Actually I was pleasantly surprised by my Prout 33 of late 80's vintage.. On passage from Eastbourne to Dieppe I lost the engine and ended up having to sail into Dieppe in about a F5-6 (land breeze enhancing the wind) I had problems identifying the entrance -never been there before and was beating up and down with some reefs in and she went very well to windward.. I have to say I was surprised!

Probably a Cat is the perfect boat from the Caribbean onwards - in the med as others have stated.. but the shallow draft means you can creep into some well protected anchorages other 'deeper' boats cant reach!
Michael

Michael