February 2012 Issue of Blue Water Sailing.

In Boat Rat’s Tip: Should I Donate My Boat, Captain Charles Saylan writes about the nuts and bolts of vessel donation. In Sail Tips: Twist in Your Sails, Scott Akerman writes about how to control your sails (and why). In Destinations, Randy Baker writes about linvin’ easy in Vava’u… In Blue Water Boats, BWS takes a close look at a mid-size family cruiser, the Catalina 385.   And in Captain’s Log, George writes about the Salty Dog Rally in “A Funny thing Happened on the Way to Tortola”

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO TORTOLLA • Last fall, a group of boats that had sailed in the Caribbean 1500 (now owned by the World Cruising Club) in years past decided to skip the rally and go on their own. This was intended to be buddy boating in the best sense, just as boats worldwide join up with friends to make safe offshore passages while staying in touch via HF radio.

But then something happened. The news of this non-rally cruise in company spread among the cruising community and one after another, couples and crews signed on to join the crowd. Bill and Linda Knowles aboard the Jeanneau 54 Sapphire became the de facto point people and made a few phone calls to see if marinas in Hampton, Virginia and Tortola, BVI wanted to get involved. The marina owners thought it was a splendid idea and signed on.

Continue Reading…..

Catalina 385 • This mid-size family cruiser combines traditional good looks (and values) with a long list of innovations and refinements

The afternoon we test-sailed the new Catalina 385 on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, the breeze was a pleasant 10 knots out of the northeast and the bay fairly calm. As we motored out of Back Creek, we rolled out the mainsail and then rolled out the red, white and blue screecher. The 385 put her shoulder down and started to really scream as we watched the speedo climb from 5 to 6 and finally 7 knots.

With the wind just forward of the beam, the 385 heeled to about 10 degrees. The helm was incredibly light despite the big headsail. With a tweak of the main traveler, we were able to balance the helm to neutral so the boat steered herself straight without a finger on the wheel. Continue Reading…..

BENETEAU OCEANIS 45 • This thoroughly modern cruiser offers great sailing in a design that will make a comfortable floating home By George Day (Photos courtesy Gilles Martin-Raget)

Last summer I signed on to crew aboard the brand new Beneteau Oceanis 45 on the delivery leg between the Newport, RI boat show and the Norwalk, CT boat show. It’s a run of about 140 miles across Block Island Sound and down Long Island Sound, which we planned to do in a straight shot through the night. That sounded like fun and would be a great way to get to really test the new Berret-Racoupeau designed cruising sloop.

But Irene got in the way. She was a wicked fall hurricane that slammed into mid-Atlantic and New England coastlines and left in her wake a mass of waterborne debris. Everything from trees to refrigerators could be found floating in the waters along the coast, so we made the decision to make the delivery a two-day affair. Continue Reading…..

Bruckmann 50 MKII • It was a lovely summer afternoon when we set off from Falmouth, Massachusetts in the company of three Bruckmann 50s to see if we could get some photos of the big motorsailers engaged in “synchronized sailing” on Nantucket Sound.

The breeze was light and there was a little chop, but the boats were able to fill their sails and gathered speed to about 4 knots in the 8 knots of wind. The boats were sailed by their owners—Dan Betty from Andover, MA, Keith and Diana Anderson from Montgomery, TX, and John Cryer and Edna Ramos from Houston, TX—so they were somewhat shorthanded for close maneuvers. Still, one by one, the 50s formed up on Dan Betty’s 50 and we were able to more or less get them sailing in formation through all angles of sail. Continue Reading…..