A family operation with its own launch site and factory on Back Creek in Annapolis, MD, Performance Cruising has quietly ascended to the top tier of the domestic catamaran building segment of the industry since designer-builder Tony Smith and his wife Sue emigrated to the U.S. in 1980.

While completing requirements for a degree in engineering at the University of East Anglia, Smith studied the mechanics of boat performance in the classroom and spent his spare time participating in singlehanded races. He finished fourth in the first Round Britain Race, a 1,760-mile contest. …