March 2020

My wife wants to buy a boat…Some might say I am a lucky man. So what’s the holdup? The quest for the perfect boat is on! Criteria: Must fit in the driveway next to the garage on a street legal trailer. That limits her to 22 feet realistically. This is good for keeping down overall costs, narrowing the list in the search phase. Must draw very little as it will be moored in a tidal flat area and…

Test Your Metal Editor’s note: As discerning readers know, Coop’s Corner comprises some of the finest writing to be found in any sailing media. Contributing Editor Joe Cooper’s monthly musings are always entertaining (for best results, read Coop’s Corner by the light of a brass hurricane lamp), and the column in our November/December 2019 edition (entitled “If” – online at windcheckmagazine.com/article/if/ in case you missed it) is classic Coop. Dear Mr. Cooper, I read WindCheck every chance…

By Stuart Streuli, New York Yacht Club Director of Communications The New York Yacht Club and the Cruising Club of America have joined forces to co-sponsor an International Offshore Safety at Sea seminar sanctioned by US Sailing. The seminar will offer hands-on training for full certification in offshore ocean races, but is equally valuable for cruising and deliveries, power or sail. The seminar consists of two parts: an online Offshore Safety at Sea video course followed by…

Showpiece Shows, a luxury event and boat show production company based in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Bridgeport, CT, is bringing two new boat shows to the new Bridgeport Harbor Marina this year.   The invitation-only Steelpointe Yacht & Charter Show, scheduled for May 15 – 17, will showcase what’s available in yacht charter locally and around the world. And because the newest marina to grace the shoreline of Fairfield County is capable of welcoming yachts up to…

The Sacred Heart University Sailing Team is hosting a North U Racing Tactics Seminar in Fairfield, CT on Sunday, March 14. A portion of the proceeds from this instructional event, led by North U Director Bill Gladstone, supports the fundraising efforts of Sacred Heart Club Sailing, an up and coming team established in 2011.   The full day seminar focuses on strategy, tactics and rules. Topics include starting set-up tips, final approach techniques, wind shift strategies (upwind…

  Several sailors and organizations in the Northeast were among those honored by US Sailing for their contributions to the sport of sailing in the United States. The awards were presented during the 2020 Sailing Leadership Forum in San Diego, CA in February. US Sailing Association Award winners: Dave Perry (Southport, CT) received the prestigious Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy for his extraordinary contributions to sailing. Perry’s passion for the sport is witnessed in everything he does to…

Registration for the 75th running of the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race now open, and the Notice of Race is posted at Yachtscoring – Block Island Race NoR. The 186-nautical mile race, from Stamford, CT around Block Island and back to Stamford, is scheduled to start Friday, May 22. “Just like classic race boats sometimes need to be optimized for better performance, we really wanted to update the 75th running of this annual race to encourage…

The United States SailGP Team recently kicked off its 2020 SailGP campaign with the announcement of a new roster. As this issue went to press, the all-American, eight-man squad was preparing for their debut at Sydney SailGP, sailed February 28 & 29 in Sydney, Australia. The 2020 U.S. SailGP Team’s roster of America’s Cup athletes, world match racing champions and Tokyo 2020 Olympic hopefuls that includes Rome Kirby (age 30; Newport, RI), Taylor Canfield (30; USVI), Riley…

By Ken Read With another sailing season upon us, I feel excited and worried. I am excited for the high end of the sport… the IMOCA fleet, for example, as we have watched them push themselves, and each other, in new, cutting-edge ‘fliers’ across the Atlantic. The America’s Cup – these boats are going to be fast and furious and who knows what is going to happen with these crazy new machines. The Moth Worlds showed us…

Consummate waterman and record breaking pro sailor, Nick Dana is a Newport, Rhode Island native and scion of the Newport Shipyard family. He’s been part of three Volvo Ocean Races: as shore crew with PUMA Ocean Racing in the 2008-‘09 edition, on-board reporter with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in 2011-‘12, and bowman/boat captain with Team Alvimedica in 2014-‘15. Nick’s a passionate surfer, and he managed to catch a few waves during some VOR stopovers. Closer to home,…