Put your shoes on, Captain. And button your shirt.” These were the first words I heard when we stepped ashore at the dinghy dock in Washington, D.C., on the Fourth of July, 2012. It was 104 degrees…
My eyes open after only one deep droning buzz from my alarm clock. I’m already half awake, my mind focused on a strange noise outside the shabby two-story Myrtle Beach hotel. As I stare at the cracked popcorn ceiling, I realize what it is: the sound of a northwesterly whipping through the small complex of buildings.
“Why don’t we find out?” I volunteered. Having a little chat with strangers while sailing can be entertaining, so I picked up the VHF and in my best French asked who was trying to call us.
There’s no holding back these multihull designers and builders. New designs are proliferating. Here are just a few of the latest.
By their nature, larger catamarans are exceptionally safe offshore. It is not unusual to sail through mildly uncomfortable conditions, such as a gale, only to arrive in port and hear sailors on keelboats talk of “surviving” horrendous weather. A large modern catamaran has plenty of buoyancy and exceptional roll inertia.
If you catch these cruisers on the other side, while memories of the Atlantic are still fresh in their minds, that’s when their sea stories are best, which is why we joined the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia one week before Christmas.
In the Florida Panhandle, Robert Burgess and his friend Doug decided to try a tricky weekend sail into a part of St. Andrew Bay, near Panama City, where sailboats never go.
You’re trying to decide the best way to rig your new multihull, or you want to replace the original rigging with something more up-to-date. There are a lot of rigging technologies available these days, but are they affordable and cost-effective? We spoke with two pro riggers in New England to get a handle on the latest and most sensible standing-rigging options
Multi-stage beach cat racing in the Worrell 1000, one of the most grueling sailing events in the world and remains the ultimate rush. A touch of madness is required.
When these sailors decided to take on the world, multihulls were their boats of choice. We talked to them about moving aboard, living on board and experiencing fascinating things along the way
Contributing Editor Christopher Birch’s much anticipated “maintenance manual that should have come with your boat, but didn’t,” is available now.
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.
