October/November 2021

Sail

SAIL is the magazine of record on sailing.

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PRESIDENT GARY DE SANCTIS PRINCIPAL EDITOR ADAM CORT MANAGING EDITOR LYDIA MULLAN WEB EDITOR EMME HURLEY CRUISING EDITOR CHARLES J. DOANE TECHNICAL EDITOR JAY E. PARIS ELECTRONICS EDITOR BEN ELLISON CHARTER EDITOR ZUZANA PROCHAZKA CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
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The Sailing Scene
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Feedback
enjoyed your article on displacement (Setting Sail, July/Aug). The comment that brought it home most thoroughly was “dance with the waves.” I’ve owned four boats here on the West Coast, starting with a Victory 21, and progressing(?) through a Columbi
Sail6 min read
Bill Tilman’s Simple Sailing
Like an ostrich on a bad day, I’m head-down in the lazarette of Nellie, my Beneteau First 42, dealing with the propane tank. My wife taps me on the shoulder, and I rise to see a pair of foiling catamarans accelerating onto their carbon-fiber wings. A
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Miracle On Ice
I was preparing some tea just before heading topside for my watch. Even though it was summertime, the tea was not iced—it was hot. Th at’s because our boat was in the High Arctic. We were trying to complete a westbound transit of the treacherous Nort
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Cruising Tips
Keeping a tiller-steered yacht on course in an awkward sea at night can be like trying to achieve straight, level flight on a gusty day in a World War I biplane. In fact, teaching a novice to steer a compass course has driven strong men to drink. If
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Drop the Chute!
There’s nothing like being in the right place at the right time when you’re a sailing photographer. Here, the foredeck crew for the ClubSwan 36 Cetilar-Vitamina has the best view in the house as the boat’s spinnaker comes streaming down like an enorm
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Where to Now?
It’s official, not only is the United States no longer an Olympic power when it comes to sailing, it’s fast beginning look like an also ran—albeit an also-ran with loads of potential. What other conclusion is there to draw from the fact that for the
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Life Begins at 40
For all the consolidation in the boatbuilding world in recent years, there remains plenty of variety out there, as can be seen in these two new monohulls. The products of two very different boatbuilders, they also offer two very different takes on pe
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Eight Bells: Bruce Kirby, Creator of the Laser
With 2021 drawing to a close, Laser sailors find themselves reflecting on both their class’s 50th anniversary, and the passing of the man who made it all possible: Canadian designer, sailor and sailing journalist, Bruce Kirby. Kirby, who died this pa
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Eating Well at Sea
Following a taco dinner and brief nap at anchor, the Swan 59 Icebear set sail from Falmouth, Antigua, weighing anchor at about 20 minutes to midnight. The first passage of the season had begun. As Icebear’s chief mate, one of my responsibilities is s
Sail5 min read
Trailer Travails in Miami
Gragkkkk! Schschs! These are NOT the sounds you want to hear as you trailer your boat to the launch ramp. I was about a mile away from the ramp at the time, and looking in the rearview mirror I immediately noticed Betty Jane, my 1982 Mystic 20 Catboa
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Gear
B&G has launched a new app that syncs with its chartplotters and brings your navigation dashboard straight to your phone or tablet. Both free and paid versions are available with features like manual and auto routing; charts from C-MAP; weather overl
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Corsair 880
I’ve often written in boat reviews over the years that pretty much any boat sails well in 15 knots of breeze (typically as a word of explanation as to why sail trials done in drifting conditions are as relevant as those done in a small gale). However
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Leopard 42
Sticking with its proven design formula, but also cherry-picking a number of popular features from some of its other recent models, Leopard Catamarans has launched a “best of” package with this new boat that sold nearly 30 units before hull #1 even t
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Hanging Loose in Loreto
Chartening and the notion of going “off the beaten path” may sound self-contradictory. Charter companies tend to put bases where demand is high and they can turn a profit, so if you’re lucky enough to find an outfit and a destination that gets away f
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Exploring The Exumas
I typically don’t ask the crew about their favorite parts of a charter until it’s done. After all, how can you pick a highlight on, say, Day 2? I broke that rule, though, on a recent sail through the Exumas, the chain of Bahamian islands that extends
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Are You Ready To Bareboat?
Judging your own readiness is never easy. Th at goes double for chartering and running a yacht on vacation. What I hear most often from first-time charter guests is that they’ve been sailing for decades, so how different can it be to charter? The tru
Sail6 min read
Made To Measure
I’ve always known the importance of having good sails. As a low-budget boat punk, I prioritize making sure I can get where I’m going with the help of the wind, as opposed to under power. It isn’t necessarily my goal to be engineless, or basically eng
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Refurbishing Shirley Rose Part 4
When I began repairs on my Santana 27, Shirley Rose, I focused on the major systems rather than cosmetics. My goal was to create a safe boat for the often rough conditions on San Francisco Bay, and I didn’t much care about winning any beauty contests
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Racing is Back Photo Feature
For all that the pandemic turned the world upside down, the summer of 2020 proved to be a surprisingly good one for sailing. Sales of boats—both new and used—went through the roof, and sailors everywhere found ways of getting out on the water, either
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The Power of Sails
I suppose it isn’t merely a coincidence that I’ve made significant changes to the sailplans of the last three cruising boats I’ve owned. The first project was the biggest. My old Golden Hind 31, Sophie, had lots of charm and character, but her sloop
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Anchoring Out
Watching charterers make a run for the last mooring in a cove is fun—and weird. I always wonder why so many would rather try to catch a mooring than drop the hook. Maybe charterers don’t trust their anchoring skills, but it’s harder to drive up and g
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Playing Well With Others
A little over a year ago in the pages of this magazine, I mentioned how in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, I’d taken up solo-sailing out on Boston Harbor. I was able to do so thanks to the hard work of the Boston Sailing Center, which succeeded in

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