Come back alive, and bring the boat back alive.” Over and over those words played through Hobie Ponting’s head as he boarded a plane to England. He and his team had set off to Hamble, England, to take delivery of a Class 40 sailboat that had been donated to Oakcliff Sailing. The plan was to return to the States via the inaugural Royal Ocean Racing Club Transatlantic Race, departing from the Canary Islands and finishing in Grenada. None of them had ever sailed a Class 40. None of the crew had ever crossed an ocean.  None of them knew what awaited them other than 7,000 miles of ocean sailing.

The MC31 one-design, built by McConaghy Boats in Australia, looks to be a very fast boat. The design is most interesting but I really had to dig through the company’s material to find the designer’s name, Harry Dunning. 

The Salona 35 is built in Croatia and was designed by the Slovenian design team J&J. This is a very nice looking boat in the genre of the true dual-purpose boat. You can race this boat or you can cruise this boat. It is designed to be well suited to both uses. Kind of the way Islanders, Pearsons and Ericsons were back in the 1970s. Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

 Here’s a handsome, raised saloon-type design from Marlow-Hunter. This general configuration has been gaining in popularity for many years. I can remember the first time my wife went below on one of my early raised-saloon boats. She looked around and said, “I don’t know why all boats aren’t like this.” Wives are so honest.

 For many sailors, the dream of boat ownership is always present. But making it a reality means overcoming the big fear: the terrifying possibility that you could plunk down a fair amount of mone

Cruise the beautiful Beagle Channel, including possibly sail around Cape Horn, with Skip Novak's Pelagic Expeditions.

 I have some great drawings from Mark along with some very nice three-dimensional images of the interior layout. On a project like this, Mark would be responsible for the design of the hull, rig, appendages and deck layout. Pininfarina, a very famous name in the world of Italian design, is responsible for the design of the interior.

 The Tobago Cays are a divine cluster of isles in the Grenadines, in the southeastern Caribbean. But their out-of-the-way location can make this piece of heaven a bit hellish to get to. Roughly 30 nautical miles south of St. Vincent and 30 nautical miles north of Grenada, a visit requires a bluewater sail through the passes between the Windward Islands.

I need to vent. I don’t think I have ever vented in the years of doing the reviews. Let’s give it a whirl: These are not boat reviews. These are design reviews. It would be impossible for me to actually see and sail every boat I review. Many, like this Didden 34 Daysailer, are not even built yet. Some never get built.

 For some reason, lately I seem to be drawn to designs that can be comfortably operated by an old man. It’s a hard reality to face but my days of hanging on a trapeze or hiking in almost any form are behind me. Today I need a boat that I can sit in and not on. 

 To truly understand lightning and make a strategy for safe sailing, the best place to start is the fine print in your insurance policy. 

 I'll admit to obsessing about why we sail. What drives us to be cold, wet and often bored, and yet still go sailing? Is it the camaraderie? The challenge? The adventure? The competition? Promoters and advocates will often boil it down to the premise that sailors sail because it is fun, and, by inference, don’t sail when it’s not.

 Guys tell me they wish they had never sold their most-loved automobile, maybe a first-generation Pontiac GTO or a Mustang like Steve McQueen drove in the movie “Bullitt,” but instead stored it and pampered it so that today they would be able to show off a valuable classic.

 Features  Just sail Practical purists are sailing the world engine-free and finding a list of reasons why cruising sans iron genny is the way to go One to remember A boat�

Twenty years ago, I was working at the office of Classic Boat magazine when I got a call to review a boat on the River Dart. It was the latest design by that doyen of modern multihull design Nigel Irens, best known as the designer of ENZA, Ellen MacArthur’s record-breaking B&Q and several Gunboat multihulls. 

 Sailors who admire the Baba 35 are quick to point out that the bluewater cruiser possesses both beauty and brawn. The full-keel, double-ended cutter was designed by naval architect Robert H. Perry. When it first splashed in 1979, the boat was dubbed the Flying Dutchman.

When a cruising tale starts with the words, “We had no engine and ... ,” it usually means a disaster story is about to follow. Most sailors get a knot in their stomach at the thought of losing an engine while trying to anchor somewhere new, entering a busy harbor at night or attempting to dock their boat. Those are the panic-inducing moments that we prepare for but secretly hope never happen. There are some sailors though who go through these scenarios on purpose. Sailing without an engine is not a new idea, but it’s one that is catching on slowly but surely with long-term cruisers all around the world. 

 Finding an opportunity to go racing, whether it be on a Hunter 336 for a weekly beer can series or a professionally crewed TP52, can be daunting. All the way through the ranks, most sailboat teams are tight little units with core groups of regulars. Standing on the dock with a sign, or registering with an online crewfinder are ways to get a spot on a boat. Word-of-mouth helps too. But it’s what you make of those opportunities that will determine your racing career trajectory, no matter how small your aspirations.