I love it when Russ, the owner of West Yachts, invites me up to sail on a survey sea-trial. Every boat is different, and this one was a very special Hinckely Bermuda 40. Phillip and Eko came up from S.F. for s/v Freya, a nicely-outfitted East coast well-built Hinckely. What a nice boat, with wide side decks and more light inside than I've seen on bigger boats. Maybe it's just bouncing around off the varnished interior. s/v Freya has a mainsail with full battens on a in-boom Schaefer furling system. Schaffer just builds great gear! I like the shiny dorade scoops and the boat comes with shade cover and "Flying Nun Windscoops" for more air below on hot days. This one has a smooth bronze worm gear driven centerboard and rod/cable throttle control. With the centerboard up, Freya draws only 4' 1", great for exploring and anchoring closer to shore. Down the board draws 8' 7" for better tracking up-wind. Eko quickly found the comfortable spots. We all appreciated the "custom dodger" - missing the top pannel which made the companionway entry and standing up easier. Look - it's Lynne in the dodger! It's always great to be on a Lynne Riester survey, and her associate surveyor Andy Carlson may be a power-boater, but he's raced on sailboats and knows his sail trim. This Hinckely also had a very well built radial-cut genoa and a traditional yawl rig with a sweet little North sail, which makes for a fine trim tab/anchor sail. The mizzen-mast is always a good place for the radar and flag.

Note: The U.S. Yacht Ensign is the alternative to the traditional 50-star national flag, to be carried onboard pleasure boats. In the United States, the yacht ensign was designed by the officers of the New York Yacht Club and authorized by an Act of Congress in 1848. It remains a legal national flag for boats that is widely used in U.S. waters.

We had a good little breeze for sailing, and I got out another camera & lens for the sun star shot. We did a few tacks and jibes, a little clean-up and I had to run off to the next boat. . . I hope you enjoy these shared snapshots - I always try to get shots of everyone I can, and a few interesting details. These pics are good therapy for me. Thanks All!

(Click on any image below for a larger image "slide show" - swipes and arrow keys should work well.)