Cutter sailing revisited

After a vacation it is usually time to tidy up and stuff. When you do that, you often find old - and sometimes dear -  belongings long forgotten. That's how I found this:

The Seagull sailing at sunset somewhere west of Tradewinds.

It is called the Seagull. And here I was thinking the cutter from ReneMarine was my first cutter..! Ok, so maybe Rene's cutter is a bit more detailed, but this one actually sails pretty well for its age. It has a BWIND sailing engine, and it comes with that nice little trimming vane that changes colour indicating the trim.

Sunset on a beautiful beach...

The boat is very easy to sail. It also seems quite stable. I went for a longer ride. Sailed west through Balduins Channel from Tradewinds, then down south through Knaptrackicon and then - after a while I turned east to reach the Blake Sea. Then up north and home to Tradewinds. All this with no crash.

A narrow passage...

Quite amazing actually. The boat also has room for passengers, so it is well suited for relaxed cruising with friends. However, it might be - in this version - it is a little outdated. Not sure if a newer version is out. Didn't seem like it. Never mind that. It is not a racing boat, but it sails well. I wouldn't mind taking the Seagull off shore.

Open sea ahead

I've never met the builder, Tomha Zymurgu. I went to his shop, and you can still get the Seagull there; It is also available in the shop at Tradewinds. BTW, there is something more exciting at Tomha's shop... a dinghy called the Flying Dolphin; Sadly it wasn't for sale.

Back home through Blake

Anyway, as you can see, the Seagull is a great cruiser; I had a very nice time sailing her, and there are plenty of places to go cruising, so no excuse... go see the islands.

Cutter sailing

Again, I logged in to test Traps navigation device. After a few minutes at Tradewinds, Rene arrived in her latest project, - a  cutter. I gotta tell you... this might not be a racing boat, and it sure isn't a modern boat like the Moth or the Q-2m, but she is an absolute beauty, and she sails like a dream.

Me sailing Renes beautiful cutter

Just have a look! Click the image and resize to full screen. Huh! I will gladly admit I never expected a cutter to be this pretty; This is a ship, not some weird plastic critter. And the sailing?? Absolutely fabulous. The sailing has the same kind of dynamics as does the RM8; Very lively, but well adjusted to a boat this size.

Full speed ahead...

The hull movement caused by waves and the heel feels so natural. The sails look extremely good, and despite their complexity they are easy to trim. It was very easy to sail this boat even without any hud, vane, or info display. Just me, the sails, the boat and the heel. Did a 360 to establish wind direction; The rest was easy as pie. Lovely.

Going back north to Tradewinds.

So what would I do with a boat like this? Dunno really. Racing? Seems a little funny, but I suppose they raced these in the old days. Still, the chance of creating a racing class of cutters seems unlikely these days. However, should I ever need to arrive at a party by boat, this would be a fine choice. I am gonna get one of these. Definately.