Innehållsförteckning för January/February 2025 från SAIL

Charlene Gauthier, who goes by the diminutive Char, is herself a rather diminutive person. Not even 5 feet tall, weighing less than 100 pounds, just turned 70, she’s never been one to let her size, gender, age, or grievous misfortune stand in the way of what she’d like to do next. Twice divorced by age 37, with two daughters by her first husband, Char once worked as a professional truck driver, owner of a big Peterbilt 18-wheel tractor-trailer she ran for nearly 15 years. Recreationally, she used to ride big Harley-Davidson motorcycles. At age 32, she had her esophagus removed after 10 hours in surgery and became a cancer survivor. At age 50, she went back to school and earned the degrees she needed to work as a surgical and…

I tied in a reef, reducing the sail area so our 12-foot Barnstable catboat Finn wouldn’t have too heavy a weather helm in the gusts. I stood in the cockpit, readying myself to jump onto the foredeck to release the mooring line, eyeballing the surroundings once more. The weather conditions were spectacular—temperature in the mid-70s, sky duck-egg blue, wampum-colored clumps of cloud progressing along the northern horizon, air clean and dry, visibility vivid and unlimited. The only hitch was that the wind was gusting to 15 knots out of the northwest—an unusual direction for Buzzards Bay in August. August 13. A Friday. My eyes lit on another hitch—the black fangs of rocks exposed by low tide jutting up only a few feet ahead of Finn, right in our path. I…

Do you remember the moment you got hooked on sailing? Jumping behind the helm of the new J/40 brought all of that rushing back for me. This new design is beautifully balanced and responds to even the subtlest changes in the wind. Like many J/Boat designs before her, she is a true racer/cruiser. Not to be confused with the classic J/40, built between 1984 and 1994, this new design, launched in 2024, aims to push the envelope as an offshore worthy, high performance cruising yacht capable of double-digit speeds. While the breeze never even hit double digits the day we sailed, I have no doubt she would accelerate well into her promised performance range off the wind. I joined the first sail of hull No. 1 in the U.S., just…

Every sailor has a Covid story, many involving themselves—or their boats—getting stuck where and when they least expected. I am willing to bet, however, that few of them sound like this: 2/5/2020 I finish every day absolutely filthy. Not just sweat, but dirt sticking to every sweaty bodily surface—which is every surface. We’re a degree from the equator and don’t have AC. Streaked in with the dirty sweat is grease, because every conceivable thing on deck—cables, stays, ratchets, hatches—is coated in grease to keep the whole boat from coming to a rusty screeching stop. Finish off this so-far enviable skincare routine of sweat, dirt, and grease with massive amounts of sunscreen and splashes of saltwater, and this combination is me at the end of every day. The good news is…

Sailors going to the Bahamas this winter are facing changes to visitor’s permits that allow individuals a specific period of time in the country. In September a new regulation was instituted requiring a $200 pre-paid processing fee to renew each visitor’s permit, and the renewal must be in person with an official. Visitor’s permits are often called visas, but U.S., Canadian, U.K. and Common-wealth countries’ residents are not required to have visas. Visitor’s permits are separate from cruising permits, which pertain to boats brought into the country. The implementation of the new fee caused a stir among sailors on social media, who want certainty in planning and budgeting winter cruises. When entering the Bahamas, sailors register using the smartphone app or internet portal called “Click2Clear” to initiate paperwork with the…

TeamO has earned the overall 2024 DAME Design Award for its Hi-Lift 150N lifejacket and harness, while Yanmar Marine took home wins in two categories covering propulsion as well as environmental sustainability for its breakthrough E-Saildrive. At the annual awards announcement at METSTRADE in Amsterdam in November, the jury also awarded eight category winners, nine special mentions, and two Environmental Design Award winners. “In an age where the marine industry could be forgiven for being fully focused on new market drivers, it is encouraging to see such a strong step forward in a vital long-standing element of leisure marine equipment,” the jury said in a media release about the winning TeamO design, which won the personal equipment category. In lauding Yanmar for its new E-Saildrive, the judges noted that the…

Following in the footsteps of the Top 10-winning 510 in 2024 and 460 in 2023, the Hanse 360 has a lot to live up to, and with a clever approach to space onboard, a stable yet speedy hull design, and high build quality throughout, the 360 does not disappoint. Designed by the storied naval architects at Berret-Racoupeau, the 360 is at the smaller end of Hanse’s range at just 36 feet, but this year small boats seem to be the big trend. Many manufacturers are looking at more accessible, manageable sizes as an essential cornerstone for the future of their brands, and while all of the builders debuting smaller boats this year endeavored to bring big boat features to downsized versions, what Hanse did exceptionally well—and one reason this boat…

It was a spring afternoon and my sister Laura and I were chatting on the telephone, she in Michigan and I in Los Angeles. Days earlier, I’d accepted an invite from NAOS Yachts to tag along on a weekend getaway aboard a Lagoon catamaran to celebrate the manufacturer’s 40th anniversary. As an owner of a beloved Cape Dory 25, my regular sailing was about as far from a Lagoon as you can get, and I was curious to see what it was that drew such a massive global community to catamaran sailing. “Did you get the video I sent?” I asked. I had the phone pinched between my ear and shoulder and was using every inch of the charger cord to reach across the kitchen and pack my weekend snack…

Alliance Remembered Lydia Mullan’s “A Eulogy for Alliance” (October 2024) is a brilliant and emotional story, so well written and recounted. It’s clear she’s right that “it could not have happened to a better team” and that their skill and training brought them home. Wonderful work, Lydia! —Mike Ferring, Phoenix, AZ Paper Beats Tablet Thank you, Robert Beringer! You made the case for paper (“Hit the Books,” November/December 2024). Well said, touching all the nuances of why we want books around, especially afloat. Having books around remind us what our boats are for—time for ourselves. With books, we’ll never be alone or stop exploring. —Claire Wyngaard, Delaware City, DE Getting Below the Surface Just got my most recent copy of SAIL and read the article “Ghosts Down Under” (November/December 2024).…

I floated above a rainbow-colored bommie in our anchorage off the Florida Keys, watching my husband stalk the reef below. Thunk. The muffled impact of his spear sent fish scattering in a dozen directions. He kicked to the surface with his prey: a zebra-striped lionfish. “Fish tacos for lunch, anyone?” Our kids cheered from the dinghy. I grinned, then dove down with my own spear to collect another one for the grill. Lionfish are delicious. Plus, hunting them helps restore coral reefs. These Indo-Pacific-based predators are invasive in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Left unchecked, they quickly decimate populations of native Atlantic reef fish. But the best part of eating lionfish for lunch? My family doesn’t have to worry about coming down with ciguatera poisoning. Like many sailors,…