IT HAD TO BE A CATAMARAN

I have owned, cruised, and raced yachts for nearly 30 years. My wife Anne-Laure loves cruising, but is not a racing fan. Three years ago our nest emptied and we decided to plan a sabbatical from work and cross the Atlantic. We sold our cruiser-racer, downsized the house and set out to buy the perfect cruising yacht.

I had plenty of offshore sailing experience, including four Fastnet races and numerous Channel crossings under my belt, so I knew I wanted a well-sorted, safe, reasonably quick and fun-to-sail boat that could handle the passages with ease. Anne-Laure was keen on space and comfort at anchor.

We quickly decided that a catamaran would be the perfect choice for us. Cats mostly fall into two camps: 'condomaran' cruising cats with big volumes, and performance cats with narrower hulls, daggerboards and liberal amounts of expensive carbon fibre. We'd previously chartered cats abroad and loved the accommodation, but I had been frustrated by poor sailing performance, especially in light airs, and limited bridgedeck clearance that resulted in waves slamming underneath in a seaway.

The performance cats are sensational on coastal passages