Bristol Channel Cutter
Lyle Hess Designs, a Love Affair

RogueWave Yacht Sales specializes in Bristol Channel Cutters! Quality over Quantity, we always say! We have sold more than 65 Bristol Channel Cutters and we have owned two of the most beautiful BCCs in the world, including "Aloha" #95 and "Indigo" #113. We put Indigo in the Annapolis Boat Show in 2005. We love Lyle Hess who also designed the Falmouth Cutter 22 and the NorSea 27 and many other boats including a Lyle Hess 32 and 34 seldom seen. We are passionate about these small and capable voyagers perfect for a solo sailor or a couple. We have sailed them and delivered them in every corner of the world. We would love to introduce you to the Bristol Channel Cutter 28, one of the world's very best boats! And if you are selling your BCC, there is no brokerage that can offer you the knowledge and experience of Kate and Bernie and RogueWave Yacht Sales. Call us.

Sam L. Morse Bristol Channel Cutter

In the blue water sailing revolutionary time of the 1970, Lyle Hess designed a special boat for Larry Pardey, Serrafyn! The rest is history. Lyle based the design on the proven designs of the English pilot cutters that plied the rough waters of the English Channel waiting to pilot the merchant ships into port. The Bristol Channel Cutter built by Sam L. Morse Co has become a small blue water vessel of legendary stature, and for good reason!
 
Lyle Hess got it absolutely right when he designed the BCC 28 for Sam L. Morse to build out of the new boat building material, fiberglass. Lyle's genius is evident from the 127 BBCs built at the Sam L. Morse Co. between 1976 and 2008. The BCC was featured in Ferenc Mate's first Volume of "The Best Boats to Buy or Build and in his two later volumes of "The World's Best Sailboats". This boat is an amazing small and capable voyager with a cult group of passionate owners, many of whom are now scattered around the world. We know because we've owned two Bristol Channel Cutters and we've sold many of them in many corners of the world.

"Aloha" #95 - Our Small Voyager

Aloha was our own 1991 BCC. In preparation for a cruise South, we refit Aloha to Bristol condition and updated her with all new electronics, SSB with Proctor III Modem, Radar, Chart Plotter, New VHF, Hot Water and Shower, Globalstar phone, and just about everything we needed to sail far in comfort and in constant communication. We had the time of our life! Voyaging on Aloha was incredibly fun and she was tough and capable in every condition and going many places the bigger boats cannot go! Many new BBC owners are now refitting older vessels and enjoying the same adventures we did.

Sailing A Bristol Channel Cutter

Over the past ten years, RogueWave has sold more than a few Bristol Channel Cutters! We've sailed and delivered them in just about every ocean. Bernie has delivered quite a few BCCs single handed. There is something very special about the way a channel cutter sails.

With 28 feet on deck, she has the sail plan of a 38 foot boat! The long waterline of 26'3" and the incredible shape of her full keel has a great deal to do with her speed, tracking, and comfort. The underbody is just about the prettiest thing you will ever see with a plumb bow and fine entry with its beautiful lifting sections aft and perfectly squared off transom. Sailors who are lucky enough to sail a BCC find them pretty irresistible. For single-handers or small people, like me, the boat is a perfect boat to sail solo. Everything is of human scale and no task is difficult. The wide side decks and high bulwarks make the boat safe and secure. No wonder many people find this a perfect boat to learn to sail on. There is nothing complicated and nothing overwhelming. Just sweet.

The Lyle Hess Tribute

RogueWave Yacht Sales sponsored and organized the Lyle Hess Tribute and the Chesapeake BCC Rendezvous. Lyle Hess lived to 91 and he was designing great boats until his later years. He was an amazing person and a great natural talent. We celebrated his achievements with a grand gathering and party at Vera's White Sands on St. Leonard's Creek up the Patuxent River in MD. Vera was an elegant hostess at 98 years of age. It was a fabulous event! We had about five BCCs and five Nor'Sea 27s, including the "Kristina" that sailed around the Atlantic with a family of five aboard. There were 53 people including the Bristol Channel Cutters, Nor'Sea 27, and a fleet of Montgomery 17s also designed by Lyle Hess. Let's do it again!

Bristol Channel Cutter Rendezvous on the Chesapeake

Our first RogueWave BCC Rendezvous was a great success with seven BCCs sailing from Annapolis to Tripp Creek near Oxford, MD. It was a wonderful sight and a great photo opportunity. We all rafted up and spent hours touring each other's boat to inspect all the nuances and get inspired. We had perfect weather! We gotta do it again soon. When you get your BCC, you gain an instant family of passionate people.

From Alaska to Thailand

Everywhere we travel, we find a Bristol Channel Cutter. They are in every corner of the world. We recently traveled through the Panama Canal and stayed at the Marriott beside the Balboa Yacht Club. Look what we found outside our window! A fellow Bristol Channel Cutter owner, the owner of the famous Nereus. Xiphias was Roger's first BCC which he sailed to Thailand in the late 80s. Later Roger owned the Sam L. Morse Co and built Nereus with everything he ever wanted. He gave us an autographed copy of his book! In fact, Bernie actually went to Thailand to sell Xiphias for Christopher Edwards, the famous English Yachtsman and Whitbred racer.

Sam L. Morse Company closed in 2007, there are 126 of these brilliant blue water babies floating around. Cape George Marine owns the molds and definitely they would love to hatch a new BCC for you. We are here to continue the magnificent accomplishments of one great boat! Call us if you are intrigued about a 28’ world voyager.

We are dedicated to these magnificent vessels. We have delivered so many of them and this year we will sail to New England with two BCCs bound points North. Great boats. We would take them anywhere!