Last time I posted here some people were claiming a Mac26X never went to
the Bahamas. Well, here's a site that proves you were wrong again.

http://pstobo.popstogo.com/bahama2.html

Read it and see how much fun a Mac26X is. The only thing I don't like is
where the owner says he's using a full tank of gas in only 20 miles. He
must only have one little six-gallon tank to use that much. And he says
he doesn't want to take down his sails halfway across to the Bahamas and
the picture shows the sail cover still on. I guess he's a little mixed
up with some other parts of his trip?

Right now I'm Googling for Mac circumnavigations like in around the
whole world. I've found some circumnavigations already but they are only
around islands and stuff like that. I just know Macs have
circumnavigated the world, it's just a matter of finding somebody who
made a web page about it.



--
Cheerio,
Ed Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/egordon873/index.htm

* Ed Gordon wrote, On 6/20/2007 12:41 PM:
Last time I posted here some people were claiming a Mac26X never went to
the Bahamas. Well, here's a site that proves you were wrong again.

I don't believe anyone doubted that a Mac has crossed over to the
Bahamas. After all, its only 40 miles so it should be no big deal for
a boat that can do 20 knots. In fact, the only surprising thing is
that you make such a big deal about it!

Jeff wrote:
* Ed Gordon wrote, On 6/20/2007 12:41 PM:

Last time I posted here some people were claiming a Mac26X never went
to the Bahamas. Well, here's a site that proves you were wrong again.


I don't believe anyone doubted that a Mac has crossed over to the
Bahamas. After all, its only 40 miles so it should be no big deal for a
boat that can do 20 knots. In fact, the only surprising thing is that
you make such a big deal about it!

Clearly he's on some sort of pseudo-religous pogrom against anything
non-Macgregor. Geez, the Mac26 does what it's designed to do; fill a
niche for a trailerable boat that can do double duty (power/sail) while
accepting the many limitations/compromises required in both realms. No
such thing as the "best of both worlds" unless you're talking about *2*
boats.

As for it being a "blue-water cruiser", here's what Roger MacGregor says
about it in a Practical Sailor interview
(http://www.practical-sailor.com/samp...t_Review.html:

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.”

So, from the horses mouth - it's not designed for passagemaking. Lot's
of people do lots of goofy stuff. Some survive, some don't.
Passagemaking with a boat *designed* for "inland waters and limited
coastal sailing" falls into the goofy category, IMO.

Why not just enjoy the boat for what its designed for, and quit
pretending its something it clearly isn't? Why so desperate to have
your boat choice validated?

KH

Keith Hughes wrote:

snipped a lot of good stuff to address the even better conclusion...


Why so desperate to have
your boat choice validated?

KH

I do believe you hit the nail right firmly on the head...

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.

Dan Best wrote:

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.

ah c'mon...don't hold back like that... tell him what you really think

Hell, even Neal motored across.


"Jeff" wrote in message
. ..
* Ed Gordon wrote, On 6/20/2007 12:41 PM:
Last time I posted here some people were claiming a
Mac26X never went to
the Bahamas. Well, here's a site that proves you were
wrong again.

I don't believe anyone doubted that a Mac has crossed over
to the
Bahamas. After all, its only 40 miles so it should be no
big deal for
a boat that can do 20 knots. In fact, the only surprising
thing is
that you make such a big deal about it!

On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:41:09 +0200 (CEST), Ed Gordon
wrote:

The only thing I don't like is
where the owner says he's using a full tank of gas in only 20 miles.

Sounds entirely plausible. A 50 hp outboard burns about 5 gals per
hour. At that rate the 6 gallon tank goes an hour and 12 minutes.

As an FYI, we have cruised 750 miles in the last 6 days, with about
600 of that offshore. We saw our first Mac today, well inland in the
South Carolina ICW.