particularly hard winter sail, you meet up with your friends around a nice coffee and...
A ) You explain to them in detail everything you have just experienced, and how you did well in a situation which was sometimes on the limit.
B ) You add just a little bit. It must be said that your friends are all experienced sailors and to impress them, 35 knots is a bit lightweight!
C ) You try to explain to them in simple words, easily understood by the common landlubber, what you have just experienced, and why it was brilliant – while objectively what you are telling them is not necessarily very enviable!
2 – Your favorite sporting event is:
A ) The one and only, the hardest and the most mythical: the OSTAR.
B ) The Route du Rhum, the transat which leaves in winter and arrives in summer...
C ) The America’s Cup. The oldest sporting trophy still being raced for, since its creation, and the opportunity to see some incredible boats sailed by the best sailors!
3 – The red buoy in the West Indies means:
A ) Easy, it’s red to starboard when returning to the port. The opposite to Europe.
B ) Easy, it’s the ones you mustn’t miss when returning to Le Marin. Red to starboard when returning.
C ) Easy, and to remember, there’s the famous RRR (Red Right Returning).
4 – Your next mainsail...
A ) D4 or 3DL, I’m still hesitating...
B ) Square-headed main, of course!
C ) After having read the latest Multihulls World, I’m wondering whether a roller furling main wouldn’t be a good compromise for my program.
5 – And the headsails?
A ) Code 0 and Code D... You’ve got to have the essentials.
B ) I would really like to go for a big gennaker on a furler.
C ) A Parasailor, to take me peacefully across the Atlantic.
6 – For you, a boat must above all:
A ) Be a pleasure machine: a lively and essentially a fast boat!
B ) Be a machine which provides happiness: pleasant to live aboard both at sea and at anchor!
C ) It must be part of the family. We call cruising families by the name of their boat, don’t we?
7 – Aboard, what kind of skipper are you?
A ) Rather nice, but everyone must be in their place at the right moment... What counts is that the boat is sailing well!
B ) Very nice. I like sharing my passion for sailing, and enjoying life to the full, and this only works if everyone is comfortable aboard.
C ) I hope I’m a good skipper, capable of handling my boat and above all of sailing safely, for the well-being of my crew.
8 – For you, a voyage is:
A ) A dream you realize when you are retired, for certain.
B ) A genuine way of life. The voyage is your ‘raison d’être’...
C ) A real pleasure. Once you are able to, you like to set off to discover the world.
9 – When talking about cruising, we also mention voyages and therefore encounters...
A ) Each voyage brings its share of encounters. The harbor or the anchorage is always the opportunity for an exchange with other enthusiasts.
B ) Discovering the world is above all discovering others and different cultures.
C ) A big voyage in a boat is a total adventure which must allow you to encounter other ways of living!
10 – On a voyage in a boat, you like to leave with...
A ) My crew, some friends and even the family, when they agree to embark.
B ) Family, friends and even boat hitchhikers. Everyone is welcome aboard.
C ) My wife and my children!
11 – When talking boats, we have to mention...preparation, repairs, d-i-y! This is not always easy for everyone! And for you?
A ) The basis of cruising is preparation. This is what really defines how the boat will behave and above all, its performance.
B ) Preparing, maintaining, repairing... Essential aboard and even rather pleasant. And in safety terms, it’s the foundation: a well-maintained boat will always go far with a minimum of problems.
C ) I’ve attended all the possible courses: diesel mechanics, sailmaking, health and weather. I can repair both a recalcitrant engine and a broken leg!
12 – A good cruise is:
A ) Having found the right compromise.
B ) A nice moment with the whole crew, and arrival in a perfect place.
C ) The pleasure of being together, quite simply.
13 – If you win the lottery tomorrow, you will
A ) Be able to do the next Route du Rhum, and win in your category.
B ) Set off again in a boat for a voyage around the world.
C ) Buy the boat of your dreams and set off for a voyage with no fixed return date.
14 – Your best cruise to date?
A ) The 2006 Fastnet. The crew was on top form, as was the boat. Nothing to report, everything worked well and we won in our class. Magic!
B ) My first Atlantic crossing, with the feeling of having accomplished a childhood dream, on arrival. It was magic!
C ) Martinique – the Grenadines last winter. My first night sail and an incredible feeling when we arrived in the Grenadines early in the morning...
15 – There is no right boat unless you define your program clearly. What is your program for the coming years?
A ) Round the Island Race, Caribbean 600, and why not succeed in doing the next Rhum?
B ) Leaving in a few months for at least three to five years aboard. The aim is to sail round the world, but we’ll see how we feel...
C ) Leaving in a few years' time. Aim: a sabbatical year, or perhaps more...
RESULTS
Whether on a start line or in an anchorage on the other side of the world, there are as many kinds of skipper as there are boats on the water. Every one is of course different, and has his or her own reasons for embarking. But we nevertheless find a few easily identifiable ‘families’. So, are you ready to find out which ‘family’ you belong to?
Count one point for each answer A, two for each answer B and three for each answer C.
You have scored more than 35 points
A voyage in a boat has had you dreaming since you were young, and it’s time for the dream to become reality. And there is no doubt, you are made to leave, to sail and to enjoy the life of a long-term sailor. Your project is taking shape, and the departure date is becoming clearer. Don’t forget that the thousands of Multihulls World readers who have left for a voyage in a boat over the 30 years the magazine has existed, all sum up their decision-making with a joyful: “the hardest part is deciding to leave.” So, time to go?
You scored between 25 and 34 points
Passionate about the sea and boats for a long time now, you never miss an edition of Multihulls World. It must be said that our philosophy: ‘the magazine which likes to dream with its readers’ particularly appeals to you. For you, the boat is a (very pleasant) way of leaving to discover the world and its inhabitants. Open to the world, you have already cruised a lot and we would hardly be surprised to learn that you are preparing a new big departure. We hope you will think about sharing your coming adventures with the magazine’s readers...
You scored fewer than 19 points
You are a sailor and will remain a sailor. It’s hard to imagine you living in the mountains and only enjoying your boat for a few weeks a year. Because you are of course the owner of a boat or rather should we say an ocean steed? A beautiful boat, perfectly prepared for the open sea, and above all to show all the other boats on the water that you are...the fastest! The thing you like above all? Sailing, sailing and more sailing!
