>It’s amazing how quickly a post shows up on Google when new content is put on the Web. I did a search today and was surprised to see this blog post pop up after only having been put up on Tuesday of this week. This blog, on adventure cruising, has lots of info on boat design, gear and “what works” in cruising boats. I have not had time to check out the blog yet, having just discovered it, but it seems like a good one to get info on cruising distances in sailboats. Their November 23rd post is about the SAGA 43, a boat just like mine. They are complimentary of the design and generally had nice things to say about performance of the boat. One thing that they mentioned, that I agree with, is that the early shoal draft keel was not good and made the boat too tender. My boat, Pandora, hull #10, was indeed tender but after adding an additional 1,200lbs to her keel she is just fine. The design isn’t one that will stand up like some of the very wide boats being built now but the sea motion is much kinder to all on board when things get nasty. Check out their blog Attainable Adventure Cruising-What’s new. They have a nice shot from head-on of a SAGA 43 that shows how narrow they are, which contributes to their speed. Yes, they are right, this photo does make the boat look a bit narrower than she is but not by mutch.
Note that this photo is credited to John Harries, one of two authors of the adventure blog. John and Phyllis are big into high latitude sailing and have a really impressive website that’s worth checking out. John is also a professional photographer and his portfolio features his wonderful work. Click on this to see John and Phyllis’s bio. Their site, to which their blog is attached is at www.morganscloud.com and is worth looking at. It’s more like a how-to book on the web of adventure cruising. They also have an RSS feed that can keep you up on their latest musings. I plan on subscribing too.
It seems that their boat Morgan’s Cloud is spending the winter at Billings Boat Works in Stonington Maine, a place that Brenda and I pass by each summer when we are in Maine. It’s indeed a small world.