Aboard: ANNA

The sloop ANNA is, effectively, a big daysailer—but one with elegant and comfortable accommodations for the occasional offshore delivery passage. Her designers, Paul Waring and Robert W. Stephens of the Belfast, Maine, design firm Stephens Waring, describe her as having “a hefty edge towards comfort, first and foremost, with a design brief that focuses on easy daysailing and entertaining of friends and family.” However, she is built of wood partly so she can compete in the popular Spirit of Tradition divisions of classic yachts races.

She was built by Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding of Thomaston, Maine—the first cold-molded yacht the yard has built. The process, however, employed some cutting-edge technology. As Tom Jackson described in his article “CNC Comes of age” in WoodenBoat No. 261, “the hull was conventionally cold-molded over laminated wood frames and a few permanent bulkheads, aligned on a CNC-cut setup structure.” But the interior and deck were built in modules, off the boat; these modules included wire chases, plumbing, and finished joinery. When they were complete, they were lifted into the hull and set in place with minimal additional fitting required.

ANNA was launched in April last year and had a full season of racing and cruising in Rhode Island, Maine, and Nova Scotia. In the fall, she returned to Lyman-Morse for winter storage, and just before her haulout I joined her crew for a sail out of Camden Harbor on a brisk day in early October. The breeze was in the low 20 knots and the temperature was in the low 50s, and ANNA sailed beautifully. She was dry, stable, and responsive. She tacked and jibed easily and with minimal effort. She sailed close to the wind. And, as described on the following pages, she had a hefty edge toward comfort, indeed.