What About Top Monohull Speeds?

"I enjoyed reading the July issue letters about the top speeds hit by various cruising catamarans," writes John Johnson of Las Vegas, "but I’m a monohull guy and am wondering about the top speeds hit by sailors with cruising monohulls. I realize that families cruising aboard boats such as Cal 40s, Olson 40s, and Santa Cruz 50s — like the ones that have done the Ha-Ha — must have at least hit a number in the high- to mid-teens. I’d love to hear about them. In fact, I think it would be fun to hear what kind of speeds people have hit with boats like Passport 40s, Catalina 42s, Islander Freeport 36s, Beneteaus 473s, Hunter 460s — boats that are commonly sailed in events such as the Ha-Ha, and then really been cruised. Of course, if anyone wants to chime in with a top speed from an all-out racing monohull, that would be fun to read about, too."

Great idea. What about it monohull cruisers — what’s been your top speed, even if in a burst sailing down a wave off Pt. Conception or Cabo Corrientes?