November-December 2021

Most folks are weary of the pandemic and its impact on daily life. By the same token, you cannot help but marvel at the changes to society at large and to our own lives that seem here to stay. As I write this, Thanksgiving is a week away but there is no question that the holiday spirit is in full swing…and I mean that in a good way. Sure, it is a bit staggering to see Christmas…

(Editor’s note: In our October issue, we presented the first part of an interview with Charles “Butch” Ulmer (“75 Years of UK Sailmakers’). The article, which can be found at windcheckmagazine.com/article/75-years-of-uk-sailmakers/, contained a bit of erroneous information on the subject of accidental puncture wounds sustained by sail loft handworkers. Dear Ben, First, thank you for making me a household name in the Long Island Sound sailing world. I’ve never gotten so much press. Second, somewhere in our…

Andrew (Andy) Kaplan has joined the brokerage team at McMichael Yacht Yards & Brokers. The addition increases the McMichael roster to seven full-time yacht brokers serving customers up and down the east coast with a concentration on the Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. He will work primarily out of the McMichael Mamaroneck, NY, office as well as Martha’s Vineyard, MA. “Andy is bringing to McMichael a lifetime of experience in sail and power boating with a…

Zim Sailing, the Bristol, Rhode Island-based marine equipment manufacturer, has been acquired by Starting Line Sailing, Inc. The purchase transaction also includes Dwyer Mast & Rigging, the longtime aluminum spar manufacturer. As part of this acquisition, Zim Sailing and Dwyer Mast & Rigging will join West Coast Sailing as subsidiaries of Starting Line Sailing, a newly formed holding company led by CEO George Yioulos. Zim Sailing, founded by Steve Perry in 2008, provides one-design sailboats, parts, accessories,…

Mark Zagol is the 2021 Viper 640 North American Champion, with Grace Howie and Meredith Killion victorious in the inaugural Viper 640 Women’s North American Championship Our friends at Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, CT hosted the first ever Viper 640 Women’s North American Championship and the 2021 Viper 640 North American Championships on October 2 & 3 and 7 -10, respectively. Boat speed was the name of the game in the first event of “Viper Week”…

Story & photos by Greg Anthony We had just crossed the finish line. As I rounded the boat up for the 5-mile beat home, the elation of saving our time on “Z” and flat out finishing ahead of all our other fleet members turned to dread. It would be dark in 15 minutes, it was blowing 15, and the Mt. Hope Bridge, 4.5 miles to windward, was disappearing in the approaching fog bank. Lights on the bridge…

  Editor’s note: For this final installment in our Herreshoff Jubilee Celebration series, we’re visiting a very enthusiastic Herreshoff one-design fleet in the Florida Keys. Our friends at the Herreshoff Marine Museum & America’s Cup Hall of Fame in Bristol, Rhode Island are celebrating their Golden Jubilee year – the 50th anniversary of the museum’s founding, and WindCheck is honored to be the official Jubilee Media Partner. The Herreshoff Marine Museum is located on the grounds of the former…

Story & photos by Rick Bannerot I’ve had the pleasure of photographing sailing on western Long Island Sound for 20+ years, ranging from Opti dinghies to Maxi yachts and just about everything in between. I am routinely gobsmacked by the growth of junior sailing, particularly juniors sailing on, and in fact actually sailing “big boats” ranging from keelboats like Sonars on the small side to 60-foot bluewater distance racers. Adult racers and cruisers always seem to be…

The newly formed Guilford Sailing Team, which launched in September 2021 as a club sport for sailors at Guilford High School in Guilford, CT, is off to an amazing start! The team’s first fall season is well underway with a roster of eight enthusiastic and talented sailors. Guilford Yacht Club has generously provided a home base for the team, with practices held three days a week after school. This location is fantastic, providing the sailors easy access…

By Louise Harrison If names like moss animal and dog whelk sound counterintuitive, or if blood ark, skeleton shrimp, and spider crab seem mildly disturbing, would you be surprised they belong to creatures found around Plum Island, New York, home of a federal animal disease laboratory? Would you be relieved to know they’re perfectly normal marine animals in a healthy ecosystem in Eastern Long Island Sound? We know these and many other species live in Plum Island’s…