British yachtswoman Jeanne Socrates made international headlines when she became the oldest person to sail nonstop around the world, alone and unassisted. The 77-year-old sailed into Victoria, British

When Morris Yachts launched the Chuck Paine-designed Annie 29 in 1980, it attracted plenty of attention in the sailing community. Its look was in sharp contrast to Paine’s double-ended designs, the

Let’s meet in Greece.” That’s how our latest sailing adventure began during a family holiday dinner conversation. My wife Christine and I, 30-something son Zack from San Francisco and 20-someth

The seaworthy Downeaster 32 was designed by Bob Poole, who founded Down East Yachts in Santa Ana, California, during the fiberglass boatbuilding heyday of the 1970s. Poole was an East Coast native and

We hoped the gale warning forecast was wrong as we set out for the 48th annual Figawi Race from Hyannis to Nantucket on Cape Cod in May. It wasn’t. But my friend Josh Antrim was committed to sailing

The Pacific Seacraft Orion 27 has been called many things, from an overbuilt floating apartment to the sort of boat an adventurous sailor might choose to sail around the world. During production in th

The Hunter design team was listening carefully to what potential buyers had in mind in the late 1990s when it came to building the ideal racer-cruiser, with an emphasis on the latter. The result was t

When the Farr PH 56 Monterey sank in May 2017 during the Antigua-to-Bermuda Race, nobody was more shocked than owner and skipper Les Crane. After all, he’d sailed the boat more than 40,000 miles dur

It’s not hard to understand why the original Cal 25 appealed to so many sailors. It was relatively inexpensive, easy to maintain, comfortable below deck and fun to sail. Jensen Marine built 1,848 of

Menacing clouds and increasing wind announced that a powerful storm was about to cross over the British Virgin Islands. We were tucked into outlying Anegada, the area’s flattest and most unprotected

Opinions vary widely when talk turns to the Tanzer 26, the Canadian-built masthead sloop that was popular in 1970s and 1980s. Some sailors contend the recreational sailboat offers just about everythin

If there was ever a question about whether the Southern Cross 28 is bluewater capable, Donna Lange’s two solo circumnavigations aboard the compact cutter surely answered it. Lange sailed her 1982 In

Talk to sailors who cruised the British Virgin Islands back in the 1970s and you’ll hear about remote anchorages with no other boats in sight, pristine beaches void of people and a quiet natural beauty that nourished the soul. By the time Twe chartered there for the first time in 2004, the lovely islands had morphed into something different, not better or worse, merely changed by controlled real estate development and a growing number of residents and boats. The BVI, which remains one of our favorite sailing destinations, had become, in a word, commercialized.

It began with a dream of sailing bluewater. In 2008, Philip Kersten, owner of the 1978 Alden 44 sloop Tioga, assembled a rookie crew to sail from Nahant, Massachusetts, just north of Boston, to Bermud

If the Balboa 26 had a motto it would echo the original marketing brochures that celebrated the boat’s ability to “go fast, go anywhere.” Designed by Lyle Hess, who in the mid-1970s would become well known for his 28-foot Bristol Channel Cutter design, the Balboa 26 fulfilled a growing demand for an economical cruising boat.

Les Crane sat on the deck of an unfamiliar boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean watching his boat, a sturdy, well-maintained 56-footer that he’d sailed more than 40,000 miles, as it was swallowed by the water. It was 7 a.m., less than four hours after his crew heard a “thud” that they had no idea would lead to them boarding a life raft and waiting for rescue.

The Yankee 30 was one of many fiberglass boats that was affected by the global oil crisis of the 1970s, which curtailed production. The cost of resin raised boat prices above the budget of average sailors. In some cases builders simply lacked the raw materials required for construction.

The Alberg 29 was designed by naval architect Carl Alberg and built by Nye Yachts in Canada from 1976 to 1985. The full-keel, masthead sloop was made to replace the much-admired Alberg 30, which had been in production since 1962.