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Women racing sailboats isn’t new. The picture on the cover of Mystic Seaport Museum’s book on women and boating, On Land and On Sea, depicts the wife of an English lord at the helm of a massive J boat. In barely two generations from that time, women’s sailing has catapulted to an international sport across hundreds of countries. In the next two issues, we’ll present a few moments in time over the last fifty years of women’s…

By Buttons Padin   Like many of my friends, I grew up sailing dinghies. As such, the lingo as kids was that powerboats, of any description, were “stink pots.” Now, when some sailor tells me they purchased a powerboat, they say they went over to the dark side. It’s funny how a sailor’s perception of powerboats will change with age as do the boats they go out on. While I am still predominantly a sailor, the reality…

By Courtney Moore, CMB Creative Group     For over thirty years, the enthusiastic sailors of the Mystic River Mudhead Sailing Association have raised funds and awareness for worthy charities with the Mudhead Benefit Regatta & MegaParty. On Saturday, July 15, 2023, at Mystic Shipyard in Mystic, CT, under the Sperry tent with rock and roll from Wooly Mammoth, the annual Mudhead Benefit Cup Regatta & MegaParty netted over $15,000 for the Mystic-based nonprofit Always Home. Tricia Cunningham,…

By Aurora Meunier Mott Editor’s note: In this most recent Coop’s Kaper, an enthusiastic young sailor enjoyed her first taste of overnight sailing on a delivery after the Bermuda 1-2 Race. I recently got an amazing opportunity to sail with Peter Becker on the Young American Sailing Academy’s J/105 Young American from Newport, RI to Rye, NY. While I was at work I got a text from Joe Cooper, my high school sailing coach, asking if I…

By Courtney Moore, CMB Creative Group 2023 marks the thirteenth year of Sails Up 4 Cancer (SU4C). Leading the local charge to assist families and individuals going through the trauma and treatment of cancer, Sails Up 4 Cancer has become synonymous with hope. The Annual Regatta Weekend at Mystic Shipyard in Mystic, CT started off with a Cornhole tournament on Friday, June 16. Despite inclement weather, 32 teams from across New England came out and threw bags…

  Newport International Boat Show Presented by BankNewport September 14 – 17, Newport, RI Walk the docks and view a spectacular display of shiny new sailboats and powerboats, some making their first ever debut in the United States. newportboatshow.com   Newport Brokerage Boat Show September 14 – 17, Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard Newport, RI This show features the largest collection of quality brokerage sailboats and powerboats from 40 to 140 feet. brokerageboatshow.com   Progressive Norwalk Boat Show…

I recently had a gam with the co founder of J Boats, the company that launched 16,000 boats beginning 1977. I listened to him spin me the history behind his dedication to performance boating. I knew that already. But how many 80-somethings write a memoir and go on the road to promote it? He is Bob Johnstone, and he is a brand new author. His book is a memoir called Maverick Marketer: Time to Get Creative. Published…

Giving old race sails a new life for the planet With our global reach, Oceanum Vela strives to make positive moves toward keeping our oceans thriving. We collect Ocean Race Sails that have been around the planet and give them a new life for the planet (#aroundtheplanetfortheplanet).     Here in the U.S., the Clean Water Act has made tremendous progress since 1972 in keeping our waterways and our playground clean and safe to play in. However,…

A century ago, the establishment of a U.S.-UK challenge, the British American Cup (“BAC”) brought with it a golden age of innovative racing keelboat design. In our 2021 Conversations with Classic Boats series on the development of the Six Metre, we marked the BAC as an inflection point in modern yacht racing. The BAC was a challenge in 1921: You designed a boat to the International Six Metre rule (then virtually unknown in the U.S.). Each side…

Story & photos by David Hemenway A group of United States East Coast Finn sailors have started a new organization called the Classic Finn Organization and have developed a website at classicfinns.org. Our goal is to revitalize older, often unused, Finns and get them out sailing. Classic Finns are a great way to go sailing at a reasonable cost in a fantastic boat. This website provides information on available Finns and equipment, in addition to upcoming Finn…