Dorsey owned her little 1968 Bianca 27 Bon Copain for fourteen years, and only sold her because when she and Bruce got married, Bruce’s Able Whistler 32 Esmeralde was a better boat for the two of them to cruise on. It was a sad day to say goodbye to her.
Some 600+ Bianca 27s were built in Denmark between 1966 and 1975. In 1967 she was named to Yachting World’s Top Ten list. Several of them were sailed around the world.
Before Dorsey bought Bon Copain, her former owners, naval architect Eric Spongberg and his wife Arliss, had purchased the boat in the UK, cruised through Europe and the Mediterranean, sailed her across the Atlantic, taken her through the Panama Canal and on up the coast to San Francisco. From there, she had a truck-ride back to the East Coast, where Dorsey first saw her in Bristol, RI.
She was a great little boat, seaworthy, comfortable, and simple. No hot or pressure water, minimal electronics, and simple tanbark cruising sails. She and Dorsey had great time together during their partnership.
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