On a crisp early-fall day, designer and builder Brian Bennett unfurled the self-tacking jib on the VX One Design prototype and we moved to the weather side, feet under the hiking straps, pulling the boat upright and effortlessly accelerating in the puffy northerly. Feedback from the mainsheet and the tiller told me to ease the main a bit. My first thought was, “Brian’s got it right with this design!”
In his famous novella Typhoon, sailor and author Joseph Conrad pokes fun at a character named Capt. MacWhirr who is obsessed with the quality of the door handles on the steamer Nan-Shan.
The Southerly range of beachable swing-keel cruisers from Britain’s Northshore Yachts has been consistently represented in the United States now for a number of years, which is a good thing, as there are many cruising grounds here where shoal-draft capability is a great advantage. Every time I sail a Southerly, I come away impressed by the utility offered by their ballasted swing keels and by the high quality of their design and construction
I have always admired Passport yachts for their beauty, performance and detailing, but stepping aboard the new Passport Vista 545 CC, SAIL’s 2012 Best Boat in the Flagship Monohull category, I felt an especially strong sense of déja vu. The boat not only shares a family resemblance to other Passports, but has the same hull and rig as the Passport 515 I sailed in 2008
Weaving through the throngs of boats anchored off Annapolis, Maryland, on the 14ft Topaz CX14, I felt like a kid again—a really giddy kid who had just scored a ride on a the coolest boat in the harbor.
Shot from the largest and latest in Jeanneau’s Sun Odyssey line, the 509, we bring you a stem-to-stern look at how the editors of SAIL complete a boat review. Follow Charles Doane on the 509 as you learn how we measure and make sense of a brand new sailboat.
It’s funny how quickly things that once seemed revolutionary can become the norm. Created by Farr Yacht Design and BMW Group DesignworksUSA, the Bavaria Cruiser 36 comes standard with an in-mast furling main, fixed hull ports to help light the interior and a sturdy drop-down swim transom.
Nacra is a transatlantic brand, combining the design expertise of Morelli & Melvin in the United States with the cat racing expertise of Gunnar Larsen and Peter Vink at Nacra Europe and Performance Sails in Holland.
The last iteration of the Hunter 33, introduced in 2005, was a big hit for the Alachua, Florida company. Its balance of value, volume and performance struck a chord with sailors
This hearty 40-foot cruising boat from Germany is one in a family of boats recently introduced into the North American market by a revitalized Bavaria Yachts. It sits on a dividing line of sorts: its larger sisters, the Cruiser 45, 50 and 55, all carry twin rudders to help control their beamy hulls when well heeled in a breeze, while the 40 and the smaller 32 and 36 do not. Unlike its smaller sisters, the Cruiser 40 does boast twin steering stations in its cockpit.
You may know Corsica as the island just north of Sardinia in the Mediterranean where, in August 2022, a violent derecho swept through with 140-mile-per-hour
You could argue that best thing about the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) isn’t really the camaraderie, the energy, or even the excitement of taking
We were anchored at the end of a narrow bay under glittering pink granite cliffs. A whiff of pine scented the air. From Belamies, our
Most sailors are well attuned to keeping an eye out for cold fronts, which can bring nasty, squally weather with strong winds and large seas.
Maybe you’ll remember back in 2014 when the Volvo 65 Team Vestas Wind, racing in the Volvo Ocean Race, slammed into the Cargados Carajos Shoals
“Why didn’t he point the boat into the wind to raise/lower the main to avoid tangling in the lazyjacks?” Ah, the comments section on YouTube.
Grizzly bears? Check. Tidal currents at up to 15 knots? Check. Wild weather? Check. This is the Race to Alaska (R2AK), 750 nautical miles of
New sailboats can make statements in many ways—sharp-edged performance, glamorous styling, cutting-edge systems—but sometimes a boat stands out because its form follows its function so
Inside Cole Brauer’s Race Around the World Twenty-nine-year-old Cole Brauer skyrocketed to fame after becoming the first female winner of the Bermuda 1-2 last year,
Olivia Wyatt let go of the shore in the summer of 2019, a decision slow to arrive that was part obsession, part dare, and part
