Connecticut Spring Boat Show is April 28 – 30
Find your new boat at the 7th Connecticut Spring Boat Show, explore one of the loveliest shoreline towns in the Northeast, enjoy live music by some of the area’s best bands, and support our friends at Sails Up 4 Cancer.
The 7th Connecticut Spring Boat Show will take place April 28-30, 2023 at Safe Harbor Essex Island in Essex, CT. Visitors will enjoy seeing a wide range of new and brokerage, power and sail models ranging from 20 to 65 and above feet from leading boat brands. In addition to boats on the dock, the show will have yacht brokers, gear, artists, accessories, and service companies exhibiting on the lawn, and live music throughout the weekend.
This in-water boat show is the first of the season, featuring the latest innovations in boating, sailing, and fishing. Boaters from the Northeast and beyond attend the annual show to compare boats and talk directly with dealers and manufacturers all in one beautiful location. The scenic venue allows interested boat buyers to board boats, with sea trials available.
This year’s boat show seeks to raise $30,000 for Sails Up 4 Cancer (SU4C), a non-profit organization supporting cancer care, education, prevention and research, an increase up from $23,000 raised at the 2022 show. Sails Up 4 Cancer will benefit from 50% of ticket sales proceeds and will be onsite with additional fundraising opportunities throughout the weekend.
“We are excited to grow the northeast in-water boat show as the perfect kick-off to all things that celebrate the arrival of spring including boating, live outdoor music and food, with a festival atmosphere,” said Ben Cesare, President of Cat’s Paw, LLC, which owns and manages the show along with WindCheck Magazine. “We are hearing from new vendors looking to share their nautical-inspired art and home goods. This year, we are excited to announce a reprise of our popular saltwater fishing and powerboating discussions, making the event an opportunity for everyone who loves the water.”
Safe Harbor Essex Island is located on a 13-acre private island, accessed by a complementary ferry service, and offers 125 slips accommodating vessels up to 200 feet. The family-friendly resort marina offers food, beverages, and music throughout the weekend. The show will follow all state and local guidelines to ensure a safe experience when visiting the show, rain or shine.
The show is a production of WindCheck and hosted by Safe Harbor Essex Island. Show sponsors include Hoffman Audi of New London, Essex Boat Works, Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, Gowrie Group, The Griswold Inn, WindCheck, and the Yacht Brokers Association of America (YBAA). Contact Ben Cesare at ben@windcheckmagazine.com for dealer and exhibitor application information.
Three-Day tickets are available now at $20 per adult and are free for children 13 and under. Tickets grant access to the show all weekend. Tickets can be purchased at ctspringboatshow.com, where participating exhibitors and boats will be updated on a regular basis.
The Ocean Race is Underway
…and coming to Newport in May!
Look for Rhode Island’s home team in The Ocean Race 2022-23, 11th Hour Racing Team, to lead the 5-boat IMOCA fleet around the globe. © Amory Ross/11thhourracingteam.org
As this issue went to press, the first leg of the 50 th Anniversary edition of The Ocean Race, the iconic ‘round-the-world, fully-crewed offshore race (and the first to feature high-tech, foiling, nearly flying, IMOCA boats), was underway.
The action began with the In Port Race in Alicante, Spain on January 8, with 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) claiming the second spot on the podium. Although a positive C19 test sidelined skipper Charlie Enright (Bristol, RI) for the race, replacement skipper Simon Fisher (GBR), Jack Bouttell (AUS/GBR),
Francesca Clapcich (ITA, Justine Mettraux (SUI) and Amory Ross (USA) posted a strong performance in light air.
Leg 1, a, 1,900 nautical mile sprint from Alicante to Mindelo, Cabo Verde on started January 15.
The 5-boat IMOCA fleet comprises:
11th Hour Racing Team (USA); skipper Charlie Enright
Team Malizia (GER); skipper Boris Herrmann
Team Holcim-PRB (SUI); skipper Kevin Escoffier
GUYOT environnement-Team Europe (FRA/GER);
skipper Benjamin Dutreux
Biotherm Racing (FRA); skipper Paul Meilhat
The six canting-keel VO65s competing in the inaugural Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup, which features three stages of racing that match Legs 1, 6, and 7 of the around the world race, are:
Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR); skipper Antonio Fontes
WindWhisper Racing Team (POL); skipper Pablo Arrarte
Team JAJO (NED); skipper Jelmer van Beek
Ambersail 2 (LIT); skipper Rokas Milevičius
Viva México (MEX); skipper Erik Brockmann
Austrian Ocean Racing – Team Genova (AUT/ITA);
Gerwin Jansen
The Ocean Race makes its only North American stopover in Newport, RI May 13 – 21. Hosted by our friends at The Ocean Race Newport (theoceanracenewport.com) at the Ocean Live Park in Fort Adams State Park, this is easily the best family-oriented sporting event in the Northeast…and it’s free every day!
With up-close racing, tours of team bases, kids’ activities, free Try Sailing! for all ages, a interactive ocean hologram exhibit on ocean stewardship, music, food, entertainment, cocktail cafes and more, the City by the Sea’s the place to be in mid-May.
Herreshoff Marine Museum Receives “Save America’s Treasures” Grant to Complete Restoration of the General Burnside Building
The amazing revival of the Herreshoff Marine Museum’s Burnside Machine Hall is the work of Jonathan Levi Architects. © leviarc.com
Our friends at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI have received a Save America’s Treasures grant of $413,709 from the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services for Phase 3 of the Burnside Building Rehabilitation Project.
The building, located on the HMM campus at 22-26 Burnside Street, was originally built in 1860 by Ambrose Burnside as a firearms manufacturing plant. It was sold to John Herreshoff in 1870, and it became the Machine Shop at the iconic Herreshoff Manufacturing Company where many of the company’s advanced and innovative steam engines as well as a broad variety of other parts for the 2,000+ boats that were built by HMCo. In 1892, the building was expanded with the addition of an “annex” on the south side that tripled the size of the Machine Shop.
This annex is the focus of Phase 3, which encompasses restoration of the building’s 200+ windows as well as work on trim, siding, and the building’s foundation. The project will commence this Spring. There is also a plan in place to renovate the building’s interior for use as a combination of new exhibit space, the STEM boat shop, and commercial space for blue economy companies as part of the Herreshoff Blue Innovation Center.
“The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company campus and its historic buildings are important elements in Bristol’s rich maritime history,” said Herreshoff Marine Museum President & Executive Director Bill Lynn. “We’re thrilled to have this support for the Burnside Building Rehabilitation Project, and we’re looking forward to working with NPS and RIHPHC to make this building the centerpiece of HMM’s new Blue Innovation Center and something our community can be proud of.”
A one-sixth scale model of the 1903 America’s Cup winner Reliance will mark the cornerstone of the new exhibits. This fully rigged model, currently under construction, will be 33’ long and more than 37’ high. © leviarc.com
Save America’s Treasures, funded through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), provided $356 million to more than 1,326 projects between 1999 and 2020. Requiring a dollar-for-dollar private match, these grants have leveraged more than $500 million in private investment and contributed more than 16,000 jobs to local and state economies.
“Through private and public investments, the Save America’s Treasures program supports community-based preservation and conservation work on some of our nation’s most important collections, artifacts, structures, and sites for the benefit of future generations,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams.
Established in 1977, the HPF is authorized at $150 million per year through 2023 and has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, tribes, local governments, and non-profit organizations. Administered by the NPS, HPF grant funds are appropriated by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources and history. To learn more about the Herreshoff Marine Museum and plan your visit, log onto herreshoff.org.
Yacht Club Memberships at The Sailing Museum
Paul Blank (l), Commodore of Balboa Yacht Club, shares a moment with Gary Jobson, Board Member of The Sailing Museum, during the National Sailing Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.
What do 12 Metre Yacht Club, Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, Houston Yacht Club, Cruising Club of America, Ida Lewis Yacht Club and Balboa Yacht Club have in common? They are all the newest member yacht clubs of The Sailing Museum in Newport, RI!
Next time you visit the museum, you’ll see their burgees on display in in the museum’s grand staircase. Each member yacht club receives a certificate, is added to the museum’s website, and the clubs and their members enjoy a variety of benefits and perks.
With sailors and sailing from across the country represented and over fifty burgees adorning the atrium wall, The Sailing Museum is a national home for the sport. Participation as a member yacht club enables The Sailing Museum to offer the finest in exhibits, programs and services to all, while helping to celebrate America’s sailing legacy and inspire new generations of sailors and innovators. To learn more about how your club can join, visit thesailingmuseum.org.
Nautitech 44 Open Now Available at Aeroyacht
By Gregor Tarjan
The Nautitech 44 Open hits the sweet spot of Space, Performance and Price. © nautitech.com
The Nautitech 44 Open is the very newest catamaran from the famed French shipyard. The boat was first introduced at the last Annapolis Boat Show and had her U.S. premiere there. The Nautitech 44 Open is a multihull, which seems to be a perfectly balanced compromise between three opposing characteristics: Space, Performance and Price. Let’s try to understand how the design team and builder has accomplished this.
From the start of the project, a handful of key Nautitech dealers as well as the Nautitech design team had meetings of how this new model would be an improvement over the Nautitech 40 and 46 Open. Marc Lombard, as the principal designer, drew the lines of the boat and did the basic structural calculations as well as naval architecture. But in the end it was a crowd-sourced effort, between dealers, the builder and customer feedback which resulted in this successful design. The hull volumes of the Nautitech 44 are nearly the same as on the 46, which means the boat retains its beautiful owner suite, which extends throughout the full length of the port hull.
The interior has seen a vast number of upgrades and one will immediately notice the high level of finish. This is especially evident in the woodwork, with solid hardwood edges, upgraded hardware and textures. The heart of the boat is the owner suite. A large queen size bed is located aft, midships there is a settee with a small desk and full-length hanging lockers with drawers are inboard. The fresh water flush head has been separated and gets its own room. Forward is one of the most spacious owner bathrooms that we have seen on a sub-60’ catamaran. Double sinks, plenty of storage and a separate shower for two.
Highlights of the saloon include a forward facing nav station and and a comfortable lounge. © nautitech.com
This owner suite is one of the highlights of the boat and the space can be completely enclosed for privacy via a sliding and locking door. In the opposite hull the client can chose between a multipurpose “Smart Room” forward, which can be used as a storage space, workshop or laundry room – or a guest room with a double bed. Midships Nautitech has cleverly designed a shared head compartment with a separate large shower and sink room. This arrangement allows for more space and elbow room. The saloon, as is typical for all Nautitech cats and opens up to the large cockpit. The boat retains its fabulous forward facing nav table and comfortable lounge. The galley which faces forward as well as aft is separated by a bar area which is the perfect spot to house a flatscreen TV or a liquor cabinet.
Sailing this boat from the aft helms has been a revelation. The hull shapes differ greatly from the older models. The bows are protruding out of the water, even at rest, which encourages earlier surfing and faster average speeds. The yard has confirmed our suspicions that the Nautitech 44 is the fastest of the range, even beating the 46 in average speeds. The sailplan is a high aspect ratio, fractionally rigged with the option of a carbon mast and boom.
We feel that this new model stands above the rest of todays’ production multihulls in terms of her all foam cored construction (not balsa wood as most other builders), high level of finish and sailing characteristics. It is worth putting the Nautitech 44 Open on your shortlist. For more information, please contact Aeroyacht.com.
12 Metre Worlds returning to Newport
By Barby MacGowan, MediaPro International
12th July 2019. Day Four of the 12m World Championship, Newport, RI, USA.
Next summer in Newport, RI, an exciting schedule of competitive sailing will be punctuated by the 2023 12mR World Championship, an International Twelve Metre Association (ITMA) event organized by the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station (official home of ITMA’s Americas 12mR fleet) in partnership with Organizing Authority Ida Lewis Yacht Club.
With racing set to take place July 31-August 5, an international fleet of 12 Metres will converge on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound much as they did in the years between 1958 and 1983 when many of these awe-inspiring sailboats competed here for a chance to become a contender in the renowned America’s Cup and, more recently, when they vied for class titles at their 2019 12mR Worlds. (The most recent 12mR World Championship was held in 2021 in Helsinki, Finland.)
“It’s very special that this event is returning to Newport, especially because of the rich history this city shares with the America’s Cup,” said Peggy Hersam, Executive Director of the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station. “A large concentration of 12 Metres, many of which have ties to the Cup, make their home in Newport; however, the fleet is worldwide and going strong. It will be amazing for visitors and locals alike to encounter these iconic boats tuning up for and competing in this most important event.”
Leading up to the 2023 Worlds, the fleet will be busy racing a full schedule of regattas and practices out of Newport, including two class-sanctioned regattas, the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, June 9-11 and the Sail Newport Regatta, July 7-9 (serving as the 12 Metre Pre-Worlds). The fleet will be divided into four divisions — Modern, Traditional, Vintage, and “Spirit of Tradition”— and have healthy representation in each, including returning 2019 World Champions Columbia (US-16, Traditional Division) and Challenge XII (KA-10, Modern Division). Other teams expected to compete include American Eagle (US-21), Courageous (US-26), Defender (US-33), Enterprise (US-27), Freedom (US-30), Gleam (US-11), Intrepid (US-22), Nefertiti (US-19), Onawa (US-6), and Weatherly (US-17).
Weatherly’s owner/skipper Steve Eddleston, who also serves as Commodore of the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station, said his work will be cut out for him. “It’s always exhilarating to be out on the water with our beautiful boat and our skilled and determined team sailing against other world famous 12 Metre yachts of such historic distinction,” said Eddleston. “To paraphrase John F. Kennedy from sixty years ago when he spoke in Newport about the America’s Cup duel between Weatherly and Gretel, ‘We are most certainly racing against each other, but we are also racing with each other against the wind and the sea.’ Nothing comes close to competing in a 12 Metre World event!”
Black Rock Boat Works Opens New Location
A veritable rigging and rope supply chandlery (and a very cool vintage Vee Dub!) at Black Rock Boat Works’ new home in Bridgeport, CT
Our friends at Black Rock Boat Works have opened their new rigging, retail and storage facility at 800 Union Avenue in Bridgeport, CT. The new location is only a few blocks away from their previous Steele Pointe loft. The new location features as well other key racing and cruising hardware and supplies for retail sale. The inventory includes all manner of cordage from New England Ropes, Marlow, Kingfisher Ropes, Gottifredi Maffioli Ropes and FSE Robline. Hardware includes Harken, Wichard, Selden, Sparcraft, Ronstan, Garmin, B&G, Cyclops Load Sensors, Tylaska Marine, Hayn Marine, Ewincher electric winch handles and more.
They will primarily service Long Island Sound and Penebscot Bay, ME and their 28-foot support trailer is available for regattas. The trailer will be servicing Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week presented by Margaritaville this summer. Stop by and see David Chard and his team in Bridgeport or Maine or on Block Island in June! Look for BRBW’s new website at blackrockboatworks.com and follow their rigging exploits on Instagram @elevatedrigging.
McMichael Yacht Yards & Brokers Announces Two New Services
Howie would’ve loved this rig. McMichael Yacht Yards & Brokers’ new fully equipped van will service clients from New York to Rhode Island, and the company is now a certified Sales & Service center for Mercury Outboards.
As the geographic footprint of the McMichael Yacht Yards & Brokers customer base continues to expand, the need for McMichael to provide prompt, expert, and reliable off-site service for customers’ sail and power boats has become a focus for the company. Starting this spring, McMichael will have on the road a fully equipped service van with all the tools, equipment and parts needed to resolve mechanical and rigging issues from Rhode Island to the tip of Long Island. Now, in addition to providing power and sailboat service at its two Mamaroneck, NY, yards, McMichael Mobile Service will provide many of the same repair services for customers at their home ports or while on a cruise as they would receive if they brought their boat to one of their yards.
Outboard engine sales and service has always been an important component Howie would’ve loved this rig. McMichael Yacht Yards & Brokers has a new fully equipped van providing mobile service to clients from New York to Rhode Island, and they’re now a certified Sales & Service center for Mercury Outboards. of the McMichael business. And, with the move towards Mercury powered outboard models by MJM and McMichael’s recent introduction of the outboard-powered RYCK 280, also powered by Mercury engines, McMichael made the investment of time and resources to earn full certification as a Mercury Outboard Sales & Service Dealer. Going forward, in addition to servicing Yamaha, Yanmar and Volvo, McMichael has added the Mercury line of outboard engines to its portfolio. McMichael has offices in Mamaroneck and Huntington, NY and Newport, RI. To learn more, visit mcmyacht.com.
The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup
Start of the Third Leg of The Ocean Race Europe, from Alicante, Spain, to Genoa, Italy.
Along with five IMOCA teams racing around the world, six VO65 teams crossed the starting line in Alicante, Spain on January 15 with an option to compete for a new trophy within The Ocean Race called The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.
The new trophy has been specially created for VO65 teams and will be awarded to the team which accumulates the best score across three different legs of the race: Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde; Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague, the Netherlands; and The Hague to Genova, Italy.
VO65 teams participating for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup will compete in the VO65 class in the In-port races scheduled in those cities as well as the three stages of offshore racing from point to point.
“This new trophy will enable a new generation of sailors, along with some familiar faces, to gain some valuable experience in The Ocean Race,” said Phil Lawrence, Race Director of The Ocean Race. “This format provides an opportunity to compete in The Ocean Race environment, with racing from host city to host city along with In-port competitions. The participating VO65 teams will get significant offshore racing exposure.”
Working its way back into The Ocean Race is Team Viva México, who are aiming for a Mexican comeback of sorts after the historic win of Sayula II in the first edition of the race in 1973. No Mexican-flagged team has participated in the race since then. Visit theoceanrace.com to follow the action. ■
