Key Moments 2023 - Back to basics

Small boats are all too rare on our pages, yet they always provide a good time. Whether we're talking about the tiny Guppy, just under 10 ft long, or the Xquisite 30 Sportcat, these catamarans showed us that you don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun. As well as being an excellent boat for beginners, these boats can also offer a wealth of sensations, sometimes for just a few thousand dollars. You don't even have to be an accomplished sailor to have a good time. I still remember that afternoon in the Chesapeake Bay, chasing fish much bigger than us and passing them in style while enjoying a masterful sunset in a true communion between man, nature and his boat. Precious moments that take us back to the roots of this activity, and remind us why one day, with a mainsheet in our hands, we embraced this world forever.

Dominic Salander
US correspondent