It’s hard to find interesting designs for review these days. So this month I thought we’d try a little different approach. In early 1973 I quit my design job in Seattle, loaded my Peugeot wagon an

The Beneteau First series has a long history and proud pedigree. Launched in the late 1970s, Beneteau First designs have collected wins all over the globe. Over time, the design ethos wavered a bit, b

Features  Sailor’s delight A return trip to the British Virgin Islands designed to maximizing sailing miles is a panacea for a group of northern sailors Escape from the madding cro

We were sailing on a reach, a stiff 25-knot trade wind filling our sails and kicking up whitecaps across the teal water. Behind us, the dark form of islands rising from the water slowly retreated and,

It’s another beautiful weekend; the wind is steady at 8 to 10 knots, the water is calm, the boat is rigged, and your friends just called to say they can’t make it this afternoon. You ask yourself,

Dear Boat Doctor, I have been battling leaks in my deck hatches for years. First I thought there was a leak around the plastic lens, so I removed and resealed it. When it still leaked I replaced the

Escapism is built into the human psyche, has genetic and evolutionary roots, and persists in story across the millennia. So the trend to sell everything and sail isn’t new, despite the mob of tan, n

The first time I anchored in one of Jost Van Dyke’s perfect natural harbors, our boat shared the anchorage with only one other, a small, privately owned sloop. When I returned to the British Virgin

 Charter sailors who fly into St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands, and quickly hustle to the ferry dock to catch a ride to the BVIs don’t know what they are missing. From Christmas C

Dear Boat Doctor, My new-to-me boat has a keel-stepped mast. I’m happy to have it, but I cannot get the mast-to-deck joint to stop leaking. Even in a gentle rain, I find water dripping into my salo

My dad was an executive for Douglas Aircraft and we lived in Tucson, Arizona, when I was a kid. As a young man, my father had run away to sea, shipping out on tankers and working his way up to navigat

I’ve heard people express sympathy for the men and women sailing in the Ocean Globe Race. That’s the 27,000-mile race that started last September and will go on for about eight months with short

Moon Dancer wasn’t a name that Rob and Kristin Browne chose for their Hinckley Pilot 35 yawl, but it turned out to be entirely appropriate, and like many things about the boat, it seemed meant to be

Features  Cruising connection Sailing the San Juan Islands brings both joy and challenges to an extended family that finds kindred spirits along the way Favored child, once agai

This month we are going to look at a revamp of the X4.9. I’m not very familiar with the 4.9 but the promotional material I have does a good job of highlighting the changes and there are many. X-Yach

Holy cow! We have a 40-foot folding trimaran to review. This will be fun. My buddy Doug, who lived on the next beach, had one. It wasn’t a Dragonfly but it was similar and not as nice as the Dragonf

The Annapolis Sailboat Show is the place to catch all the newest models making their debuts, but there’s always one boat that creates a bigger buzz than the rest. Last October the Jeanneau Yachts 55

I think we’ve lost steering,” my brother Alex said in a calm, matter-of-fact voice, his tone out of place in light of our situation. Kyoko and four-legged family members buzz back to the boa