March 2023

For most sailors in the Northeast, March really is when things get going in our sport. Sure, some lucky ones have snuck down to Florida or the Caribbean for a week, an enviable break. But for me, sneaking down to the boat to examine the bottom and muse on when the cover can come off gets the mind working. End-of-year frostbite regattas, spring breaks, and summer season planning all come to the fore, requiring executive function to…

Things are cranking up for the 7th Connecticut Spring Boat Show, taking place April 28-30, 2023 at Safe Harbor Essex Island in Essex, CT. A number of new features have been added. First, boat inventory is back! Organizers are anticipating double the number of boats from last year. In addition to boats on the docks, great bands including Wooly Mammoth, Soundwave, The Vitas, and The Fake Experience will be on tap. Also on tap, Surfridge Brewing East…

US Sailing presented its annual national awards at the 2023 Sailing Leadership Forum in St. Pete Beach, FL on February 4. The Eastern Connecticut Sailing Association and Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound were well represented among the honorees. Excellence in Instruction – Annie Longo (Groton, CT) This year’s recipient and currently ECSA’s Junior Chairperson, Annie Longo has been an ECSA instructor, race coach, and head instructor at junior sailing programs since 2014. She’s worked at Wadawanuck Club,…

The Whaler’s Race, hosted by New Bedford Yacht Club in South Dartmouth, MA, kicks off the New England offshore sailing season on Saturday June 3, serving as a great warm p race to start a busy summer distance race calendar. Positioned on the calendar in front of Edgartown Race Week and the Marion Bermuda Race, this PHRF ocean race has courses set in the waters of Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, Rhode Island Sound, and the open ocean…

Our friends at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI are thrilled to announce their 11th Annual Frostbite Bash on Saturday, March 25. They’ve been hosting the biggest and best bash of the winter for a decade, and with Pella Windows & Doors as Presenting Sponsor they’re not stopping! The evening (6 to 11 pm) features live music, oyster bar & open bars, photo booth & entertainment, dancing in the Hall of Boats, silent auction & raffles,…

Coboaters Bash is March 30 Our friends at Rhode Island Billiard, Bar & Bistro in North Providence, RI and Coboaters, the North America crew finder club, are co-hosting a sailors’ gathering on Thursday, March 30 from 7 to 9 pm. “If you love sailing and hail from anywhere between Boston and Block Island, come join the second winter only event of this small group of sailors, craving the social aspect of race weeks and yacht club-style fun,” said…

After a hiatus, one of our favorite events has found a new home as the CT Sea Music Fest drops anchor in Essex, CT the weekend of June 9 – 12. Free weekend festivities at venues around the village include a Symposium on the Music of the Sea, daytime workshops, a parade, a family stage, demonstrations of sailor skills, a Sunday morning revival-style hymn sing, and late night Chantey Sings in the historic Griswold Inn! Main stage evening…

Our friends at Zim Sailing in Bristol, RI have announced a multi-year partnership as the exclusive importer and distributor of the Fighter Optimist Dinghy in North America. Zim Sailing, a subsidiary of Starting Line Sailing, Inc. and the largest small sailboat manufacturer and distributor in North America, adds the Fighter to its range as a top-of-the-line Race Opti. Built in Poland by Slawomir Baranowski, the Fighter Opti is used widely on the European racing circuit, including by…

By Dave Hemenway Photos by Robert Deaves     Fifty-eight sailors from sixteen countries contested the 2023 Finn Gold Cup, hosted by the Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami, FL January 27 – 31. The Finn is a popular, performance oriented 14’ 9” single sail dinghy that was developed for the 1952 Olympics by Scandinavian designer Rickard Sarby, based on an International Canoe design. The original wooden boats were made by home builders in the Scandinavian countries….

A U.S. Naval Academy grad, a U.S. Marine and a U.S. Patriot Sailing Ambassador, this intrepid sailor is taking on his biggest challenge in the Mini Transat.     What is your sailing background, and how did that lead to Classe Mini 6.50 and the Mini Transat? Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, I grew up sailing Optis on the Delaware River at the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia. In high school, I spent the summers racing 420s…