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 I first saw a 10R in Annapolis and then again in Toronto at the recent ABYC one design regatta. It's a boat that catches the eye, especially with the likes of Jamie Kidd at the helm. Kidd has won more world championships than most and is probably one of the top talented sailors that never made our Olympic team. He is knowledgeable and competitive. Top sailors in Canada and around the world are flocking to this boat because it does not compromise in performance, look or style. The local Toronto results are a Canadian testament to the solid racing characteristics of this boat.
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 The automotive industry coined the term crossover; I guess that should be the word we now refer to for those boats that have high performance and comfort cruising. In this vein, the Beneteau First 45 is just that boat.
At first glance, I could see why Anchor Yacht's affable Colin Andrews was so excited about this boat. The hull shape just breathes 'power to burn'; our test sail proved that point first hand. Its acceleration and tracking are amazing; it's definitely got a home in the performance cruiser market.
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 The Beneteau First 50 also stopped us in our tracks last fall in Annapolis and it apparently got the vote of confidence from a fellow Canadian who purchased it the very first day. And when you had the chance we did to pour all over the boat how can you blame him. This boat looks beautiful at the dock with her long waterline and narrow entry and low clean look but one can easily see her bashing anything the sea can through at her. The 72 foot mast looks awesome from the dock and one can only imagine this boat as happy on the race course as it would be cruising. Philippe Briand has done a masterful job with this yacht. Its modern look is one that challenges and makes a statement in any harbor.
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 I like sailing light boats. Their spirited performance lets them respond instantly to a puff or to bounce across the waves delivering quick precise feedback for the sailor. There is no sluggishness, no inertia from a heavy lead keel and no crew to buy lunch for. Small boat racing is returning to my local club in Midland, Ont., and a good part of the reason is the simplicity. Preparing the boat for a race is only a matter of minutes. The leader in this field for a long time has been the Laser, a 14-foot singlehanded daggerboard boat designed by Canadian Bruce Kirby. Manufacturing the craft has had its ups and downs but the more than 100,000 boats built are surely a milestone of success.
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 The first of the new C&C 27s was launched this April [1984], and we had the opportunity to take it out for a spin in mid-May. Along with the new C&C 29, introduced in 1982 (and reviewed in the November 1983 issue of Canadian Yachting), the C&C 27 represents the refurbishing of the smaller end of the line of C&C racer/cruisers. Although it measures 26 feet, six inches overall, the new boat is intended to replace the C&C 25. In describing its strategy, C&C Yachts says, "The new 27 is larger, much sleeker and more attractive, much more modern in design, and advanced in material and construction techniques, compared to the 25."
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 The New C&C 29, White Hawk, is George Doing's first sailboat. Following 16 years of boating in small powerboats, a Northern 29, and most recently in the competitive Toronto Etchells 22 fleet, he decided it was time to launch his own campaign in the Lake Ontario MORC fleet. George wanted a club racer he could sail with his two boys, aged 9 and 11, and still cruise with the family. Both he and his wife, Katheryne, wanted more luxury than they had experienced during early years camping together. Having rejected several used boats (on the basis that if you're going to buy a used boat, it should be a bargain and there are no bargains around), they settled on the successor to the C&C 27: the new 29, which went into production last November.
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 With over 800 built, the C&C 30 Mk1 is, arguably, one of Canada's most successful racer/cruisers. Production began in 1973 and ceased in 1985 -- a 12-year period that represents the longest production run of any single design version in the history of C&C Yachts. Although more 27s were built, in excess of 1,000, over a similar 12-year production period, with four distinct design phases, the 27 underwent comparatively continual change in relation to the 30, having only the one design version.
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 When I first met Bruce Massey, the owner of the C&C 33 I was to test sail, he had just won PHRF Division I at the C&C Owners Regatta in Oakville, Ontario, in mid-July, finishing ahead of C&C 34s and 35s on elapsed time. He was one happy guy! I imagine most of us would have second thoughts about buying a design before it was fully established in our area, even from a proven design team such as C&C. This early performance convinced him that he had made an excellent choice and that the design was destined to be an outstanding one. The first boat was launched in August 1984 and by July this year hull 97 was being built.
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 It was a blustery October afternoon when I went for a sail with Peter and Caroline Ross and their daughter Tracy, from the Oakville Yacht Squadron. We were sailing on Fritha, hull no. 245, built in 1974. I took over the helm as we motored out of the channel, while Peter and Tracy hoisted the full mainsail. Ross explained how it had been shortened by 10 inches so the boom could be raised to accommodate their large dodger. They rolled out the genoa, telling me how it was cut higher than the usual #2 to allow for better visibility.
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 Seldom do boat reviewers have that good fortune—or the time—to experience a prolonged offshore test-sail over the course stretching from New York to the Virgin Islands. Indeed, sometimes the lack of such an opportunity may be a blessing. But in this case, my charge, a new C&C 44 named Some Nice (a Maritime expression), owned by Greogory Bohaker of Toronto, performed well, giving us a fast, carefree passage.In an area of the North Atlantic that offers diverse conditions at the best of times, particularly during the spring season, our route (turn right off Gibb’s Hill Light, Bermuda) was a challenging test of our yacht’s potential. Some Nice withstood the test. Except for the intervals of rail-side gyrations, my intrepid crew including the owner, also survived.I have sailed on most of C&C’s recent production yachts on the Great Lakes and offshore.
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