SALONA 44, CRUISING WORLD BOAT OF THE YEAR

The ones that follow the blog knows that I don't give much importance to the Cruising Boat magazine boat of the year: the categories are too many, the boats are old news in what regards the European Market the number of testers are relatively small, not all professional and did not test a huge variety of boats each here because the boats available on the American market are not many.
So why I am talking about one of those boats that are old news elected has boat of the year? First of all because I like it:-) but mainly because what they said about the boat: it seemed that it had  strongly impressed more than one and instead of one of those bland test descriptions were you understand that the boat choose could be easily another one, this one is a strong one:

"In a building breeze ideal for sea trials, the Salona 44 performed sweetly on all points of sail

In the 22 years we’ve conducted our Boat of the Year contest, we’ve tested literally hundreds of boats, sailed thousands of miles and splashed across Chesapeake Bay in just about every condition imaginable. But we’ve never had a test drive as unusual as the one conducted for the 2015 competition on the Salona 44. When the judges boarded the boat, the water was glassy, the breeze nonexistent. But a front was coming; the western sky was dark and menacing, and closing in fast. A few minutes later, a solid 25 knots of wind, with higher gusts, lashed the bay: Breeze-wise, we’d gone from zero to 30 in record time.

The Salona 44, with its tall triple-spreader rig and feathery twin wheels, handled it with aplomb. Upwind and down, the boat was stiff and fast, ultimately topping off in double-digit boat speeds that etched a smile on the faces of everyone aboard. 

On a power reach heading back to Annapolis, closing in quickly on the U.S. Naval Academy, one of the company reps asked, “Should I run the sheets?” He was ready to set the spinnaker, and no one doubted the boat could handle it. “Um, no thanks, mate,” we replied. We’d already found what we came looking for. A few days later, at the conclusion of our sea trials, the judges named the Salona 44 the year’s best Cruiser/Racer. Coincidence? Perhaps not....

But the Salona is built with a steel grid, so a lot of that weight is down low. It allows for a stiff structure with a light skin around it.. it’s vacuum infused. Moving around the boat was very nice; it had a solid motion. And it sailed beautifully.”

The judges were also impressed by the boat’s innovative transom — which swings up and out to reveal an incorporated boarding passerelle — the abundant handholds and the comfortable accommodations. Taken together, the sum of these many parts made the Salona 44 a winning design."
 http://www.cruisingworld.com/2015-cruiser-racer-nominees?src=SOC&dom=fb

One Australian Salona 44 has done several Sydney Hobart races with good results, particularly on the last one that was a particularly nasty edition.