On Watch

Proudly serving our country in the United States Army for 13 years, Captain Francis J Racioppi, Jr. was a Ranger-qualified Infantry Officer and a Green Beret in the Army Special Forces.

As the Flotilla Cruise Guides with Offshore Sailing School’s popular Colgate Sailing Adventures, Heather & Nate Atwater are enjoying a life that most sailors only dream about.

As a Program Manager for 11th Hour Racing, a Newport, RI-based organization focused on sustainability in the sailing and maritime community, Michelle Carnevale is using a lifelong love of the ocean to help save it.

“I like to refer to Sam Jones as our ‘volunteer force multiplier,’” says Ed Cesare, Commodore of Norwalk Yacht Club in Norwalk, CT. “Sam is only in his second season as our Sailing Director, and he’s already had a major impact on our Junior, Ideal 18 and PHRF racing programs.”

As of this issue, the helm at WindCheck is in the sure hands of Ben Cesare, an affable and accomplished sailor who acquired the magazine last month from co-founders Anne Hannan and Christopher Gill, who launched ‘The Magazine by and for Long Island Sound Sailors’ in 2002.

Abby works at her family’s business, New England Boatworks (NEB) in Portsmouth, RI. “I’ve hopped in and out of this industry since I started at NEB at 14,” she says. “After a summer helping in the office, occasionally answering phones, and what felt like an awful lot of time weeding around the marina, I spent the next summer cleaning boats, mostly for family friends. After a couple summers doing other things, I taught sailing at Sail Newport, then returned to the industry again when I left Corporate America and rejoined NEB in 2014.”

If you’ve raced in Western Long Island Sound or at Block Island Race Week in the past 15 years or so, you’ve heard Ray Redniss on the VHF. A lifelong Stamford, CT resident, he’s among the finest race officers on the water.

One of the driving forces behind the revitalization of Force 5 Fleet 32 at Thames Yacht Club in New London, CT, Bob Cullen also produces beautiful sails for that venerable 14-foot singlehander.

As the Onboard Reporter (OBR) with Dongfeng Race Team in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, Sam Greenfield made yacht racing history by becoming the first OBR to successfully fly a drone from a Volvo Ocean 65 at speed.

This winter we bumped into each other in a local pub when Chris zoomed over in his wheelchair to say hello. I said, “If you can do that, you can push a tiller back and forth and you can sail.” Chris enthusiastically agreed it was time, and we would enter the Robie Pierce ‘Beyond Disabilities’ One-Design Regatta. I said, “Don’t worry, we’ll take it easy. Chris replied, typically, “The heck with that. I’m going for the win!” My skipper had issued my orders.