Sail Far Live Free

Visiting the Strictly Sail show in Chicago has quickly become one of Erin and I's favorite mid-winter traditions. While looking at a sailboat inside of a big convention center in January isn't nearly as fulfilling as feeling the boat heel in a fresh July breeze, we still enjoy the opportunity to browse the new selection of production craft from the big manufacturers and see what innovations show up at the exhibitor booths. Below are some of my quick impressions and photos from the 2013 show. Best In Show: Com-Pac 23 Pilothouse Sure, there were plenty of big boats that were more predictable winners like the Blue Jacket 40, Beneteau Oceanis 45, or Delphia 47, but the Com-Pac 23 offers an amazing accommodation plan in an affordable, trailerable package that's downright shippy! This little yacht was introduced earlier in 2012, but this was my first chance to take a look. She would make a perfect little pocket cruiser for a couple. There's a lot of live-ability in ...

The middle of a sailor’s winter here in the Great Lakes is marked by the occurrence of the Strictly Sail show in Chicago at the end of January. Chicago is the perfect host for such a show, with frozen Lake Michigan as a backdrop, skyscrapers creating one the world’s best skylines and deep dish pizza to feed your hunger. The show itself gives you something to look forward to after the holidays are over and helps you ease into your spring maintenance, repairs and upgrades for the coming sailing season. As the nation’s largest indoor all-sailboat show, there’s literally something there for every kind of sailor. Best In Show: Tartan 4300 While many of my favorite bluewater sailboat builders such as Pacific Seacraft, Valiant and Tayana were not at the show, the Tartan 4300 appealed very well to my salty sensibilities. I have nothing against the higher volume production boat builders like Catalina, Beneteau, Jeanneau and Hunter but you immediately notice a different feel when you step aboa...