This past weekend I flew to Italy with a former SSC student and member, James C, who has become one of the most successful racers on the Long Island Sound in his Hanse 375.  James has been looking for something faster, better in light air and larger for cruising with his growing family.  

We have looked at Swan 45’s and 42’s (phrf -3 – too deep and large in the case of the 45) and Xp 44’s (PHRF 18 but too large and too deep), and a number of other options including the Hanse 430e (phrf 63),  J133 (both somewhat slow compared with the benchmark of a Club Swan 42).   I started looking for boats in Europe and came across the Sly 42, which was part of Grand Soleil.  The numbers looked great and according to owners she is actually faster than a Swan 42 upwind.  She would fit in Jame’s club, both for length and draft. Unfortunately, none were ever imported into the US, so we flew to Italy.