© Rick Bannerot
We have a long room in our house, the long side of which faces south. We try not to heat that room in the winter. The bummer is that my office is in this room. The other bummer is that there is a two-and-a-half-story house about 30 yards to the south. But the other day, fully a month past the solstice, the sun heated the room up to 68! Unassisted! Alas, it only lasted until about 11:00 when the sun hid behind the neighbor’s and it plummeted back down to the 50s, but Hey! I’ll take it!
Enough winter weather whining. There’s more than enough great content in this issue to keep you going until the next thaw and you see those Laser sailors back at it. Dave Dellenbaugh’s Up to Speed and Smarts column is a perfect one for the frostbite season – I’ve been getting a lot of practice on the techniques he shares. Tom Darling’s Speedboat to the Stars feature is about as cool as it gets. (I may have to replace the Crusaders in my Black Fin with twin 12-cylinder Lamborghinis. That, and start wearing a scarf while at the helm.) Continuing in the nostalgia zone, another great article about the adventures of Ondine, this one by new contributor Anton “Antoine” Huggler, should not be missed.
There is one very important thing to be done as you read these pages. It’s not December or even January anymore. The time for chatting about potential campaigns, both cruising and racing, is over. It’s time to start nailing down dates, teams, trainings, destinations and such. You will find ads with dates inside. I have more than one team-shared spreadsheet that I am supposed to check regatta dates on, and it requires a serious conversation with my cruising team first. My advice? Book the spring events…Charleston Race Week, Safety at Sea, the Wetherill, frostbite champs, etc., so come summer you’re brushed up and can use those final few chips wisely. Maybe Block or Marion Bermuda this year…probably not both.
No matter what, do come see us at the CT Spring Boat Show, April 25-27 at Safe Harbor Essex Island in beautiful Essex. More boats, bands and fun than ever…we keep on growing this annual kickoff event. And Go Sun!
See you on the water!
Publisher
Benjamin V. Cesare
ben@windcheckmagazine.com
