June 2023

As the summer season gets going here in WindCheck land, it’s interesting to think about what good calls will be made this summer. I suppose bad calls should be counted too but we will save those for another time. So let’s muse. A very good call will be to read Coop’s article on hypothermia in this issue. The chart used resembles the one that used to be on the wall in the boathouse at the U.S. Merchant…

alir.org The Sea Cliff Yacht Club is pleased to announce that this year’s race is titled Daniel Gale Sotheby’s Around Long Island Regatta. This is the 46th running of this classic and is scheduled to start in New York Harbor on Thursday, July 27. First run in 1977, the “ALIR” covers a 205-nautical mile course combining ocean, harbor and open sound racing. The race’s 10+ divisions include sailboats 24 feet or longer and sailors at all levels…

  © Mark Briggs One of our favorite events, the Sails Up 4 Cancer Regatta, will be sailed Saturday, June 17 on the waters of Fishers Island Sound. Sails Up 4 Cancer (SU4C) is a 501 c 3 charity organization dedicated to funding education, prevention, care, and cure for all types of cancer through the art and enjoyment of sailing. Partnering with organizations including Holmgren Subaru, WindCheck, Risk Strategies Gowrie Group CT River One-Design Regatta, CT Spring…

Our friends at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI recently launched their newest exhibit. “Challengers, Defenders, and Contenders: The Hodgdon Collection of America’s Cup Models – 1851-1937.” promises to take visitors on a fascinating journey through the early history of the America’s Cup. Spanning over eight decades of the prestigious sailing competition, the exhibit features a remarkable collection of meticulously crafted America’s Cup models carved by the late George I. (Sonny) Hodgdon. The Hodgdon Collection showcases…

Our friends at the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation are presenting the 12 Meter Heritage Regatta in New York Harbor for the third year in a row and you, dear reader, can race on a classic 12 Meter yacht June 15 – 18. This year, racing has been added to Thursday and Friday evenings so that corporate teams and people who work in the city can participate. “For the 12 Meter Heritage Regatta, you can buy an…

Our friends at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in Oyster, Bay, NY extend an open invitation to yacht clubs and sailing organizations to apply for one of eleven available berths to the 2023 Seawanhaka Invitational Regatta for the Cruise Cup, to be sailed the weekend of September 23 & 24. The Cruise Cup was first held in 2019, was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, and returned in 2021. The college-style fleet racing held in Seawanhaka’s…

The 2023 Connecticut Sea Music Festival will take place in Essex, CT the weekend of June 9-12. A project of The Maritime Music & Tradition Society, this traditional maritime folk festival is presented in partnership with the Town of Essex as well as with individual venues. The daytime events are free, with donations accepted. Evening concerts are ticketed.   This family-friendly weekend includes a Symposium on the Music of the Sea, free daytime workshops with local, regional and international maritime…

Hypothermia and sailing The water temperature in Brenton Cove in the winter can regularly get below 40 degrees. Just ask any Laser sailor from Fleet 413, or from March on, any high school sailor. Add in 15 knots of wind in 35 to 40-degree air temperature and the combination certainly focuses the mind on paying attention to the conditions. This attention is elevated to some high number exponent when one has the care of a dozen or…

You may have a great strategy for getting to the finish line quickly, but it won’t help you much if you let other boats push you around. That’s why having good boat-on-boat tactics is so important. Tactics are the moves you make to stay in control of your race and follow your strategic plan. When you’re approaching a finish line, there are basically two tactical approaches you might take. You can either try to catch the boat(s)…

Not many clubs can boast of having supported junior sailing for 100 years. Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT is proud to be among the few. Started in 1923, the Club’s junior sailing program has given thousands of children, those of members and non-members alike, an appreciation for the “sport of yachting.” To celebrate this momentous occasion, alumni of the junior sailing program and former instructors are invited to return to the Club on Saturday, June…