freedom 30 sailboat for sale

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A collaboration between Garry Hoyt on the marketing side and Gary Mull on the design, and built tough by Tillotson-Pearson, this boat, while not quick in light air, is a total cinch to sail.

The Freedom 30 grew out of something called the “Freedom Philosophy.” Getting its start somewhat significantly in the Bicentennial Year of 1976, this philosophy has several tenets. One of the most arresting is: “They did away with wires on bi-planes half a century ago. Why do we still need stays to keep our sailboat masts flying?”

That philosophy was developed and broadcast by Garry Hoyt, a Finn dinghy racer who was struck, sometime in the mid ’70s, with a yen to go cruising. Hoyt found that the boats available to him all entailed unacceptable amounts of effort, complication, and unfulfilled promise. What he wanted was “sailing fast without mazes of stays, passels of deck apes, and piles of jibs,” and what came out was a wishbone-rigged cat ketch of his own design. Christened the Freedom 40, the new boat took simplicity so far that she was offered with a sweep oar instead of an auxiliary when Hoyt founded Freedom Yachts in 1976.

Oar power didn’t go over, but for the better part of the next decade Hoyt, whose first career was in advertising, designed, argued, and innovated his company into the spotlight. Smaller Freedoms like the 33, 32, 29, and 25 came along. All were shaped by the same insistence: “It is possible to go very fast, indeed, even without crew or complication, if you have a boat that is designed for the purpose.”

Experimentation with rigs like the cat schooner and achievements like the gunmount system for singlehanded spinnaker sailing spiced the argument. Over the years both the philosophy and the boats it inspired found their share of takers. But there were problems. First of all, Hoyt was running out of converts. Says fellow designer Bob Perry: “You can always tell the pioneers.They are the guys with the arrows sticking out of their backs.” Aesthetically, Hoyt’s early boats were “a matter of taste” at best. The original Freedom 40, in fact, looked something like a galleon. Some people liked it, but it was very different. Then, hassle-free sailing was fun, but was it worth a price premium? And not all the boats performed superlatively; some were tender and all were underpowered in light air.

Far from abandoning invention (Hoyt is now the principal of Newport R&D) Hoyt simply sold out to Everett Pearson of Tillotson-Pearson Industries (contract builder of the Freedoms).

Design The new management picked Gary Mull to do their first boat. A Californian whose race record (Munequita, a Ranger 37, first overall in the 1974 Southern Ocean Racing Conference; custom boats like Dora, Improbable, and La Forza del Destino; hot classes like the Ranger 22, 23, and Santana 22) was among the best, he was also a graduate of the Sparkman & Stephens office and designer of fast cruisers like the cold-molded Hot Flash and the Santana 37.

It’s interesting to contrast Hoyt’s “punch a hole in the envelope” mentality with Mull’s approach: “While designing racing boats I have never seen any reason to be particularly conservative and had no qualms even about designing the double-ruddered, keel-less USA [for the Golden Gate Syndicate] to try for America’s Cup. But for cruising boats intended to go wherever their crews will take them, moderation is the watchword.”

Mull’s first Freedom was the F-36. She retained the basic elements, but she edged a bit toward the moderate; toward “normal” looks and “expected” performance-cruiser capabilities. Mull (a non-smoker who died of lung cancer at age 56 in 1994) wrote in his design commentary, “We agonized long and hard about whether she was a cruiser/racer, a racer/cruiser, or what. Finally it came to us: ‘Why don’t we just call her a boat?'”

The Freedom 30 was a follow-up to the 36. The family resemblance is strong, and pillars of the Freedom approach, such as a freestanding spar, cockpit-centered controls, a vestigial jib (tamed via the self-vanging “CamberSpar”), and a dead-even balance between a daysailing cockpit and a cruising interior, are evident in both boats. Some of the differences between the two stem from their difference in size, but many of the design refinements form an interesting indicator of how Mull increased his skill at suiting the Freedom ideal to the realities of wind and wave.

The F-30’s light-air performance, for instance, is better than her big sister’s. Begin with an increase in the sail area/displacement ratio from about 19 for the F-36 to about 20 for the F-30—not a huge leap, but that sail area was put into a big roach near the top of the sail, where it benefits from the healthiest airflow. The F-30 also has an appreciably sharper entry angle, and a more efficient sail area/wetted surface ratio.

Freedoms are at their best in a breeze. The F-30 gets good stability from a generous (a bit more than the F-36) beam/length ratio and from a ballast/displacement ratio of 41 percent (3,150 pounds of lead). The long, relatively low-aspect ratio keel keeps the center of gravity from being as deep as it might be with a deep fin, however. The boat is stable, but we would hesitate to call her “stiff.” Yet the bend of the carbon fiber spar plays a large part in depowering the main and most of the heeling force is concentrated in a single sail; this renders her quite sure-footed. None of the many sailors reporting to us felt it necessary to reef in winds below 20 knots.

Mull used the classic aesthetic elements: stem, stern, and sheer lines; house front and roof angle; freeboard, and mini-counter to keep his 30-footer from looking as chunky as a tri-cabin cruiser might. At the eye-catching center of the design are her big house windows that serve to direct your gaze fore and aft and make the boat look lively. It wouldn’t rate a mention today, but in 1984 when naval architects were just starting to wring full power from their computers, Mull talked about using his computer design program to fair lines and create full-sized lofting, to deliver CAD renderings of essentials like the keel and rudder, and to run performance, helm balance, and steering evaluations. Whether it came from the computer or Mull’s own calculation, the designer eased the F-30’s center of lateral resistance aft a good five percent of waterline length in relation to where it would be on a standard, sloop-rigged performance cruiser. That subtle shift makes the boat (essentially a catboat) harder to spin into the wind—i.e. it reduces weather helm.

As Jim Donovan, a protégé of Mull’s, concluded, “Probably the most important thing I learned is that just the right, and sometimes very subtle, blend of the yacht’s characteristics will yield the better design.”

In the midst of the production run, Freedom added a two-foot swim platform to the transom and called the boat the new Freedom 32. The platform, which adds some dynamic waterline, is the only difference, and Freedom 30 owners today can retrofit their boats with the platform. This 32 is not to be confused with an older Freedom 32, a Garry Hoyt design with a cabin trunk that extends right aft into high cockpit bulwarks.

Accommodation The Freedom 30’s interior gets high marks. Wood is used judiciously. The ash ceiling strips lighten the cabins nicely. The aft double is not palatial, but it’s serviceable, private, and surprisingly well-ventilated. One sailor complained that the saloon double is big enough for “only one and a half small people.” The berths in the other cabins, however, are larger. A nav station on a 30-footer is often awkward or useless. Mull achieved a workable, realistic space with the stand-up area (30″ x 24″) right by the companionway, which makes communication with the cockpit relatively effortless.

The ice chest keeps ice for three days in the tropics, thanks to its 4-inch insulation. Reaching into it, however, entails leaning over the stove. The pass-through trash bin was one of the first of its type, and works well unless you allow sloppy trash-passing, in which case there can evolve a smelly mess in the cockpit locker, where the trash can is shock-corded against the aft face of the galley bulkhead.

Lined and louvered lockers, rounded corners, and well-placed fiddles show real thoughtfulness, but prior to 1987, interior grabrails weren’t standard.

The head is inconveniently close to the hull side and the sink drain empties (without a seacock) at the waterline. We hear that the optional shower “works fine,” but there’s no surplus of elbow room lavished on the head compartment. The bilge sump, however, is deeper and more capacious than average. The shower sump (with its embedded pump) is a nicety that didn’t survive more than a year or two on most boats.

Despite the large fixed windows, ventilation for head and cabin is adequate via nine opening ports and three hatches. Headroom was originally published as 6′ 3″, but is a bit less than that—still very good for a decent-looking 30-footer.

Construction The hull and deck of the Freedom30 are cored with end-grain balsa (making her quiet under sail and helping to minimize condensation). The fiberglass laminates on either side of the core are built primarily of mat and 24-oz. roving using polyester resin. Where local reinforcement is called for, it was generally done by adding mass with 1.5-oz. “Stitchmat.” Solid glass was used in the stem, the keel stub, and below the turn of the bilges. Areas for mounting hardware and at the hull/deck joint are also solid. The boat was among the first to have a composite rudder shaft. That eliminated corrosion and allowed precise engineering and material control in this high-load area. The rudder has two bearing points, one in the hull and the other in the short, vertical, “mini-skeg” that joins the upper fifth of the big blade. Responsive steering is one of the F-30’s strongest performance points; the rudder assembly has proven durable and trouble-free.

The free-standing spar is a Freedom hallmark. Tillotson-Pearson built the masts for the 30 using mandrel-wound carbon fiber, E-glass, and epoxy resin. We suspect that the original lifetime guarantee issued by Hoyt was a means of deflecting buyer hesitancy over this pioneering feature, but the spars have, in fact, performed extraordinarily well both during inshore competition and during offshore passages.

The hull-deck joint consists of an inward-turning flange on the hull. The deck is bonded atop that with 3M 5200 sealant, and the parts are locked by through-bolts on 6″ centers, joining hull, deck, and slotted aluminum toerail. It’s a time-honored system, and it works well.

Dave Pugsley, former marine director of the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda, and thus custodian of the fleet of F-30s raced hard and used year-round for more than 15 years by that resort, said, “The hull/deck joints never leaked at all . The only problem we had with the hulls was a bit of leakage around the through-hull fitting in the head, which we then fitted with a seacock. Some people also complained of leaks around the opening port in the galley.

“The biggest problem we had with the boats was deterioration of the mast retention system over time. That allowed the masts to rotate slightly, but we found that stiff mast wedges were a good cure.”

The boat’s aluminum fuel tanks have been something of a problem. Eventually, pin-hole leaks can develop where the prop shaft mounting bolts bear on the bottom of the tanks. Said Pugsley, “We just took the old tanks out, built small shelves, and put new tanks onto the slightly raised beds. It wasn’t as tough as it sounds.”

There appear to have been varying degrees of clearance between the shaft coupling and the stern tube. In the Bitter End fleet, after replacing the flax packing in several stuffing boxes after years of wear, Pugsley decided to replace the stuffing boxes entirely with PSS Shaft Seals. These “packless” glands from PYI ( www.pyiinc.com ) worked well.

“Another sore spot was the stop cable for the engine,” said Pugsley. “It came mounted at a 45-degree angle on the engineroom bulkhead, and thus it retained moisture and corroded quickly. Simply mounting it in a vertical position was the cure.

“In addition to being easy to cruise and great fun to sail, the boats are well-built. Call it ‘the ultimate testimonial’—I bought one myself.”

Performance There are some definite plusses to the unstayed rig. It lets you, for instance, position the mainsail where it should be when you’re headed downwind, rather than being limited by the shrouds.

Freedoms sail well by the lee before jibing. When you do jibe there’s a sort of an “airbrake” effect created by the large roach. Rather than slamming lethally across the boat, the full-battened main is quite docile in shifting sides. Certainly most sailors enjoy the freedom from grinding winches, the superior maneuverability and visibility offered by a small jib, the self-vanging “whisker action” provided by the CamberSpar wishbone, and the convenience of truly being able to “do it all” from the cockpit.

The big main can seem very heavy to hoist. Says Pugsley, “We found that rather than fitting any special cars, the sail slide solution developed by Haarsstick worked best at taking the work out of raising the main.”

Gooseneck straps are a fragile item. After breaking several by letting the boom swing too far forward, the fleet at BEYC installed boom limiters.

Says one couple who sailed a C & C 30 for years, “With our Freedom 30 we miss the big headsail upwind and in light air, but we sail faster and more often (and with less strain) in our new boat.”

With the close sheeting angle for its jib, the F-30 is surprisingly close-winded, and since she’s so easy to tack, going to weather is no chore. On the other hand, she will never do as well in light air and chop as a similar boat with a powerful overlapping headsail. “The boat has a fairly wide groove,” says Pugsley, “but you can’t pinch her. She’s got to be sailed freer than a conventional boat. She’s so easy to tack that on a short course she can do well against PHRF competition.”

When the breeze comes on, attention needs to be paid to the big main. “If you attempt to drive off without easing sheet and traveler, you’re definitely fighting City Hall,” one racer reports. “But the bend in the mast means that the main delivers lots of usable power without reefing or putting the boat on her ear. On the wind in big waves she’s at her worst, but no matter what the wind strength, she’s a reaching and running machine.”

Despite being crammed rather tightly into the engine box, the Freedom 30’s Yanmar 2 GM 20F diesel receives great reviews. Says Pugsley, “We had no significant troubles with them season after season. Access is good with the engine box removed, but the box itself is tighter than average. The standard two-bladed prop wasn’t quite as robust as I wanted, so I replaced it with a three-bladed on mine and don’t feel that sailing performance suffered significantly.”

Consider the oversized, comfortable, uncluttered cockpit, turn-on-a-dime steering, and effortless short-tacking, and you can begin to see what Garry Hoyt got so excited about.

Conclusions It seems on the surface that the Freedom 30 was part of a movement from the radical simplicity and mind-opening territory staked out by Garry Hoyt toward a more conventional middle ground. She has proven popular and successful. We would suggest that is because, on closer examination, she is not so much a product of developments in philosophy, but rather a creation of Mull’s brilliant design evolutions and Tillotson-Pearson’s solidgrasp of what makes a valuable boatand how to build one.

Production of the Freedom 30 and platform-enhanced 32 ran to 126 hulls. The original price of the 30 in 1986 about $60,000. As of July ’03 there are two 30s listed through the brokerage links at www.yachtworld.com, one for $48,900, the other for $47,500.

There’s an informative message board devoted to Freedom owners on the Freedom Yachts website.

Contact – Freedom Yachts, 401/848-2900, www.freedomyachts.com .

Also With This Article Click here to view “Freedom 30 Owners’ Comments.”

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I searched under “Freedom 30 cat ketch”. I do not think this boat qualifies!!

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History of Freedom Boats

Originating in the United States during the 1970s, Freedom boats revolutionised the sailing industry with their free-standing rig designs. The company was founded by Garry Hoyt, an inventive and passionate sailor, named his venture after his quest for "freedom" on the water. Hoyt sought to innovate and enrich the sailing experience by designing boats that were easy to manoeuvre, offering new possibilities to everyday sailors. The Freedom 40, the brand's ever iconic model, debuted in 1976 creating a splash in the sailing community with its innovation and execution.

As Hoyt began to reap success with Freedom boats in the United States, they received a warm reception on the foreign shores as well. To meet the growing global demand, a UK-based branch was established, extending the company’s reach internationally. Over the decades, the company underwent several ownership changes, each time further refining and adding to the Freedom legacy. Despite these changes, the Freedom spirit of innovative design and rich maritime craftsmanship persevered.

Currently, Freedom boats are produced by Tillotson Pearson, a company well-regarded for manufacturing high-quality fibreglass composites. The manufacturing base is in Rhode Island, USA, where Freedom boats continue to be built with the same dedication and ethos upon which this iconic brand was founded. Although Hoyt is no longer directly involved in the company, the brand maintains the Freedom tradition of innovation, designing boats that are easy to handle and exciting to sail. Even today, Freedom boats continue to thrive as true blue-water cruisers, capturing the imagination of sailors worldwide.

Which models do Freedom produce?

Freedom produce a range of boats including the Freedom 23 and Freedom 35 Cat Ketch . For the full list of Freedom models currently listed on TheYachtMarket.com, see the model list in the search options on this page.

What types of boats do Freedom build?

Freedom manufactures a range of different types of boats. The ones listed on TheYachtMarket include Cruiser , Aft cockpit , Offshore cruiser , Deck saloon and Sloop .

How much does a boat from Freedom cost?

Used boats from Freedom on TheYachtMarket.com range in price from £18,500 GBP to £89,500 GBP with an average price of £39,100 GBP . A wide range of factors can affect the price of used boats from Freedom, for example the model, age and condition.

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• Sailboat Guide

1987 Freedom Yachts Freedom 30

• Description

Seller's Description

Up for sale is a Freedom 30 Sailing Yacht. Built in 1987 in Rhode Island by Tillotson-Pearson yacht builder in joint venture with Freedom Yachts. Freedom 30 sailboat was designed by Garry Mull, a naval acrhitect and an avid sailor/racer.

This sailboat features free standing (un-stayed) carbon fiber mast with large self-tacking main sail and a fractional jib, making it a breeze to single-hand the boat. Although not a very fast boat (Max. Hull speed @ 7.2 kts), however she is best when sailing Close Reach. Long boom features Isomat Reefing system allowing to reef without leaving the cockpit. She is quick to turn and is a pleasure to cruise in.

CONDITION: Good to Fair. There are no leaks to the hull, all sea-cocks are free. Many improvements (and some repairs) have been done over the past three years. ALL NEW ARE: Furuno Radar, CPT Autopilot, New Horizons VHF, Stereo System w/CD/Bluetooth. Newly installed is electric pump marine toilet. Boat equipped with Hot water heater, there is shower at the cockpit and inside the head. Engine is Yanmar 3YM20 with 230 hours on it (Installed in 2017). Along with the sailboat comes an inflatable dingy that has aluminum floor. All running rigging is in great condition, many sheets and blocks were replaced. Boat is USCG registered and is current.

Cosmetically, some work needs SOME TLC to be done inside the cabin to re-plank the ceiling in V-berth and in rear cabin. Boat is suitable for LIVE-ABOARD.

Recent Updates 2024: Bottom Job done; new thruhulls installed, new Airmar Triceiver (Bluetooth capable, NMEA 2K) installed; Gori Folding Prop installed.

Equipment: Radar, Autopilot, VHF, CD/MP3/Bluetooth stereo, electric toilet, water heater.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Renamed FREEDOM 32 (here designated as FREEDOM 32-2) in 1988 (boarding/swimming platform added to stern). Shallow draft version: 4.5’

This listing is presented by SailboatListings.com . Visit their website for more information or to contact the seller.

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Ukraine war latest: Putin's huge air attacks 'cost more than £1bn' in one day

Russia has launched several air attacks on Ukraine this week, costing Moscow a reported £1.1bn. Last night, Kyiv came under drone attack for the third night in four days, with debris injuring people and damaging buildings.

Thursday 29 August 2024 13:11, UK

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• Monday's attacks on Ukraine 'cost Russia more than £1bn'
• Kyiv hit by third attack in four days as drone debris injures three
• Belarusian jet shot at stray Russian drone for first time, says monitoring group
• Ukraine heading 'closer and closer' to total blackout
• Battlefield situation: Latest frontlines in maps
• Watch: Who are Ukraine's secret resistance?
• Your questions answered: Can Ukraine advance further inside Russia?
• Reporting by Mark Wyatt

Ukraine's invasion of Russia's Kursk region will soon enter its fourth week, with around 500 square miles of territory captured so far, according to the head of Kyiv's military.

Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Tuesday that around 100 settlements, including the town of Sudzha, were now under Ukraine's control.

In one of his evening addresses this week, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said troops were still expanding their territory in the region.

Here, we look at some key images from the start of the invasion into Kursk.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not forgive Russia "for a single destroyed Ukrainian life" as the country marks the Day of Remembrance of Defenders of Ukraine.

The holiday marks the 10th anniversary of the battle of Ilovaisk, where hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed by Russian troops as they began to withdraw from the encircled town.

"This was a planned, cynical Russian crime that Ukraine will never forget and will not leave unpunished," Mr Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel.

"Today, Ukraine honours the memory of all its defenders. All those who fought for our state, for Ukrainian independence and sacrificed the most precious thing – their lives.

"And we will not forgive Russia for a single destroyed Ukrainian life."

Ukraine was forced to disconnect several nuclear power units from the grid on Monday after Russia's widespread drone and missile attacks on the country.

Kyiv's mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency has said the attack was intended to paralyse the operation of the power generation facilities of Ukraine.

It added that the attacks posed a significant risk to the stable operation of nuclear facilities. 

As a result of the attack, three out of four power units of the Rivne nuclear power plant were disconnected from the grid, it said.

Another nuclear power plant, the South Ukrainian, was also forced to decrease its output "due to fluctuations in the national power grid".

A fighter jet from Belarus attempted to shoot down a Russian drone that flew into the country's airspace this morning, a monitoring group has said.

The Belarusian Hajun group said this is "probably the first recorded case of a Belarusian Air Force fighter attempting to destroy a military target in the sky".

The group claims a Russian drone entered Belarus' airspace at around 3.30am local time (1.30am UK time), with two explosions heard in the country's Yelsk district around 30 minutes later.

The drone was said to be a Shahed, also known as a "kamikaze drone".

Sky News has not independently verified these claims.

For context: Belarus and Russia share a land border and the two are considered close allies.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Belarus allowed Moscow to stage part of the invasion from its territory.

In the wake of Ukraine's advances into the Russian region of Kursk this month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko he had stationed nearly a third of the country's armed forces along its Ukrainian border.

Ukraine's allies must give Kyiv permission to use weapons to hit military targets in Russia "sooner rather than later", says one of the country's MPs.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked Western leaders to let Ukraine use long-range weapons on Russian territory.

During his nightly address yesterday, the president said such restrictions being lifted would "help us to end the war as soon as possible in a fair way for Ukraine and the world as a whole".

This week, Sir Keir Starmer said there had been "no new decisions" on the matter, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying the same yesterday in Berlin.

Speaking on Sky News this morning, Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik said the situation across the country remains difficult and urged Kyiv's allies to speed up their decision-making process.

She said: "It seems for us that the only way to defend our people and defend our territories is to be able to hit Russian missiles and Russian planes at the start of their launches, not when they are approaching our energy infrastructure or our homes. 

"And this is why we need the ability to use long-range weapons to destroy Russia's ability to attack us. 

"It's a pure act of defence. And we hope that, sooner rather than later, our allies will understand that."

Russia is continuing its advances in the Donbas region as it seeks to capture the key city of Pokrovsk.

Civilians are being evacuated from the city, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the situation is "difficult".

The map below shows Russia's gains on Ukrainian territory.

On the eastern front, Ukraine's invasion of Russia's Kursk region is ongoing.

There have been Russian reports this week that Ukraine has attempted to break into the neighbouring Belgorod region, with Moscow's defence ministry saying the situation "remains difficult but under control".

The map below shows Ukraine's gains on Russian territory since its invasion of the border region began on 6 August.

 A lioness with shell shock rescued from Ukraine has taken her first steps outside at a sanctuary in Kent.

Yuna has psychological issues and coordination problems after debris landed near her enclosure in January, according to the Big Cat Sanctuary.

The three-year-old arrived at the sanctuary on 17 August but stayed inside her enclosure for a week before finally venturing outside.

She's now beginning to get used to her new life in the UK, feeling grass underneath her paws for the first time after spending much of her life confined to a small space on a concrete floor.

The sanctuary said before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she had been kept at a private home and was found malnourished and with severe concussion.

Read more here ...

Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure is taking the country "closer and closer" to a total blackout, says one of its MPs.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has caused £13.5bn of damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the Kyiv School of Economics Institute estimates.

Speaking on Sky News, Kira Rudik, who lives in Kyiv, says the city's homes do not have electricity for the "majority of the day".

"Even right now, I'm speaking to you all being on a diesel generator," she said.

"It's terrifying that still, by this point, we are unable to protect us from those vicious attacks in full. And Russia keeps bringing us closer and closer to that total blackout. 

"How we are going to survive the winter is unclear right now, because the weather outside is still good. But once it gets colder and people start to consume more energy, we will not be able to handle it."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in June that Russia had destroyed 80% of Ukraine's thermal energy generation and a third of its hydro generation.

But this week, he declined to elaborate on what further damage Monday's strikes had caused.

"I don't really like energy PR," he said. "It's not very helpful when the enemy knows what damage they have done. 

"Let the information about the condition of our energy facilities and what we are currently doing there be kept quiet."

The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, says Warsaw's allies have recommended it shows restraint over shooting down unidentified targets in its airspace.

Poland said a drone had likely entered its airspace early on Monday morning during a Russian bombardment of Ukraine, with the object said to have flown 15 miles (25km) into Polish territory, after which it disappeared from radar.

Mr Tusk was asked yesterday about the incident but said it was difficult to identify objects in real time.

"The problem with shooting down is often of a different nature," he explained.

"It is often a fraction of a second, which makes it impossible to check whether it is not a civilian object, whether it is not a stray plane."

He added that Poland's allies had recommended some restraint over the matter and said he appreciated his country's military for their "reasonable, balanced position".

"They are not interested in opening fire every time something moves in the sky," he said.

War crimes prosecutors have inspected the sites of yesterday's Russian strikes on the eastern town of Kupyansk.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian glide bomb had hit the town and resulted in deaths.

"There was a strike – right in the city centre, people were under the rubble. Unfortunately, there are fatalities."

The regional prosecutor's office said the strike had injured 14 people and damaged the city hall.

A hotel, residential buildings, outbuildings, cars, shops, administrative buildings, and other civilian infrastructure were damaged, it added.

Kupyansk is part of the Kharkiv region of Ukraine and sits 22 miles (35km) from the Russian border.

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Life-size dinosaurs, a candy store tour and more to do this weekend

Take a road tip to Wiscasset for art, food, car racing and a gargantuan amount of candy.

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One of many dinosaurs that will be at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. Photo courtesy of Jurassic Quest

Make no bones about it, it’s going to be a great weekend, starting with  Jurassic Quest at Cross Insurance Arena . Animatronic dinosaurs will delight the kids, who will also get a kick out of digging for fossils and riding on a baby dino. Another option in our weekly roundup is “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” at the Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick.

‘Beautiful’ at Maine State Music Theatre, Pet Rock in the Park and Jurassic Quest

Some of the candy available at the Granite Hall Store in Round Pond. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

For an even sweeter experience, we’re sending you candy shopping. We’ve shined a light on five shops  with something extra to offer and created a nifty guide of 18 to look you can find  all around southern Maine and the Midcoast. From giant shops like Sweetz & More in Wiscasset to charming places like the Granite Hall Store in Round Pond, there’s a candy shop out there calling your name.

These 5 unique Maine candy stores are a real treat

The Brackett’s Market 4-Cylinder Pros compete Saturday at Wiscasset Speedway. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Should your sweets-seeking adventure bring you to Wiscasset, we clue you into  several other things to do  in town, including car races at the Wiscasset Speedway.

A trip to pretty Wiscasset can also include art, history, speed

Bagel sandwich with eggs, cheese and pork roll from Dutchman’s Wood-Fired Bagels in Brunswick. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

Want to hit breakfast right out of the park? Make your way to Brunswick for an egg and cheese sandwich from Dutchman’s Wood-Fired Bagels . We’re particularly partial to the one with pork roll and bodega sauce. Your taste buds can thank us later.

Pork roll and bodega sauce on a breakfast sandwich? We’re not in Brunswick anymore

Ling-Wen Tsai, “Rising/Sinking Study Chair,” wood and milk paint, 12 x 12 x 5 inches. Photo courtesy of Corey Daniels Gallery

Farther south in Wells, check out “Life Forms,” a women’s sculpture collective at the Corey Daniels Gallery. You’ll see works by about a dozen artists as you make your way through the exhibit.

Women’s sculpture collective debuts work in Wells

U.S. Navy Band Country Current performing in Tennessee. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class April Enos

For some Sunday afternoon live tunes, head to Memorial Park in Freeport at 3 p.m. for a free performance by Country Current . The band is the only U.S. Navy country/bluegrass ensemble, and the show should be a foot-stomping good time.

See U.S. Navy band Country Current for free in Freeport

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