September 2015

On July 18, a beautiful day, with shifty winds in Fishers Island Sound, sailors on 55 boats in eight classes competed in the Mudhead Benefit Cup Regatta.

Mashnee (pictured) a Herreshoff-designed and built Buzzards Bay 30 owned by Jan Rozendall of South Burlington, VT, finished first for the third time (she also won the R4LC in 2010 and 2013).

The 2015 Junior Overnight Race, hosted by Fishers Island Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club, started at 1735 on Friday, August 7 in 8-10 knots from the east and foul current in Fishers Island Sound off Sea Flower Reef.

This race really started four years ago for me, when I purchased Persevere in May 2011. I had it all scheduled, crewed in preparation for the Transatlantic Race 2011, but due to a mast delivery delay I decided to cancel.

The 43rd Annual Buzzards Bay Regatta, hosted this year at the New Bedford Yacht Club in South Dartmouth, MA from August 7 – 9, offered three days of close competition for nine classes of one-design and handicap fleets in wind conditions that ranged from 10-15 knots on Friday and Saturday to 20-30 knots and five-foot seas on the closing Sunday.

Having sailed across the Atlantic five times and delivered countless boats, expert navigator Carole Heller is a self-described sailing addict.

Similarly, at the one in Newport RI, 15 high school sailors spent the day getting instruction on several aspects of sailing big boats safely.

We’ve had some foggy mornings and as we make the “clubhouse turn” towards cool air and warm water, we will have more. For those of a more scientific-bent, fog that forms when water is warmer than the air is called “steam” fog (fall).

The Ida Lewis Distance Race, a popular sailing overnighter hosted by Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, RI, wrapped up its 11th edition on August 16, 2015 with the entire 36-boat fleet finishing within the time limit

Together with their son Nicky, who crossed his first ocean at age four, the authors have spent four years living and cruising aboard their Dufour 35 Namani, first sailing from Greece to the Caribbean and on to Maine, then from Maine to Australia. They’ve compiled a very readable cruising guide that covers everything from buying and equipping a boat, preparing for a long passage, understanding weather, and safety at sea to detailed information about the islands along the route