My family and I have been sailing an Atlantic 55 for the last year --
Massachusetts,
Nova Scotia,
Bermuda,
Virgin Islands,
Columbia,
Panama,
Honduras,
Guatemala,
Belize,
Mexico, US,
Bahamas and soon non-stop back to
Massachusetts -- about 8,000 miles when all is said and done.
We have owned the boat for over two years and were fortunate to do our "before departure"
refit, when an A57 was being built nearby. We used a number of their molds and ideas to add some features that make this boat a cross between the two.
I am still new to cats (other than many charters and Hobies), but have sailed and raced over 100,000 miles on a wide variety of mono-hulls.
We (my wife and I) absolutely love the boat, and now we are unabashed
catamaran enthusiasts. The forward cockpit works wonderfully; great visibility, safe and comfortable -- you can really see the sails while sailing. Visibility from inside the
wheel house/main
salon is exceptional. Chris White has sailed many miles on his boats, often alone, and his many practical design details show it. For one small example, with the boom-rigged staysail and the main both self-tacking on travelers, you can sail into a harbor without touching the
sheets.
We are happy with our
passage times -- we have averaged about 220 miles a day at sea and this is with our 12 and 14 year old
children as watch mates.
Our boat was originally built in
South Africa and we are the third owner. It was well-built (I think that Chris oversees the construction of most of his boats). I was quite comfortable in some lousy weather that we saw early in our trip. There is plenty of bridge
deck clearance (around 40") and plenty of forward reserve buoyancy.
In all, a great boat!