Sail Far Live Free

It’s been a while since I’ve done a boat review. What follows may quite possibly be more than you ever wanted to know about an Irwin 28 sailboat. Disclaimer: My own personal boat is an Irwin 28, so the review is admittedly biased by my firm belief that my favorite boat will always be the one that I own at the time. However, my biased perspective also assures that I know intricacies about the I28 that may not be apparent to those who haven’t spent significant time aboard this model. Irwin 28 Review Ted Irwin began building boats in his backyard at a very young age. He started professionally as a draftsman and part-time boat builder with well known racer and founder of Morgan Yachts, Charley Morgan. After learning on the job from Morgan and successfully racing some of his own designs, Ted started Irwin Yacht and Marine Corporation in 1966. He used his racing success and passion to inspire his early cruising designs. Though Irwin Yachts closed its’ doors in 1991 due partly to the luxury...

I’m personally not a racing sailor and don’t have the itch to become one. I’m perfectly happy letting the winds dictate my speed and often my destination. But I do appreciate the intricacies of squeezing out another 0.5 knots with perfect sail trim, weight distribution and helm control. I crewed for a season aboard a 38-footer during the Wednesday evening club races and also during longer races such as the Queen’s Cup, a night-time race across Lake Michigan. My time as a racing crew member taught me a lot about seamanship and sailing. Sailing around the world is a remarkable endeavor, whether at a leisurely pace aboard a small private cruising sailboat or as crew on one of the fastest, most hi-tech racing sailboats on the planet. What started out in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race has, in today’s sponsorship laden world, become the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR). The nine month race, which starts in Alicante, Spain and concludes in Galway, Ireland has teams sailing over 39,000 n...

I'm continually racing to catch my mind after fall haul-out as it sprints away from another oncoming winter. S/V Island Bound is safely resting on her jackstands and the winterization tasks are complete. The winterization of my soul begins with dreaming of sailing adventure. So I figured this is a good time to share one of my favorite "dreamer" quotes: "All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible." The quote is from T.E. Lawrence, better known to some as "Lawrence of Arabia". The British army officer likely didn't have sailing on his mind when he made the statement in his autobiography, Seven Pillars of Wisdom . At the time Lawrence was serving as a liaison officer with rebel forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks o...