Adding Additional Area Aloft When Sailing a Cat Downwind
Modern cruising catamarans make it easy to head off into the wild blue…
Modern cruising catamarans make it easy to head off into the wild blue…
For three full summers I sailed the waters of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick aboard my little CL16 dinghy, Celtic Kiss, a Canadian variant of the UK’s famed 16-foot Wayfarer.
Picolé comes from Europe to Cape Town in a container, and my sailing partner, Beto Pandiani, and I arrive by plane. Back in 2008, Beto and I sailed an open sport catamaran from Spain to Australia in search of adventure and in the hopes of promoting clean energy.
From a family of five cruising the South Pacific, to a pair of exercise fanatics filming work-out videos on their Caribbean-based cat, to a solo sailor exploring the Exumas on his trimaran, these liveaboard cruisers decided that two (or three) hulls were better than one when it came to creating a life at sea.
For five years, Marlene and I have left Kansas City each May to board Different Drummer, our 39-foot Prout Escale catamaran, at the River Dunes, North Carolina, and set out for six months of sailing. It’s not always blueberries and chocolate ice cream, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

To celebrate the 250th signing of the Declaration of Independence, the international tall ship fleet is headed stateside.

A marine transformer with fun at its core.

The Cal 40 Nicole wins the St. David’s Lighthouse overall title, while Black Jack 100 takes line honors just shy of a course record. On the course: stunning scenery and a range of conditions. Off it: a scoring drama.

Good skippers manage the boat; great skippers manage the tension.

A spritely little cat that holds its own in a blow.

Analog alarms offer important feedback about how the boat is doing.

A friendly club boat with serious potential.

The lure of early-season boating is a beast with two heads.

A new four part docuseries details the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild campaign to defend the Route du Rhum title, available now on Youtube.

Eight Bells: Charlie Dalin