Sail Magazine

by Bill Springer

Hanse 415

by Bill Springer, Posted May 6, 2013

The Hanse 415 is superficially like a lot of new production cruising boats in the 40-foot range. But as I found out during a test sail on Narragansett Bay last fall, not all 40-foot “performance cruisers” are created equal.

The Caribbean 1500: Accessible Adventure

by Bill Springer, Posted February 7, 2013

When I asked Dr. Wayne Andersen why he has sailed his tricked-out Moody 54 Habits of Health in the Caribbean 1500 rally four years in a row, his answer made me smile.

Cat Christmas in the Caribbean

by Bill Springer, Posted December 14, 2012

Our hosts, John and Caroline Charnley, and my wife, Caroline, were already swimming in the cool, fresh water, but of course, I just had to jump in from the “cliff” (about 10 feet high) above the pool.

Morris Yachts Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

by Bill Springer, Posted November 19, 2012

The room went silent when the photo of Tom and Cuyler Morris flashed up on the boatshed wall. The classic wooden building in Northeast Harbor, Maine, was ground zero for a weekend of parties and raft-ups hosted by Morris Yachts to celebrate its 40th year of building boats.

Moody AC45

by Bill Springer, Posted September 11, 2012

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.

Edgartown: Preppie Paradise

by Bill Springer, Posted August 8, 2012

These days, instead of sailing on a small boat with college kids playing hooky from their summer jobs, I’m often on a slightly more comfortable boat with friends playing hooky from slightly more stressful jobs. But what hasn’t changed is that Edgartown remains the quintessential summer cruising destination.

Hanse 495

by Bill Springer, Posted June 28, 2012

Hanse Yachts sure has come a long way since it made its American debut at the U.S. Sailboat show in Annapolis in the late 1990s. Back then I thought its boats were small and unremarkable, save for the fact they were built in what was once East Germany. Hanse’s founder and chief visionary, Michael Schmidt, had big plans, however, and since then Hanse Yachts has evolved into one of the highest-volume boatbuilders in the world

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379

by Bill Springer, Posted June 12, 2012

I had a feeling that the Marc Lombard-designed Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379 would be fun to sail even before I took one out for a test drive in 20-25 knots of breeze. I’d sailed the first of the similarly re-designed Sun Odysseys—the 409—the previous year, and I expected the folks at Jeanneau would have little trouble serving up more of the same performance and comfort in a slightly smaller 37ft package.

Moody 45AC

by Bill Springer, Posted March 28, 2012

You’ve got to hand it to the folks at Moody Yachts: it takes some 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

Moody 45DS

by Bill Springer, Posted March 28, 2012

Moody Yachts were built in Swanwick, England, on the banks of the Hamble River from the middle of the 18th century into the early years of the 21st, and Bill Dixon has been designing Moody’s cruising boats since 1981.