13Dec

The Kids Will Also Get a New Cup Boat

Turns out the AC75 full-foiling monohull isn’t the only new boat that will be tearing things up this America’s Cup cycle. Earlier this week, organizers of the Youth America’s Cup, which runs parallel to the regular 36th America’s Cup, announced that a brand-new foiling monohull will be used for that racing as well, the AC9F.Designed by the New Zealand boatbuilding company Yachting Developments with input from the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, Southern Spars and North Sails, the new...

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12Dec

Learning New Sailing Skills

Multihull sailing requires a skill set all its ownPhoto courtesy of Lagoon CatamaransThe other day I was thinking about the very first time I sailed a multihull. It was in New Zealand, of all places, on the Bay of Islands, midway through Christmas break at the school where I was then teaching as a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa. Stranger still, I was already 29 years old.Granted, save for the occasional trip to New England, I was, at...

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09Dec

36th America’s Cup: Different Design Approaches

The new America’s Cup foiling monohulls all show different approaches to hull design. Which will come out on top?Skiff or scow? Contrast the fine bow of Italy’s first-generation hull with the fuller, more rounded sections of the American boat The design rule for the 36th America’s Cup is the most audacious yet: a 75ft foiling monohull that will race mostly in flight at four times true wind speed, up to 50 knots. It’s more an airplane than a boat; more...

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06Dec

Boat Review: Excess 12

Groupe Beneteau, builder of Lagoon catamarans, has introduced a new multihull line called Excess. The first of the boats to reach U.S. shores at the Annapolis boat show was the Excess 12, a 38ft 6in design based on the popular Lagoon 40. The thought process behind this new boat was driven by customer feedback, with an eye toward creating a light, open cat that connects the crew more directly with the sailing experience. According to Beneteau, the target market...

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06Dec

Three Reasons to Buy a Boat in France

The harbor of La Rochelle is a gateway to the French sailing sceneIn 1968, nine men set off on the first solo nonstop sailing race around the world. Only one finished, while the Frenchman in front turned away from the finish line and kept sailing to “save his soul.” Just as Bernard Moitessier pursued his passion over the horizon, you should too. If you’re looking to splurge on a new multihull, our recent delivery of a new Lagoon 42...

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06Dec

Gear: Solar Powered Dinghy Pump

Tired of forever finding your dinghy or open daysailer filled with water when you arrive to go sailing? For years, sailors and engineers have sought a solution to this seemingly eternal problem, and now it appears the folks at Sea Joule Marine may have finally found it in their new Solar Bilge Pump. Powered by a 2-watt solar panel mounted atop its enclosure, the pump has a fully-integrated float switch and sends collected rainwater overboard via a 3/4in discharge...

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06Dec

Extreme Sailing: No Piece of Cake

Rudder problems doomed Spindrift 2’s latest round-the-world record attemptPhoto courtesy of Photos Chris Schmid/Spindrift RacingIt can be easy to take for granted the incredible performance of today’s most cutting-edge grand prix racing boats. The latest crop of full-foiling 75ft America’s Cup monohulls, for example, were all up on their foils and even successfully tacking within hours of their first sail trials. Similarly, the doublehanded crew of Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier made it look almost easy covering over 17,000...

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04Dec

Best Boats 2020

By Tom Hale, Adam Cort, Charles J. Doane, Zuzana Prochazka, Lydia Mullan & Tom DoveHow’s this for a thought experiment: imagine setting a diminutive Tiwal 2 inflatable dinghy alongside a Catalina 545 cruiser? It would be hard to imagine two more different watercraft, and yet they are both still very much sailboats. They are also both winners in this year’s SAIL magazine Best Boats contest, with the Tiwal winning in the “Honorable Mention” category and the Catalina taking the...

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27Nov

Mirabau Photo Contest Winners

A D35 catamaran struggles to stay upright during a vicious summer squall in the winning entry from this year’s Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image competitionPhoto courtesy of Loris von Siebenthal/Mirabaud Yacht Racing ContestSwiss photographer Loris von Siebenthal has been named winner of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image photo competition for 2019. Von Siebenthal bested no less than 133 other photographers from 29 countries submitting shots of everything from regular weekend regattas to junior sailing and pre-Olympic events from around the...

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