Sailing a Beneteau Sense 55 to Bermuda for the America’s Cup: Part One

By Kevin Fraser CPYB
Last summer, one of my customers asked me to find him a sailboat that he could sail to Bermuda to watch the America’s Cup. I showed him a few boats in the 50’ range but none appealed to him, I then showed him a Beneteau Sense 55, which his first reaction was, “it’s too big.”

I convinced him to go for a sail on the Sense 55, and so we left Padanaram Harbor on a beautiful summer day with a typical Buzzards Bay sea breeze of 10 to 12 kts. The boat loved the conditions and soon we were sailing along on a close reach at 9kts … he was hooked!

After that sail we negotiated back and forth on price and conditions. Finally, he said to me, “I will buy the boat … but you have to help me sail it to Bermuda and back.”

 Of course I said absolutely!

Thus began the process for modifying and equipping the boat now with a name, “Gracie,” for an offshore passage to Bermuda.

On June 7, they set sail for Bermuda, to watch the America’s Cup.

Stay tuned for more about what we did to make Gracie ready for her maiden offshore voyage to Bermuda.

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