Back in the late 70's, I delivered one from Ft. Lauderdale to Saint Thomas, and then I skippered another Irwin 52 for 4 races at Antigua Race Week (cruising class), and then delivered her up to Chesapeake City, MD. She is a slow but comfortable boat. However, on the delivery north, we encounted 40 knots of wind, and 8 foot seas for 48 hours. The bow section was oil canning so bad that all of the screws backed out of the interior panels in the v-birth and the panels fell off. We also lost 2 hatches on the cabin top forward.
I wouldn't want to be caught out in a gale in one, but for fair weather cruising, she can't be beat!