june/july 2016cruisingworld.com88SEA TRIALS
The breeze wasn’t howling,
but with a steady 6 to 8 knots,
we had enough to go sailing.
The big, fully battened square-
top main was hoisted with
the aid of a Lewmar electric
winch — who doesn’t enjoy
push-button sailing? — and
once the genoa was unfurled,
we began tacking upwind at
over 5 knots, making good
progress considering the light
air.
With all lines led to the
raised helm station (including
a clever continuous line set-
up for the traveler, the most
important trimming tool on
any performance cat), nicely
shaded by a dedicated bimini,
the Lucia was simple and easy
to operate, with a light helm.
After a while, I turned it over
to Steve with exquisite timing
as photographer Billy Black
picked the ideal moment to
wheel alongside in his photo
boat. Everyone else dashed be-
low and hid so Billy could nab
some hero shots of Steve in
command, alone on his boat.
So much for my rule about
test sails with owners: Steve’s
happiness was infectious. And
he hopes to share that joy with
other sailors in the future by
off ering the boat for char-
ters on Chesapeake Bay and in
the Virgin Islands, depending
on the season (see loveknot-
sailing.com). Anyway, the
combination of boat and crew
couldn’t have been lovelier.
Those morning showers were
a distant memory.LAGOON 42:
The Builders
If my midday Lucia 40 sea
trial was a mellow stroll in the
park, my afternoon Lagoon
42 excursion was an enjoyable
scramble up a tall peak. Such
are the diff erences between
a light-air foray under mainand jib and a full-on test of
a complete sail inventory in
punchier breeze with a cou-
ple of professional rock-star
French sailors.
I’d had the distinct pleasure
of sailing with Lagoon’s direc-
tor, Yann Masselot, on several
earlier occasions, but this was
my fi rst outing with Olivierd’Enquin, a bundle of kinetic
energy who works in France
handing over new Lagoons
from the boatyard to their
eager new owners. Obviously,
the job requires a talented,
supportive sailor. Apparently,
neither Yann nor Olivier had
yet sailed the 42, which had
been rushed to Miami on afreighter just in time for the
boat show. And they were very
anxious to put her through
her paces. (Quick aside: It
takes confi dent builders to
share their inaugural sail on
a new design with an inquisi-
tive sailing journalist just dying
for something calamitous, or
rather, interesting to happen.)My mouth was dry and palms
sweaty as we approached
the Rickenbacker Cause-
way under the Lagoon 42’s
big asymmetric spinnaker
(above). One of the design’s
themes was maximizing liv-
ing space, as in the owner’s
stateroom (right). COURTESY OF LAGOON YACHTS; HERB MCCORMICK (OPPOSITE)