I will admit to being a ­low-tech sailor. On my own cruising boat, the water toys are typically limited to a paddleboard, snorkeling gear, and maybe a couple of pool noodles if we go all out. 

But I have seen the other boats with all the cool gadgets, and envied their fun in the sun. I asked for advice from Capt. RJ Portman and chef/mate Jenna Taylor of the 50-foot Lagoon Delana Mae. Their boat charters in the Caribbean, so they look for toys that amplify the guest experience while being simple to deploy, and easy to clean, stow, and maintain.

The top toy aboard Delana Mae is the Bote Dock Hangout, an inflatable, ­horseshoe-shaped lounge. “Guests absolutely love this thing,” RJ says. “We put it out at every anchorage and even anchor it near the beach occasionally. It has this paddleboard-style base with soft, inflatable back pillows for relaxing with a beverage. It’s rigid in use, then totally collapsible when you’re done.”

Next on their list is a pair of submersible scooters from Sublue: the WhiteShark Mix and WhiteShark Mix Pro. 

“They move you about the speed of decent flipper kicks while snorkeling,” Jenna says, adding that these toys run for 30 to 45 minutes. “For more-advanced users, it’s a lot of fun to get deep fast and cruise around without burning much oxygen. You can cover so much ground without a whole lot of effort.” 

RJ’s personal favorite toy is also the boat’s priciest: the Lift eFoil.

 “It comes with an $11,000 price tag, but, oh baby, is it cool,” he says. “I can teach a person how to foil in about two hours over two to three sessions.” 

Battery life varies for the eFoil, he says, but typically the battery outlasts the sessions, and takes only about two hours to fully recharge. 

Another guest favorite is the Subwing towable. Guests hold the board, as opposed to a rope, and can quickly learn to submerge, corkscrew, and otherwise indulge their inner dolphin. “It’s the most fun you can have at 1 mile per hour,” RJ says. “But Subwing requires a dinghy driver and me to be away from the boat and other guests, so we favor the ­underwater scooters instead.”

Another toy that they have is the Sea LiOn, a battery-­powered, tankless diving ­system that floats ­independently on the ­surface and allows for up to three divers to go as deep as 65 feet. It requires a more involved setup, evaluation and ­monitoring of the divers, and a more tedious breakdown and cleaning process after use. This system, however, does come in doubly handy for the crew when cleaning the bottom of the boat or doing repairs. 

The couple also recommends investing in good beach-party gear. They like the Sun Ninja tent with UPF 50 protection. “It’s easy to set up and packs down smaller than a GoodStuff sleeping bag,” Jenna says. “Get the one with four poles; it’s worth it.”

They’ve used the tent in up to 20 knots of wind. Another pro tip: Fill the bags at each corner with sand, and stretch the corners tight before installing the poles. If they still move, add water to the sand.

To complete the party, they bring ashore four Cliq chairs, which collapse to the size of a large water bottle, and a pair of Ultimate Ears Wonderboom portable, waterproof speakers. 

“A cozy spot with your favorite tunes on a beautiful beach,” RJ says. “It’s an ideal finish to a great day on the water.”

I must say, RJ and Jenna have inspired me to ramp up the game on my own cruising boat. And I look forward to the next time I can set sail with Delana Mae and play with the latest and greatest toys again. 

Paddling Gear

More and more cruising boats are carrying stand-up paddleboards, or SUPs. If inflatable, they are easy to roll and stow inside (we keep them in the head shower on our boat). On our Beneteau 36 Liberte, we carry the noninflatable versions using a Magma rack, which attaches easily to the stanchions. This setup keeps the decks clear and the boards easier to access, and therefore more likely to be used. 

Kayaks are also easy to ­deploy and fun to ­paddle. Sea Eagle makes an excellent line of SUPs and kayaks. My advice is to test-drive a few to see what kind of paddler you are. Do you want more stability or more speed? In general, on a cruising boat, I would opt for the stabler option. You will be more inclined to take it out in choppier conditions, and your guests will appreciate the training wheels.

An intriguing option is the Bixpy electric motor, which fits snugly into the fin box of Sea Eagle’s kayaks and SUPs, and works as a paddle assist or stand-alone propulsion option. While you’re at it, throw in a two-stage electric turbo pump to make life easier with inflatable toys. 

On Liberte, we began cruising with a kayak, but we found ourselves using the paddleboards more and more over time. There’s many a day when we don’t even launch the dinghy. We have amazed ourselves with what we can cart to and fro across reasonably calm water: laundry, groceries, propane tanks and certainly the boat dog, who loves the ride. —DK

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Farr Yacht Design and Infiniti Performance Yachts have released a conceptualization of their latest design project, a 56′ high performance bluewater cruiser. The Infiniti 56C will aim to bring together modern design, both inside and outside, with the latest high-tech materials to maximize sailing performance.

The most forward-thinking feature of the new cruiser will be the addition of lateral foils, first developed for the smaller, racing oriented Infiniti 46. The electronically actuated single Dynamic Stability System foil will improve performance and stability while underway making for a smoother and faster sailing experience.

“We are entering the age of foil-assisted sailing,” said Farr Yacht Design in the Infiniti 56’s design brief. “While foiling multihulls have received much attention, we feel the potential performance advancements through the use of foils on monohulls is equally dramatic and primed for widespread adoption.”

The Infiniti 56 will make use of other innovative features, all geared toward increasing both sailing performance and comfort. A lifting keel will allow for lighter displacement and a deep center of gravity, while also reducing draft for easy access to popular cruising ports. The Infiniti 56 will also feature twin rudders for better control in all conditions.

Farr and Infiniti hope to set a new bar for performance cruising, being equally at home in blue water, as it is on the race course. The DSS system marks a new era of technological design for cruisers in both comfort and sailability, allowing boats to point higher, faster and flatter, shortening passages and making for a more enjoyable sail. The concept was developed from the ground up to maximize the benefits of the foil system.

Find out more here.

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Summer in Newport, Rhode Island, offers no shortage of sailboats of all persuasions. From graceful 12-Meters to 100-foot racing sleds to cruising boats of all stripes and plenty in between, the view is never boring — particularly if there are any foiling boats out. For years, I’ve watched Moth sailboats flit around Narragansett Bay, barely touching the water, and thought that it must be such a rush to do that; I didn’t think it was something that I might actually get a chance to try. But then the Red Bull Foiling Generation team rolled into town, and my colleague Ben Meyers and I had our chance.

The Red Bull Foiling Generation is a series of regattas targeted at sailors who are 16 to 20 years old to give them opportunities to learn to sail and compete in high-performance foiling cats. It just so happened that the U.S. qualifiers and world finals were being held in Newport last October. A PR team reached out to members of the local sailing press, and against my better judgment, I signed on to go for a “ride-along” on one of the boats. (“You’re going to be impossible to live with after this,” my husband said when I told him about the gig. Since our cruising ketch, Lyra, tops out at 8 knots or so, I think that he was just jealous.)

As it turned out, there was very little riding along involved. The Flying Phantom 18 is an incredibly physical doublehanded boat. Climbing aboard the catamaran, feeling cumbersome in my wetsuit, PFD, harness, helmet, and borrowed gloves and booties, I thought it necessary to mention to the helmsman that this was not only going to be my first time foiling, but my first time out on a trapeze as well. And I should add that the helmsman was Hans-Peter Steinacher, who won Olympic gold in sailing for Austria in 2000 and 2004 and is one of the founders of the Foiling Generation. To say I was intimidated would be a severe understatement.

The winds were light (thank God) as we sailed out toward the bay entrance, giving me time to find my sea legs. What breeze there was completely died for a brief lull, and while Hans-Peter and I sat on the boat waiting for Newport’s reliable southwesterlies to fill in, he joked, “See, it’s not much different than your cruising boat!”

Funny guy.

A maybe 8-knot breeze filled in, and then off we went: It was suddenly nothing like my cruising boat. But what a ride it was. With my feet planted on the hull and my body out on the trapeze, it was like walking on water. And then up we went. The boat needs only about 7 knots of wind to foil, and the feeling is incredible — more like flying than sailing, which I suppose it is. Once the hulls are out of the water, the ride is nearly silent, which just adds to the flightlike experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

After the adrenaline and obligatory Red Bull finally left our systems, Ben, who I should mention is younger than me and more experienced with dinghy sailing, said, “You know, even if I sailed one of those boats for years, I don’t think that I’d ever really get the hang of it.” I’ll admit that I was relieved to hear him say that, but we both agreed that it was a total rush.

To learn more about the Red Bull Foiling Generation events, visit ­foilinggeneration.redbull.com.

— Jen Brett

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