Forty feet doesn't sound much when you just say the words, but it's plain to see that this is a big boat - it has as much useable space as a 60-foot monohull

It has been a while since I've sailed a big catamaran, so I was pleased to accept Nick Harvey's invitation to come to Annapolis for a sail on the new-to-America Lagoon 400. Nick is head of Lagoon America, and the 400 is the latest model from this French builder to make it over to these parts.

Most times I've sailed on the Chesapeake have been memorable for the lightness of the winds, so last Monday's forecast for winds gusting to 30 knots was fine by me. I like a good blow, especially when I'm sailing someone else's boat!

Even though the wind was blowing square onto the big cat's considerable topsides as we left the Performance Cruising marina on Back Creek, a bit of juggling with the two 40hp Yanmars got her out of the slip with no problems. It was blowing a good 18-20 knots as we motored out onto Chesapeake Bay, and we tucked in a reef as we hoisted the big square-topped main the easy way - using the optional electric halyard winch.

Nick Harvey hard at work-this is why it's great to go sailing with a Frenchman.

Out came the 110% jib and soon we were blasting across the bay, watching the boat speed hit 7, 8 and even 9 knots as a hissing, tumbling wake like that of a powerboat rose up behind the twin sterns. The square wind-over-current seas were big enough to tilt the 23-foot-wide cat crazily to one side every now and then, but it tracked resolutely and needed little in the way of helm-wrestling to stay on course. These were the most boisterous conditions I've encountered on a catamaran, and I was impressed at how easy the boat was to handle. It pointed better than expected and since the steering is cable, not hydraulic, there was a gratifying amount of feel to the wheel.

Nick told me that the designers have optimized the current generation of Lagoons not for high speeds, but for the ease with which the boats come up to hull speed. The thinking now is that cruisers prefer a boat that goes well in light air to one that attains scorching speeds in heavy air; that theory works for me.

Trucking along in 30 knots: check out that wake

On the way up the Seven River, Nick demonstrated another great virtue of cats: the easy interface between outdoors and indoors. With the sliding doors separating the cockpit from the galley opened wide, he prepared a terrific lunch of ham and cheese crepes followed up by strawberries and cream. The only drawback was that the aroma wafted a little too readily up to the helm station, forcing the salivating driver to divide his attention between the busy waterway and the galley...

Lunch was, in case you're wondering, excellent, and the view out over the Severn only served to illustrate how lucky Marylander are to live in such a fantastic sailing area. As for the Lagoon 400, keep an eye out for the full review in SAIL's January issue.