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This morning I opened my inbox to an update and photo from one of our exuberant Sabre Spirit owners who has been enjoying bringing out VIM on breezy days in Marblehead, MA. He writes that he and his daughter were sailing the boat by their house and his wife was able to take this shot. The were powered up and probably at the borderline of reefing, but the boat is fun to bring out with friends and they continue to enjoy passing people in the bay.
IPhones, Hybrid cars, I MAC's and lots of other very cool things. Our parents all complain when we throw away a TV that's still working or upgrade our computer that "works just fine". In fact in my family we have to sneak things out of my mother's house so she doesn't hang on to them. It's a new day and consumers are loving technology. And why wouldn't they if it gives them benefits.
We are working on a new design and felt it would be fun to share it with our readers. A soft launch if you will. We have a lot of great boating readers and would really love to get some feedback on the new Sabre 40 Sedan. The boat is going to be launched in the spring of 2009. She will be built both as a sedan and as a fly bridge boat. She will employ Cummins Zeus pod drives and she will be our first infused fiberglass boat. She will be lighter, faster and quieter yet use less fuel that previous designs because she has smaller engines, pods and is infused. Infusion allows us to use less resin (about 20%) and yet make the parts as strong by having better resin to glass ratios in the laminate.
Here are some images. Let us know what you think.
Some consider sailing to be an adventurous activity, with images of salt spray, wind in your face and conquering vast oceans. Yesterday, we moved Hull #1 of the Sabre 28, PATIENCE from its commissioning at Royal River Boatyard down to its summer home on a mooring in Prouts Neck, south of Cape Elisabeth. This was more of a patient adventure. Our crew of four, including CEO Daniel Zilkha, Chairman, Ed Miller, friend and enthusiast Steve and myself motored out of the Royal River in Yarmouth under a rising tide first thing in the morning. We powered along nicely with the original Atomic 4 gasoline engine. I'm not going to say this 4 decade old engine is fantastic, but she did carry us safely out through the shoals and hazards that have detained some in the river and few islands. We carried on motoring past Chebeague Island through the Little John cut waiting for the morning breeze to fill in. This is when I realized some boats just have personalities and PATIENCE proved to be one of these ladies. No sooner did the breeze freshen, our little Atomic 4 engine decided it was done for the day and packed up. It was as if she was telling us to stop fooling around with power and just get to sailing already! We easily raised the main and jib and off she livened through the mornings lobster fleet of Long Island. Beautiful.
She is a delight to sail controlled by her varnished tiller, and we all took a turn. It is amazing to recognize that this boat has been asked to perform the same sailing maneuvers for nearly four decades carrying countless crew on many journeys. An unfavorable and unusual southerly wind yesterday meant that as we turned right through Hussey Sound to head to Prouts, we were met with a 6 hour *joyous* beat to weather as we made our way down. No choice to turn on that auxilliary power, we were resigned to sail as fast as we could and get there when we get there. Its unusual these days to be 'forced to sail'. It was a stunning clear Maine coastal day and we tacked in and out of the coast following the best breeze and deciding whether we wanted to have a bit more of a scenic view along the coast, or head out away from shore joking about our course track to Gibraltar. It is a unique experience sailing a piece of history like that and a pleasure to be reminded by her that although the mission was to bring her to her mooring, it was far more about the journey than the destination. Please enjoy a video of images from yesterdays cruise.
blogged by, ~Sarah
On a hot steamy July day in inland Maine, seeing cooling images of these 2 Sabres crusising up in British Columbia can cool me right down. Here are 2 Sabre Sedans fuklly kitted out for distance cruising. They were both doing just that when they discovered each other in the Prince Royal Channel on the British Columbia Coast, north of Cape Caution. The McKeon's in COAST STARLIGHT were on their way down from Prince Rupert, the last stop in BC before Alaska while BOJANGLES was in the headed north to Glacier Bay, Alaska. What stunning cruising grounds and a neat story to find a sister ship in such remote waters.
Have any of you run into another fellow Sabre in your own travels and shared a moment like this? Let us know, send a picture!
blogged by, ~Sarah
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