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Bill Springer

Boat Review of Hanse 415 Cruiser

The Hanse 415 is superficially like a lot of new production cruising boats in the 40-foot range. It has a plumb bow, generous beam carried well aft, a comfortable cockpit, dual helms and a walk-through transom leading to a drop-down swim step. Like many new cruising boats today, it’s also designed to be fast and easy to handle. But as I found out during a test sail on Narragansett Bay last fall, not all 40-foot “performance cruisers” are created equal.

The Caribbean 1500: Accessible Adventure

When I asked Dr. Wayne Andersen why he has sailed his tricked-out Moody 54 Habits of Health in the Caribbean 1500 rally four years in a row, his answer made me smile.

Cat Christmas in the Caribbean

Our hosts, John and Caroline Charnley, and my wife, Caroline, were already swimming in the cool, fresh water, but of course, I just had to jump in from the “cliff” (about 10 feet high) above the pool.

Morris Yachts Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

The room went silent when the photo of Tom and Cuyler Morris flashed up on the boatshed wall. The classic wooden building in Northeast Harbor, Maine, was ground zero for a weekend of parties and raft-ups hosted by Morris Yachts to celebrate its 40th year of building boats.

Moody AC45

You’ve got to hand it to the folks at Moody Yachts: it takes guts to build two 45-foot cruising boats that occupy opposite ends of the design spectrum. Yet it’s easy to see the logic behind such a strategy.

Edgartown: Preppie Paradise

These days, instead of sailing on a small boat with college kids playing hooky from their summer jobs, I’m often on a slightly more comfortable boat with friends playing hooky from slightly more stressful jobs. But what hasn’t changed is that Edgartown remains the quintessential summer cruising destination.

Boat Review of the Hanse 495 Cruiser

Hanse Yachts sure has come a long way since it made its American debut at the U.S. Sailboat show in Annapolis in the late 1990s. Back then I thought its boats were small and unremarkable, save for the fact they were built in what was once East Germany. Hanse’s founder and chief visionary, Michael Schmidt, had big plans, however, and since then Hanse Yachts has evolved into one of the highest-volume boatbuilders in the world

Sail Wear Defense

You’ll never stop time, chafe and high loads from damaging your sails, but you can slow the process down and increase their life expectancy. Sun, salt, high loads and unforgiving rigging all combine to sap your sails’ strengthand performance. Here’s what you need to look for and what you need to know to fight back. Photos by Elizabeth B. Wrightson

All in the Family

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Coneys Marine on Long Island has always counted on the power of family.

Transpac Update

As the second fleet of starters get under way, a quick look at the tracker and the prep that goes into a race of over 2,000 open ocean miles.

This Atlantic Summer

Between the slow Marion-Bermuda and glacial Annapolis-Newport, there have been some real drifters on the Atlantic this summer. Still, however unwelcome for racing purposes, pure

GEAR: Fillet Away Fish Mat

Catching and prepping your own dinner while underway is one of those one of a kind cruiser experiences. The process gets a whole lot better with the right gear.

Marion-Bermuda Race: A Lesson in Tenacity

In her first Marion-Bermuda Race as skipper of a Navy 44, Nancy Rhodes and her team of U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen aboard Integrity stuck to their strategy—even when things looked grim—and walked away with bragging rights and an armful of silver. 

Today’s Trivia: Living Literature

In addition to having the trophy for fastest circumnavigation named after him, what other Junes Verne reference might be found in the modern sailor’s vocabulary?A)

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