Articles

These photos are of my own hard chine Gypsy which I launched in 1996 and sold in 2001. I sailed it up and down the English Channel from the Solent to the Scilly Islands, 30 miles off Lands End

After 980 hours of building I was able to go sailing for the first time. So this is me, enjoying my first sail, and before I sorted out the rig - the mainsail downhaul was soon changed to a 6:1 purchase

On the next sail there was more wind and I could check how it sailed with two reefs

Hard to see but the log (black instrument) reads 10 knots, top speed was 14

and it was easy to heave to, Gypsy just bobbed up and down in the waves with no rolling

Now finished, this photo was taken during a Practical Boat Owner test. The reporter wrote ""Of all the multihulls I've sailed, GYPSY presents about the strongest case in favour of cruising on two hulls"

Bow-on shot shows good bridgedeck clearance and offset nacelle. Sailing under spinnaker is easy, even singlehanded as there is no pole to worry about

The open forward hatch cools the cabin, but must be shut in bad weather and still needs a deflecting rope so the genoa sheets don't catch in it. Halyards and slab reefs are led aft through big turning blocks to reduce friction

Even a dog appreciates the forward net

and then some other Gypsies. This one of a UK built Gypsy sailing to the Med at 15 knots, see the Owners Reports for more

and this one in British Columbia flying the optional masthead "screecher", which adds significantly to the speed. I took the photos when sailing our Merlin and was surprised how fast the Gypsy was sailing

The photos show them as they left British Columbia and began heading south.

After spending 2 years sailing first south from Vancouver and then cruising Mexico, Lightwave left Baja California and arrived in Hawaii 23 days later, having survived 28 hours lying to a sea anchor in a mid ocean gale. They arrived safe back in Vancouver on July 31st 2008