The Changing Watch: Multihulls, Modern Cruisers, and a New Voice On Deck

There’s a certain beauty in the rhythm of cruising. The sun rises, the coffee percolates (usually with a slight list), and someone somewhere is wrestling a mainsail down while shouting a few choice expletives into the wind. The seas might not always be calm, but the rituals are familiar. Reliable. Comforting, even.

But lately, I’ve been thinking about change—not the dramatic kind that grabs headlines, but the subtler shifts. The way the anchorage looks a little more crowded than it used to. The way newbies at boat shows talk about Starlink like it’s a basic provisioning item, right up there with peanut butter and Poo-Pourri.

And yes, I’ll admit it: The growing number of multihulls here in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has me rubbing my eyes at times, wondering when exactly we hit critical mass. The other evening, I was walking down a dock at Bahia Mar after sundowners on a buddy of mine’s boat and realized that every single boat on the row—port and starboard—had two hulls. Perhaps it was that “level 3” painkiller, but for a second, I thought I’d been whisked away to some charter base on Tortola.

Truth is, we’re deep into the era of the catamaran. For the first time, our Boat of the Year field this year had an even split between monohulls and multihulls. So in our annual Multihull issue, we wanted to dive straight into this cat fancy with two features that bring a little subjectivity to the matter. Tom Linskey, a seasoned cruising sailor with thousands of multihull sea miles behind him, lays out the real-world trade-offs of cruising on two hulls versus one. And reformed monohuller Pat Schulte and his family return to the world of multihulls—and discover a fresh take on comfort, purpose, and finding the right boat for life’s next chapter.

I won’t spoil either piece for you, except to say this: The multihull discussion isn’t ­really about hulls. It’s about evolution. People’s needs change. Families grow. Knees creak. The dog wants his own stateroom. Sailing adjusts to meet us where we are, and that’s a good thing.

Speaking of evolution, this issue marks a major moment here at Cruising World. After nearly three decades of reliably making us laugh, think, and occasionally spit coffee across the salon table, Cap’n Fatty Goodlander is handing off the helm of our beloved On Watch column.

For 27 years, Fatty’s been our resident rascal and philosopher. His stories came with equal parts wisdom and whimsy, often wrapped in a layer of self-deprecation that made us wonder how on earth he survived some of those adventures. (Answer: Because he’s brilliant, resourceful, and just a little bit nuts—in the best way.)

His departure leaves big sea boots to fill. Fortunately, we found a legend in every sense of the word who was ready to step in.

Lin Pardey, alongside her late husband, Larry, sailed more than 200,000 offshore miles—most of them engine-free, in boats they built by hand. Lin is a born storyteller, a skilled mariner, and a living reminder that simplicity and adventure go hand in hand. We’re thrilled to welcome her as the new voice of On Watch. Her debut column is everything you’d expect: warm, wise and quietly bold.

Personally, this transition hit me a little harder than I expected. Fatty was the first columnist I ever read in Cruising World—the one who made me realize that boat writing didn’t have to be dry or technical, that it could be joyful and human and a little irreverent. Or maybe it’s just because I hate goodbyes. Either way, I found myself this week flipping through back issues, rereading favorite On Watch columns like they were dog-eared letters from an old friend.

Sailing has always been about adapting to the ­conditions. Whether you’re changing course, changing boats or changing who’s at the helm of a column, the important part is keeping an eye on the horizon and a hand on the tiller.

As for Cruising World, our heading remains the same: to bring you stories that reflect the real lives of sailors today. Whether you’re a monohull traditionalist, a fresh catamaran convert or a dreamer still at the dock, we’re with you, ­always on watch.

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