SAIL

Editorial content covers the total sailing experience, featuring articles on coastal and blue-water cruising, trailer-sailing, racing, multihulls and monohulls, daysailing, one-design racing, and much more.

The Case for Racing

SAILING SCENE • Feedback from the SAIL community

Letters

SAIL

Painted Ships, Painted River • The breeze was a no show for the 2024 Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race on the Chesapeake Bay’s Choptank River. That didn’t stop nine of the historic working sailboats and their crews from sailing to Cambridge, Maryland, for a parade, camaraderie, and storytelling. In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the Bay’s skipjacks as one of America’s Most Endangered Places. Once numbering in the thousands, only a handful are left, and several of them still dredge oysters on the Bay every winter.

Big Heart in a Small Package • A woman in search of new adventures finds a Pacific Seacraft 34 to carry her dream.

A Permit Pinch • A new requirement means Bahamas cruisers may pay more this year.

Fish On-Carefully • If you’re fishing for dinner, choose your reef fish wisely to avoid toxic ciguatera.

Never Count on Neptune • A dubious decision opened the door for mischief—and Neptune waltzed right in.

The 2024 DAME Awards • From easier-to-install electric propulsion and a fresh approach to the rope clutch, to a more effective lifejacket and a sailcloth based in recyclables, the 2024 DAME Design Awards are full of innovative products for sailors to pay attention to.

Bosun’s Bag

J/40 • A Top 10 Winner for 2025, the latest from J/Boats is a racer/cruiser worthy of the term.

Hanse 360 • Hanse is embracing the best of big boats alongside the often overlooked advantages of a small boat.

The SAIL Top 10 Best Boats of 2025

Cargo Under Canvas • Serving as mate on a sailing cargo ship in the Pacific was wild enough. Then came Covid.

Don’t Hate Me ’cause I’m Having Fun • THREE DAYS ABOARD A LAGOON CATAMARAN REMINDS ONE SAILOR OF WHAT HE’S ALWAYS LOVED MOST ABOUT BEING ON THE WATER.

A Quick Guide to Sail Trim • A well-trimmed sailboat is a beautiful thing. Here’s how to make the most of the tools at hand.

A Nose for Trouble • Nobody likes a stinky boat. Here’s how to identify and deal with the major culprits.

The Best Boat to Charter • How do you answer the second most unanswerable question?

Boat Shopping Part 2