August 2020

If you read last month’s iteration, I waxed on about the Covid-driven explosion in boating and the process of finding a new family boat and ended with teasing the grand plan to bring the boat back north with my 12-year-old. Well, what a surprise! Things did not go as planned.     Many aspects of the mission were accomplished. My son got to experience firsthand the logistics of getting a survey done, doing sea trials, making friends…

Our friends at Stamford Yacht Club in Stamford, CT are pleased to announce that the 86th running of the Vineyard Race is scheduled to start on Friday, September 4. This Labor Day Weekend classic offers a choice of three courses. The Vineyard Course covers 238 nautical miles from Stamford around Buzzards Bay Light Tower and back. The Seaflower Reef Course logs 143 nm, and the Cornfield Point Course is 116 nm.   The Vineyard Race has divisions…

By Ron Weiss, Chairman, Storm Trysail Club Communications and Sponsorship Committee The 4th Annual Storm Trysail Club Ted Hood Regatta (named after famed Marblehead, MA hero, America’s Cup winner, National Sailing Hall of Fame Inductee, and STC member) Ted Hood, is scheduled for August 21 – 23. While we are hopeful, as befitting an organization very much focused on safety, we will also be cautious, vigilant, and closely following the Massachusetts COVID-19 guidelines. The NOR and race information can be…

By Tom Darling Planning for post-Covid racing has been a major challenge in the current period of mask-wearing and social distancing. One direction that sailors have taken is model boat racing, radio-controlled. One-design and offshore sailor Carolyn Grant Zarella’s brainstorm for Nantucket Race Week was to gather as many as a dozen new model racers from among the sponsors and supporters of Race Week, put them into a 950mm plastic model yacht, and see where it led….

Waterline Systems LLC, headquartered in North Kingstown, RI and a fixture of the boat building, boat repair, and grand-prix sailing scene for over 30 years, is expanding operations into a 70,000 square-foot facility in Hubert, NC. Located just off the Intracoastal Waterway southwest of Moorehead City, and two hours from I-95, Waterline Systems will be able to dramatically increase its boat building, service, storage, and refit capabilities for sail and power boats arriving by land and sea….

By Dave Easterbrooks and Chip Hawkins In February of 1938, twelve sailors representing yachts clubs from around Narragansett Bay gathered at Rhode Island Yacht Club. RIYC was a fitting gathering place, as it was the oldest yacht club in Rhode Island – chartered in 1875 as the Providence Yacht Club and renamed the Rhode Island Yacht Club in 1887. The 1887 name change coincided with the construction of an impressive clubhouse on Great Rock at Stillhouse Cove…

Growing up on the water in Marblehead, Massachusetts as the youngest of three brothers shaped Trevor Burd’s passion for competitive sailing and ocean adventure, and he’s raced in far flung places around the world. As a grinder aboard New York Yacht Club American Magic’s foiling AC75, he’s tasked with delivering the horsepower to drive the U.S. challenger to victory in the 36th America’s Cup presented by Prada, scheduled for next March in Auckland, New Zealand. WindCheck: How…

By Nick Bowen The Twenty Hundred Club had their second race of the 2020 season on Saturday, June 20. The Around Aquidneck Race starts just south of Hog Island near the Mount Hope Bridge, takes the sailors about 12 nautical miles (nm) south to buoy “R2” at Brenton Reef. This mark is about 2 nm south of Castle Hill and there the boats turn east for a 5.5 nm run across Rhode Island Sound. Then at the…

When the wind is shifting back and forth (as it often is), the key to a successful first beat is catching the first shift after the start and then staying “in phase” with the breeze until you reach the windward mark. Here are some ideas on how to do that: • Find the median. With an oscillating breeze, it’s important to figure out the median, or average, wind direction. This is usually the direction that’s midway between…

By Anthony Allen, Save the Sound Ecological Communications Specialist Editor’s note: We’re pleased to introduce this new monthly feature, which will be written by our friends at Save the Sound. To learn more about this vital organization’s work, and take action for a clean and healthy Long Island Sound, visit savethesound.org. Every spring, our region witnesses one of Earth’s wonders as hundreds of thousands of fish crowd into rivers across the Long Island Sound region, making the harrowing…