From the Practical Sailor article:

As for its seaworthiness, Roger MacGregor said, “The 26 was designed for
typical small cruising boat use—inland waters and limited coastal
sailing. It is too small to be a long-distance passagemaker. It won’t
hold enough gear and supplies, and the long-term, day-after-day motion
of a small, light sailboat can be tough on the crew.

“There are thousands of these boats out there, and many have been caught
in, and survived, some really extreme weather conditions, on both lakes
and oceans. Like most small cruising sailboats, the 26 can handle high
winds and nasty seas, but risk and discomfort levels increase
dramatically in severe weather. To maximize fun and safety, most of our
owners wisely keep a watchful eye on the weather and try to avoid severe
conditions.”

http://www.practical-sailor.com/samp...at_Review.html

Can we finally put to rest the ridiculous notion that the Mac 26X/M can
be reasonably be used for blue water cruising?

Ed, it's obvious that you are passionate about your boat, and for its
niche, it's a fine boat. But you shouldn't let it blind you to it's
limitations.

Unfortunately, you've managed to make a fool of your self at least a few
times during these discussions by pretending to knowledge that you don't
have. From your laughable discussion of tacking angles to your
ignorance of just what it takes cross oceans to your laughable knowledge
of world geography. Unfortunately, once you've blown your creditability
like that, it's hard to take anything you say very seriously.