“It was with a happy heart that the good Odysseus spread his sail.” -Homer
Murrelet at anchor.
I have been messing about in boats all my life. Growing up in Berkeley, I was a Sea Scout, learning to navigate San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River Delta on the Northland – a 65-foot Aviation Rescue Boat. As a student at UC Santa Barbara, I learned to sail Omegas in the sailing program and had many adventures in the Santa Barbara Channel. Later, at the University of Washington, I explored Lake Washington and Puget Sound in a variety of kayaks and canoes. In 1999, my wife and I purchased a MacGregor 26x, which we named Murrelet in honor of a Pacific Northwest seabird. This website describes our explorations of the Salish Sea and beyond. -Frank Mighetto
Our Cruising Grounds
Navigation
AMERICA’S CUP 2013Click on photo for section  America’s Cup |
EARLY ARTICLES & SITESClick on photo for section  Archives |
TOP 10 DESTINATIONSClick on photo for section  South Sound Cruising |
SOUTH SOUND RACINGClick on photo for section  Hope Island Race |
TALL SHIPSClick on photo for section  Tall Ships |
VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2012Click on photo for section  Volvo Ocean Race |
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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/05/09/uss-saratoga-destined-for-dismantling-after-one-cent-deal-with-texas-firm/
The USS Saratoga — the legendary aircraft carrier that played a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and Gulf wars and made Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi back down — is destined for dismantling after the Navy paid one penny to a Texas firm to recycle the 81,101-ton behemoth.
Contrary to marketers of lesser vessels who like to say otherwise, MacGregor Yachts is a builder of ocean sail boats and not a builder of boats meant for the first time purchaser.
Macgregor 26M Bonnie Blue Sailing to the Dry Tortugas You Tube
http://bwyachts.com/chinook/bahamas_2011/ Chinook
http://pstobo.popstogo.com/bahama4.html Madgic Spell
http://www.ne-ts.com/cr/cr-404bahamas.html
http://www.ne-ts.com/cr/cr-401bimini.html
http://a1sailboats.com/26xto.htm
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/explore/exumas/index.php
The Executive Director of a national development program in the Republic of Kiribati got a fleet of Mac26x cruisers to the Marshall Islands where they were used for transporting medical and dental teams and supplies and were routinely sailed 500 miles from the Marshall Islands to the Republic of Kiribati. The director, shane@moonrakerdevelopment.com holds a merchant marine license, has a hundred-ton ticket, has sailed the world in many vessels including Columbia’s and Catamarans, owned a Mac26x and in 2002 indicated he would like to purchase a used one – probably regretting the sale of his first. He is a real fan of the cruiser and has sailed them in rough conditions and nothing broke. It is that kind of praise that makes me question those who claim the Mac26x is not a blue water cruiser. For a crew of two it may be the ideal blue water cruiser.