Tabla de contenidos para August/September 2020 en SAIL

A trio of International 2.4mR sloops vies for position on a foggy day during last year’s C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta in Newport, Rhode Island. In the background is Newport’s resident tall ship, the Oliver Hazard Perry. The regatta, named in honor of the late Tom Clagett, a World War II Navy veteran and lifetime sailor, is dedicated to providing sailors with disabilities “the opportunity to improve their skills and reach personal goals through world-class coaching and competition.” For more on the regatta and the organization’s other programs and events, visit clagettregatta.org.…

often referenced and sometimes misquoted, the idea of a finished product being more than just the sum of its parts was first introduced nearly 2,400 years ago by Aristotle. The poor guy likely had no idea how his thinking would be applied centuries down the road. But since it works here, I’ll be more than happy to borrow it. In short, in creating its new 60-footer, Hylas Yachts has combined an established brand, a world-class design team and a renowned yard to create something truly special. You’d expect the result of this amalgam to be impressive, and you’d be right. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION For the company’s first “from scratch” design under their leadership, Hylas’ Peggy and Andy Huang reached out to Germán Frers to draw a head-turning profile coupled with…

Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, with its teal-blue waters and balmy breezes, beckons many a West Coast sailor. Good anchorages, desert islands, huge game fish, colorful towns and delicious street food—there’s something for everyone. To get there, though, requires surmounting the hurdle that is the long, largely unprotected coastline down to Cabo San Lucas, the southernmost tip of the nearly 800-mile-long Baja peninsula. The Pacific side of Baja can be cold, foggy and windy, the same as coastal California. It’s also similarly governed by the same cold-water current that sweeps down from Alaska and British Columbia, keeping sea temperatures for the most part below 65 degrees F. Sailing conditions can be anything from dead calm to a fresh 25-knots, flecking the sea with white horses. Many—it’s probably safe to say, most—sailors…

If you dread your boat’s antics as you try reversing into your slip or have become used to choking on black smoke, it could be time to start thinking about replacing your engine. Granted, doing so can be more than a little daunting, not to mention expensive. However, bear in mind that a new engine is also an investment, an investment that can substantially increase your boat’s resale value further down the road. Not only that, but in many cases you may even end up with a boat that motors better than when it was brand new. “Modern diesels are not like the old ones. They are generally smoother-running and quieter than engines built in the 1950s to 1980s,” says Beta Marine’s U.S. distributor Stanley Feigenbaum, describing the improvements made…

And don’t forget to sign up for our free eNewsletter, Under Sail, via our website sailmagazine.com Here is a shot I got around Cheers, our Catalina 30’s mast at our dock at the Muskegon Yacht Club — Jeff Rollins, Spring Lake, MI Here’s San Francisco Bay during some unsettled weather. About 10 seconds after this shot, a baby whale spouted off our quarter! — Mark Simons, Martinez, CA Finally sailing my Pearson Ensign after two months of coronavirus precautions that closed Miami’s marinas. Leaving Stiltsville Channel, with a nice view of the Cape Florida Light — Doug Hanks, Coconut Grove, FL Here’s a picture (taken by Alan Forsythe) of Loon, our 46ft Sparkman and Stephens yawl, anchored off Crane Island in the San Juan Islands in Washington State — Mary…

I was inelegantly bent over the bow pulpit, struggling to remove the lashings that secure the anchor when we’re off shore. We had just sailed 400 miles from Grenada, and my wife, Tadji, was at the helm, motoring into Christmas Cove off Great St. James Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “This looks good,” she said decisively. “OK, neutral,” I said, but our Kaufman 47, Quetzal, failed to slow down. “Reverse,” I said, with a bit more conviction. “It’s in reverse,” she said. “Something’s wrong, it’s not responding.” I dashed back to the cockpit, where fortunately, it’s easy to reach the transmission behind the companionway and popped the engine out of gear. Rushing forward again, I dropped the chain all at once, and our reliable Spade anchor brought us to…

We left Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at 1230 on a Friday. My husband, Hugh, my brother-in-law, Jim, and I were sailing overnight to Charleston. The early November weather was lovely and warm, with the forecast calling for light winds, mostly out of the south-southwest. We expected to motor at first and, hopefully, sail later. As we left Little River Inlet, we had a pod of dolphins visit for about 30 minutes. We were soon making such good time we had to slow down to avoid getting into Charleston too early the following morning. As the day progressed, we noticed a bit of a light show as some thunderclouds settled in, sitting just above the horizon to the east. Come evening, we also saw lightning ahead. Eventually, it started to rain,…

There is perhaps no area of human endeavor that has shaped the modern world as much as trade and transport. Think of the vast network of indigenous trading routes crisscrossing the Americas, Asia’s Silk Road and the clipper ship routes round Cape Horn. Here in the United States, the country’s biggest cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Miami, were not only all established as seaports, but remain influential centers for culture and commerce today. The shipping industry, though, has a dirty secret. Despite being far and away the most efficient means of transporting everything from cars to shipping containers filled with electronics or running shoes, it’s still a major source of pollution. According to the Third IMO Greenhouse Gas Study 2014—an effort commissioned by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…

NIGEL CALDER IS AN AUTHOR AND EXPERT ON BOAT SYSTEMS AND DIESEL ENGINES DON CASEY HAS WRITTEN MANY BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON MARINE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS BRIAN HANCOCK IS A SAILMAKER, WHITBREAD RACE VETERAN AND CREATOR OF GREATCIRCLESAILS.COM GORDON WEST IS AN ELECTRONICS EXPERT WHO SPECIALIZES IN RADIO COMMUNICATIONS STRANGE ANODE BEHAVIOR Q: The aluminum anode on the prop shaft of our Cal 33-2 showed a strange erosion pattern this year. (See photo below at left) It is a large aluminum one that replaced two smaller aluminum anodes that appeared to cause “burn” around the through-hulls during the previous season. (The larger version has similar mass, but less surface area, therefore no “burn.”) The problem is that the anode this year has deep uneven material loss. I also had paint…

Does anyone else ever get the feeling they’re being followed by hurricanes? It may be a bit of hubris, but it honestly seemed that way recently. First, in 2018, Hurricane Michael raged a mere 100 miles east of where our 1985 Niagara 35, Plaintiff’s Rest, was up on jacks in Pensacola, Florida. Then, in 2019, Hurricane Dorian chewed up everything in its path just 60 miles north of where we had her tied her up at a dock in the Bahamas, in “slacks,” as we now call it. Fortunately, Plaintiff’s Rest survived both storms. (Knock on wood!) Not only that, but while luck (as is invariably the case with hurricanes) was a major factor, having now prepared our boat in two very different ways in two very different locations, my…

The Danish builder X-Yachts does not simply stick taller or shorter rigs and keels on the same hulls to create boats for both cruisers and racers, as some mass-production builders do. Nor is it content to build two distinct lines of cruisers and racers. Instead the company has steadily developed three distinct lines of boats, following three closely parsed, yet unique design briefs: an “Xp” line of performance-oriented boats; an “Xc” line canted strongly toward cruisers; and a straight “X” line, which strives to split the difference. The new X46 model, measuring 44ft on deck, sits in the middle of this latter category boasting features that will appeal to a wide range of sailors. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Just as X-Yachts has been zealous in its design development, it is also…

Time was When New England was preeminent among the production boatbuilding regions of the world. More recently, however, the mantle of leadership has seemingly passed elsewhere as the industry has gone increasingly global. Nonetheless, an enduring legacy of hard work and talent has allowed New England to remain a center of excellence and innovation in both boatbuilding and design, of smaller boats in particular. Interestingly, the region’s success is in many ways the result of the same collaborative style that has been part and parcel of the way its many small shops have been doing business since they first came into being in the early 20th century—with owners, designers and shop-floor workers all pitching in as part of the development process. Whether it’s producing beloved classics or breaking out into…

Twin-rudder raceboats have been with us since the mid-1980s. In the last 10 years or so, they’ve also become increasingly popular aboard cruising boats, including those available for charter. It is therefore a good idea to be aware of their idiosyncrasies. In some circles, twin-rudder boats have a reputation for being difficult to handle in tight spaces. This is a fair assessment, insofar as approaching an awkward berth in tricky conditions the same way you would with a single rudder could become unexpectedly exciting. That doesn’t mean, however, that maneuvering with twin rudders is any more or less difficult than with a single one—merely different. So, what are the differences? First and foremost, it’s important to remember that whenever the engine of a single-rudder boat is in forward, the propeller…