WIDE OPEN
My old Yachtmaster instructor drummed it into me: Never, ever, turn to port. He didn’t mean it literally, of course—sometimes port is where the pub is, and he was a great one for getting us to prepare passage plans between those pubs with the most challenging tidal approaches. But when teaching the Colregs—the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, to grant them their full, portentous title—he couldn’t over-emphasize the simple fact that if a situation is developing and both boats turn to starboard, all will be well. But if the other guy turns to port, you have a problem.
The day of my sea trial aboard Azimut’s Atlantis 45 dawned calm and mild, but
