Table of contents for June 2019 in SAIL

On this idyllic California summer morning, Soncy, a classic 40ft Rhodes-designed sloop built in 1957, is on her way to Santa Catalina Island. On board are owner John Clark Jr., his 10-year-old son, Ian, and me. As we motor out of New-port Harbor while raising the sails, two other sailboats come within shouting distance, and their skippers giving us a thumbs-up. “Beautiful!” one of them shouts across the water. John, used to frequent compliments about his boat, waves in return. Well-deserved compliments, I might add. Soncy is impeccably maintained, her classic lines drawn by one of the most renowned yacht designers of that era. As we clear the breakwater, the rumble of the engine is extinguished and Soncy’s dark blue hull slices smoothly through the azure waters off Orange County.…

This July 8-13, Newport, Rhode Island, will be reliving its storied history when the Ida Lewis Yacht Clubs hosts the 12-Metre World Championships. For two and a half decades, from 1968 to 1983, Newport hosted the America’s Cup back when it was sailed aboard these iconic boats, and their return is sure to be one of the most celebrated events of this season. Spectators will have the chance to see a number of legendary participants, including America’s Cup champions Intrepid (1967, 1970), Courageous (1974, 1977) and Freedom (1980). The fleet will be gathering from all across the world, with competitors coming from as far away as Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Norway. The 112-year-old class will be split into four divisions, Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional and Vintage. Racing will…

Old salts grouse about modern aesthetics. It’s just what they do, and the hard lines and spartan interiors of today’s production boats give them many reasons to complain. French builder Wauquiez, however, seems to consistently be able to marry contemporary elements with old-school sophistication, as is evident in its new Pilot Saloon 42, winner of the mid-sized monohull cruising boat category in SAIL’s 2019 Best Boats contest. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Wauquiez was formed in the 1960s and has been building its Pilot Saloon models—boats that have been popular as ocean-crossers due to their durability and speed—since the early 1990s. The latest Berret-Racoupeau-designed Pilot Saloon 42 employs infused sandwich construction with a balsa core to provide stiffness, insulation and weight-savings. A composite structural grid is fully bonded to the interior of…

Images trigger memory. Preparing to interview the golden boy of American sailing, I thought I would find a picture that would show Ken Read at the peak of his sailing career, his heyday, to share and have a warm and fuzzy start to our conversation. It was a commanding image from the weather quarter of Dennis Conner’s Stars and Stripes during the 2003 America’s Cup. That dark, high-gloss hull, red, white and blue cove stripe, sponsor logos everywhere. And there’s Kenny Read, blond hair flying around, hunched on the rail where any racing sailor with any ambition wanted to be. He was the leader of a two-boat Cup team, with all the top American sailors and designers. As good as it gets. My idea backfired. “The 2003 Cup was no…

BELOWDECKS Electrics: It’s really annoying to run out of battery power when you’re sailing or at anchor. If you didn’t do so as part of your spring commissioning, check your lead/acid batteries and top them off with distilled water. Make sure the cable connections are tight and free from corrosion. If your batteries are old, it may be wise to invest in a lightweight portable jump starter; or if you keep one in your vehicle, just bring it with you on the boat when you go cruising. Alarms: If you have an inboard auxiliary engine or cook onboard with propane, diesel or alcohol and haven’t installed a carbon monoxide alarm, now’s the time. CO is a silent, sneaky killer. A household CO detector is better than none, but you are…

It was a blustery start for the sailors on Day 1 of St. Augustine Race Week in March.—Robert Beringer, Jacksonville, FL A beautiful dawn in the awesome Sea of Cortez. I took this picture at Puerto Balandra from our chartered Lagoon catamaran. There were only a few boats at anchor on our last night/morning before heading back to La Paz.—Matt Perkins, Denver, CO Baylee the 11-week-old Golden Retriever is getting used to our 32ft Irwin Classic, Holdfast, and anticipating spring at Lake Guntersville Sailing Marina.—Price Pass, Guntersville, AL The morning view of Catalina Island’s Cherry Cove from Greta, a 45ft Beneteau Oceanis. Following months of rainfall, Catalina had transformed into an emerald-green island just in time for our ASA 106 Advanced Coastal Cruising course.—Dan Thompson, U.S. Embassy, San Salvador I…

It is rare to leave the Antarctic Peninsula earlier than need be. No matter how much time you allow for a cruise in that splendid and awe-inspiring environment, it’s never enough, and the return across stormy Drake Passage is done with regret as much as trepidation. In February 2017, my Swiss-Italian charter guests, on their sixth cruise aboard the 75ft, aluminum-hulled Pelagic Australis, were somewhat disappointed with the adverse weather conditions. We had planned an eight-day ski mountaineering trip on Anvers Island. But due to miserable drizzly weather with continuous low cloud, enthusiasm for what would be a major undertaking had ebbed, evolving instead into a series of short day trips ashore. I always blame the comfort of Pelagic Australis for these easily made decisions to forego camping. The bad…

One of the most complex tasks undertaken during Passion’s refit was the complete replacement of her auxiliary power system—engine, V-drive and fuel tanks. I needed more horsepower, which drove the need for more fuel capacity and a larger V-drive to handle the higher engine output. I began my search for a new engine by developing a list of requirements which included: 1. Easy world-wide parts availability 2. Low-cost parts 3. Easy to self-service 4. Quiet operation 5. Easy to prime6. Strong technical and customer service support My search for a new engine then moved to the fall/winter boat shows, where I visited every engine manufacturer offering a diesel in my horsepower range. The top three requirements quickly limited my search to marine engines based on a Kubota block. Kubota is…

It has been a good decade for chartering. Boats have been refreshed, new bases added, new differentiating “products” have been introduced, and it’s easier than ever to learn about cool opportunities and last minute deals. Let’s look how you can be in-the-know and get out on the water in 2019. THE MOORINGS TURNS 50 Fifty is fabulous—if you’re a company, that is. The Moorings (moorings.com) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a look back to 1969 when Charlie and Ginny Cary opened their first base in the British Virgin Islands with just six Pearson yachts. Today, the company has 400 vessels in over 20 destinations and is a premium brand in the charter space. The Moorings is celebrating in myriad ways, including launching a new Moorings 5000 catamaran—which seems…

In a racing scene that’s bristling with innovation, legacy builder Nautor’s Swan refuses to be left behind in its quest to dominate the champagne end of one-design sailing. Arriving hard on the heels of the radical Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed ClubSwan 50, the ClubSwan 36 offers a similar blend of razor-sharp styling and no-expense-spared construction in a smaller, more accessible package. Again designed by “Juan K,” the ClubSwan 36 is packed with new ideas and clever twists on established features. The reverse stem and radiused deck edges, as seen on the latest IM-OCA 60 designs, cut weight and windage but promise a wet ride to windward; the twig-like, deck-stepped carbon fiber spar can be raked and bent to eye-popping extents; the L-shaped tiller lies flush with the cockpit sole so it doesn’t…

Following up on the J/121, which won a SAIL Best Boats award in 2018, the new J/99 represents a similar concept in a smaller package. Specifically, the new 32-footer’s deck layout and rig have been optimized for smaller and even double-handed crews, with an eye toward meeting the increasing international interest in shorthanded racing. Beyond that, the J/99 is vintage modern “J,” with its plumb ends, slippery “SCRIMP” infused hull, deep high-aspect rudder, and an even deeper cast-iron fin keel with a lead “shoe” that serves to lower the boat’s center of gravity. As with the rest of the J/Boats fleet, the cockpit is also a functional work of art, with plenty of room for trimming sail, a cascading adjustable backstay for controlling power in the rig and the mainsheet…

There’s a unique cruising ground that combines access to urban locations with easy escapes to wilderness and nature. Its native people may be the friendliest on the east coast of North America. Its coastline runs 250 nautical miles in a straight line, but that should be multiplied several times after factoring in its many indentations—enough for a lifetime of cruising. Called Nova Scotia, it seems close enough to reach from Maine in a sea kayak—on a chart, at least. In real life, though, the currents that slosh back and forth with the mighty tides in the Bay of Fundy can make life miserable, especially when the wind picks up. Off Cape Sable, the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, the going can turn into a true slog if the 3-plus knot…

In a world where you can track your friends’ locations in real time and stream yourself live on the internet, it should come as no surprise that you can also keep a close eye on your boat from the comfort of home. In fact, not only is there a plethora of options out there, but most of them go a lot further than simply telling you where your boat is. As for you Luddites who think this kind of thing is a bit much, be aware that many insurers offer a discount of up to 10 percent if you have a boat monitor, which means a basic system can even pay for itself in the end. RAISING THE ALARM At its simplest, a monitor is just a GPS tracker that…

WHY ALL THE MEMBRANE SAILS? Q: I am noticing more and more cruising boats carrying high-tech membrane sails, and I was wondering why that is. —Carter Dickens, Houston, TX BRIAN HANCOCK REPLIES It’s all about the engineering. Specifically, membrane sails are highly engineered, so you can end up with a sail that is almost half the weight of a similar sail made out of Dacron. Why is this important, you ask? Basically, heavier sails will result in more weight aloft, and that will increase the heeling and pitching moment of the boat. That in turn, over a long passage, results in fatiguing the crew, which is why so many cruisers are opting for lighter sails. Lighter sails are also easier to set and trim, and take up less room below…

Though I hate to think of myself as a “disaster tourist,” I can’t deny one of the things I was most curious about as I sailed south last fall to visit St. Martin, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico was how much hurricane damage I would see. I’m sure no one needs reminding that this portion of the Caribbean suffered a terrible one-two punch in September 2017 when Irma, one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever, and Maria, another Category 5 storm, both struck within two weeks of each other. Like all sailors who have cruised these islands, I was staggered by the reports I’d read. On the French side of St. Martin, in the immediate aftermath of Irma, 95 percent of the buildings were damaged and 60 percent were…