On Watch

  A longtime sailor and enthusiastic member of Sea Cliff Yacht Club in Sea Cliff, New York, Shana Spanier-Ciniski chairs the Around Long Island Regatta (ALIR), a challenging near-circumnavigation of the largest and longest island in the contiguous United States. “I grew up in Long Island and my father had a Grampian 30 for a while, then went to an Albin trawler,” says Shana, who lives in Glen Cove. “Starting at age eight, I spent many summers…

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, enthusiastic sailor, passionate automobile collector, and co-founder with his lovely wife Maggie, of the amazing Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Gunther Buerman may be the coolest guy we know. Finding sailing “My interest in sailing started when I moved to Rochester, New York after graduating from Law school in 1968. I had an apartment across from the Rochester Yacht Club,” Gunther recalls. “I watched boats go in and out and eventually bought a…

A lifelong sailor and surfer, and more recently an avid kiteboarder, Alie Toppa is a four-time Collegiate All-American, the first winning skipper of the New York Yacht Club Women’s Championship and, along with her twin sister Liza, one of vineyard vines’ Real Good People. “I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and learning to sail there was pretty epic,” says Alie, who now calls Newport, Rhode Island home. “Alongside my twin sister Liza, we had a super-tight…

An avid lifelong sailor, Philippe Perut is the founder of a sailing and boating community called Coboaters, a crew finder network that connects skippers in need of crew and sailors seeking boats for everything from daysails to ocean crossings. He’s also the enthusiastic new owner of Narragansett Sailing School, on a mission to introduce as many people as possible to the joys of sailing. “I grew up in France, in a region called Vendee,” says Phil, who…

With victories in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) 2023 Women’s Fleet Race Nationals and 2024 Women’s Team Racing National Championship, and being member of the first all-female team to win the co-ed Open Fleet Race Nationals, Michelle Lahrkamp has a future so bright she’s gotta wear shades. “I grew up in Rye, New York sailing out of American Yacht Club,” says Michelle. “My parents immigrated to the U.S. after their MBAs in Germany. Dad sailed a 470…

The owner of Longshore Sailing School in Westport, Connecticut, an accomplished sailing educator and the recipient of two prestigious US Sailing awards, Jane Pimentel loves her work…and “her people.” “I’m originally from Dartmouth, Massachusetts and now live in Wilton, Connecticut with my partner Benjamin and dog Grady…yes, named after Grady-White Boats,” says Jane. “I learned to sail at Community Boating Center and also at Sea Lab, both in New Bedford. Most of my ‘learn to sail’ was…

An internationally recognized expert on maritime training and education under sail, Captain Jonathan Kabak is the Chief Executive Officer of Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island and Master of the Ocean State’s Tall Ship, Oliver Hazard Perry. “I like to tell people that I was born and grew up on an island on the mid-Atlantic coast only thirteen miles long and two miles wide, only I had to share Manhattan with about 1.5 million other people,” Jonathan chuckles….

A resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Robyn Earley is a former pro sailor, an enthusiastic racer, and Commodore of The Twenty Hundred Club. “I was born in Boston, but moved to Sarasota, Florida when I was six.” says Robyn, “I lived in Florida until I left for graduate school in San Diego. We had a Bristol 29, Irish Mist, and according to my parents I was sailing before I could walk! My Dad, Robert Earley, also raced…

The Managing Director of Sailing & Operations at the New England Science & Sailing Foundation (NESS) in Stonington, Connecticut, Mark Zagol is a National and North American champion with great enthusiasm for both the sport and teaching others. “I grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts and my first official sailing lesson was at age 8,” says Mark, who lives in Pawcatuck, Connecticut with wife Heather and daughters Mason, Ainslie and Callan. “My first sailing experience was on a…

The Executive Director of The Sailing Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, Ashley Householder loves her work. “I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, that bastion of sailing!” Ashley chuckles. “That said, I was lucky in childhood to have a best friend whose father was incredibly passionate about sailing. He was a neurosurgeon at Vanderbilt University Hospital and I think sailing provided a catharsis from the gravity of his work. He was a founding member of the Harbor Island…