Top 10 Best Boats
Each year SAIL’s expert review team spends boat show season—and sometimes months leading up to it—sea trialing and inspecting the new boats to celebrate the best the industry has to offer, and the results are in. This year’s SAIL Top 10 Best Boats represent a wide range of sailing styles, from traditional heavy displacement bluewater monohulls to high-performance, carbonated cruising multihulls, from tweaky, techy racer/cruisers to designs that are deliberately calibrated for simpler sailing. To check out the results, click here.
The Ill Wind
SAIL Editor emeritus Peter Nielsen returns to the magazine to tell the story of recent anchoring drama while cruising Belize’s shoaly waters. An unexpected micro-storm spun the breeze, swinging the boat dangerously close to the new lee shore and breaking the anchor free from the bottom. What’s the best course of action when you’re alone and in unfamiliar waters? Nielsen walks us through his thought process—and how he got out of the situation unscathed.
The (R)evolution of Alternators
Step aside, gensets, SAIL Contributing Editor Nigel Calder explores the world of alternators, which are bringing a whole new approach to generating energy onboard. From the evolution to the technology, sailing’s most respected tech expert breaks down everything you need to know. “I see it as a qualitative improvement,” Calder says of today’s alternator technology. “When we look back on it in years to come, we will place it on a par with the solid state revolution of the 1970s.”
A Tall Ship Tale
A week aboard The Pride of Baltimore II fulfilled a longtime dream for writer Charles Scott, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. There was adventure to be had in spades when rough conditions snapped the jibboom like a twig, and the crew had to jury rig a stable fix before heading back to Baltimore.
Pin Drop
One little mistake during spring commissioning led Rob Williams on a quest to replace an obsolete furler pin. But the errand to find an outdated part quickly turned into a lesson in community building that resonated for years.
January/February 2024