If you find me in a boatyard, especially Newport Shipyard, it's tough to get me out. I've been known to roam about, marveling at the lines of beautiful racing yachts and the almost mirror-like finish of their bottoms, oblivious to time. "We gotta go," someone will say. No. We don't.

Abilyn hasn't had her bottom worked [insert joke here] since she was built in 2012. So when Groupe Abilyn contemplated a fresh bottom with new anti-fouling paint for the upcoming racing season and our much-anticipated adventure to Bermuda and back beginning June 17, 2016, our primary requirement was--it gotta be fast! So there was really only one choice for us: Interlux® VC® Offshore.

The folks over at Interlux have graciously agreed to supply us with a couple of cans of VC® Offshore Baltoplate anti-fouling paint and InterProtect HS (high solids) epoxy primer to help us get to Bermuda as fast as we can, and succeed in beating some official entrants racing in the 50th Newport-Bermuda Race. We chose Baltoplate because of reported superior performance in light air, which is important when your mast is only 36 feet tall and you have a wide ass.

And, we're happy to have Interlux partnering with us because, as it turns out, many of the racing yachts that have mesmerized me over the years have been painted with VC Offshore.

In the northeast, planning a pre-launch bottom job is still a possibility. So pick up some yachtpaint, and have fun in the yard! Or, if you're in the market for a pro job, I'd personally recommend Brewer Pilots Point (North Yard) (Bob Connell) or McMichael's (Helmut Bittlingmayer). I've had great experiences at both.

See you out on the water. We'll be the ones gliding by on a slick-ass bottom.