We all knew this day was coming. With the recent launch and test-sailing of the new Neel 65 the concept of "cruising trimaran" has officially metastasized into the upper stratosphere. I was impressed with its smaller sibling, the Neel 45, when I got a chance to sail one in France a few years ago, and...
Day two of this year's test-sailing program looked to be a bit snotty weather-wise, with the forecast early on showing wind gusting to 30 knots, rain, and a good chance of thunderstorms. Great conditions, in other words, for trying out the new Garcia Exploration 45. As things turned out, the weather was actually a bit...
Just back from test-sailing boats après-show this past week at Annapolis. Five boats in two days in fairly strong conditions, with the wind blowing 20 knots at time. Once I even saw gusts to over 30. This is ideal! Normally we get light wind, which makes it harder to get a good sense of how...
Not surprisingly, one of the big draws at this year's U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis has been the new Garcia Exploration 45, developed by French builder Garcia Yachts in cooperation with bluewater sailing guru, author, and ARC founder Jimmy Cornell. I'm a big fan of Garcia, which has been building boats for 40 years now,...
The big in-the-water show here in Annapolis is featuring a lot of the in-the-air water this year. We suffered a biblical downpour yesterday morning that continued sputtering on and off through the day. I was forced to invest in new Helly Hansen boots and an umbrella on the sperm of the moment...
My annual pilgrimage to the Miami International Boat Show is underway. Unfortunately, I made it to the Miamarina at Bayside just a few hours before the Strictly Sail side of the show closed yesterday, so I didn't have much time to explore in between setting up dates to test-sail boats after the show. But I...
Boat show season is upon us. I spent last Thursday down in Newport, checking out the new boats on offer for the comic, then returned yesterday for some post-show test sails. This year when comparing boats I have been paying particular attention to how aft cabins are treated. Not the big palatial ones you find...
