As president of the New York Jets football team, Jay Cross puts in his share of long hours. When its time to decompress, chances are hell be found out on the water. Thats nothing new. As a young sailor, Cross competed in 470 dinghies at the Olympic level and also designed and raced International 14s; in the early 80s his Cross III design was a world standard for the class. But his subsequent
The Mal 40 is the latest gem from a highly regarded Swedish builder of cruising boats from 36 to 46 feet. Like all Mals, this one can be customized extensively, an appealing feature for the sailor who has been around enough to have strong opinions.Its not a racing boat, but it is exactly the sort of vessel youd want for extended coastal cruising or ocean voyaging. Not that its
Youll find Opti-mists and 420s on many yacht-club docks, but hasnt the time come for a more modern small-boat design? Designer Garry Hoyt thinks so. His new H-10 is designed to be a stable, fast, and fun dinghy that will fill the gap between the Opti and bigger boats like the Laser and 420. To keep the boat light and easy for a kid to handle alone, the 10-foot-long hull is
With the launch of the 42-foot M42, it appears Morris Yachts is hoping to corner the market on the big luxury daysailer category. And if the success of the 36-foot M36 is any indication, Morris may be on to something. Like the 36, the 42 has easy sailhanding features, a self-tacking jib, and a painted carbon-fiber rig. It also has an elegantly simple, open accommodations
Even a short look back in time shows how accustomed we have become to luxury in our boats. We expect beautiful wood joinery, smooth fiberglass work, large electrical systems, sophisticated nav gear, electric winches, effortless sail handling, spacious living areas, and galleys that rival our kitchens at home. The Lagoon 440 has all that, and as the TV ads say, But
The fall boat shows in Newport, Rhode Island, Jersey City, New Jersey, and Annapolis, Maryland, gave us plenty to think about as we got our Best Boats program under way. We had advance warning of 55 new models making their way into the boating marketplace; this is a phenomenal number for a relatively small industry. Boats being what they are, there were a few no-shows, but there were more than
Proa designs are ancient, but theres nothing stale about HydroVisionss new proa-style Raptor 16 outrigger canoe. The 16-foot, 9-inch composite hull weighs a scant 40 pounds and can be rigged with either a 70- or a 90-square-foot sail, depending on your thirst for speed. What makes the Raptor 16 unique is the L-shaped retractable hydrofoil mounted under the ama. This foil
The new Dehler 44 is one of the first two of five new Simonis Voogddesigned Dehlers on the drawing board to be launched between 2006 and 2009. Its designed to be a performance cruiser with the focus on performance. Production got under way this summer only after extensive computer modeling was used to determine the optimum shape of the hull and appendages. It appears that the designers gave the
A 49-foot cruiser with lots of bells and whistlesBy Bill SpringerHead designer Glenn Henderson has redesigned the entire Hunter line since he arrived in 1998, and now, starting with the new Hunter 49, hes in the process of refining his redesigns. I jumped aboard hull #1 with Hunters chief tester, Steve Pettingill, on a 180-mile passage from St. Augustine,
I finally figured out what Swedes do on those dark northern-winter days. They have contests. Varnishing contests. Woodworking contests. Bolt-tightening contests. At least, thats what I thought after a close examination of the new center-cockpit Najad 380 from Sweden. On deckThe in-mast furling mainsail was beautifully made by UK-Syverson. Thanks to its vertical battens, and
Features include: • Daggerboards for upwind performance • Option for Integrel power generation • Versa-Helm serving upper and protected lower helm When you do multiple
You absolutely cannot make this stuff up! The true story of Thomas Tangvald—born and raised at sea, orphaned in a wreck and cast ashore at
You climb from your berth and start the stove for coffee, warming the cabin. You check your position, looking out the ports as the sun
Photo courtesy of Discovering Amistad, by Caryn B. Davis
Cruising the Maine coast in our own boat has been a long-held dream for me and my wife, Kris. Last summer we made it reality
Last year I was at a wedding of an old friend from high school. Near the end of the night, when the bustle of the
At 110 years old, the storied pilot cutter Jolie Brise powers off the wind. In 1851, the New York pilot schooner America sailed to England,
With just four boats still on their way, it has been a long road to Rio for the fleet competing in this year’s Cape2Rio. Larry
I first met Steve and Irene Macek in the proper way—in an anchorage full of bluewater cruising boats. This was in St. Georges, Bermuda, in
After a trial by fire start to the race and only a brief stop for limited fixes, the five IMOCA 60 crews in The Ocean
