The only real advice I heeded when I bought my first sailboat, a 23' drop keeler in the late seventies was, you wouldn't cross the desert in an MG. An MG is a weeny little sports car which was great fun to drive on a good road. It was fast(ish), had little ground clearance and was meant for fun and little else.

I had looked at buying a trailer sailer of 18', with a fat guts and low freeboard, to sail in Darwin harbour. Darwin harbour has a daily tidal range of between 6 and 9 metres (18-27 feet). There are reefs, tradewinds in the Dry season and monsoons and cyclones in the Wet season.

I was considering buying a pretty boat which was being sold, I later discovered, because it was entirely unsuitable and even dangerous in the conditions which hallmark my particular area along the northern Australian coast.

When looking for a new boat this time around, I knew I wanted a boat made for serious ocean crossings. I looked at Catalinas, Hunters and Beneteaus (should that be Beneteaux?) because they are nice, have good accommodations, they're attractive, sail well...and it seems they are almost universally panned as poor boats in which to cross oceans.

A little research seemed to give credence to this line of thought.

But, my cruising mates from Japan sailed all over south east Asia and Oceania, and hove-to for two days as a cyclone passed over them in the Coral sea. Hideo and Minako said that while they were not comfortable, they felt safe.

Theirs is the Oceanis pictured above. Hideo spent two years and a lot of money preparing his Bennie for the trip. The custom made fibreglass dodger alone cost a mint!

Not having access to a mint, I had to buy a boat which needed little modification. So, my decision was to buy a 37', rolled steel, Dutch built sloop built specifically for racing in the North Sea. The boat was launched in 1964, sailed the Fastnet Races, The Santander, the Middle Sea Race in the Mediterranean, and many more before it was sold and then refitted completely in 2006.

Using such wonderful mathematical tools such as Ted Brewer's Motion Comfort Ratio Index, only served to make my determination easier.

It's not an MG. It's not a Cadillac....it's sort of a sexy waterborne Hummer, a hard wearing, tough but comfortable, practical and beautiful cruising yacht. I love it!