ticket to ride catamaran owners

10 Best Cruising Catamaran Blogs For Inspiration and Knowledge

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Like most people, you’ve probably thought about going on a long, relaxing cruise on a catamaran or even living full time in one of these amazing vessels. While catamarans are one of the safest boats to sail on, they do come with unique challenges. Whether you’re going on a cruising vacation or looking to live your dream life on a catamaran, you’ll want to know what to expect, and cruising blogs are a great way to do that.

Some of the best cruising catamaran blogs to check out include Escapade Sailing, Sailing Fiesta, Sail Puffin, Ticket to Ride, Moonwave, Gone With the Wynns, The Burnetts Ahoy, S/V Happy Together, Widago, and S/V Maple.

Read on for details about these blogs, the people behind them, and why they’re worth a read!

Escapade Sailing

Escapade Sailing is one of those blogs that are sure to make you green with envy. Here, you’ll enjoy some breathtaking pictures of the pacific as Jonathan and Dawn Pooley document their adventures aboard their luxury catamaran — an Outremer 51. 

This blog shares a name with the duo’s catamaran: Escapade. This fast cruising cat was built in France in 2014 and is home to Jonathan and Dawn Pooley, who are taking a break from their Guernsey home to live life on the ocean. It has a composite sandwich construction with a rotating carbon mast, daggerboards, and kevlar rig ie a pretty legit setup.

Sailing Fiesta

Through Sailing Fiesta , Mark provides an account of his catamaran adventures with his dog. Together, they set out to sail around the British Isles on a Prout Event 34 catamaran named FiestaFiesta. Mark had sailed all his life before buying Fiesta in 2012, and it doesn’t seem like he’s regretting that decision. He’s on board with just his dog for most of the year and may allow curious visitors to tag along now and then.

Those of us who can’t tag along get to share in his experience through his blog, where you’ll find captivating written accounts of his adventures alongside some fantastic photos. 

Unlike many other sailing bloggers, Mark doesn’t document only his successes; there are a few screw-ups now and then. This way, aspiring catamaran sailors get to share in his fun while also learning a few things about the challenges that come with a sailor’s lifestyle.

Sail Puffin

Sail Puffin is a great blog to learn about the technical aspects of sailing a catamaran while enjoying some exciting accounts of Doug and Robin’s adventures on their Outremer 4X. Like many other blogs in this list, this one also shares a name with its owners’ boat: Puffin.

Before purchasing their cat, Doug and Robin had been sailing for over three years on the Mediterranean Ocean. Back then, they cruised on a larger Outremer 5X known as the Wilding and detailed their adventures on a blog named Sail Wilding . However, when their kids went away for their studies, the couple decided to downsize from the Outremer 5X to a 4X, which they named Puffin, after their favorite sea birds. 

Puffin is safe, fast, comfortable, and able to cross oceans. However, the main reason Doug and Robin love her is that she can be sailed single-handedly . That’s unlike their former larger Outremer 5X, which required an experienced, agile crew to handle in all conditions. A smaller boat means one-half of the couple can sail the boat if either of them is incapacitated.

Sail Puffin is an excellent blog for anyone looking to purchase, sail, or customize a catamaran. Doug handles most of the technical stuff, and he knows his way around a boat. Most importantly, he’s a stickler for detail, and the fact that he’s good with descriptions means that his audience can benefit from his wealth of knowledge. 

On the blog section of their website, he combines in-depth written descriptions with well-taken photos of everything he does on their boat to make it easier for his audience to learn the technical aspects of sailing a catamaran.

The couple has even dedicated an entire section on their site to capture the nitty-gritty details of the Puffin’s construction. This section is named Construction Specifications , and it’s a gold mine for anyone looking to own a similar catamaran. Even if you’re eyeing a different model, it’s a handy guide that you can use as inspiration to customize your catamaran to your specific needs.

Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is all about seeking new life experiences and sharing them with the rest of the world. Up until 2015, Frank and his compatriot owned HH55 catamaran, which they put on charter for about two and a half years before deciding to sell their home in Coppell, TX, and become full-time sailors. Simplicity was a big motivation behind this change. 

Frank is the more experienced sailor and the visionary behind the couple’s adventures. He has always been obsessed with heading out to the open waters to explore new places, especially one with scenic scuba diving and kiteboarding spots. 

He’s also a boat enthusiast who loves to get his hands dirty. He’s always learning about sailing and boat maintenance from their charter company and is often seen tinkering with the HH55 to repair and upgrade a few things here and there. 

The great thing about Ticket to Ride is that it gives readers a real-life example of what it would be like to make the switch from a part-time sailor to living full-time on a boat . This way, you can learn about the good and the bad of such a move before making the big decision yourself.

It’s also great that the couple included details of how they could charter their boat when they weren’t using it. This helps aspiring boat owners understand that you can enjoy travels on your boat and still make money off it if you haven’t yet decided to make it your full-time home.

The Moonwave is a boat unlike any other. This Gunboat 60 catamaran is an innovative and sustainable luxury boat that combines three essential aspects in one package: a solid, state-of-the-art carbon fiber composite construction, luxurious accommodation, and excellent sailing performance . 

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to live full time and explore the world on one of these catamarans, Moonwave is a cruising catamaran blog you’ll want to check out. 

The blog is run by Sophie and Sebastian, a duo that shares a deep passion for ocean gourmet cooking, sailing, and hospitality. They’re always looking to make visitors’ life on the Moonwave as adventurous, safe, and comfortable as possible. Neither of them is new to life on the ocean, so you’ll be in safe hands should their blog motivate you to charter a voyage on the Moonwave. 

Sebastian has studied naval architecture and has years of experience working as an engineer, captain, and boat instructor, meaning he knows his way around the catamaran’s systems should anything go wrong on the waters. He’s the one you’ll find doing most cat repairs and upgrades. 

Sophie boasts a Master’s degree in Tourism Management, as well as years of experience working in five-star resorts and hotels. She’s also a trained chef, meaning you can expect great food onboard the Moonwave. 

When you’re feeling adventurous, Sophie will also be on hand to help you with scuba diving (which she has master certification for) and other watersports. She’s also well versed in underwater photography and a proud holder of a Yacht Masters license.

Even if you aren’t looking to charter the Moonwave, Sophie and Sebastian’s blog is worth checking out. They provide fascinating accounts of their journeys to some of the most exciting places in the Caribbean, Asia, and the US. 

Spectacular photos accompany all the written accounts to give you a glimpse of some of the places they’ve toured. If you’re not the reading type, you can always scroll through the gallery section of their site for nothing else but well-shot photos of some of the breathtaking sights they’ve come across in their voyages.

Gone With the Wynns

After touring the Americas on an RV, the Wynns embarked on a journey to explore the rest of the world by boat. They decided to do that by sailing a 2005 Leopard 43 catamaran named Curiosity, which they purchased in 2016. The couple also owns two companion cats (as in the animal), who, like their owners, have had to adjust to life at sea.

The great thing about this blog is that the couple documented their journey from the very beginning. They let their fans in on every step of the way, from their search for the perfect boat to the survey and the actual purchase. 

They’ve also admitted that they didn’t have any previous sailing or boat maintenance experience, which helps inspire anyone who may be eyeing a similar lifestyle but is hesitant because they aren’t sure they have the required skills.

In summary, the Wynns’ message is that you don’t need to be a sailor all your life to make the change from ordinary life to living on the sea. All you need is their desire to explore, grow, and learn, and of course, a sizable budget. 

Besides sharing exciting details of their adventures, the couple is always providing handy tips on various aspects of a sailor’s life like making ends meet when living on a boat, making boat repairs, how much money you need to support your life as a sailor, and much more. This way, you won’t only be entertained and inspired but also educated from their real-life experiences. No wonder they have such a huge following.

The Burnetts Ahoy!

Have you ever felt so burnt out at your 9-5 job and wished you could leave it all behind, sell your home and purchase a boat? Many of us have, too! However, you might want to check out the Burnetts Ahoy blog before you make that change, so you understand precisely what you’re in for. 

This blog is run by burnt-out professionals who decided that they’ve had enough of their jobs, learned the intricacies of sailing, purchased a gigantic Leopard 48 catamaran, plopped a cat and two kids on board, and sailed through the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, and the Meditteranean sea. 

Their journey has been full of adventures and a few disasters, and they share it all with you so you can learn from their successes and mistakes.  

The most inspiring thing about this blog is that the Burnetts have been able to break from the shackles of their daily life and embark on a life of adventure with kids. Most people would want to wait until their kids are off to college or something similar, but that’s not the Burnetts way─they homeschool their kids aboard.

While their journey may come to an end someday, they’ll leave behind plenty of archives for aspiring sailors to explore, and you can rest assured there’ll be plenty to entertain and educate. From learning how to sail from scratch to running into an unmarked fish trap in the middle of the night, the Burnetts have seen and done it all.

S/V Happy Together

Lenni and Randy are deeply passionate about two things: each other and sailing. As of 2015, they had been together for 17 years and owned fourteen boats. In the earlier part of their sailing lives, they were primarily power boaters who explored the Bahamas and South Florida while still juggling their quest for adventure and their kids and full-time jobs. 

The couple’s most recent boat is a Leopard catamaran 50, which they purchased after owning a Leopard 48 for over three years. Their current and all previous boats were named Happy Together, perhaps as a tribute to the incredible moments that they’ve shared. Theirs is an engaging, inspiring story of love and adventure, and you can learn all about it through their timely logs on their website.

The blog is updated frequently, with all details captured compellingly. They’ve also included a gallery section on their site, where you’ll find some well-taken photos of their vessels to give you an idea of what life is like aboard for the couple. They also run a YouTube channel to document every experience in a separate episode to bring you even closer to their adventures.

There are several reasons to love this blog. First, there’s the couple’s inspirational story of love and adventure. Second, these people manage to work in South Florida while still having the time for island hopping. They’ve even coined a term to describe their hardworking and adventurous lifestyle: “pre-retirement.” 

On top of that, they have a wealth of knowledge on the various aspects of sailing, and they don’t hold back any details when it comes to sharing. Even if you aren’t moved by their incredible journey (and who wouldn’t?), you can use them as a reference point if you’re considering purchasing any of the boats they’ve owned in the past. 

Widago is run by Ali Moseley and her significant other, Guyon. The couple and their three sons have been touring the world in a Leopard 48 “Widago” since 2014. In that time, they’ve participated in adventures such as the ARC Baltic, World ARC, ARC Europe, and many more. 

One of the things that stand out in this blog is Ali’s unique sense of humor. Looking at some of their adventure logs, it’s clear that she often sees the funny side of things. Her sense of humor is generally well-received and is one of the main reasons the blog has such a huge following. 

It’s also heartwarming to see a family work together towards their goals, both short-term and long-term. Plus, they throw in some handy tips for aspiring catamaran sailors now and then. 

Like most aspects of the Moseley family, Widago is constantly a work in progress. They’re always looking to improve the site and their life as a family, and you can follow their journey by staying tuned to their updates.

Yet another family-owned blog, S/V Maple , is run by Janet and Darryl’s family of four. They began their journey in 2015 by purchasing a Leopard 38 catamaran and naming it Maple. 

Since then, they’ve explored the vast waters of the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Ionian Seas and parts of Northern Africa, Southern Spain, and the Canary Islands. As of January 2017, they had completed the Atlantic crossing and embarked on a journey exploring the Caribbean.

The family details their adventures through the journal section of their website. You’ll also find spectacular shots of the places they’ve been to in the gallery section. They provide handy tips on topics such as life lessons, taking care of the oceans, buying a boat and maintaining it, living abroad, and so much more.

Final Thoughts

That does it for today’s post. Whether you’re looking to follow someone as they live out their dreams or are seriously considering going on a cruise or living full time on a catamaran, you’ll find an ideal blog to keep up with from these ten catamaran cruising blogs. 

For someone in the latter category, these can be a great way to learn from other people’s experiences or simply get some inspiration.

Owner of CatamaranFreedom.com. A minimalist that has lived in a caravan in Sweden, 35ft Monohull in the Bahamas, and right now in his self-built Van. He just started the next adventure, to circumnavigate the world on a Catamaran!

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Catamaran Sailing YouTube & Blogs

Catamarans on youtube, blogs.

Bookmark this page to find the best channels and let us know if we are missing any! This is a list of some of our favourite sailing catamaran YouTube channels and blogs.

Best Sailing YouTube Channels

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These are mostly catamaran channels, but there are one or two monohull YouTubers in there as they were too good to leave out!

These YouTube channels are full of some of the world’s special sailing destinations and cover what it takes to get there, including some great technical resource, some of which is specific to a model of boat and some of which is general sailing and maintenance advice.

You can also follow our sailing blog , of course. If you would like to be featured in this section, contact us !

Sailing Blogs ‘n Vlogs

1. wildlings sailing – vlog.

Previously, Mark and Nadiyana bought an old Sailcraft Cherokee 35 and they made it purr again. Now it’s Mark on his own fixing up a Wharram Pahi 42. Another massive boat project!

The Wildling sailing channel is top entertainment.

It just goes to show, you don’t need a Gunboat to have a blast, this is one of the most genuine channels out there, a great couple fixing up this ketch rigged cat. Go Wildlings!

2. Escapade – Blog

If you can stomach a blog that is going to make you green with envy, then fire up Escapade Sailing which covers Jonathan and Dawn Pooley’s travels onboard their catamaran – an Outremer 51 called Escapade. There are some fantastic shots of the South Pacific on this blog.

3. Sail Puffin, Sail Wilding – Blog

These are great blogs. I first started reading Sail Wilding which is all about Doug and Robins’s travels on their Outremer 5X. There´s some great technical resources in here as Doug is a stickler for detail. Anyway, they sold Wilding and are now cruising around on Puffin , an Outremer 4X. That´s great news for the rest of us, as we get 2 catamaran sailing blogs for the price of one! If you are ever in the market for an Outremer 4X , or 45 for that matter, make sure you read Puffin’s build specifications and options list.

4. Sailing Little Bird – Vlog

5. Ticket to Ride – Blog

Follow this luxury performance catamaran: Ticket to Ride is an HH55 and a lovely looking boat.

The owners previously had a 2013 Fountaine Pajot 44′ but they swapped it for more speed. A lot more speed! All of the posts on the catamaran build are very interesting (eg some of the 2018 posts).

6. Moonwave – Gunboat 60 – Blog

If you have ever wondered what it’s like to live and sail around the world on a Gunboat 60, then you’ll need to check out the Moonwave blog that is run by Sophie who crewed on this catamaran. Follow their travels in Asia, the Caribbean, the US and Asia. Sophie has now left the boat, but the blog still lives on.

7. Sailing La Vida Gypsea (Vlog)

Follow Linda, Kurt and Rigby on their Catana 471: La Vida Gypsea. This is their “Day in the life” episode.

These guys helped us with a Catana 471 Owner’s review so go and check out their Youtube channel!

8. Gone with the Wynns – Vlog

Jason and Nikki have been documenting their travels since 2011 on Gone With the Wynns . The popular couple have been entertaining fans for many years and have managed to develop their vlog production into a full time job under the banner of ‘Cultivate Curiosity’. Good for them!

Curiosity is a 2005 Leopard 43, one of Leopard Catamarans best selling models. They have sold that now and are waiting for delivery of their second catamaran, Curiosity 2, which will be an HH44.

9. Parlay Revival – Lagoon 450F – Vlog

These vlogs follow Colin Macrae who is a Superyacht Engineer on his travels on a Lagoon 450F called Parlay. Colin bought his boat after it had been smashed up in Hurricane Irma and has been fixing it up ever since as well as rescuing a few dogs at the same time.

The boat looks great now and they are on their way to New Zealand via Panama. We teamed up with these guys and did a Parlay Revival Review on their Lagoon 450 in our Owner’s section. Check it out if you are thinking of buying or chartering a L450. Colin is pretty famous for highlighting some bulkhead issues he had on his boat which helped a lot of people fixing up their boats. And p*ssed of  a lot of people trying to sell their 450s. No doubt though, Colin is the real deal and I think will end up thanking him for raising these issues.

You could say he raised a bit of a “sh*t storm”, but all’s well that ends well.

10. Sailing La Vagabonde – Outrememer 45 – Vlog

Well, we had to mention Riley, Elayna, Lenny and Darwin on Sailing La Vagabonde didn’t we? These guys have done so well – they started off in a monohull in Greece where they met, and now they are cruising around on an Outremer 45 with 2 stowaways onboard: Lenny and Darwin. Watch the first video and the last video, and see how much their video shooting skills have developed.

But what am I telling you that for, you have probably watched all the episodes anyway. They have a Rapido 60 on order as the Outremer isn’t quick enough for them!

They´re nippy, those Outremers!

11. Trade Wind Adventures – Catana 472 – Blog

If you like Catanas, check out Trade Wind Adventures which is all about Annie Gardner & Eric Witte’s travels on “el Gato”, a 2000 Catana 472.

12. The Sailing Family Outremer 51 – Blog Archives

Seth, Elizabeth and their 3 boys on “Archer”, a Ferrari red Outremer 51. They helped us out on a review on the 51 (a good read if you are researching these boats). Head to the The Sailing Family . They have now sold Archer and Seth is working with HH Catamarans , but you can take a look back through their vlogs of their trip around the world

13. TulasEndlessSummer – Crowther Vlog

Billy, Sierra and Jetty (their dog) who were cruising around on a Crowther Spindrift 40, are now on a Seawind 1170. Tula’s Endless Summer  is a fun vlog with some good technical stuff on it as well. Follow them, fixing up boats up along the way. They sold their Crowther and then bought a 1978 DeFever 43′ trawler for $100 which they have also sold.

They are waiting on the delivery of a Seawind 1260, it’s a great channel to check out.

These guys really put the work in fixing up their boats, and they look fun too. Check out the Spinnaker Flying episode where they fly their spinnaker off the bow at anchor (along with some of the crew).

14. Sailing Lady Africa – Dean 365 Vlog

This was Simone and Ricky from South Africa on their 1991 365 Dean Oceanliner Catamaran (they have sold the boat now).

They fixed Lady Africa up nicely (Lithium batteries, new mainsail, new rigging, looks great). If you like technical stuff, there is some great content here on the refit.

15. Sailing Fiesta – Prout Event 34 Blog

Sailing Fiesta is a great account of a journey of one man and his dog around the British Isles on a Prout Event 34. I enjoyed this one! The first catamaran I ever sailed in was a Prout Event, well, other than a Hobie Cat I mean.

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Ticket to Ride

• Vibrant new visuals and 3D flourishes that bring the board game to life Improved AI for a real challenge, and a wide range of personality types so that you can have the solo experience that suits you best
• Customise your appearance and express yourself! Choose from a large cast of characters to represent you, and pick your preferred colour. For the first time, customise your trains by choosing a locomotive and carriage that everyone will see when you claim a route
• Full cross-play across all platforms
• A post-launch update will introduce Adventures, a meta narrative with challenges to beat in order to advance the story and unlock rewards
• Regular updates will add new features and expansions.

Originally posted by bostondvd : Do you have any more timeline information available for releases on specific platforms?

Originally posted by codefiant : "Vibrant new visuals and 3D flourishes that bring the board game to life". How will this affect the game's performance on older or lower-end computers and very small screens? The digital version is the version my family plays; we don't even own the physical game. We really like how it keeps track of the scores for us, making it easier for my parents to play. But my laptop is 5 years old (I have a desktop for resource-needy games), my parents aren't gamers to begin with so their laptops are on the lower end of the scale, and my dad's laptop is one of the tiny lightweight ones - I'd guess that the screen is 10 inches, 11 tops. Will this game run well enough for us to actually enjoy it?

Originally posted by kb : How about the importance of keeping the old servers up and instead building compelling new content so maybe I'd *want* to purchase that instead of looking for alternatives?! y'all suck (at least at the greedy exec level)

Originally posted by StevoPhilo : Just to be clear. As a classic purchaser we will have to buy the new TTR game from Marmalade, but we will get Europe free on launch? Are there plans for Local play (LAN/wifi direct) when mobile is release?

Originally posted by xploring : How many maps are included with the base game? I see America only, is it only one map or are there state maps too?

Originally posted by keith.callbeck : "Yes, but users of the old game will be given a code that they can use to unlock an exclusive reward in the new game." How do I get the code?

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Ticket to Ride

Seeking new experiences, a simpler life and sharing the views.

Putting Our Stamp on TTR ~ Part I

One of the benefits for us of buying an HH55 catamaran is the opportunity to customize the boat to our liking.  No doubt that Morrelli and Melvin designed an incredible boat and HH is doing a fabulous job of fabricating that boat.  But we still have been able to add our own little stamp to the boat we will receive in a few months.

Beginning on the outside and forward at the bow, here are just a few items we have changed from “the norm” on previous HH55s.

Trampoline – The standard trampoline supplied by HYM is a 1 1/4 inch knotless dyneema material that is attached with individual lashings to the many, many attachment points on the hull. The 1 1/4 inch reference relates to the size of the hole between the strands of dyneema line. This dyneema trampoline is an excellent, lightweight choice for offshore and racing, the getting there part of sailing; however, for both the getting there and the being there part of sailing we chose an alternative. We wanted a trampoline comfortable for bare feet, dog paws, knees during yoga and relaxing at anchor.  Simply put, we wanted  to make the trampoline serve as both a useful and comfortable outdoor space.  Sunrise Yacht Products to the rescue! Richard worked beyond his duty to properly size and manufacture an offshore trampoline that would have all the benefits of dyneema with a host of other advantages. We settled on the Sunrise Offshore Polyester Open Net with 3/8″ net openings and attachment grommets to match each of the hull attachment points. We are super excited to play and work on this trampoline. By moving to this trampoline we did add 22 pounds to the overall weight of TTR .

Left represents the weave we chose for TTR. Right is a 1″ dyneema open weave.

Generator – Hudson Yacht has been installing a 12KW Fisher-Panda generator on the previous HH55’s and this was simply a deal breaker for Frank, my favorite mechanic. We have had different gensets on previous boats; however, the Northern Lights 9KW genset on Let It Be far surpassed any generator we have owned. The NL was quiet, easy to service, incredibly dependable, and NEVER failed to start. When we sold Let It Be,  the genset had over 8,000 hours, ran beautifully, and the only part we had replaced was one alternator. Frank feels that the key to the NL genset success is that it has No, None, zero green circuit boards, only relays, and it runs at 1800 RPMs not the 3200-3600 RPMs seen with the Fisher-Panda. The NL genset is about 40 pounds heavier than the FP which makes zero difference to us. Our boat, for better or worse, will be electrically demanding and we accept the need for a generator; however, we absolutely wanted a machine on which we can depend.

A brand new Northern Lights Generator for TTR.

Bow Thruster – HH offers a bow thruster located in the starboard forepeak with a dropdown lower unit when the thruster is in use. All 3 of the previous HH55s have opted for the thruster; however, we chose to delete the thruster from TTR . Having the experience of Let It Be with no bow thruster and the fact that we expect to spend very little time coming to and from marina docks; we feel very comfortable with no bow thruster. The financial savings was big and eliminating the thruster saved us over 440 pounds!! However, we did build a monolithic patch in the forward hull allowing for easy installation of a bow thruster if desired in the future.

450 mm Extended longeron (bowsprit) – Since our sailing plans and reason for buying Ticket To Ride include a tropical circumnavigation, we realize that much of our sailing time will be spent with the wind aft of the beam. On Let It Be some of our favorite sailing days had the wind TWA at 130-170; however, we also found that to be a challenging wind direction for sail configuration. Alas, with Gino Morelli’s advice and working with our sailmaker, Matt Bridges, from Doyle NZ, we decided to extend the longeron / bowsprit by 450 mm and fly a large furled reacher from the very end of the bowsprit. This bring the headsail further forward into cleaner wind, less blanketed by the mainsail.

Longeron installed on TTR.

Cableless Reacher – The mainsail, genoa, and self tacking staysail on Ticket to Ride will be supplied by Doyle NZ (our choice) and will be very similar in size and cut to the previous HH55s.  The reacher/Code sail is where we have changed course from the previous HH55s. Again, since tropical circumnavigation is our plan we talked at length with anyone knowledgable about appropriate sail configurations for such plans. Matt Bridges from Doyle NZ is an excellent listener and his first proposal included a cableless reacher. “What is that animal?,” we asked. In brief, a cableless reacher eliminates the very thick torque rope around which a removable, furled headsail is normally wound when furled. Instead of the 3/4 inch torque rope tensioned to sometimes over 5 tons, the cableless reacher has additional spectra and carbon fibers built into the luff of the sail and is tensioned to about 1/8 of the torque rope specs. The trade off with a cableless reacher is that it will not go upwind as well as a torque rope and will never be a Code 0 or an A1. Rather the cut is more A2 or A3. WOW, that’s exactly what we want!

Cableless reacher production drawing from Doyle Sails.

Considering all the above features of the cableless reacher, we also did not order a gennaker at this time. We feel the cableless reacher will be much easier for us to handle alone and it provides 80% of the benefit of a gennaker. Eliminating the gennaker is a huge dollar, weight and storage savings.

Another view of the reacher drawing.

Spade Anchor and galvanized chain – Hudson Yacht’s standard spec for anchor and chain is a Stainless Lewmar Delta anchor and stainless chain manufactured in China. I don’t know about you, but, we say thank you to our anchor every morning when we wake up to find ourselves in the same spot as when we went to bed. Let It Be was delivered with a Lewmar Delta Anchor which worked fine in ideal conditions. Sailors know that ideal conditions are seldom found! After 3 weeks on Let It Be , much anchor research, and a boat show special, we chose to give Let It Be a new Spade Anchor and we never looked back. Grass, mud, sand, wind, or any combination of the above and we were always set. So why would we want to return to the past with Ticket To Ride ? TTR will be sporting a beautiful stainless 1 piece Spade anchor. Concerning anchor chain, Practical Sailor says it best, “Steer Clear of Stainless-steel Mooring Chain.” Stainless chain, in addition to being inherently weaker, suffers from crevice corrosion leading to failure with no warning. We have spec’d 10 mm galvanized Acco chain for Ticket To Ride .

Hopefully our anchor will never land in such a shallow spot!

Watermakers – We really did not vary too far from the HYM standard Spectra watermaker. What we did change is its location. Frank and I had a love/hate relationship with the huge storage capacity below the berths on Let It Be . On the love side it allowed us to carry ample spares, tools, and toys. On the hate side it seemed like every time we needed something different it was stored below a bed requiring the removal of bedsheets, mattresses, mattress support boards followed by digging.  The watermakers on HH5501 and HH5502 were installed below the master berth…. a much less than ideal location in our opinion!  Considering filter replacement, checking for leaks and the noise generated while making water, my maintenance specialist began an earnest search for a different location. After many emails, evaluation of drawings, and support questions to Spectra, the decision was made to put the Spectra 24v Newport 700 in a purpose built compartment in the port side forepeak. The HH crew is confident this will be an excellent long term home for the watermaker due to access for service, weight distribution and water spill cleanup. Only time will tell for this untested location.

It’s very fun to share the construction of a new boat with our friends and readers. The items above really only scratch the surface of the changes we have made to TTR  to meet our needs. In a future blog post(s), we will share other custom changes to solar, electronics, seating, general arrangement, and so on.

In just a few days we are heading to China for the ‘soft launch’ of TTR and we look forward to seeing her in person! During soft launch, Ticket to Ride  is placed in a pond so most of her systems can be tested. Soft launch allows HH to review all of the components of boat systems and it will give us our first chance to begin learning about the systems on TTR that will be new to us. (And I get to see how the interior colors I chose actually work together. Fingers crossed!)

Many, many thanks go to the HH crew, Gino Morelli and Mark Womble (Morelli and Melvin),  Matt Bridges (Doyle NZ), Paul Hakes, and at the top of the list is Let It Be . She was much more to us than a platform for learning but WOW we did learn a lot from Let It Be .

As always, thank you for stopping by our blog. We love hearing from you, so feel free to add your comments. And if you want to hear from us more often, check out our Facebook page .

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Ticket to Ride

+Offers in-app purchases.

Online multiplayer on console requires Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass Core (sold separately).

Description

Arriving shortly at Platform Xbox…Ticket to Ride! Add to your wishlist now to be notified when it’s time to climb aboard. Travel around the world in an epic adventure that redefined the modern board game genre! Build a railway empire that connects the most popular cities, claim the most exciting routes and dominate your competitors in this fan-favourite classic! Get ready for a travel adventure that will take you around the world in this fan-favourite modern classic. Play the most iconic, multi-award-winning board game of this generation with friends, family or fans around the world. Keep an eye on the schedule for Ticket to Ride’s arrival! - Single Player Mode Driven by Expert AIs — Powered by an innovative adaptive AI system, single player mode offers a challenge for new and experienced players alike. The new Ticket to Ride AI system uses the best strategies, based on learnings from over one hundred master players and perfected over millions of simulated games. With dynamic difficulty settings to suit all needs, single player games provide a realistic challenge, adapting to the player’s style and behaviour as the game progresses. - A Truly Social Take on Online Multiplayer — Revolutionary tech enables a new online multiplayer system, which offers seamless match-making and a truly social experience. Make the most of every opportunity to connect with friends and family in private online games, and with fans around the world in open online multiplayer. - An Immersive Experience — Every moment has been brought to life with beautiful graphics that will immerse you in the adventure. From the intricately designed cards to the different types of train carriages, from the 3D map design to the sleek animations, the game feels alive and real. - Strategic Gameplay — Every game presents fresh challenges and it’s your mission to work out the most efficient solutions. Collect points by completing tickets, linking destinations, and building the longest route. As your railway network grows, no one will be left behind! - Only the Beginning… — Build your railway network through North America and Europe, and prepare for new expansions! These will include fan favourites plus some surprise additions exclusive to the digital game. Contains: - Ticket to Ride Base Game — the fan-favourite train-adventure game that started it all! - The European Expansion — includes the Europe map, two additional characters, two additional trains and two additional carriages

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Developed by, playable on.

• Xbox Series X|S

Capabilities

• Online multiplayer (2-5)
• Xbox cross-platform multiplayer
• Single player
• Xbox Live Cross-Gen Multiplayer
• Optimized for Xbox Series X|S
• Smart Delivery
• Xbox achievements
• Xbox cloud saves

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Ticket to Ride: Europe Review

We review the popular route building game Ticket to Ride: Europe. This new edition of Ticket to Ride makes some great improvements over the base game that is already a best seller. See what's new in this edition.

Ticket To Ride: Europe is a route building and set collection game for 2-5 players, plays well at all player counts. Ticket to Ride: Europe plays in about one hour.

Game Overview:

In Ticket to Ride: Europe players are attempting to claim train routes between great cities like Paris, London, Moscow and Constantinople (not Istanbul). In between each city, there are different colored routes linking them. The players will have to collect train cards that match the route’s color to claim it as their own. Victory points are acquired from claiming these routes and the longer the route the better. Players can also attempt to complete destination tickets by connecting one city to another with their trains gaining even more victory points. Each turn players will have to decide if they want to claim a route, take more destination tickets, add train cards to their hand, or place a train station. Play will continue until one player has only two train pieces remaining. Points are then totaled and the player with the highest total wins.

Components:

Just like with most Days of Wonder products, the components are fantastic. The train pieces have small details that makes them look like actual train cars. The artwork on the board is extremely detailed and has a weathered look that fits in with the time frame of the game. One major improvement to the base version of Ticket to Ride is the train cards. In the original game, the cards are about half the size of a normal game cards and I would occasionally have problems shuffling and holding these cards. Luckily for me, and many others I’m sure, they decided to increase the size of these cards to a more standard size. Overall, the components are top notch in this game.

How to Play:

At the start of the game, players we decide on a color of 45 train pieces and take five train cards for their starting hand. The rest of the train cards are placed next to the board and five cards are flipped face up. Each player will then be given four destination tickets and are required to keep two. Players then place their point tracker tokens on the outside scoring track the game can begin. Each player will have one of four actions to take on their turn.

1. Draw Train Cards Players will be able to draw up to two cards from the draw pile or the five face up cards. If a player wants to selected a face up locomotive (wild card) they must select that first and forfeit their second card selection.

2. Claim a Route When a player has a set of train cards that match the color and quantity of a route on the board, they can place a number of their trains on the route and claim victory points depending on the length.

There are two new additions to the route types in Ticket to Ride: Europe. These two route types are tunnels and ferries. Tunnels are outlined routes on the board and players are never sure how many cards they will need to claim that route. When a player wants to claim a tunnel route they place the train cards on the table and draw the top three cards off the deck. Players will have to play an additional card for each locomotive and train cards that match the cards used to claim the route. If a player can not produce the additional cards needed, they keep their cards from their hand and the turn is over. The other special routes are ferry routes that require players use one locomotive card for each locomotive symbol on the route.

3. Draw Destination Tickets Draw three new destination tickets from the deck and the player must keep at least one of them.

4. Build a Train Station This is another new feature to the Europe version of Ticket to Ride. Players will start with three train station pieces. These are placed on the city spots on the board and when played, this allows a player to claim one route claimed by another player in or out of that city. Players can use this to complete destination tickets but can’t use them for longest continuous route. For each train station a player doesn’t use, they gain four points at the end of the game.

The game will continue until one player has 2 or less train pieces in their stockpile. Each player will then get one more turn and the final scores will be calculated. Players will have gained points throughout the game by claiming routes. Players will show all of their destination tickets and gain points on the card if they have connected the two cities to one another or lose points if they have not. Players will add four points for each unused train station and a final ten points will be awarded to the player with the longest continuous path on the board. The player with the most points wins the game.

Game Experience:

I have owned Ticket to Ride: Europe for a long time and it’s not a game that I will be removing from my collection anytime soon. The first time I played the game I was amazed at how quickly the rules could be learned. It takes little time for you to start understanding the nuances of this game. Whenever I teach any edition of Ticket to Ride to someone who hasn’t played board games for years, I tell them that I can get them to completely understand this game in three rounds. I have yet to fail at doing so. The game doesn’t bog down with complicated calculations or actions. With four simple choices for actions each turn, game play moves at a lightning pace. I have found very few people that don’t like the game after playing it numerous times. This is a great accomplishment for any game.

Even though the game has simple actions you can take, there are many different strategies that come into play. Players can chose to not complete many destination tickets and just go for the longest train routes to gain a ton of points that way. They can also have five or more destination tickets and attempt to connect all of them. I have found that it is a nice combination of the two that ends up winning most games. One feature I like is the lack of a hand size limit for train cards. This allows players the freedom to hold on to cards as long as they want before they start claiming routes. This is a major risk if someone manages to initiate the final round of actions, but allows you to claim a lot of real estate in a short amount of time.

I think the one thing that could turn people off the game is the fact in can be a very cutthroat game. Because there is a limited number of routes in between cities, players can quickly find themselves boxed out of going they way they planned. This is also a strategy that players can employ against their opponents by taking away routes that the other players seem to be going for on the board. Veteran players won’t have a problem with this, but people who are new to board games could be put off by this aspect.

Ticket to Ride is a game is fantastic, but the real question is which version should you buy. My vote is for the Europe version and let me explain why. One of the reasons is the edition of tunnels and ferry routes. The tunnels add a little suspense when attempting to claim a route. I have played games where it has taken me three turns to finally claim a two car route that I need. Sure it was frustrating, but it was a good laugh for the others at the table. In the USA version, I don’t find the locomotive cards being claimed when they were part of the face up collection. Ferry routes requirement to use these wildcards makes them much more important to the game.

I know it’s not the strongest of reasons, but I like the normal sized cards enough that it helps sway my opinion. Not having to shuffle around the tiny cards takes one of my major frustrations with the components of Ticket to Ride: USA away. My one criticism of the Europe map is that it uses turn of the century city names and I wasn’t familiar with all of them. The first game or two I had to look around to find exactly where they were. The train stations are a touchy subject because they make the game much less cutthroat because you can use other players routes. I personally like them because it gives people options if they happen to get cut off completing their destination tickets. The Europe map is super congested in western Europe with a ton of short routes that will be claimed quickly and I see why they added them to the game. Players will find themselves closed off much more in this map then the USA. The good thing is that they are not essential for the Europe map and can be removed from the game if the players want. I see the Europe map as an improvement to the first edition of the game that adds some new game play elements that I think improve the game overall.

Final Thoughts:

I have played all the major Ticket to Ride releases and have found them all to be enjoyable and worth your gaming dollars. However, Ticket to Ride: Europe takes the original game and, in my opinion, makes it better than any of the other editions. The core game play of Ticket to Ride is very intuitive and accessible to new players, but still has some strategic elements to keep hardcore board gamers engaged. Ticket to Ride: Europe is one of the greatest gateway games ever made and should find a place on your gaming shelf.

If you are interested in getting a copy for yourself, it’s about $40

Final Score: 5 Stars – A great gateway game with easy to learn mechanics and plenty of player interaction.

Misses: • Cutthroat strategy isn’t for everyone • Older city names make finding locations a little difficult

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Well, those are not “old” names, but the actual names of the cities in the language of the nation they’re in No need to translate the board! 🙂

I love to play ticket to ride. But is there any way to get more trains. Meaning another color so another player can join in. it would be great to have 6 or even 8 players and have the boards combined

I think France has an extra set because 6 can play. One of the others has a purple set instead of green. Get creative, if you have 2 or more base sets paint the tops with nail polish of a different color.

The only issue I have with this game (ticket to Ride Europe), is…once a person can no longer pick up locations, due to lack of trains…

Why shou the other player (2 person game) be able to continuously be able to pick up more locations?

One player had 3 locations to 16 locations. I understand this is a strategy game, however…when playing for fun and fairness…this to me is a bit unfair.

Most probably won’t agree with me on this! Just as my boyfriend doesn’t however, he is amazing at games where I am not. He plays more than I do.

I think there should be a rule, that if another player cannot pick up other locations due l, to lack of trains, the person with more trains gets one more turn to oi k up locations. Rather than just picking up location la multiple times ensuring the second player cannot win whatsoever.

My rant for the night…lol 🤣

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