Cruising World January/February 2024

Take your boat out cruising enough times, and you’ll be smacked upside the head once or twice by the golden rule. No, I’m not talking about the “doing unto others” thing. I’m instead referring to the golden rule that should be etched into the trim somewhere in every cockpit: “Never cruise on a hard schedule.” Being the perpetual planner that I am, I’ve always had a penchant for making a float plan. I probably get too much satisfaction from surveying a chart and, along with a tide table and my favorite weather app, plugging in some waypoints on the eve of a long sail. Double points if it’s a paper chart and I get to bust out a set of parallel rules and a pencil. Yet, as we voyagers know,…

2024 BOAT of the YEAR Find out which boats took home the hardware in this year’s Boat of the Year competition, beginning on page 36. Then, scan the QR code and join us online for the full scoop on all of this year’s nominees, with bonus sea-trial videos, designer and builder interviews, and more. Bonus Features Boat Review: Tartan 455 After editor-at-large Herb McCormick posted a photo to social media of himself steering a Tartan 455, an old pal quickly hit him back: “Tartan is still building boats?” The answer is an emphatic yes, and pretty darn good ones at that. Recent times may have been tough for American production sailboat builders, but the Tartan 455 is a testament to old-school Midwestern gumption. Scan the QR code for our exclusive…

“We make two things here: boats and dust,” says Tartan Yachts chief designer Tim Jackett, from the assembly floor of the renowned sailboat manufacturer’s Painesville, Ohio-based headquarters. From left to right are a Tartan 395 and Tartan 365 that are currently in production, and a 37C and 4400 undergoing major refits, a significant part of the company’s business. Recent times may have been tough for American production sailboat builders, but Tartan Yachts, in many aspects, is as vibrant as ever, a true testament to old-school Midwestern gumption. Story on page 60…

Many, many months after rock star David Crosby struck a deal to sell his classic schooner to Beau and Stacey Vrolyk, the deal was instead stuck, dead in the water. But that’s not where this story ends—or begins. Two stories, really. John Alden design No. 356B launched in 1947 in British Honduras, land of the Mayas, and the 59-foot schooner Mayan is a celebrity today wherever she goes. Pampered inch by inch and pound for pound, all 70,000 pounds, Mayan is home-ported in San Francisco Bay as the flagship of St. Francis Yacht Club. Under 2023 Commodore Beau Vrolyk, there is gravitas in that. How it came to be, after those many, many perplexing months of waiting to buy, is one story. Mayan, however, had already touched the hearts of…

From Martinique to Grenada, the Windward Islands trace the border of the southern Caribbean Sea. They include four countries, dozens of islands—many of them uninhabited—steady trade winds, and hundreds of miles of navigable coastline. This tropical playground is an ideal sailing destination for seasoned sailors and first-time charterers alike. At the northern end of the Windwards is Martinique, the only French territory of the group. With its fine wine, boulangeries and chic Paris fashions, it’s the island where resisting indulgence is hardest. It’s also a major yachting destination with skilled technicians, though it’s often the most expensive. Colorful colonial architecture dots the coastline, and cafes and restaurants line the beaches. St. Lucia’s mountainous coastline beckons to the south of Martinique, with tourist destinations such as the Pitons bringing well-deserved fame.…

A couple of summers ago, I took a Sabre 30 from New Jersey to Maine. The first half of the voyage from Atlantic Highlands through New York City to the Cape Cod Canal required intricate timing of wind and current in constricted waters with long distances between harbors. We had cell the entire way, so we service-could pull up tidal information online, but it was always point-based. What I needed for planning was information on how the tidal currents changed throughout a day and over a geographic range. Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book, aka the Little Yellow Book, was my solution. And I’m far from the only boater who sings this book’s praises. This year, Eldridge is publishing its 150th edition—an impressive feat of continuity dating back to 1875. That’s…