SAIL.SailMagazine

You’re about to read a sneak preview of a sharp-looking new performance cruiser from Island Packet. Yes, you read it right—that Island Packet, the one renowned for tough, long-keeled, bluewater cruising yachts.

According to Bavaria, the new Vision 46 is: “designed, from the start, to embody the cruising sailor’s wish list.” I have to admit, though, that I wasn’t paying too much attention to this wish list as we cast off lines prior to a recent delivery from Mystic, Connecticut.

You’ve got to hand it to the folks at Moody Yachts: it takes guts to build two 45-foot cruising boats that occupy opposite ends of the design spectrum. Yet it’s easy to see the logic behind such a strategy.

There’s a distinctly sporty look to the latest boat from Island Packet Yachts. With its twin wheels, fin keel, spade rudder and lofty rig, the Blue Jacket 40 marks a new direction for the Florida company, which has been building its line of distinctive-looking long-keeled bluewater cruisers for more than 30 years.

A strong lineup of new boats from domestic and foreign builders will be on display at the Newport International Boat show in September and the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis in October. SAIL’s judging team will be inspecting them closely for the 2013 Best Boats awards.