Catching up with Hylas H48 SV Sweet Reach

By Peggy Huang and Kevin Wensley of Hylas Yachts

Hylas has a great reputation for building luxury performance cruisers. Hylas doesn’t build yachts simply to look good—they build them to work hard. These yachts are built to explore distant horizons, eating up bluewater miles safely and comfortably. There have been many Hylas that have sailed with the Salty Dawgs which currently include two prominent vessels H57 SV Exodus and H46 SV Hylander. Another yacht that has been putting some miles in recently is the Hylas H48 SV Sweet Reach. After a few short shakedown cruises Wayne Warrington set off from the Hylas service center in Fort Lauderdale to take the scenic route back to his home in Hawaii. We asked him to share some thoughts about his experience so far. 

How do you find crew? It’s not hard when you have a Hylas, is my short answer. Up until now, I have called on friends and haven’t had to twist anyone’s arm to join me. The only problem with calling on friends is that they usually have a timeline. In reality, with the H48, I can easily single-hand her. Which leads me to your next question.

What’s the longest single-handed passage you have undertaken so far? The longest single-handed passage I’ve undertaken so far was from Panama City to the Galapagos, a journey of 1000 nautical miles. This leg was miserable primarily because of the weather. Almost no wind for most of the passage and it was very rainy. I can remember wondering why I bought the boat and questioning my worthiness as a sailor. But as Sweet Reach approached the Galapagos, the water became cooler with the Humboldt current and the air too. Winds picked up, and she raced to San Cristobal. I dropped anchor in the middle of the night with 20-knot winds. Thank God the Rocna anchor delivered as advertised!

I have sometimes felt as if I was single-handing even though I had a mate on board. Most notably, from French Polynesia to New Zealand, a 2000 nautical mile passage. The mate was seasick most of the time and miserable, making it not a super fun passage.

Any interesting stories? Near misses, rude awakenings, etc.?  Oh, there are lots as you might imagine. One that sticks in my mind happened when we were about 1000 nautical miles from the Galapagos, heading to the Marquesas. We were a crew of three. I was down below with one of the others, preparing a meal, when we heard a helicopter! We looked at each other, thinking, "What is a helicopter doing 1000 miles from the nearest land?" The helicopter circled us several times, close enough for me to see the pilot filming us with his phone. I checked the AIS, and there were no vessels in range. I hailed on the radio VHF but got no response. We were all worried that if the chopper got too close or banked away at the right angle and distance, we could easily be knocked down. After a few minutes, it flew away. Later, a fishing vessel appeared on the AIS, and I was able to speak with the captain. The chopper was a spotter. He asked if we had caught any tuna. I said no, only Mahi Mahi, and to please save some tuna for the rest of us.

What are your preferred motoring RPMs, fuel consumption, and fuel management?  If there is no wind, I usually keep it at 2300 or below. 1900-2100 RPM will usually get me 5-6 knots depending on the sea state. With that, I can count on about 1-1.25 gallons per hour. On the H48, that’s about a 1400 nautical mile range, which is a huge asset for passage planning.

How often are you running the genset and does the solar contribute much?  Evidently, not enough. If I have one regret with the build of the H48, it’s that I didn’t make it compatible with European shore power as well as 110V. Since leaving Panama, I've only been able to plug into shore power once, using a loaned isolation transformer. I also run the genset for 24 hours continuously once a month to prevent sulfation of the battery bank. As for solar, you always need more. During the first season, when the battery bank was fresh, I didn’t need the genset running unless I wanted to run the AC or wash clothes, which both require 240V. Only if I got several cloudy days in a row would the bank need genset charging, which didn’t happen often. At the beginning of season two in New Zealand, I added StarLink, which is a game changer but a major energy consumer. Combined with my fancy espresso machine, it really drains the battery bank. Therefore, I am upgrading the solar panels and trying to get new batteries shipped to Fiji—no small feat, I can tell you that.

Any piece of kit—electrical or otherwise—you think of as essential?  The bow thruster is essential and has saved me several times in tight marinas, especially during squalls. If you plan on long-distance cruising or extended time aboard, a water maker is also crucial. On the H48, I opted for more fuel capacity at the expense of water tankage. You can make more water, but you can’t make more diesel. The Spectra 400 watermaker is fantastic, and John Halden offers excellent customer service if needed.

Another piece of equipment I'm glad I added is the washing machine. Doing laundry in a marina can be a royal pain and expensive. As for fishing tackle, I’m a bit obsessed and have more fishing lures than Imelda Marcos has shoes. For the non-obsessed cruiser, you can get away with much less. There are several cruising articles and YouTube videos on the subject.

The only other thing I wish I had on the H48 is a Code Zero on a furler. The gennaker is my favorite sail, but it's cumbersome to deploy and douse. With the right conditions, it would be great to have an easy-furling gennaker to deploy more regularly.

In the end, while cruising on the H48, you come pretty close to having it all. 

Please contact Info@hylasyachts if you would like to view a Hylas H48 in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Happy sailing and fair winds!

Peggy Huang

HYLAS YACHTS                                    

333 Las Olas Way

Suite 321

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301                 

Tel  954 866 0750

Cel  954 648 8797

www.HylasYachts.com