meet the folks who keep Hands sailing...
 
 Dolphin Catamarans
A strong, fast, and ocean-capable boat is central to the Hands goal of bringing help to out-of-the-way coastal communities, and Dolphin Catamarans, based in Aracaju, Brazil (about 900 nautical miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro) is building us a great vehicle. Jr. Pimenta, a lifelong sailor, started the family-owned Dolphin Catamarans with the dream of building a performance catamaran for long-distance sailing. Soon Jr. found Philippe Pouvreau, a French multihull yacht designer and builder, and together they've created the Dolphin 460. The boat features light-yet-strong fiberglass composite construction, a beautifully finished interior, and plenty of sail area for fast passages under sail. Jr. and Philippe have customized Hands Across the Sea with an interior layout and sailhandling features that serve the specialized needs of Hands. We looked at a lot of catamarans for Hands, but the design of the Dolphin 460 — and especially the building skill and dedication to excellence of Jr. and Philippe — have led us to start our Hands voyage in Brazil in mid-November, 2007. We'll be keeping the Hands Log updated as we go!


 The Multihull Company
The first boat we sailed across an ocean, a 28-footer named freelance, was small and of traditional design: one hull, a ballast keel, and limited interior space and cargo-carrying capability. With two hulls, twice the passagemaking speed, and six times the living and storage space, a catamaran seemed the right choice for Hands.

Phillip Berman, president of The Multihull Company, has been instrumental in answering our many questions about catamarans and in guiding us to the right choice of an ocean-going catamaran and the equipment necessary for Hands. Phil is a former Hobie cat champion and author of numerous books on catamaran racing, and his years of sailing experience and knowledge of a wide range of boats have proven very valuable in helping us launch Hands Across the Sea.