Bob Perry arrived in Seattle, Washington from Australia as a pre-teen. He was not a particularly good student, carrying a grade point average of 1.8 in Junior High. It seems that he spent most of his time drawing sailboats. Drafting class was the only subject that seemed worth learning to young Bob. His advisor told him that since he liked sailboats so much, that maybe he should try sailing them at a local junior yacht club. Bob began his sailing career racing 11 ½’ Penguins which were designed in 1933 by Philip Rhodes. An adult member of the yacht club suggested that Bob visit Naval Architect William Garden whose office was then located in Seattle. Many trips were made to that office and young Bob adsorbed much. Soon he began crewing on Garden’s 60-foot double-ender “Oceanus”. It seems all too apparent that Bob's highly regarded Valiant 40 double-ender design must have come in part from his exposure to “Oceanus”.
     Robert Perry’s first design to be built was the Hans Christian 54 or CT-54 which was designed in 1972 and built in 1973. Bob opened his own office in 1974 and scored a home run by designing the famous Valiant 40. This boat was the very first “Performance Cruiser” and launched Bob Perry’s career. Bob admits that the canoe

stern of the Valiant 40 was inspired by the Westsail 32 that appeared on the cover of Time magazine. However, the hydrodynamics of the Valiant 40 were far superior to the Westsail 32. Bob's Valiant design and career are now both legends. The Valiant 40 was followed closely by our favorite, the Islander 28 and then the Tayana 37.
     Bob attended the Long Beach Boat Show with Mr. Valiant and manned a booth in an attempt to sell Valiant 40 sailboats. The two did not sell any boats but Bob met Buster Hammond of Islander Yachts who commissioned him to design a 28-footer. We are all glad that this meeting occurred. Eventually Bob would design seven boats for Buster and Islander. The list includes: I-26, I-28, I-32, I-34, Freeport 36, Freeport 38 and Freeport 41.
     Bob Perry had a "Designer's Comments" section in the 1983 Islander 28 brochure. Here is what he has to say about our favorite sailboat: The question I am most frequently asked is, "What are your favorite designs. "As far as my own office is concerned, my list of the top five designs invariably includes the Islander 28. The success of this design cannot be reduced to a neat list of ratios and coefficients. Instead, it is the result of a fine balances of both objective and subjective elements.
     Aesthetically, the Islander 28 enjoys a conservative beauty which, like the Gurney-designed Islander 36, seems to defy aging. The tasteful contour of the cabin trunk and the wide side decks give a proportion that is often lacking from "the world's biggest 28er" approach that is so common today. In short, is has the look of a yacht.
     The performance goals of the Islander 28 were set to ensure that the boat would become successful in a wide variety of rating formulae. Have raced an Islander 28 in the Seattle area myself, I can assure you that this boat is capable of bringing trophies home. To characterize her sailing performance, I would say that she is a stiff boat that develops tremendous power and excels in a breeze. In light air the narrow BWL (Beam at Water Line) keeps the Islander 28 a racecourse threat. Yet for the cruising sailor, the level of performance is matched with the forgiving helm and steady tracking tendencies. She has a feel that defies number definition. The boat is extremely well balanced and its outstanding performance boils down to two factors: The Islander 28 is fast and forgiving.
     The above words by Bob Perry were written over twenty years ago. Whether or not the Islander 28 is still one of his favorite designs is unknown. What is known is that Islander 28s track extremely straight, almost "sailing themselves", they were built well, still look good and can hold their own against newer boats. Thanks Bob!