Catamarans and trimarans have gone from occupying the fringe of the sailing world to the front and center. Whether it’s a cruising catamaran, a bluewater racing trimaran or the latest red-hot racing beach cat, you can always count on these boats and the people who sail them for some excitement afloat.
When I boarded Fountaine Pajot’s new flagship, the Alegria 67, at the Cannes boat show last September, the first thing I noticed was that several groups of people were carrying on private conversations in separate lounging and seating areas in the saloon—that’s how big this boat ...read more
It was after midnight when I realized my daysail with Tony Bullimore aboard his giant record-breaking catamaran, Team Legato, was not going to plan. The big cat was en route for a December dash from England across the Bay of Biscay to Barcelona and the start of a drag race ...read more
After completing the European Great Loop on our 1987 40ft Catalac catamaran, Angel Louise, my wife, Sue, and I sailed home to the States and spent two years sailing up and down East coast between Maine and Florida, like migratory waterfowl. Eventually, though, we decided to ...read more
Next time you climb on board a Lagoon in the Caribbean or spy a Prout bobbing in the harbor, spare a thought for James Wharram. Though this somewhat froward Englishman won’t thank me for saying so, he is partly responsible for both—and indeed, all the other modern catamarans now ...read more
As our boat was readied for our Tongan adventure, we sat at Mango, the waterfront restaurant at the Sunsail base. We were relishing the free Wi-Fi when the checkout manager, Raymond, came by our table, stuck his hand out to the nearest graybeard and said, “You must be the ...read more
Wondering what it’s like to cast off permanently? These full-time cruisers share a glimpse into life onboard Audrie & Seathan Smith Port of Origin: London, ENGLAND Boat: Rehua, Antares 44 It all started after a sailing holiday in Croatia in late October 2013 ...read more
Farrier F-22 New Zealander Ian Farrier ushered in a new genre of sailing with his folding-ama trailerable trimarans, the best-known of which are the Corsair designs. Farrier’s last project before he passed away last year was this sweet little tri. Available in three versions, ...read more
If you’re looking for a decent sub-40ft cruising cat, you have few choices when it comes to new-boat offerings. It is a well-known fact that the multihull market has taken off in a way very few could have predicted. Despite Hurricane Irma’s recent destruction of a large part of ...read more
Any time I put a helmet on I become hyper-aware of every step I take. Precaution means there’s an alternative to a happy ending. On one of my last rides of the 2018 summer season, the helmet was mandatory, as was the life jacket. A new, foiling trimaran called the TF10 was the ...read more
Never let it be said that the World Cruising Club (WCC) rests on its laurels. Always looking for fresh ways to add more spice to the world’s longest-running and most popular cruising rally—the first was held in 1986, and entries regularly exceed 200—the WCC this year added a ...read more
Flying into Tortola in the British Virgin Islands one December morning, three months after Hurricane Irma, I felt like a war correspondent dispatched to the battlefront rather than a sailing magazine writer on an assignment to go cruising. As my LIAT plane descended toward Beef ...read more
It’s hard to believe how far foiling has come since the Moth class figured out how to reliably take to the air in the early 2000s. Was it really only in 2013 that the America’s Cup was dragged kicking and screaming into the foiling world by Emirates Team New Zealand back in San ...read more
I always wanted to see with my own eyes the places where Western history was made. Since most of our forefathers were explorers by ship, it seemed fair for me, as an American, to discover those lands just as they’d left European shores to discover ours hundreds of years ago. So ...read more
Randy & Lennie Smith Port of Origin: Delray Beach, Florida Boat: Happy Together (Leopard 48) We are all about the education and entertainment of this awesome watery lifestyle. This adventure began in July of 2015 aboard Happy Together and has taken us all around ...read more
When François Gabart sailed his giant trimaran Macif across a line between England’s Lizard Point and Oussant in France on December 17 after 42 days at sea, the 35-year-old Frenchman not only set a new singlehanded round-the-world record, he cemented his place among the great ...read more
Fountaine Pajot New 42 The French cat powerhouse has been on a roll these last few years, cranking out new models that not only replace their older line but take a step forward in design and user-friendliness. The New 42’s “real” name had not been revealed as we went to press, ...read more
Over the last 10 years the RORC Caribbean 600, a distance race that starts and finishes in Antigua and winds around the Leeward Islands from Guadeloupe in the south to Anguilla in the north, has grown to become a highlight of the island regatta season. It’s hotly contested by ...read more
It was the summer of 2013 and Aussie sailor Bill Macartney was in San Francisco for the 34th America’s Cup—the summer of “the Comeback” and the moment when the Cup officially took to the air thanks to the efforts of Emirates Team New Zealand. “Seeing Team New Zealand come ...read more
. This is the new foiling TF10 trimaran. A high-tech carbon fest, allowing sailors to foil easily from about 8 knots of windspeed. It was designed from scratch as a helluva fun foiling package. March 2018 ...read more
. This year’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswomen of the Year Awards, which went to J/70 World Champion Peter Duncan and Enoshima Olympic Week Laser Radial Gold Medalist Erika Reineke, were presented at the New York Yacht Club’s famed Manhattan headquarters March 2018 ...read more
Although sailing has always been inherently dangerous, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that in addition to elevating boatspeeds, today’s foiling multihulls are also dramatically upping the level of risk. In the run-up to the 35th America’s Cup, regatta organizers were fond of ...read more
GEORGE & JAN TODD PORT OF ORIGIN: DALLAS, TEXAS BOAT: LAGOON 570, WILDCAT We began our sailing adventures while living and working in Dallas, Texas, cruising the Bahamas three to four weeks a year back in 1985 on Oh Kay, otherwise known as the (Not) Oh Kay, a 36ft Island Trader ...read more
Modern cruising catamarans and trimarans have unique requirements in terms of sail design and construction. The reason for this stems from the stability provided by their wide beams, which in conjunction with their lack of heeling can make it difficult to determine when to reef ...read more
