October windcheck 2017

Sailing the Northeast

Flyin’ High at Oakcliff Foiling Camp Don’t Trust Your Intuition Warrior Spirit

October 2017 • FREE

www.windcheckmagazine.com

editor's log

How We Can Help Hurricane Victims

I am welcoming you to the magazine this month as Chris recovers from back surgery. We wish Chris a speedy recovery!

Our thoughts continue to be with people recovering from the wrath of Irma and Maria in Florida and the Caribbean. They face a tough road ahead with homes flattened and communities left with no power, sanitation or water. And then, there is the imminent economic fallout from this tourism season.

Our Northeast boating community is eager to help with money, supplies and labor. It was the topic everyone was talking about at the Newport International Boat Show.

On the way to Newport, less than a week after Irma devastated our southern paradises, I wondered whether my friend John Glynn would even be present in the Bitter End Yacht Club booth, as the Bitter End’s facilities on Virgin Gorda, BVI were destroyed. Impressively, the Bitter End WAS present to raise money for the people of the entire Island of Virgin Gorda to help them get back on their feet. And showgoers, many in their Bitter End Yacht Club, Foxy’s, St. Maarten Heineken Regatta and Key West Race Week t-shirts and hats, lined up to help. To date, the Bitter End has raised over $240,000 and intend to donate funds to what is needed most, i.e. housing, schools, supplies, etc. To learn more about contributing, log onto beyc.com. If you are near Darien, CT, there is a fundraiser at Jimmy’s Southside Tavern on October 5 with food, drinks, music and an auction.

Offshore Passage Opportunities (OPO) members have been rallying annually from Newport to St. Maarten for seventeen years. The past few years, OPO has been raising money for transient moorings for the island of Dominica. The residents of that lovely island now need more than new mooring buoys. “We have spent many years on two of the hardest hit islands,” said OPO Founder Hank Schmitt. “Many of the fundraisers are geared locally to help those that people know. Our efforts are concentrated in St. Maarten and Dominica, giving 100% of every dollar to someone on the island.” The OPO membership knows that residents need more than money, so they are also planning to bring supplies and volunteers. To donate or hear more as plans develop, visit sailopo.com.

Sunsail, The Moorings and Dream Yacht Charters are busy assisting their staff, assessing property damage and rearranging fall charters. Sunsail and The Moorings have set up an employee relief fund at moorings.com. Dream Yacht Charters and their yacht owners are raising funds for their employees at dreamyachtcharter.com. We will pass on more information as soon as we can (many other Caribbean bases are unaffected so charters are available).

The Key Lime Sailing Club & Cottages in Key Largo, FL suffered serious damage but are getting themselves back to business – all while housing first responders and a few locals who lost their homes! It could be a good getaway this winter. keylimesailingclub.com

Port Sailing School in both Port Washington and New Rochelle, NY will contribute to the relief efforts by returning to the BVI for their 15th season. “From January through March 2018, our Winter Sailing Courses will return to the BVI and continue to offer sailors 7 days and 6 nights of sailing lessons and camaraderie along with a chance to directly assist the residents of these special islands. Along with daily sailing lessons, our participants will help support these island communities by cleaning, repairing docks, and assisting in the disposal of debris,” said Port Sailing School owner Chris Nihill.

There are numerous other donation sites available. We cannot verify all of them but below are some that have been brought to our attention.

• Hurricane Irma BVI Relief - The aim of this site is to collate the ways that you can send help, be it through supplies or donating money. bvirelief.com

• The Community Foundation of the [US] Virgin Islands (CFVI) has been serving St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John for more than 25 years. cfvi.net

• Sailors Helping is activating the cruising community to help rebuild by working with resorts and marinas to understand the needs of their employees and source and deliver materials. sailorshelping.org

• To support wider relief efforts, consider The Red Cross. redcross.org/donate/hurricane-irmadonations

If you have information that we can help circulate to our Northeast boating community, please let us know at contactus@windcheckmagazine.com.

Regards.

Sailing the Northeast Issue 168 Publisher Anne Hannan anne@windcheckmagazine.com Editor in Chief Christopher Gill chris@windcheckmagazine.com Senior Editor Chris Szepessy zep@windcheckmagazine.com Contributing Editor Joe Cooper coop@windcheckmagazine.com Graphic Design Kerstin Fairbend kerstin@windcheckmagazine.com Contributors Rick Bannerot, SE Benton, Tyson Bottenus, John Burnham, Joe Butera, Teresa L. Carey, Sue Charles, Seth Cirker, Stephen Cloutier, Mary Alice Fisher, Daniel Forster, Dave Foster, John K. Fulweiler, Thomas Gardner, F. K. George, Rod Harris, Dick Holliday, Diane Kropfl, Adam Loory, Barby MacGowan, Connor Macken, Lynn Oliver, PhotoBoat.com, Vin Pica, Bill Sabanski, Ernest Scribbler, Colin Shearley, Stuart Streuli, Captain Andrew Tucci, USCG, Onne Van der Wal, Michael Wiser Ad Sales Erica Pagnam erica@windcheckmagazine.com Distribution Man in Motion, Rare Sales WindCheck is published ten times per year. Reproduction of any part of this publication is strictly prohibited without prior consent of the members. WindCheck encourages reader feedback and welcomes editorial contributions in the form of stories, anecdotes, photographs, and technical expertise. Copies are available for free at 1,000+ locations (yacht clubs, marinas, marine retailers, restaurants, sailing events & transportation centers) in the Northeast. Businesses or organizations wishing to distribute WindCheck should contact us at (203) 332-7639. While WindCheck is available free of charge, we will mail your copy each month for an annual mailing fee of $29.

Mail payment to: WindCheck Magazine P.O. Box 195, Stratford, CT 06615 Phone: (203) 332-7639 E-mail: contactus@windcheckmagazine.com WindCheck is printed on recycled paper.

Member of

Find us on Facebook

4 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

5

contents

Editor’s Log 4

Letters 8

Checking In 10

Waiting for the Launch 19

Book Review: All Dreams on Deck 24

Preventing Propeller Accidents: 25 The Prop Guard Proposition

The Boating Barrister 28

Calendar of Events 29

Tide Tables 34

Ida Lewis Distance Race 40

Clagett Oakcliff Match Race 42

Newport Bermuda: Give it a Go! 44

The 83rd Vineyard Race 46

International One-Design Worlds 48

The Ms. Race 50

Coop’s Corner 52

NYYC Invitational Cup 54

Comic 56

Captain of the Port 57

Brokerage 58

Classifieds 60

On Watch: Bob Cullen 66

find us on facebook facebook.com/windcheckmagazine

20 Don’t Trust Your Intuition

After signing on with a relatively inexperienced skipper for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, Teresa L. Carey began having serious misgivings about the voyage. Teresa, who now owns and operates a sail training company called Morse Alpha Expeditions with her husband, explains that not embarking on the passage was a valuable lesson in seamanship.

22 The Magic Ingredient for Foiling

Foiling is the hottest thing in sailing, and no one is promoting it like Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, NY, who brought in the world’s best coaches for their inaugural Foiling Camp. Fifteen sailors earned their wings at this 4-day event, and F. K. George, Oakcliff’s MarComm Manager, has the story and photos.

26 Turning Old Boats into New Solutions

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of derelict boats languishing in boatyards and backyards throughout the Northeast. Tyson Bottenus, At-Large Ambassador for Sailors for the Sea, spoke with Evan Ridley, a Research Assistant at the Rhode Island Sea Grant, about a remarkable way of turning these old boats into new solutions.

36 Warrior Spirit

In what may be the coolest Coop’s Kaper yet, our Contributing Editor got two young sailors who’d just completed the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar in Newport, RI a ride on the Warrior Sailing Program’s flagship, a Volvo Open 70. Connor Macken, age 15, and Colin Shearley, 10, recount an unforgettable experience.

38 J Class World Championship

Eighty years have elapsed since J Class yachts raced for the America’s Cup. Six of these magnificent monsters convened in Newport, RI in August for their first ever World Championship, and ace photographer Rod Harris captured the action in his inimitable style.

On the cover: Robyn Lesh flies a Wazsp at Oakcliff Foiling Camp, hosted by Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, NY in August. Robyn was one of 15 sailors ages 16 to 70 who earned their wings at this very successful inaugural event. © Oakcliff Sailing/Francis George

Scan to visit our website.

windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

7

Letters Just take a pebble…

Editor’s note: “A Pebble in a Pond: CJ Buckley and the ripples he created,” written by Contributing Editor Joe Cooper (and available online at windcheckmagazine.com if you missed it) is one of the finest stories we’ve ever published.

Hi Joe, As CJ would say, “Awesome!” What an incredible article in the September issue of WindCheck Magazine!! You were somehow able to sum up all the info about the regatta (past and present), and weave the story around the perfect metaphor – the ripple effects of a pebble on a pond. You captured CJ’s spirit, courage and determination and, more importantly, his joy and passion for sailing. You made clear that he lived his life apart from the dreadful scourge of cancer.

You managed to convey that the success and the feeling of the regatta have been entirely dependent on the extraordinary commitment of scores of volunteers – on water and on land – and the generosity of all our donors and sponsors. You were able to specifically mention the Assad brothers, the five core families and three newer families, the outstanding coaches and other race committee individuals, and the crew from Providence Pictures.

We thank you very much for having the interest to write about the regatta. We are sure that the Club 420 Association is

also very appreciative. We marvel at your literary skills and style, and we are grateful that you were able to create such a sensitive and thorough synopsis of the event that honors our CJ’s life and memory.

With warm regards, Lucy and Carter Buckley Joe Cooper replies: Dear Carter and Lucy, Thank you for your kinds words. I am gratified that you feel I was able to do some amount of justice to the wonderful tale that CJ left us with. You and I have spoken about the real story and it is not a sailing one, rather one of a very strong and gracious young man, tragically taken well before his time. I can only hope that those reading this piece can get some insight into what makes a human, a teenager, into such a strong and fearless person.

I have previously written in WindCheck on the healing powers that sailing brings to all manner of stress and damage humans suffer. The joy that CJ obviously enjoyed through his sailing reminds us all, yet again, how powerful this fascinating thing we do, called sailing, can be.

Thank you for sharing CJ’s story. I saw it was difficult for you, but I thought it a story that needs to be told and perhaps it will inspire others.

With my very great appreciation and affection, Coop

Please visit us at the Annapolis Boat Show!

8 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

checking in.

Newport For New Products Award Winners Newport Exhibition Group, owners and producers of the Newport International Boat Show, have announced the results of this year’s Newport For New Products (NFNP) Awards.

Judged on Thursday during the show’s opening day and announced at an awards ceremony on Friday, September 15, the 12th annual NFNP winners are: Best New Electronics Product SkyMate mazu iPad app and mSeries hardware Best New Boating Operation, Maintenance or Safety Product North Sails 3Di NORDAC Best New Sailboat J/Boats J/121 Best New Powerboat 35’ and Over Zeelander Z55 Best New Powerboat Under 35’ Hinckley Dasher

Best New Sailboat: J/121 The new J/121 is a 40-foot offshore speedster that can be day-raced or distance-sailed by a crew of five or less. Features include a low drag, efficient hull with high form stability and exceptional balance, a rig, sail and deck plan that simplifies sail handling, a versatile, ergonomic cockpit and a spacious open interior. © JBoats.com

People’s Choice Award Sabre 45 Salon Express Green Award – Boats Hinkley Dasher Green Award – Products Arid Bilge Hydrocarbon Notifier NFNP entries were open to domestic and foreign products launched in the U.S. after April 1, 2017 that made their boat show debut at Newport. Show attendees selected the People’s Choice Award winner; all other category winners were selected by a team of industry experts on the basis of innovation, value to the consumer, safety and aesthetics.

“This was a year of true innovation,” said Nancy Piffard, show director of Newport Exhibition Group. “We are honored to have these Best New Powerboat Under 35’ and Green Award Winner: Hinckley Dasher new and exciting introductions launched at the Newport International Boat Show.” For more Designed from the ground up for fully electric propulsion, Hinckley’s new Dasher features the company’s silent Whisper Drive system powered by dual BMW i3 lithium ion batinformation, visit newportboatshow.com. ■ teries. The lightest Hinckley Yacht ever created, the 28’6” Dasher has a carbon-epoxy composite hull and carbon stringers. © HinckleyYachts.com

10 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

checking in.

SoundWaters Honors Ray Redniss SoundWaters, a Stamford, CT-based non-profit environmental organization with a mission to protect Long Island Sound through education and action, recently launched a new tradition of honoring great friends and advocates for Stamford Harbor and Long Island Sound by naming Stamford native and businessman Raymond L. Redniss as its first HarborFest Commodore. Redniss was honored at the official HarborFest 17 Launch Reception on Friday, August 25 at Stamford Yacht Club.

Redniss has a deep history in local sailing, boating safety, and environmental advocacy. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Stamford Harbor Management Commission, and Principal Surveyor of Redniss & Mead, a Stamford-based engineering, surveying and environmental consulting firm. A former board member of the Young Mariners Foundation, an organization dedicated to the education of underserved youth in Stamford, he volunteers with the Stamford Land Conservation Trust and the Sierra Club.

Lime Charters Teams Up with Aeroyacht

Catamaran sailing charters coming to New York and Long Island Sound A newly formed partnership between Lime Charters, a Port Jefferson, NY-based charter company, and Aeroyacht Ltd., a veteran yacht dealer specializing in luxury sailing catamarans, will be offering both bareboat and captained yacht charters in waters from New York through Long Island Sound and Cape Cod starting in the spring of 2018. Business operations for Long Island’s very first catamaran charter base are centrally located in Port Jefferson.

“New York and the Long Island Sound are an untapped

© BavariaYachts.com

(l – r) SoundWaters board member Scott Mitchell, HarborFest Commodore Ray Redniss, SoundWaters President Leigh Shemitz, and Stamford Mayor David Martin Photo courtesy of Rick Bannerot, copyright 2017

Redniss is a longtime member of the Storm Trysail Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Stamford Yacht Club, where he has served on the board of governors. He’s also served as Principal Race Officer for several events including Block Island Race Week, the Vineyard Race, and the Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race. ■

Please send news about your business, programs and events to contactus@windcheckmagazine.com

charter market loaded with sailing destinations that showcase New England’s quaint charm,” said Bill Beasley, President of Lime Charters. “Whether sailing under the impressive Manhattan skyline, touring historic Mystic, relaxing on the beaches of Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard, or exploring the uniqueness of Newport and Provincetown, we offer the opportunity to see it all and see it at its best – by boat.”

“The popularity of catamarans has exploded in the last five years,” said Gregor Tarjan, founder and President of Aeroyacht.

“They make great sense as a cruising platform as well as a vacation home away from home. Now, through our work with Lime Charters, sailors can get a taste of our beautiful waters on this exciting new breed of sailing yachts. There is no better way to explore the varied coast of New England than from the water aboard FLO, our Nautitech Open 46. She is brand new and fully fitted out for luxury cruising [with] a full-length owner suite, generator, air conditioning, Bose stereo system, dinghy with outboard, and a full electronics suite.”

“By collaborating with Aeroyacht, Lime Charters will offer an impressive fleet of luxury catamarans that are both comfortable and fast,” said Beasley. Lime Charters can be contacted at 631-743-5600 or by email at sail@limecharters.com. ■

12 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

checking in.

Newport Exhibition Group Receives Anchor Award The Rhode Island Marine Trades Association (RIMTA) has honored Newport Exhibition Group as the 2017 recipient of the RIMTA Anchor Award. The award was presented at the RIMTA’s annual Industry Partnership Breakfast sponsored by Gowrie Group Saturday, September 16, at the Newport International Boat Show in Newport, RI.

Presented each year to an individual or organization that draws international attention and promotion to the state’s marine trades, the Anchor Award was given to Newport Exhibition Group for their work in attracting the boaters from around the world to Rhode Island and promoting the state’s marine industry. Past Anchor Award recipients include Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ken Read, Sail Newport, and Newport Shipyard.

“We are thrilled to recognize Newport Exhibition Group for the work they do in shining a global spotlight on Rhode Island and its hometown industry,” said Wendy Mackie, CEO of RIMTA. “Every year, exhibitors and consumers from around the world come to the Newport show and see firsthand our beautiful waters, our facilities, and all that the Ocean State and our

windcheckmagazine.com

Accepting the RIMTA Anchor Award are (l – r) Newport International Boat Show Manager Nancy Piffard, Lisa Knowles , Caroline Flynn, Jocelyn Emory, Gail Alofsin, Luke Peckham, Liz Nittmann and Chuck Moffitt. © rimta.org

industry offers to boaters.”

Newport Exhibition Group has owned and produced the Newport International Boat Show for over 30 years, building it into one of the five largest in-water boat shows in the country. The four-day show draws an international crowd, and 20 percent of the exhibitors are from outside the U.S. Visit NewportExhibition.com. ■

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

13

checking in.

Elena T. Kissel Joins Clean Ocean Access Clean Ocean Access (COA), a Middletown, RI-based environmental organization, has announced the selection of its new Director of Development, Elena T. Kissel. Kissel, who officially started on July 21, is guiding all of COA’s fundraising initiatives and developing new relationships to build the organization’s visibility, impact, and financial resources.

Before coming to COA, Kissel served as Director of Donor Relations for the Green Schools Alliance in New York, NY. She received a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from the University of Bridgeport. With a legal and development background, she has worked for environmental organizations including the Surfrider Foundation, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Audubon Society.

“We met Elena this past spring at a blustery shoreline cleanup at Fort Adams State Park,” said COA Executive Director Dave McLaughlin. “She was so excited to see us doing our work, and she jumped right in to help protect our oceans and beaches.

The combination of her sincere interest in our mission, personal enjoyment of the ocean, and development background makes her a perfect fit to advance our development efforts and build

long term financial solvency.”

“I have a long family history in Rhode Island, yet only recently moved my work life here from New York City,” said Kissel, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Potter League for Animals, the Parent’s Leadership Council at Brown, and the Board of Visitors of St. George’s School. “I was looking for a way to make a connection to Aquidneck Island, its coastline and the ocean. COA made that connection for me. I am motivated every day to further COA’s mission of action today so future generations can enjoy ocean activities. I swim in Narragansett Bay from June to September, and I want my children’s children to be able to swim here too.”

To learn more, visit cleanoceanaccess.org. ■

yanmar_dealer_ad_7x4.75_windcheck_Layout 1 6/11/15 3:43 PM Page 1

Best in class engines. Best in class support.

We Know Repowers.

Yanmar dealers have the experience and expertise to get your boat repowered and running its best. There’s nothing like the unsurpassed reliability and efficiency of a YANMAR diesel engine.

Combine that with the worldwide support of the finest dealer service network and you’re ready to head anywhere with confidence.

YANMAR engines are distributed by Mack Boring & Parts Co.

Mackboring.com 908-964-0700 Discover the many advantages of YANMAR engines and dealers by visiting...

marinedieseldealers.com 14 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

checking in.

McMichael Adds New Brokers in Mamaroneck and Long Island

couldn’t be more excited to offer the McMichael portfolio of brands to boaters here on Long Island,” said Campbell, who will be based in Huntington.

Captain Bill Biebel (left) has been working in the marine industry for 30 years in both Florida and Connecticut. Biebel oversees several yachts that travel between Long Island Sound in the summer and Florida in the winter, including several Hinckleys and MJMs. He will continue those duties while also helping McMichael with sales in both regions. Biebel noted, “I’ve gotten to know the McMichael team while captaining two MJM 40z’s, and the level of after-sales support they offer is top notch. I’m very excited to be able to offer my clients the brokerage services of such a well-respected company.”

For more information, contact Michael Beers at 914-381-5900 or michaelb@mcmyacht.com. ■

McMichael Yacht Brokers of Mamaroneck, NY, have announced that they have added Cameron Campbell and Bill Biebel to their team of yacht sales professionals. “I am pleased to welcome Cameron and Bill to McMichael as they bring a wealth of sail and power boat experience to our sales team, expanding the depth and breadth of the services we can provide our customers,” said Howard McMichael, President.

Cameron Campbell (right) is a lifelong boater who grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Smithtown, New York. After a long career in technology sales for Intel, Campbell made the switch to the marine industry last year. “I NVBY_WINDCHECK_SEPT17.qxp_Windcheck 8/9/17 12:05 PM Page 1

Looking for the best winter service?

Schedule your project with our professional team

noankvillageboatyard.com Check out our website to see our work!

Noank Village Boatyard

38 Bayside Ave |Noank CT 06340 | 860.536.1770

noankvillageboatyard.com

HAUL/LAUNCH | MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | CARPENTRY | RIGGING | HULL/TOPSIDES | FIBERGLASS | ELECTRONICS MOORINGS & SLIPS ON THE MYSTIC RIVER windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

15

checking in.

Offshore Boat Prep Seminar is October 21 The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee (BROC) has named Safe Harbor Marinas as the Official Boat Preparation Resource for the 2018 Newport Bermuda Race. “We are very happy to welcome back Brewer Yacht Yards, now owned by Safe Harbor Marinas, as members of the sponsor family for the 51st Bermuda Race,” said BROC Chairman Jonathan Brewin. “[We are] especially pleased that Safe Harbor Marinas will again bring its expertise to sailors with its race-preparation seminar.”

The Safe Harbor Offshore Boat Preparation Seminar will be held Saturday, October 21 at the Brewer Pilots Point Marina North Yard clubhouse in Westbrook, CT. Speakers will include Rives Potts, owner/ skipper of the 2010 and 2012 St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy winner Carina, and Newport Bermuda Race Chief Inspector James Phyfe.

The team of Safe Harbor experts will discuss the elements of the most commonly used offshore safety standards, including the US Safety Equipment Requirements (US SERs). Using

images and demonstrations, presenters will discuss the intent behind each requirement and straightforward methods of compliance that won’t break the bank. New for the 2018 race is the addition of multihull vessels, which will also be addressed in the seminar.

Participants in the Safe Harbor Offshore Boat Preparation Seminar will learn how to operate a rod rigging cutter, how to deploy sea drogues, how to use bilge pumps, buckets and other items for emergencies at sea, and much more. © byy.com

While particular emphasis will be placed on the requirements for the 2018 Newport Bermuda Race, common provisions of all offshore racing requirements will be discussed and ample time will be allowed for questions and answers. Topics will include: hull construction and stability; rigging and sail selection (including storm sails); safety and emergency equipment; training and Safety at Sea credentials; and, navigation and communications devices. Of value to racers and cruisers alike, this series will give anyone preparing their boat for extended voyaging the peace of mind that comes with hearing from the most experienced advisors in the industry.

The cost of $149 per boat entitles all crewmembers to attend. For more information on the seminar and to register, visit byy.com/boatseminar. For questions, contact Lynn Oliver at loliver@shmarinas.com.

Safe Harbor Marinas is the largest owner and operator of marinas in the world with over 60 locations across the United States. As part of Safe Harbor’s nationwide network, Brewer Yacht Yards, comprising 30 properties between Maryland and Massachusetts, has prepared hundreds of boats for distance races and offshore voyages, advising owners on gear selection, vessel construction and speed optimization for over 40 years.

To learn how the experienced staff at Safe Harbor locations can help you and your crew plan and prepare for a successful race, log onto byy.com. Organized by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the 2018 Newport Bermuda Race starts on June 15, 2018, off Castle Hill, Newport RI. For more information, visit BermudaRace.com. ■

16 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

checking in.

The Moorings Named National Sponsor of the Leukemia Cup Regatta The Moorings, a yacht charter company headquartered in Clearwater, FL, has signed on as an official national sponsor of the Leukemia Cup Regatta. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual Leukemia Cup Regatta is a series of competitions around the country to raise funds for leukemia, lymphoma, and blood cancer research. “The Leukemia Cup Regatta is a cause that will always be near and dear to our hearts,” said Josie Tucci, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for The Moorings. “We are thrilled to become a national sponsor of this philanthropic event, and continue our support of this worthy organization.”

Since 1993, the Leukemia Cup Regatta has been led by Gary Jobson, a passionate lymphoma survivor. The National Chairman of the regatta, Jobson is a world-class sailor, an ESPN commentator, a published author, and an America’s Cup Hall of Fame inductee. The Leukemia Cup Regatta hosts over 45 races annually nationwide, with the total number of participants – sailors, sponsors, volunteers, and donors – exceeding 11,000. Thanks to continuous support and generosity from the sailing community, over $62 million has been invested in cancer research as a result of

© leukemiacup.org

these events.

Leukemia Cup Regatta participants at select locations will be eligible to win prizes including a private sailing experience with Jobson and a weeklong yacht charter with The Moorings. Any participant that raises at least $500 will be entered in a drawing for the grand prize giveaway, a vacation aboard a Moorings 4800 sailing catamaran, Among the Leukemia Cup Regattas where these prizes will be available include events hosted by New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI and American Yacht Club in Rye, NY. For more information, visit moorings.com/leukemia-cup-regatta. ■

FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 2018

51ST Newport Bermuda Race Plan now to compete for more than 100 awards given for this classic race across the Gulf Stream

www.BermudaRace.com windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

17

Winter Boat Tent

18 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

Full Winter Frame and Cover

windcheckmagazine.com

Waiting for the Launch

By Joe Butera I was becoming increasingly annoyed with the long wait for the club tender to return to the dock and bring me out to my boat.

The dog-day heat was melting my freshly purchased ice and the launch was nowhere in sight. I dreamily gazed out at the fleet in the August haze and began to take a trip in the way-back machine of my mind. I drifted back to a sizzling day like this in the late 1950s when I was in my early teens.

My neighbors, Bud and Doris Wright, often took me sailing aboard their Herreshoff S-Boat Melody. They kept the little blue sloop on a mooring at the Port Washington Town Dock, where there was no tender service. Instead, the town provided ponderous 12-foot wooden rowboats. They were self-propelled, as in you propelled them yourself, with long, heavy wooden oars.

I recalled the complex routine that was required to get to a moored boat in those days. First, we had to wait for a rowboat to become available if none were free upon our arrival. When we finally secured a boat, we would laboriously row her out to Melody and climb aboard. We would then unlash the cockpit tarp, bail out the bilges and hoist the heavy canvas sails. The S-Boat was a 28-foot wooden sloop with a fractionally rigged jib, a huge mainsail on a long overhanging boom, and no motor.

With sails hoisted, we’d sail back to the dock, rowboat in tow. If we were lucky enough to catch someone waiting for a tender, we could just undo the line and push the boat off toward them. Otherwise I would have to swiftly jump off Melody, secure the tender to a cleat and try to hop back aboard while Bud and Doris skillfully luffed Melody off the end of the float. I remember ending up in the drink at least once while attempting the maneuver. Only after completing this arduous process could we finally commence our sail. At the end of the day, the process had to be executed in reverse.

I slowly returned to the present as the tender was finally pulling up to the dock. I hopped aboard without saying a word to the young operator, and settled down on the comfortably contoured bench seat. I felt a welcome breeze on my face as the boat powered up and sluiced through the calm water. I began to laugh quietly to myself as I thought how much easier we have it today. I’d be aboard Iwalani, my 35-foot sloop, in moments to fire up the engine and set out to find some wind before the launch returned to the dock. My annoyance now seemed silly.

When we pulled up alongside Iwalani the tender operator asked a little sheepishly, “Was it a long wait, Mr. Butera?” With visions of the 1950s still swirling through my foggy brain, I patted him on the shoulder and wistfully replied, “It’s been nearly 60 years, son.” He gave me a puzzled look before I turned to step aboard my boat. ■ Joe Butera is a lifelong sailor. He and his wife Pat enjoy sailing out of Northport Yacht Club in Northport, NY, where he is a Past Commodore and a member since 1973. windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

19

Don’t Trust Your Intuition

By Teresa L. Carey

As I walked the docks I saw people loading crates of fresh fruits and veggies, jugs of water, and carts full of dried and canned goods. Our provisions looked like anthills next to their mountains. “Only fifteen red apples,” I thought, “That’s less than one apple per day for the four of us to share.” And that’s only if they last that long. Green apples are better for long passages. I understand the consequences of body and mind when people are

I left Las Palmas feeling like I had let everyone down. Windy was hoisting its sails for a transatlantic, and instead I was boarding the plane home. During the previous days my anxiety over the passage was building to an overwhelming point, but I couldn’t pinpoint the problem.

In hindsight, I see clearly what happened.

Ten days earlier, I flew to the Canary Islands where I was greeted by Skipper Jake and received a friendly welcome aboard Windy. Jake had purchased a new 40-foot yacht and completed a west to east transatlantic with a hired licensed captain. This passage would be his first role as skipper. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers was scheduled to depart in exactly ten days. Ryan and Vanessa, an experienced cruising couple, would complete the crew by joining us a few days before departure.

With misgivings about the skipper and vessel with whom she’d signed on, the author let the Atlantic

I expected to spend the next Rally for Cruisers depart without her. © worldcruising.com ten days provisioning the boat, testing the systems, doing shakedown sails and safety drills, and undernourished or eating mostly dried food, and I worried that discussing how the crew would work together. Having had many during the latter half of our voyage we might not be as sharp and miles aboard Windy under his belt, Jake decided to wait for the prepared to address issues or stress that might arise. Because Jake rest of the crew to arrive to complete most tasks. “Can we test paid the bill, I asked him if we should get more food. “Don’t you the systems together?” I asked, to which the skipper explained worry, there is plenty,” he said, persuading me to focus instead that Ryan would take care of that, and we would all provision on the rest of our preparations. “I shouldn’t get stressed over together. As the days wore on, and Jake and I lounged under the food,” I thought and brushed away my anxiety. stars in the cockpit each evening, I started to feel less prepared

The next day Ryan began to test the systems. The ARC rally for the impending departure. I even considered testing the has many ways of supporting the cruisers, including sending out systems myself, but the skipper reprimanded me and told me to daily weather faxes and providing a blogging platform. But with wait. one day before departure, we needed to make sure all our elec A few days before our departure, the weather report inditronics were working. Ryan worked diligently at the navigation cated there would be strong opposing winds at the start of the desk, sending test emails and trying to download GRIB files and ARC. I decided I would muster the courage to express my conweather faxes from multiple sources. “Well, I’m not sure why cerns. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” Jake answered when I asked this isn’t working,” I overheard him mumble while Vanessa and I what our backup plan was. I respected his role as skipper. I was were stowing food in the lockers. sure he was right. “If the weather is really awful and I feel unsafe, Jake returned from the skipper’s meeting and announced I’ll have to speak up,” I told myself, not recognizing a feeling of that the organizers had delayed the departure due to bad apprehension beginning to form after his blasé response. weather. We now had one more day to get prepared. I breathed a

When Ryan and Vanessa arrived, my anxiety had grown. sigh of relief and continued organizing and reorganizing lockers Having only two days until departure heightened my concerns. when I noticed that the hanging locker had water in it. Dark Sailing never works on a schedule, especially when waiting until streaks penetrated the wood lining. “There is water in this locker. the last minute. However, I was hopeful that with the entire crew Maybe we should trace where it’s coming from,” I thought out present, concerns would be addressed one by one as we prepared loud. “Naw. It’s not a big deal. Someone probably left a port for the long passage ahead. open,” I was told. It had rained earlier that day. Since the boat 20 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

was relatively new, and I didn’t want to overstep my role as deckhand, I accepted their explanation and told myself that the odds were slim that there was a leak.

Having worked as a professional mariner for years, I was conscious of being respectful of the hierarchy. Jake felt very strongly about his new role as skipper. “I am the captain and I have the final say,” he announced early on and repeated often. I wanted to respect that. Besides, I was happy being just a part of the crew for once.

I was assigned the role of the fourth and “least experienced” crewmember, a role that was impressed upon me with such authority that I began to believe my thoughts weren’t valid; that my anxiety was an overreaction. I actually felt guilty for making suggestions or asking too many questions.

Small issues compounded into a growing feeling of helpless-

A Morse Alpha Expeditions student (right) steers a course with guidance from the author’s husband, Ben Eriksen. © MorseAlpha.com

ness until finally nerves and homesickness overcame me. A day before departure, Jake recognized my anxiety and kindly offered me an opportunity to leave, which I accepted. I would not be participating in the passage. A weight was lifted off my shoulders, and for 24 hours I was happy running errands for the crew, scrubbing the deck, and doing it all with a sense of ease.

For the next few months, feeling relieved yet saddened by my departure, I turned the events over in my thoughts. Experiences without processing don’t help us grow. They have to be considered openly and from all angles. Despite not sailing, my journey with Windy was one of the biggest seamanship lessons I could receive. I failed to effectively express my concerns so that the skipper took them seriously. Instead, I made only polite suggestions but wasn’t insistent and didn’t push it too far, believing I was being respectful of leadership. Jake was a skipper that had little experience on other boats. This was the first – and last – windcheckmagazine.com

time I would ever agree to sail under the leadership of someone with that background.

After 36 hours of return flights, I finally arrived home and was greeted at the airport by my friend. “You’re a soothsayer. You should always trust your intuition,” he said when he picked me up at the airport. “About a day after Windy departed, they had to turn around due to a leak that they described on their blog as ‘waterfalls in the locker,’ that apparently was filling their boat.

But it wasn’t intuition that guided me. The signs were there. I wasn’t surprised, nor did I feel proud for my decision to leave the passage. I felt relieved to be home, sympathy for the crew, disappointed that I saw signs of the problem yet failed to make myself heard, and curious to know if the leak was related to the soggy wood in the locker I saw earlier.

Lessons Learned: • No matter what my role is, I should learn to strike a balance between clearly stating my concerns whilst still maintaining respect for leadership.

• A good skipper facilitates a conversation that welcomes every crewmember’s thoughts and concerns.

• The highest functioning crews have regular crew meetings where reserved people are encouraged to speak, and overbearing people are required to listen.

• The role of “sailor” isn’t ever achieved. It is a continuous process where much can be gained from all crewmembers.

• Don’t blindly “trust your intuition.” Learn to recognize and address the circumstances that are giving you that “gut feeling” because most “intuition” is a result of subconscious reasoning.

Now, many years and many ocean passages later, my husband and I offer sail-training expeditions aboard our Norseman 447. Our courses are founded on years of leadership training, and captain experience. We base our lessons and activities on several sound communication models, such as Bridge Resource Management and others. We train people not just in the technical aspects, but also in communication and the role of the captain. Inevitably, I choke back my pride and always tell this story as a discussion point on how poor communication can lead to feelings of being unsafe or real issues being overlooked.

To find out more about our sail-training program, visit MorseAlpha.com. ■ WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

21

The Magic Ingredient for Foiling

Look out boys, I got a license to fly! Robyn Lesh earned her wings at Oakcliff Sailing’s inaugural Foiling Camp. © Oakcliff Sailing/Francis George

By F. K. George With the introduction of affordable boats like the Waszp, foiling is coming to the masses and Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, NY is leading the charge. The 15 participants in Oakcliff’s inaugural Foiling Camp in August were once among the many starryeyed sailors who watched the America’s Cup and dreamed of what it was like to defy gravity and lift out of the water. Now, thanks to Oakcliff, they no longer have to imagine; they’re doing it!

“No one else in the world is pushing [foiling] like Oakcliff,” said coach Shaun Masonn, who was fresh from Bermuda where he was the boat captain for Softbank Team Japan in the 35th America’s Cup. “The set up here and the boats we have access to is really something special,” he enthused, referring to Oakcliff’s spacious, newly renovated bunkhouse and foil-borne fleet comprising four converted Nacra 17s, two Nacra 20s and six Waszps.

Shaun teamed up alongside Reed Baldridge, winner of the Inaugural International Waszp Games, to coach the camp. Participants ranged from 16 to 70 years old and Reed and Shaun were determined to get all of them flying. They didn’t disappoint; after only four days out of six, everybody had gotten up on the foils at least once.

That’s the first milestone in learning to foil: getting up.

Once you do, there’s a moment of pure elation where you cel-

Ludicrous Speed! Harry Hall (right), an Oakcliff Sapling from Australia, and Andres Guerra-Font, a full-time Oakcliff staffer from Spain, fly a Nacra 20 in Oyster Bay. © Oakcliff Sailing/Francis George

22 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

ebrate and give yourself a mental high five, only to realize you have no idea what to do next and then crash, often spectacularly.

The next step is staying up and foiling stably. “It’s good to have an expert telling you what’s going wrong instead of spending weeks and weeks just crashing and figuring it out,” said Oakcliff staff Andres Guerra-Font. “The best part of the camp is having Shaun yelling, ‘Yes! Yes!’ when you’re finally foiling. It’s like he gets more excited than you!”

And that’s the magic ingredient that made the camp so successful. Reed and Shaun didn’t just bring their technical expertise; they brought their enthusiasm. It’s easy to get frustrated learning to foil, but it was hard to stay that way for long with the positivity they radiated. It was contagious. Everybody was in high spirits and it felt like one big family.

Each night after foiling, a barrage of wet, tired sailors raced back to the Oakcliff Bunkhouse, eager to claim a shower. After that, everyone gathered around the TV for a debrief that was invariably riddled with laughter. Whether it was poking jabs at the coaches or making fun of themselves in the videos, the atmo-

windcheckmagazine.com

Chris Poole shreds the waters of Oyster Bay. © Oakcliff Sailing/Francis George

sphere was electric. Afterwards all contributed to cooking a healthy dinner in the massive kitchen, but that was almost immediately negated by the group’s efforts to support the local ice cream industry.

Day four of the camp was the golden day. With sunny skies and 12 knots gusting 15, the weather hit the sweet spot for learning to foil. Everybody was foiling at least marginally and some were even attempting foiling gybes. The local Oyster Bay boaters watched all of the flying with curiosity and awe. One group of kids even ran down the dock, trying to go faster than the Waszps that were reaching back and forth: future foilers in the making.

At the end of the camp, the coaches ran a pinning ceremony for those who “earned their wings” with one minute of continuous foiling. Every single participant achieved that, even Ed Chimney, the only 70-year old brave enough to tackle the challenge of learning to fly on a sailboat.

Think you have what it takes to earn your wings? Sign up for Oakcliff’s newsletter at oakcliffsailing.org to stay updated on Foiling Camp 2018! ■ F. K. George is Oakcliff Sailing’s MarComm Manager.

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

23

book review.

All Dreams On Deck

Charting the Course for Your Life and Work

By Jeremy Cage Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press 180 pages hardcover $19.95 Jeremy Cage asserts that the vast majority of people and the vast majority of businesses will die without ever realizing their full potential.

An entrepreneur, executive coach and former Fortune 100 executive, Cage is an expert on turning dreams into reality. Among the more ambitious of Cage’s own dreams was to sail around the world with his wife and two children, and the Cage family spent four years preparing for a circumnavigation aboard their 43-foot catamaran Hakuna Matata. Sharing anecdotes from that 16-month, life-changing voyage, the author presents a four-step process that anyone can use to make their dreams a reality.

With nautical metaphors articulating each step of the process, Cage notes that a person’s dreams are analogous to the hull of a boat. Intentionality is the rigging and the sails. Planning and preparation are the training necessary to sail and navigate the boat, and courage is the wind that must be harnessed to move it forward. “Dreams are the most powerful force on our planet, and yet they are simultaneously incredibly vulnerable,” says Cage. “If not prioritized, protected and nurtured, they wither and die.”

Jeremy Cage has held senior management positions at Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo, and was CEO of The Lighting Science Group. He is President of The Cage Group (the cagegroup.org), which he founded to help businesses and individuals unleash their full potential, and also a co-founder of several start-up companies in the areas of healthy foods and nutrition.

He and his family live in Darien, CT. ■

If you’d like to see your book reviewed in WindCheck, please email us at contactus@windcheckmagazine.com.

24 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

Preventing Propeller Accidents: The Prop Guard Proposition

By Seth Cirker, 1st/Lt, N-IN, United States Power Squadrons Unfortunately, these days it seems we more and more often hear of tragic accidents caused by boat propellers, which if not bad enough, frequently involve young children.

While we continually find ourselves preaching proper training and safe boat operation, we must recognize that accidents do happen, and a fail-safe means to prevent propeller accidents is needed. With three children of my own, spending their summers in a yacht club junior sailing program, I, like fellow parents, find myself greatly disappointed that such a solution is not in use.

While it may seem obvious that installing a protective cage around a boat’s propeller (similar to the shroud around a fan) would prevent accidental contact, “prop guards” have been continually plagued by perceived flaws that prevent the use of these lifesaving devices. This predisposition is most often based on the misbelief that while prop guards minimize the likelihood of accidental contact, they also reduce water flowing past the propeller, thereby resulting in greatly reduced steering and boat control.

While physics mandate that propeller guards reduce water flow, the surprising truth, as I have been told by prop guard advocates, is that if designed correctly, there is no noticeable impact on boat performance other than reduced top end speeds.

Could this possibly be true? Could the boating community be misinformed? Could a solution we have had available to us, but one that most have chosen not to use, actually work and save lives?

To answer these questions, a prop guard providing full 360-degree protection (front, sides and back of propeller) was installed on a typical sailing coach boat, a 17-foot Boston Whaler with a 50 HP Yamaha outboard engine. This boat was then used to perform a series of tests based upon a procedure generated by the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) for the United States Coast Guard. Specific performance criteria, including acceleration, turning radius, holding a course in forward and reverse, emergency braking and boat speed, were evaluated.

These tests were performed, under different sea and wind conditions, by numerous highly qualified boating professionals including certified powerboat instructors and operators as windcheckmagazine.com

well as accredited sailing program directors and coaches. Across the board, the findings were unanimous. There was absolutely NO noticeable impact on boat performance during any of the maneuvers performed. The only effect of the prop guard was a reduction in top speed from approximately 23 mph to 17 mph.

So, while not necessarily a solution for all, as they might not be appropriate for high performance boats, prop guards do appear to be the perfect fit for boats like those used in junior sailing programs where the additional safety gained is far more important than the high speed lost. ■ Seth Cirker is a technology consultant, avid boater and United States Power Squadrons officer. He and his family reside in Port Washington, NY and can be frequently found sailing their sloop Casamar on Long Island Sound. You can find Seth on LinkedIn. Tests have proven that propeller guards do not reduce a boat’s acceleration, turning radius, or ability to hold a course.

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

25

sound environment.

Turning Old Boats into New Solutions

By Tyson Bottenus, At-Large Ambassador for Sailors for the Sea Old boats are a dime a dozen in the Northeast, and every year the problem keeps compounding. After a few years off the market, a used boat’s value drops precipitously and eventually it always seems to find itself under a tarp in someone’s backyard, or laying in waste at the back of a boatyard; its fiberglass hull slowly turning black and waterlogged, its lines fraying from ultraviolet radiation.

Many of these boats will make their way to the landfill.

But the path there is an expensive and time extensive process. It’s estimated that it would cost $20 million to dispose of the estimated 1,500 abandoned or derelict boats in Florida alone. In Rhode Island, the smallest state with an almost-full landfill, the question of what to do with derelict fiberglass boats is a pressing concern.

“It’s not like you can recycle fiberglass like you can recycle a plastic bottle,” says Evan Ridley, a Research Assistant at the Rhode Island Sea Grant. “With fiberglass, you’re breaking down that fiber resin matrix and then when you try to separate the resin from the fiber, you’re going to lose a lot of the tensile strength that makes fiberglass a really valuable and useful material.”

But while a fiberglass boat can’t be recycled in the traditional sense, its “end of life”, says Ridley, doesn’t need to be in the landfill. “We need to start thinking about more sustainable solutions for material that’s potentially useful, like fiberglass. The global demand for fiberglass is going up and the production is going up and to be throwing it away is counterintuitive.”

The breakthrough for Ridley and Rhode Island Sea Grant came when they began investigating the European wind industry. Since 2004, most European Union member states passed laws forbidding the disposal of carbon fiber composites. For a growing industry such as wind, this presented a challenge as rotor blades frequently break or need to be replaced. One study conducted by the University of Bremen found that at the current rate of growth in the wind industry, nearly 225,000 tons of rotor

blade waste would be generated by 2034.

To eliminate this obstacle, an unlikely partnership was formed between different industries in Europe. “What we found,” says Ridley, “is that fiberglass has been adopted as this wonder material by the European cement industry as a basis for what’s considered an ‘alternative kiln fuel.’”

Cement is manufactured when crushed rock and other ingredients are ground, mixed, and fed into a cement kiln. The kiln heats up these ingredients to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit.

Traditionally, this procedure requires an enormous amount of

She used to be somebody’s dream, but this derelict boat might have a future as an alternative kiln fuel in the cement industry.

energy, and coincidentally, is responsible for being one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses, but many large cement producers are actively considering alternative ways to fuel their kilns in ways that reduce their carbon footprint.

To investigate whether derelict fiberglass boats might make a good candidate as an alternative fuel, Ridley cut up pieces of an old 20-foot Cape Dory that he found access to in Rhode Island.

“Fiberglass, as it turns out, has this thermal property that retains heat when it’s burned inside a kiln,” says Ridley. “The other interesting thing about fiberglass is that when you use it in the right amounts there’s potential for the other ingredients in the glass and the fiber and in the resin itself to supplement some of the raw materials that go into making cement; stuff like the limestone and the silica and the alumina [aluminum oxide].”

This development has set Ridley off in new directions now, most notably aimed at figuring out the logistics of how to supply the cement industry with enough derelict fiberglass boats in a way that’s feasible and not cost prohibitive.

“One of the questions we’re tracking down is how can we

26 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

ensure a level of quality from recycled boat material when you’ve got one boat that’s from 1960 that’s got a bunch of extra resin and one from the 1980s that’s very thin and has balsa wood in the core,” says Ridley. “Obviously there are concerns about whether or not they will be receiving a material with a consistent level of quality because that’s very important when you’re selling a product such as cement.”

Provided they can make that kind of guarantee, there are other challenges as well. How will the boats get collected? Where will they get collected? Who will grind down fiberglass boats to manageable sizes and transport this material to cement companies? What about health and safety? These are just a handful of questions Ridley is working on currently.

To fund a pilot project aimed at connecting the cement industry with the marine industry, Ridley recognizes that he will need some sort of legislative support and possibly an increase in the bi-annual registration fees recreational boat owners pay on their vessels. “There are a lot of steps that are happening at once,” says Ridley, “and part of that is figuring out how the business model works and then part of that is continuing to coordinate on the technical side with the other parties while continuing to look for partners here in Rhode Island and in New England potentially.”

Ridley, who is also a graduate student in the University of Rhode Island Marine Affairs department, started this project two years ago when he was offered a research assistantship with Rhode Island Sea Grant. In six months, he’s set to graduate, but he says that if the Rhode Island Marine Trade Association and the cement industry haven’t explicitly told him ‘No,’ he’s willing to stick around to further the burgeoning relationship.

“The great thing that we’re doing at Sea Grant, since it’s a national program, is that if we can get a strategic plan written for developing a pilot program in Rhode Island, we could then share that with all the other Sea Grant programs in the network; all 33 states that, no doubt have these same issues, but have better access to cement markets than the East Coast. It’s potentially a national solution if we can get it off the ground in our own little laboratory, so to speak.”

Take Action

• Landfills are filling up. Think twice about dropping your grandfather’s old boat at the transfer station, but remember, never sink or abandon your old boat!

• Call your marina, local college sailing team, maritime museum or search “boat donation” to learn about possible donation organizations in your area. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

• Think creatively about repurposing your old dinghy. Small boats make for a terrific raised bed garden!

This Sailors for the Sea Ocean Watch Essay is reprinted with permission. For more information, visit sailorsforthesea.org. To learn more about Sea Grant, log onto seagrant.noaa.gov. ■ windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

27

The Boating Barrister Youth, Stupidity and Seawater: Shake Twice, Serve Cold

By John K. Fulweiler Youth or stupidity (or a soupcon of both) share the common element of driving many a bad decision. The thing with youth is that the passage of time lays down all those bad wakes whereas with stupid, well you can’t fix stupid, right? This cogency leads me to the observation that the maritime law doesn’t seem to care much whether you’re stupid or jacked on immaturity – either way a penalty awaits.

I may have lost too much tide in my life’s harbor to relate to the fellow (and yeah, it seems to be a genderbiased phenomena) who leaps from the upper decks of a passenger ferry. My informal survey suggests that typically the leap, plunge, backflip or plummet occurs as the ferry approaches a point of disembarkation. (I haven’t found an instance where a leap of furious enthusiasm occurred as the ferry broke ground to a destination; presumably, the satisfaction of such endeavors would be lost as the party sailed on without you.)

The officials will tell you such antics threaten vessel safety, but for me the issue is delay. Time and schedules are too precious in this digital lattice of life to be interfered with by youth or stupidity.

No matter how effective the display, the wayward passenger who leaps before landing faces a federal statute (46 U.S.C. 2302(a)) descriptively titled: “Penalties for negligent operation and interfering with safe operation.” Congress amended this statute in 1998 by including the language “or interfering with the safe operation of a vessel, so as to endanger” the life, limb or property of a person. Without leaping off the research rail myself, my understanding is that prior to the amendment, the statute only addressed “operations,” leaving the Coast Guard without a remedy to pursue the young or stupid passenger. That’s changed now, and with a civil penalty of $5,000 in the context of a recreational vessel and $25,000 for any other vessel, well the Coast Guard has a sturdy paddle to dole out discipline.

Bad behavior is cataloged in other ways, too. There’s the wake jumping, the cutting in front of larger boats, and the drinking while boating, to name a few. Penalties for these endeavors may spring from federal or state law. Although not explicit, you can read an underlying intent to limit bad behavior in the Racing Rules of Sailing when it speaks at Rule 2 to “Fair

Sailing” and “compliance with recognized principles of sportsmanship and fair play.”

I’ve never been aboard or driven a launch or ferry when a passenger sought a seaward disembarkation, but I know I’d be whipped up if it happened on my watch. I remember driving heavily laden launches in dark Block Island waters with passengers full of the night’s fun. None of those passengers (ever) leapt into the harbor. If they had, I’ll admit it would’ve interfered with the operation of the vessel.

What I remember of that launch driving experience is sometimes catching an overly-scoped anchor line on the launch’s skeg as we skittered along. At night, it wasn’t something you could immediately identify as having happened, sort of like realizing you’ve grounded on the light silt of a channel split in the ICW. Those style launches moved smartly and the physics of the snag caused the anchored sailboat to suddenly start hurtling toward the launch’s amidships. The sudden whoops and hollers of my passengers would have me dropping the clutch into reverse and hurrying the hull backwards, scuppers backfilling, as I got myself parallel to the sailboat and on we went. No harm, no foul.

I miss those days. I miss the comradery of common sense. There’s a lot of coddled, fatuousness everywhere. Maybe it’s me maturing into seas of grouchiness. I hope that’s it.

Bad behavior is cataloged in other ways, too. There’s the wake jumping, the cutting in front of larger boats, and the drinking while boating, to name a few.

Underway and making way.

John K. Fulweiler, Esq. is a Proctor-in-Admiralty representing individuals and small businesses in maritime matters including personal injury claims throughout the East and Gulf Coasts and with his office in Newport, Rhode Island. He can be reached at 1-800-383-MAYDAY (6293), or visit his website at saltwaterlaw.com.

28 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

Calendar 2017 OCTOBER Ongoing through October River Cruises Aboard Onrust Enjoy a river excursion (1.5 hours) or a sunset cruise (2 hours) aboard a replica of Adriaen Block’s historic vessel. Fee includes museum admission. Connecticut River Museum, Essex, CT; Reservations: 860767-8269; ctrivermuseum.org 2 Engine Maintenance Seminar This course is presented by the Neptune Power Squadron. 7pm; $120; Brittania Yachting Center, Northport, NY; Philip Quarles: 631-824-7128; boated.neptuneusps@gmail.com; WeBoatSafe.org; USPS.org 5 37th Annual Salute to the United States Coast Guard This event, presented by the Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of Coast Guard members and their families, honors brave USCG personnel from around the country. 6:30 - 10pm; Times Square Marriott Marquis, New York, NY; coastguardfoundation.org

5-9 48th Annual United States Sailboat Show The nation’s oldest and largest inwater boat show features the biggest multihull collection in the world. City Dock, Annapolis, MD; annapolisboatshows.com 5 & 19 Shoreline Sailing Club meeting If you’re an active single over 35, this club’s activities include sailing, fishing, kayaking, dances, dockside parties, golfing, skiing and more. Meetings are held the first & third Thursdays of each month. 7pm; Westbrook Elks Lodge, Westbrook, CT; shorelinesailingclub. com 6 The Greenport Ocean Race & The Greenport Bay Race In addition to a course around Block Island, this popular event has two shorter courses to Block and back without rounding it, as well as a bay race around Robins and Shelter Islands. Greenport, NY; register at YachtScoring.com 7 37th Annual William K. Vanderbilt II Cup This event traditionally includes PHRF Spinnaker & Non-Spinnaker Classes, One-Design and Club Class divisions. Centerport Yacht Club, Centerport, NY; centerport-yc.org

© uscgnews.com

7 34th Annual Mitchell Columbus Day Regatta This PHRF non-spinnaker pursuit race from Newport to Block Island is hosted by Newport Yacht Club. newportyachtclub.org

5 America’s Boating Course This boating safety class is presented by the Oyster Bay Power Squadron. 7:30pm; $75; Roslyn High School, Roslyn, NY; Thomas Peltier: 516-987-9715; TJP98@ optonline.net; WeBoatSafe.org;

7 The Gearbuster IHYC’s 62nd Annual Stratford Shoal Race has PHRF, IRC & Doublehanded divisions and two courses: Greenwich, CT around Stratford Shoal and back and a shorter course to Eaton’s Neck

windcheckmagazine.com

and back for Non-Spinnaker boats. Indian Harbor Yacht Club, Greenwich, CT; indianharboryc. com

7&8 Storm Trysail Foundation Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta North America’s largest collegiate regatta features more than 40 college teams duking it out on big boats.

Larchmont Yacht Club, Larchmont, NY; stormtrysailfoundation.org/intercollegiate.htm

© Mary Alice Fisher/ maryalicefisher.com

7 NBC Last Chance Regatta This event is hosted by the NBC Cruising Fleet. Nyack Boat Club, Nyack, NY; nyackboatclub.org 7 The Thomas S. Willets Race This race honors the memory of EYC Past Commodore Tom Willets, Jr. and his dedication to sailing, racing and the Connecticut River. Essex Yacht Club, Essex, CT; essexyc. com 7 Beach Cleanup at Sachuest Beach This event is one of many volunteer opportunities with Clean Ocean Access, a non-profit organization taking “action today so future generations can enjoy ocean activities.”

12pm - 2pm; Middletown, RI; *to confirm details before all COA events, call 401-236-2561, email info@cleanoceanaccess.org, or visit cleanoceanaccess.org.

7&8 14th Annual American Yacht Club High Performance Regatta In addition to J/70s, Viper 640s, RS K6s, 5O5s, 49ers, 49erFXs, Fireballs and any other centerboard dinghies with a Portsmouth number of 86.3 or less, this perennial fall favorite now welcomes I420s, Waszps, UFOs and Moths. American Yacht Club, Rye, NY; aycrc@americanyc.org; register at YachtScoring.com

© Adam Loory

7&8 Moody Trophy This intercollegiate regatta is hosted by the University of Rhode Island and sailed in FJs. Kingston, RI; collegesailing.org 7-9 Chowder Days Taste delectable chowder and seafood specialties, seasonal desserts and beer, wine and apple cider, and enjoy live music, horse & carriage rides, games, a scarecrow activity, face painting and crafts in the Children’s Museum.

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT; mysticseaport.org 8 Mum Regatta Participants in this Optimist Fall Series XX event receive a chrysanthemum to bring home to Mom. Dinghy Shop, Amityville, NY; dinghyshop. com 8 Columbus Day Regatta Co-hosted by Windjammers Sailing Club, Milford Yacht Club and Housatonic Boat Club, this is an ECSA points event. Milford, CT; milfordyachtclub.com; windjammers.org 10 - 15 28th Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race This 127-mile sprint from Baltimore, MD to Portsmouth,VA supports the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. gcbsr.org WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

29

11 An Evening with Brad Read In this Seamen’s Church Institute Speaker Series presentation, the Executive Director of Sail Newport will talk about what’s new at Rhode Island’s Public Sailing Center and exciting upcoming events including the Volvo Ocean Race stopover.

7pm; Seamen’s Church Institute, Newport, RI; the series is open to the public without charge, though a suggested donation of $10 will help defray the costs and fund the Institute’s outreach programs. Seating is limited and attendees are asked to register in advance. Contact Megan Bayley at 401-847-4260 or megan. seamen@gmail.com; seamensnewport.org 12 - 15 U.S. Match Racing Championship Oakcliff Sailing, Oyster Bay, NY; Bill Simon: 516802-0368; bsimon@oakcliffsailing.org; oakcliffsailing.org

14 Thundermug Regatta This ECSA points event is hosted by Duck Island Yacht Club. Westbrook, CT; diyc.com 14 Beach Cleanup at Corys Lane This event is one of many volunteer opportunities with Clean Ocean Access, a non-profit organization taking “action today so future generations can enjoy ocean activities.”

12pm - 2pm; Portsmouth, RI; *to confirm details before all COA events, call 401-236-2561, email info@cleanoceanaccess.org, or visit cleanoceanaccess.org.

14 & 15 Yale Women’s Interconference This intercollegiate regatta is hosted by Yale University and sailed in Z420s & FJs. Branford, CT; collegesailing.org

12 - 15 46th Annual United States Powerboat Show City Dock, Annapolis, MD; annapolisboatshows.com 14 67th Annual Dyer Dhow Derby This regatta is held in honor of the yacht clubs, organizations and individuals who have donated to or supported the Dyer Dhow fleet of more than 50 boats at Mystic Seaport.

11am; Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT; 860-572-5322; mysticseaport.org

© prweb.com 14 Thomas Clark Memorial Race Essex Corinthian Yacht Club, Essex, CT; essexcyc.org 30 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

© Michael Wiser

14 & 15 34th Annual Oyster Festival This family event is the largest waterfront festival on the East Coast. Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it! Theodore Roosevelt Park, Oyster Bay, NY; theoysterfestival.org 14 & 15 Bowen’s Wharf 27th Annual Seafood Festival Honoring the “Harvest of the Sea,” this family event features fresh local seafood, live music, face painting, interactive water and art activities, touch tanks and more, and the 200-foot Oliver Hazard Perry will be dockside for boarding. Bowen’s Wharf, Newport, RI; bowenswharf.com 14 & 15 and 21 39th Annual Manhasset Bay Fall Series Spinnaker & windcheckmagazine.com

OCTOBER Continued

com/boatseminar. For questions, contact Lynn Oliver at loliver@ shmarinas.co

Non-Spinnaker classes; Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, Port Washington, NY; manhassetbayyc.org 15 The Great Pumpkin This regatta is the final event in the Optimist Fall Series XX. Dinghy Shop, Amityville, NY; dinghyshop. com 16 America’s Boating Course This boating safety class is presented by the Port Washington Sail & Power Squadron. 7:30pm; $45; Bob Miller: 516-625-0347; rfschreit@yahoo.com; WeBoatSafe.org; USPS.org 19 Singles Under Sail Program Meeting: Chasing Coral and “Science & Sea Stories” This evening begins with a screening of director Jeff Orlowski’s film about how the world’s coral reefs are being destroyed. Next, Dr. Jeffrey M. Schell, Associate Professor of Oceanography with the Sea Education Association, will discuss the challenges of oceanographic filed research around the world, aboard the tall ships RV Westward, SSV Corwith Cramer and SSV Robert C. Seamans. Film at 6pm; lecture at 7:30: $10; Doubletree Inn, 789 Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT; singlesundersail.org 21 Safe Harbor Offshore Boat Preparation Seminar Led by 2-time St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy winner Rives Potts and Newport Bermuda Race Chief Inspector James Phyfe, this event is focused on the requirements for the 2018 Newport Bermuda Race, although common provisions of all offshore racing requirements will be discussed. The fee of $149 per boat entitles all of that boat’s crewmembers to attend. Brewer Pilots Point Marina North Yard clubhouse, Westbrook, CT; for more information and to register, visit byy. windcheckmagazine.com

© byy.com 21 Charles Birch Memorial Race Pettipaug Yacht Club, Essex, CT; pettipaug.com 21 and ongoing Sea Turtle Nursery Follow a rescued baby loggerhead sea turtle through its first year of life as The Maritime Aquarium staff raises it for release into the Atlantic Ocean next fall. The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, CT; MaritimeAquarium.org

© MaritimeAquarium.org 21 Boat/PWC Certificate Class This one-day, NASBLAapproved USCG Auxiliary course meets all education requirements for Connecticut Boat/PWC operating certificate with waterski towing endorsement. $70 fee includes textbook & lunch (discount for families, veterans, and first responders).

8am - 5pm; Flotilla 72 Training Center, Calf Pasture Beach, East Norwalk, CT;Visit flotilla72.org for directions & course details.

Register before October 14 at flotilla72pe@gmail.com or 203 853-4615.

21 & 22 Hoyt Trophy This intercollegiate regatta is WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

31

hosted by Brown and sailed in Z420s & FJs. Providence, RI; collegesailing.org 27 Haunted Whaleship This is an evening of frightful family fun. 5:30 - 8pm; New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA; whalingmuseum.org 28 (*or the best weather window near that date) 18th Annual NARC start The North American Rally to the Caribbean departs from Newport, RI, bound for Bermuda and beyond. Hank Schmitt: 1-800-472-7724; offshorepassage@sprintmail.com; sailopo. com 28 & 29 Halloween Howl Typically dominated by New England fall weather, this event for Opti, C420, 29er & Laser Radial sailors promises exciting racing and challenging conditions. Sail Newport Sailing Center, Newport, RI; sailnewport.org

28 & 29 Oakcliff Halloween Invitational This Grade 3 Match Race Regatta is sailed in Match 40s (practice day 10/27). Oakcliff Sailing, Oyster Bay, NY; Bill Simon: 516-802-0368; bsimon@ oakcliffsailing.org; oakcliffsailing. org

© oakcliffsailing.org 28 & 29 Freshman Interconference Regatta/Nickerson Trophy This intercollegiate regatta is hosted by Tufts University and sailed in Larks.

Medford, MA; collegesailing.org

NOVEMBER 2 (*or the best weather window near that date) Salty Dawg Fall Rally™ to the Caribbean This cruising rally departs from Hampton,VA and sets sail for the Autingua. saltydawgsailing.org 2 & 16 Shoreline Sailing Club meeting If you’re an active single over 35, this club’s activities include sailing, fishing, kayaking, dances, dockside parties, golfing, skiing and more. Meetings are held the first & third Thursdays of each month (lite bites/cash bar available); 7pm; Westbrook Elks Lodge, Westbrook, CT; shorelinesailingclub. com 3-5 Navigation Symposium: The History and Future of Celestial Navigation This is a weekend gathering of practical navigators, experts in navigation theory, historians of science devoted to topics in celestial navigation, both

32 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

historical and modern, and anyone interested in this topic.

Treworgy Planetarium at Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT; reserve at 860-572-5322 or reservations. desk@mysticseaport.org; mysticseaport.org

4 Beach Cleanup at Taylors Lane This event is one of many volunteer opportunities with Clean Ocean Access, a nonprofit organization taking “action today so future generations can enjoy ocean activities.” 12pm - 2pm; Little Compton, RI; *to confirm details before all COA events, call 401-236-2561, email info@cleanoceanaccess.org, or visit cleanoceanaccess.org.

windcheckmagazine.com

4 9th Annual NESS Benefit Gala This evening of fun, friends and fundraising supports the New England Science & Sailing Foundation’s mission of Building Brighter Futures. 6pm; Haley Mansion, Mystic, CT; nessfg.org/gala 11 Beach Cleanup at Burma Road This event is one of many volunteer opportunities with Clean Ocean Access, a non-profit organization taking “action today so future generations can enjoy ocean activities.”

12pm - 2pm; Middletown, RI; *to confirm details before all COA events, call 401-236-2561, email info@cleanoceanaccess.org, or visit cleanoceanaccess.org.

18 - 1/1/18 Christmas at the Newport Mansions Presented by the Preservation Society of Newport County, this annual celebration showcases The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House decked out in yuletide finery. Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI; for a schedule of live

music, tours and other events, visit newportmansions.org.

24 FYC Wild Turkey Regatta This PHRF event is open to all sailing yachts. Fayerweather Yacht Club, Bridgeport, CT; Mike Sullivan: nascarbmp88@yahoo. com; fycct.org 24 Holiday Harbor Lights Illuminated Boat Parade Launch the holiday season!

Newport Yacht Club is open to the public that evening, and spectators can watch the parade from Bowen’s Wharf, Bannister’s Wharf and all points around Newport Harbor. Prizes for Best Decorated Sailboat (recreational

© Onne Van der Wal/vanderwal.com

& commercial), Best Decorated Powerboat (recreational & commercial), Best Decorated Fishing Boat, Best Decorated Porch or Dock, and Most Team Spirit.

6:15 pm; Newport, RI; Tim Mills: 401-845-5815 24 & 25 and 12/1 & 2, 8 & 9, 15-17, and 22 & 23 Mystic Seaport Lantern Light Tours Now in its 37th season, this 70-minute progressive play takes visitors back to Christmas Eve, 1876. Tours begin at 5 pm and leave every 15 minutes. $32 for adults ($26 for Mystic Seaport members) and $25 for children ages 5-17 ($19 for youth members); not recommended for kids under age 4. Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT; tickets can be purchased online at mysticseaport.org/ lanternlighttours; for questions about weather cancellations, call 860-572-0711.

24 - 1/2/18 Nantucket Noel This event, featuring craft shows, exhibitions, performances and a European-style Christmas marketplace, begins with a tree

lighting and continues with the 44th Annual Christmas Stroll Weekend and ringing in the new year. Nantucket, MA; nantucketchamber.org 25 Santa Arrives by Tugboat & 17th Annual Mystic Holiday Lighted Boat Parade The jolly ol’ guy arrives at Mystic River Park at 2pm on the tugboat John Paul, followed by the Christmas tree lighting in the park, 6pm. Decorated vessels will parade down the Mystic River starting at 6:20. Boats of all types & sizes are welcome, & entrance requires only a toy or coat donation to the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center. Prizes awarded for Most Charismatic Crew, Innovative Vessel, Best Dressed Vessel, & Miss Mystic Vessel of Grandeur. Mystic, CT; 860-5729578; mysticchamber.org

Add your event to our print and online calendar by emailing to

contactus@windcheckmagazine.com

by the 7th of the month.

"Your Refit Specialists" Painting/Composite/Fiberglass Repair and Fabrication/Woodworking Project Management and Consulting

www.cooleymarine.com

203.873.6494

50 Housatonic Ave, Suite 204 Stratford, CT 06615 windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

33

October 2017

These tide tables are predictions and are to be used as a reference only. The times of high and low are approximations and are affected, in part by onshore and offshore winds, full and new moons as well as changes in currents. Always use caution when entering or leaving any harbor and navigate in areas that are well marked. WindCheck assumes no liability due to the use of these tables.

Source: noaa.gov

The Battery, NY Port Washington, NY 10/1 5:42 AM 10/1 11:50 AM 10/1 5:55 PM 10/2 12:22 AM 10/2 6:29 AM 10/2 12:37 PM 10/2 6:41 PM 10/3 1:05 AM 10/3 7:10 AM 10/3 1:23 PM 10/3 7:23 PM 10/4 1:47 AM 10/4 7:46 AM 10/4 2:09 PM 10/4 8:01 PM 10/5 2:29 AM 10/5 8:22 AM 10/5 2:56 PM 10/5 8:40 PM 10/6 3:11 AM 10/6 8:59 AM 10/6 3:42 PM 10/6 9:22 PM 10/7 3:53 AM 10/7 9:39 AM 10/7 4:28 PM 10/7 10:08 PM 10/8 4:36 AM 10/8 10:25 AM 10/8 5:17 PM 10/8 11:02 PM 10/9 5:21 AM 10/9 11:19 AM 10/9 6:09 PM 10/10 12:03 AM 10/10 6:11 AM 10/10 12:19 PM 10/10 7:09 PM 10/11 1:07 AM 10/11 7:11 AM 10/11 1:23 PM 10/11 8:16 PM 10/12 2:12 AM 10/12 8:23 AM 10/12 2:28 PM 10/12 9:24 PM 10/13 3:16 AM 10/13 9:35 AM 10/13 3:35 PM 10/13 10:27 PM 10/14 4:22 AM 10/14 10:40 AM 10/14 4:42 PM 10/14 11:23 PM 10/15 5:25 AM 10/15 11:38 AM 10/15 5:45 PM 10/16 12:14 AM 10/16 6:22 AM 10/16 12:31 PM

H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L

10/16 6:41 PM 10/17 1:02 AM 10/17 7:12 AM 10/17 1:22 PM 10/17 7:29 PM 10/18 1:48 AM 10/18 7:57 AM 10/18 2:10 PM 10/18 8:13 PM 10/19 2:32 AM 10/19 8:38 AM 10/19 2:57 PM 10/19 8:54 PM 10/20 3:14 AM 10/20 9:18 AM 10/20 3:40 PM 10/20 9:35 PM 10/21 3:53 AM 10/21 9:57 AM 10/21 4:23 PM 10/21 10:17 PM 10/22 4:31 AM 10/22 10:37 AM 10/22 5:03 PM 10/22 11:02 PM 10/23 5:08 AM 10/23 11:18 AM 10/23 5:44 PM 10/23 11:50 PM 10/24 5:43 AM 10/24 12:02 PM 10/24 6:27 PM 10/25 12:40 AM 10/25 6:18 AM 10/25 12:48 PM 10/25 7:15 PM 10/26 1:30 AM 10/26 7:00 AM 10/26 1:35 PM 10/26 8:13 PM 10/27 2:20 AM 10/27 8:10 AM 10/27 2:23 PM 10/27 9:14 PM 10/28 3:10 AM 10/28 9:24 AM 10/28 3:14 PM 10/28 10:09 PM 10/29 4:02 AM 10/29 10:25 AM 10/29 4:09 PM 10/29 10:58 PM 10/30 4:55 AM 10/30 11:18 AM 10/30 5:05 PM 10/30 11:44 PM 10/31 5:45 AM 10/31 12:07 PM 10/31 5:58 PM

H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H

10/1 3:26 AM 10/1 9:24 AM 10/1 3:47 PM 10/1 9:37 PM 10/2 4:10 AM 10/2 10:04 AM 10/2 4:28 PM 10/2 10:16 PM 10/3 4:45 AM 10/3 10:34 AM 10/3 5:02 PM 10/3 10:46 PM 10/4 5:10 AM 10/4 10:58 AM 10/4 5:29 PM 10/4 11:17 PM 10/5 5:34 AM 10/5 11:30 AM 10/5 5:59 PM 10/5 11:53 PM 10/6 6:07 AM 10/6 12:08 PM 10/6 6:37 PM 10/7 12:34 AM 10/7 6:46 AM 10/7 12:51 PM 10/7 7:19 PM 10/8 1:18 AM 10/8 7:30 AM 10/8 1:36 PM 10/8 8:04 PM 10/9 2:05 AM 10/9 8:16 AM 10/9 2:24 PM 10/9 8:53 PM 10/10 2:55 AM 10/10 9:07 AM 10/10 3:16 PM 10/10 9:50 PM 10/11 3:52 AM 10/11 10:08 AM 10/11 4:17 PM 10/11 11:02 PM 10/12 5:03 AM 10/12 11:27 AM 10/12 5:31 PM 10/13 12:32 AM 10/13 6:34 AM 10/13 1:06 PM 10/13 7:05 PM 10/14 1:50 AM 10/14 7:57 AM 10/14 2:23 PM 10/14 8:27 PM 10/15 2:56 AM 10/15 9:04 AM 10/15 3:26 PM 10/15 9:31 PM 10/16 3:53 AM 10/16 10:00 AM

L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H

10/16 4:21 PM 10/16 10:26 PM 10/17 4:43 AM 10/17 10:50 AM 10/17 5:11 PM 10/17 11:15 PM 10/18 5:31 AM 10/18 11:34 AM 10/18 5:57 PM 10/19 12:00 AM 10/19 6:15 AM 10/19 12:15 PM 10/19 6:41 PM 10/20 12:41 AM 10/20 6:55 AM 10/20 12:51 PM 10/20 7:21 PM 10/21 1:17 AM 10/21 7:29 AM 10/21 1:17 PM 10/21 7:54 PM 10/22 1:44 AM 10/22 7:51 AM 10/22 1:33 PM 10/22 8:18 PM 10/23 2:00 AM 10/23 8:06 AM 10/23 1:59 PM 10/23 8:36 PM 10/24 2:27 AM 10/24 8:35 AM 10/24 2:35 PM 10/24 9:07 PM 10/25 3:05 AM 10/25 9:15 AM 10/25 3:18 PM 10/25 9:50 PM 10/26 3:51 AM 10/26 10:04 AM 10/26 4:07 PM 10/26 10:44 PM 10/27 4:45 AM 10/27 11:03 AM 10/27 5:03 PM 10/27 11:46 PM 10/28 5:45 AM 10/28 12:13 PM 10/28 6:04 PM 10/29 1:02 AM 10/29 6:49 AM 10/29 2:00 PM 10/29 7:10 PM 10/30 2:25 AM 10/30 8:02 AM 10/30 3:03 PM 10/30 8:28 PM 10/31 3:14 AM 10/31 9:01 AM 10/31 3:48 PM 10/31 9:27 PM

Bridgeport, CT L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H

10/1 10/1 10/1 10/1 10/2 10/2 10/2 10/2 10/3 10/3 10/3 10/3 10/4 10/4 10/4 10/4 10/5 10/5 10/5 10/5 10/6 10/6 10/6 10/7 10/7 10/7 10/7 10/8 10/8 10/8 10/8 10/9 10/9 10/9 10/9 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/11 10/11 10/11 10/11 10/12 10/12 10/12 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/14 10/14 10/14 10/14 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/16 10/16

34 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

2:25 AM L 8:36 AM H 2:46 PM L 8:55 PM H 3:13 AM L 9:23 AM H 3:34 PM L 9:42 PM H 3:58 AM L 10:07 AM H 4:21 PM L 10:27 PM H 4:41 AM L 10:49 AM H 5:05 PM L 11:11 PM H 5:23 AM L 11:30 AM H 5:49 PM L 11:54 PM H 6:05 AM L 12:12 PM H 6:34 PM L 12:39 AM H 6:49 AM L 12:56 PM H 7:21 PM L 1:26 AM H 7:35 AM L 1:42 PM H 8:11 PM L 2:15 AM H 8:24 AM L 2:32 PM H 9:04 PM L 3:09 AM H 9:18 AM L 3:27 PM H 10:02 PM L 4:07 AM H 10:17 AM L 4:27 PM H 11:04 PM L 5:10 AM H 11:22 AM L 5:32 PM H 12:09 AM L 6:15 AM H 12:30 PM L 6:40 PM H 1:13 AM L 7:20 AM H 1:36 PM L 7:45 PM H 2:14 AM L 8:20 AM H 2:37 PM L 8:45 PM H 3:09 AM L 9:15 AM H

10/16 10/16 10/17 10/17 10/17 10/17 10/18 10/18 10/18 10/18 10/19 10/19 10/19 10/19 10/20 10/20 10/20 10/21 10/21 10/21 10/21 10/22 10/22 10/22 10/22 10/23 10/23 10/23 10/23 10/24 10/24 10/24 10/24 10/25 10/25 10/25 10/25 10/26 10/26 10/26 10/26 10/27 10/27 10/27 10/27 10/28 10/28 10/28 10/29 10/29 10/29 10/29 10/30 10/30 10/30 10/30 10/31 10/31 10/31 10/31

3:34 PM L 9:40 PM H 3:59 AM L 10:05 AM H 4:25 PM L 10:30 PM H 4:45 AM L 10:51 AM H 5:11 PM L 11:15 PM H 5:27 AM L 11:33 AM H 5:55 PM L 11:58 PM H 6:08 AM L 12:14 PM H 6:36 PM L 12:40 AM H 6:46 AM L 12:53 PM H 7:16 PM L 1:21 AM H 7:25 AM L 1:32 PM H 7:56 PM L 2:02 AM H 8:05 AM L 2:13 PM H 8:38 PM L 2:45 AM H 8:47 AM L 2:56 PM H 9:21 PM L 3:30 AM H 9:33 AM L 3:42 PM H 10:09 PM L 4:20 AM H 10:24 AM L 4:33 PM H 11:00 PM L 5:12 AM H 11:19 AM L 5:28 PM H 11:54 PM L 6:07 AM H 12:17 PM L 6:25 PM H 12:49 AM L 7:02 AM H 1:15 PM L 7:22 PM H 1:42 AM L 7:54 AM H 2:09 PM L 8:15 PM H 2:32 AM L 8:43 AM H 3:01 PM L 9:06 PM H

windcheckmagazine.com

October 2017

These tide tables are predictions and are to be used as a reference only. The times of high and low are approximations and are affected, in part by onshore and offshore winds, full and new moons as well as changes in currents. Always use caution when entering or leaving any harbor and navigate in areas that are well marked. WindCheck assumes no liability due to the use of these tables.

Source: noaa.gov

Fishers Island, NY 10/1 10/1 10/1 10/1 10/2 10/2 10/2 10/2 10/3 10/3 10/3 10/3 10/4 10/4 10/4 10/4 10/5 10/5 10/5 10/5 10/6 10/6 10/6 10/6 10/7 10/7 10/7 10/7 10/8 10/8 10/8 10/9 10/9 10/9 10/9 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/11 10/11 10/11 10/11 10/12 10/12 10/12 10/12 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/14 10/14 10/14 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/16 10/16

12:48 AM 6:55 AM 1:07 PM 7:14 PM 1:32 AM 7:38 AM 1:56 PM 7:57 PM 2:16 AM 8:20 AM 2:43 PM 8:39 PM 2:58 AM 9:01 AM 3:27 PM 9:20 PM 3:39 AM 9:41 AM 4:11 PM 10:00 PM 4:19 AM 10:21 AM 4:56 PM 10:42 PM 5:02 AM 11:05 AM 5:45 PM 11:28 PM 5:50 AM 11:54 AM 6:40 PM 12:22 AM 6:44 AM 12:49 PM 7:38 PM 1:20 AM 7:43 AM 1:46 PM 8:36 PM 2:18 AM 8:43 AM 2:46 PM 9:36 PM 3:21 AM 9:47 AM 3:51 PM 10:37 PM 4:31 AM 10:53 AM 5:01 PM 11:37 PM 5:39 AM 11:58 AM 6:02 PM 12:33 AM 6:34 AM 12:58 PM 6:55 PM 1:25 AM 7:23 AM

windcheckmagazine.com

L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H

Woods Hole, MA 10/16 10/16 10/17 10/17 10/17 10/17 10/18 10/18 10/18 10/18 10/19 10/19 10/19 10/19 10/20 10/20 10/20 10/20 10/21 10/21 10/21 10/21 10/22 10/22 10/22 10/23 10/23 10/23 10/23 10/24 10/24 10/24 10/24 10/25 10/25 10/25 10/25 10/26 10/26 10/26 10/26 10/27 10/27 10/27 10/27 10/28 10/28 10/28 10/28 10/29 10/29 10/29 10/30 10/30 10/30 10/30 10/31 10/31 10/31 10/31

1:56 PM 7:43 PM 2:15 AM 8:08 AM 2:49 PM 8:29 PM 3:01 AM 8:52 AM 3:35 PM 9:13 PM 3:42 AM 9:33 AM 4:17 PM 9:54 PM 4:21 AM 10:13 AM 4:57 PM 10:36 PM 4:59 AM 10:54 AM 5:38 PM 11:20 PM 5:38 AM 11:38 AM 6:23 PM 12:08 AM 6:21 AM 12:25 PM 7:10 PM 1:00 AM 7:10 AM 1:15 PM 7:58 PM 1:52 AM 8:00 AM 2:06 PM 8:46 PM 2:44 AM 8:52 AM 2:58 PM 9:36 PM 3:40 AM 9:47 AM 3:56 PM 10:28 PM 4:40 AM 10:46 AM 4:57 PM 11:18 PM 5:36 AM 11:42 AM 5:51 PM 12:05 AM 6:23 AM 12:34 PM 6:37 PM 12:50 AM 7:05 AM 1:24 PM 7:21 PM

L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H

10/1 12:06 AM 10/1 5:27 AM 10/1 11:43 AM 10/1 5:58 PM 10/2 12:38 AM 10/2 6:14 AM 10/2 12:36 PM 10/2 6:40 PM 10/3 1:18 AM 10/3 6:57 AM 10/3 1:30 PM 10/3 7:21 PM 10/4 2:00 AM 10/4 7:40 AM 10/4 2:25 PM 10/4 8:02 PM 10/5 2:43 AM 10/5 8:22 AM 10/5 3:20 PM 10/5 8:45 PM 10/6 3:28 AM 10/6 9:07 AM 10/6 4:15 PM 10/6 9:31 PM 10/7 4:14 AM 10/7 9:54 AM 10/7 5:11 PM 10/7 10:19 PM 10/8 5:02 AM 10/8 10:44 AM 10/8 6:11 PM 10/8 11:10 PM 10/9 5:54 AM 10/9 11:38 AM 10/9 7:16 PM 10/10 12:03 AM 10/10 6:54 AM 10/10 12:34 PM 10/10 8:25 PM 10/11 12:59 AM 10/11 8:04 AM 10/11 1:32 PM 10/11 9:31 PM 10/12 1:57 AM 10/12 9:21 AM 10/12 2:33 PM 10/12 10:33 PM 10/13 2:57 AM 10/13 10:35 AM 10/13 3:34 PM 10/13 11:30 PM 10/14 3:58 AM 10/14 11:42 AM 10/14 4:35 PM 10/15 12:24 AM 10/15 4:57 AM 10/15 12:46 PM 10/15 5:32 PM 10/16 1:16 AM 10/16 5:52 AM 10/16 1:44 PM 10/16 6:22 PM

L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H

10/17 2:04 AM 10/17 6:42 AM 10/17 2:37 PM 10/17 7:08 PM 10/18 2:47 AM 10/18 7:29 AM 10/18 3:25 PM 10/18 7:52 PM 10/19 3:23 AM 10/19 8:14 AM 10/19 4:09 PM 10/19 8:35 PM 10/20 3:45 AM 10/20 8:59 AM 10/20 4:48 PM 10/20 9:19 PM 10/21 3:49 AM 10/21 9:43 AM 10/21 5:24 PM 10/21 10:03 PM 10/22 4:11 AM 10/22 10:29 AM 10/22 5:58 PM 10/22 10:49 PM 10/23 4:44 AM 10/23 11:16 AM 10/23 6:38 PM 10/23 11:37 PM 10/24 5:24 AM 10/24 12:05 PM 10/24 7:33 PM 10/25 12:26 AM 10/25 3:28 AM 10/25 12:54 PM 10/25 8:41 PM 10/26 1:16 AM 10/26 4:03 AM 10/26 1:45 PM 10/26 9:35 PM 10/27 2:08 AM 10/27 4:43 AM 10/27 6:26 AM 10/27 8:27 AM 10/27 2:37 PM 10/27 10:10 PM 10/28 3:03 AM 10/28 5:28 AM 10/28 7:03 AM 10/28 9:32 AM 10/28 3:31 PM 10/28 10:42 PM 10/29 3:58 AM 10/29 10:30 AM 10/29 4:25 PM 10/29 11:17 PM 10/30 4:52 AM 10/30 11:24 AM 10/30 5:16 PM 10/30 11:55 PM 10/31 5:42 AM 10/31 12:18 PM 10/31 6:03 PM

Newport, RI L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H L H

10/1 10/1 10/1 10/1 10/2 10/2 10/2 10/3 10/3 10/3 10/3 10/4 10/4 10/4 10/4 10/5 10/5 10/5 10/5 10/6 10/6 10/6 10/6 10/7 10/7 10/7 10/7 10/8 10/8 10/8 10/8 10/9 10/9 10/9 10/9 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/11 10/11 10/11 10/11 10/12 10/12 10/12 10/12 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/13 10/14 10/14 10/14 10/14 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/15 10/16 10/16

4:51 AM H 10:46 AM L 5:17 PM H 11:27 PM L 5:43 AM H 11:34 AM L 6:06 PM H 12:02 AM L 6:29 AM H 12:17 PM L 6:50 PM H 12:37 AM L 7:12 AM H 12:59 PM L 7:33 PM H 1:13 AM L 7:55 AM H 1:43 PM L 8:16 PM H 1:51 AM L 8:39 AM H 2:28 PM L 9:02 PM H 2:32 AM L 9:24 AM H 3:14 PM L 9:50 PM H 3:14 AM L 10:13 AM H 4:00 PM L 10:41 PM H 3:58 AM L 11:05 AM H 4:47 PM L 11:36 PM H 4:44 AM L 12:01 PM H 5:41 PM L 12:34 AM H 5:35 AM L 1:01 PM H 7:00 PM L 1:35 AM H 6:38 AM L 2:03 PM H 9:12 PM L 2:36 AM H 8:03 AM L 3:06 PM H 10:20 PM L 3:39 AM H 9:57 AM L 4:12 PM H 11:12 PM L 4:44 AM H 11:06 AM L 5:16 PM H 11:53 PM L 5:44 AM H 11:54 AM L

10/16 10/17 10/17 10/17 10/17 10/18 10/18 10/18 10/18 10/19 10/19 10/19 10/19 10/20 10/20 10/20 10/20 10/21 10/21 10/21 10/21 10/22 10/22 10/22 10/22 10/23 10/23 10/23 10/23 10/24 10/24 10/24 10/24 10/25 10/25 10/25 10/26 10/26 10/26 10/26 10/27 10/27 10/27 10/27 10/28 10/28 10/28 10/28 10/29 10/29 10/29 10/29 10/30 10/30 10/30 10/30 10/31 10/31 10/31 10/31

WindCheck Magazine

6:12 PM H 12:25 AM L 6:37 AM H 12:34 PM L 7:01 PM H 12:50 AM L 7:24 AM H 1:10 PM L 7:46 PM H 1:15 AM L 8:08 AM H 1:47 PM L 8:28 PM H 1:46 AM L 8:50 AM H 2:24 PM L 9:09 PM H 2:20 AM L 9:30 AM H 3:02 PM L 9:49 PM H 2:58 AM L 10:10 AM H 3:41 PM L 10:30 PM H 3:36 AM L 10:49 AM H 4:19 PM L 11:12 PM H 4:15 AM L 11:31 AM H 4:59 PM L 11:56 PM H 4:56 AM L 12:14 PM H 5:43 PM L 12:42 AM H 5:41 AM L 1:00 PM H 6:36 PM L 1:30 AM H 6:36 AM L 1:47 PM H 7:47 PM L 2:18 AM H 7:47 AM L 2:37 PM H 9:03 PM L 3:09 AM H 9:07 AM L 3:30 PM H 9:58 PM L 4:05 AM H 10:14 AM L 4:28 PM H 10:41 PM L 5:01 AM H 11:06 AM L 5:24 PM H 11:19 PM L October 2017

35

Warrior Spirit Editor’s note: In August, WindCheck Contributing Editor led the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar at Sail Newport in Newport, RI. Those who know this affable Aussie know his passion for creating once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for young sailors aboard big, fast boats. As luck would have it, Coop’s mate Ralf Steitz, President of the USSMA Sailing Foundation, was in town with the Warrior Sailing Program’s flagship, a Volvo Ocean 70. Two eager sailors who’d just completed the seminar tell the tale of yet another amazing Coop’s Kaper.

The flagship racing project for Warrior Sailing and the USMMA Sailing Foundation, Warrior (pictured here in the 2017 Vineyard Race) competed in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 as CAMPER. © Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com

My Warrior Sailing Experience

By Connor Macken, age 15 The Warrior Sailing Program provides maritime education and outreach for wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans. One of the boats that is used for this program is a retired Volvo 70 named Warrior. I was fortunate to join the Warrior Sailing Team for a few days in Newport this past August. After a summer of sailing Lasers, 29ers and C420s, I was looking forward to learning the ropes of a larger, faster boat.

Sailing on Warrior was not just about the sailing, but also about some of the really interesting people I met. On board with me was Coast Guard veteran Dave Caras, a former helicopter pilot who had suffered a leg injury during a mission. While speaking to Dave about his experiences with the Warrior Sailing Program, he mentioned that he found sailboat racing a natural environment, being accustomed to the standard communication and teamwork from his time in service. It was also interesting to

hear the crew’s stories about sailing, ranging from dinghy sailing to ocean crossings to foiling catamarans around the world.

Being a dinghy sailor, the boats I sail are relatively small and simplistic. While out on Warrior, I learned more about big boat racing, especially about how critical it is for the team to be working together in order to make the boat accelerate to top speed.

One of the largest adjustments from dinghies to big boat sailing was learning to master the hydraulic sail trimming system connected to the winches. For instance, in order to gybe the boat, instead of just turning the tiller and pulling over the sail, the whole squad had to work together to connect the pedestals to furl the fro, gybe the mainsail and the boat itself, unfurl the fro, and successfully communicate the actions to trim all of the sails to the exact spots, with the boat sailing at the correct angle.

This intense teamwork is not only needed in the gybes, but in every aspect of sailing a boat as large as the Volvo 70.

Another aspect of the boat I had to harness was the controls. Instead of using primarily vang tension and cunningham to achieve a certain sail shape, I learned to use alternate controls such as the runners and different stay tensions to work alongside the standard dinghy controls to fine tune the rig. I have been able to use some of that knowledge and apply it to other big boat racing I am now doing.

As a result. I have been better equipped to take charge of more positions on any boat.

It was great to have such an incredible experience beyond dinghy sailing and I would like to thank Joe Cooper and Ralf Steitz for making it possible. It was also enlightening to learn that the skills of sailing are universal; not only being vital to sailing, but to the success of the Armed Forces, as Dave conveyed to me in our conversation.

The opportunity to sail on Warrior assisted me in taking a larger

Connor Macken holds the runners forward as the main is hoisted. © Joe Cooper/JoeCooperSailing.com

36 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

Colin Shearley created this very cool rendering of Warrior.

step into big boat sailing. It has taught me how key teamwork is to success on a larger boat and how all the different stays, sheets and controls work together to push the boat to maximum speed.

The Warrior

By Colin Shearley, age 10 Today I went sailing on Warrior. Last week, my dad signed me and my sister up for the Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar in Newport and I was allowed to join in even though I am 10. Mr. Cooper helped me a lot, and later asked if I would like to go sailing on Warrior to watch the J- Class racing.

From the moment I got on, it was Pure AWESOMENESS! Warrior is a Volvo Ocean Race Open 70 sailboat! The hull of the boat is flat with a deep keel that can move from side to side. It also has leeboards to help stay stable.

There were about 15 people on the boat and I was the youngest. There are four grinders for the winches.

There were way too many winches on the boat to count.

In a race, there are eight people on the grinders to hoist the mainsail, jib or 0g kite, two tailers for the winches, one person for the helm, a whole load of hikers and a chef. Everything on Warrior is carbon fiber, so she is really, really lightweight…even the head is carbon fiber! There are hammocks, which are beds for the crew. Three of the crew sleep at a time out of eight, if the crew are all men.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy gave this amazing boat to the Warrior Sailing Program for wounded veterans. This program helps the many people who have been injured serving our country windcheckmagazine.com

Colin at the helm… © Joe Cooper/JoeCooperSailing.com

learn how to sail. Sometimes if they have room they let junior sailors come aboard, which is how I got to go…I am very happy I got to see everything.

Sailing on Warrior was so amazing. It was the fastest I have ever gone. We were going 20 knots and passing chase boats!

I learned so much about racing boats. I got to take the helm and found out that you can almost stop all the noise by going sideways over a wave instead of smashing into it. I also got work grinding the winches. I left this program with knowledge and experience that I did not have before I came here. Also I left with, so cool…an empty LUNCH BOX!!! ■ …and off watch © Joe Cooper/JoeCooperSailing.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

37

Lionheart Victorious in J Class World Championship On the same Newport, Rhode Island waters where the legendary Ranger cleaned up 4-0 in 1937, the last time ever that the mighty J Class raced for the America’s Cup, the first J Class World Champions is Lionheart, the owner-driven, Dutch-flagged modern day Ranger descendent.

The first ever J Class World Championship was a sight to behold. © Rod Harris/rodharrisphoto.com

The shiny black-hulled Lionheart, JH1, was built 75 years after the original design was made as part of a family of designs by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens for Ranger, the so called Super J which dominated in Newport. Over recent years the Palma, Mallorca-based Lionheart has probably sailed at more regattas than her rivals, J Class and otherwise, in the pursuit of improvement, training and optimizing religiously. “It is a special title, one for the owner who gives us so much confidence in ourselves and who gives us carte blanche in how we set the boat up and how we sail.

It is great for him now that he lifts the trophy today,” enthused tactician Bouwe Bekking, who headed directly to Europe to rejoin his Team Brunel to prepare for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, in which he will compete for the eighth time pursuing his first overall win.

Hanuman, the US-flagged team which is skippered and steered by Newport’s Kenny Read won three races from seven, including the showcase finale in front of a huge crowd, but their aggregate for second place overall is too heavily ballasted by a fifth place on Thursday which was the result of a penalty. “Congratulations to Lionheart,” said Read. “They sailed better than us this week. We left too many points out there on the racecourse. At the end of the day, winners win and Lionheart did a good job.”

Displaying solid consistency across all seven races sailed August 21 - 26 by the six-boat inaugural World Championship fleet, Lionheart won the world title by three clear points when they crossed the finish line second on the final day, behind nearest rivals Hanuman.

Low risk strategies employed on a fast, fully optimized, well traveled J Class sailed by a well-drilled, close-knit crew which have mostly been together since 2011 prevailed. Lionheart finished no worse than third and only won one race, but they eclipsed the highly fancied Hanuman which only returned to J Class racing this season after a three-year hiatus.

Consistency was the key to Lionheart’s victory. © Rod Harris/rodharrisphoto.com 38 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

Hanuman won three races, but that was only good enough for second place. © Rod Harris/rodharrisphoto.com

Of their world title winning conservative philosophy, Bekking smiled, “I said before the championship that if we could finish top three in every race we would most likely win and it has worked out. We always started clean and we could always – except in one race – could sail our own course. I think we did a nice job of letting the boat work for us and letting our excellent crew work prevail. We just keep it simple.”

“We made the boat a little heavier after Bermuda, a little too heavy maybe, but we were expecting stronger sea breezes,” Bekking continued. “One of the key points is that Harold the owner has come such a long way, even this season, we have made steps.

Everybody has their responsibilities, their own jobs to do and there are no rock stars, no prima donnas. We just believe in each other.

That may be a little bit the Dutch style but mostly it comes from our owners, that is the way they like it.”

Lionheart also win the Terry Kohler Trophy, as the 2017 J Class season champions, a new trophy which aggregates the results of the St Barth’s Bucket, the America’s Cup J Class Regatta and this first ever J Class World Championship.

“We started out five years ago, a little bit low key and the owner said ‘I want to race and I don’t want to make a fool of myself. Five years later, this is the result,” said Lionheart’s superyacht expert Nigel Ingram. “I think the strongest thing we have is the crew; I don’t think we have changed a single crew position in the last year and a half. The boat is fast, the sail program is good. We look after all the small details, we work very hard on making sure the bottom of the boat is good – it is vital in these big boats – and we work hard at optimizing the displacement and righting mowindcheckmagazine.com

ment for the different conditions we sail in.”

Hanuman, winners in Saint Barth’s in the spring, finished runners up in the event and in the season championship. Appropriately, Ranger completed the World Championship podium, finishing third overall. They had a close match with the newer Topaz, both vying for third. “Going into today we were fighting for third and today it was a bit sticky for us, but we have a great team and we are sailing the boat well,” said Ranger’s skipper-helm Erle Williams. “Murray Jones did a great job with Matty Mitchell on the bow in getting us off the start line.”

The world championship concluded with the prize giving at the New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court. Hanuman skipper Read praised the show and spectacle the J Class had put on in Newport. “This has been a great event, a chance for sailing to come back to the front and center in the world again for sail handling and crew work and for majestic boats to really put on a show. I think all the teams here this week did an amazing job – every team had their day. It was so much fun and on behalf of the Hanuman team it has been an honor and privilege to be involved in it. I can’t wait to do it again!” ■ Overall standings after seven races 1. Lionheart 17 points (3,3,3,1,3,2,2) 2. Hanuman 20 points (1,4,1,2,5,6,1) 3. Ranger 24 points (5,6,4,3,2,1,3) 4. Topaz 27 points (4,1,6,5,1,5,5) 5. Svea 29 points (2,5,5,4,4,3,6) 6. Velsheda 30 points (6,2,2,6,6,4,4) WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

39

Rough Going on the Ida Lewis Distance Race

Warrior, Irie 2, Haerlem and Young American Persevere to Win

By Barby MacGowan, Media Pro International

The weather started out gloomy, then got downright nasty for the 13th edition of the Ida Lewis Distance Race, which started Friday, August 18 off Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI. A forecast calling for storms to pass over the racecourse during the night convinced seven of the original 40 entrants to drop out prior to the start for six classes (IRC, PHRF Spinnaker A, PHRF Spinnaker B, PHRF Cruising Spinnaker, Doublehanded and Multihull). Of the remaining 33 teams, an additional ten were forced to retire due to damaged equipment or other problems incurred during multiple squalls that left memorable impressions and their calling cards of driving rain and winds gusting over 40 knots.

“It was biblical,” said Brian Cunha, whose Ker 55 Irie2 (Newport) took overall honors in PHRF division and won the 11-boat PHRF Class A with a crew comprised primarily of local sailors. “It was just one cell after another, and it was raining so hard you couldn’t have your face to the wind because it hurt so much. We were waiting for Noah’s Ark to come floating by.”

The two PHRF Spinnaker classes and the IRC class sailed a 150-nautical mile course that took them to Buzzards Bay Tower, past Block Island to a government mark off Montauk Point, back to Buzzards Bay Tower and then back to Block before heading

home. The first storm hit on the first stretch to Buzzards Bay Tower, making for a long, wet, yet exhilarating night of competition.

“We won on the last beat from Buzzards Bay Tower to Block Island. That’s when we passed all the guys ahead of us,” said Cunha, noting that soon after his team finished at 7:14 on Saturday morning, the wind shut down, making it an even more testing challenge for those behind him.

The first to finish the race was the modified Volvo 70 Warrior (formerly Camper), co-skippered by Stephen Murray, Sr. and Stephen Murray, Jr. of Metairie, LA. Finishing at 12:41 am Saturday, Warrior not only took line honors but also topped IRC Class, which started with ten boats and finished with seven.

Brian Cunha’s Ker 55 Irie2 won the 11-boat PHRF Class A and took overall honors in the PHRF division. © Stephen Cloutier/photogroup.us

“I’m getting kind of long in the tooth for that kind of sailing, but I enjoyed it,” said the elder Murray, adding that he and his son are used to such wind in the Gulf of Mexico and on Lake Pontchartrain where they often sail. “It got kind of wild out there, but the boat’s fast. All you have to do is turn her loose and she’ll get you around.” Murray, known widely in sailing circles for his race boats named Decision, has competed in this race and won it two other times. Warrior is an acquisition he made to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project through a program run in conjunction with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Sailing Foundation.

Second to cross the line after Warrior was Hendrikus Wisker’s Swan 55 Haerlem (Round Hill, VA), in the Cruising Spinnaker class, at 4:37 am. The team, along with three others in its class, sailed a shorter 107-nautical mile course. According to crew Tom Maynard, the key to winning was having a big, heavier boat in the big air compared to the faster, lighter boats that rounded out the class. “It was blowing 40, we were reefing, and it was chaos; the rain Co-skippered by Stephen Murray, Sr. and Stephen Murray, Jr., the modified Volvo was pelting us,” said Maynard. “Then when we 70 Warrior won line honors and IRC division in the 2017 Ida Lewis Distance Race. were approaching the harbor, the wind was light © Stephen Cloutier/photogroup.us

40 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

Hendrikus Wisker’s Swan 55 Haerlem was victorious in the PHRF Cruising Spinnaker class. © Stephen Cloutier/photogroup.us

and it was pea soup so we actually took our jib down for safety reasons – so we could slow down even more.” Haerlem was greeted at the finish line, set just off Ida Lewis Yacht Club, by a welcoming committee in a chase boat and given a bottle of Prosecco, a gesture that has become a tradition for the race and acknowledges every team for its effort.

Perhaps most impressive was the performance by the Young American Junior Big Boat Team aboard their J/105 Young American, which persevered with three others teams in Spinnaker B to finish the race and take the top trophy for the first-place finish as well as the Arent H. Kits van Heyningen Trophy for the race’s Youth Challenge.

“We knew the forecast wasn’t going to be easy on us but we didn’t think we’d see 50 knots,” said Constantyn van der Voort (Rye, NY), who helped steer and ran things in the cockpit. “That was a little scary, because we had three sails up…the storm jib, the #3 jib on the furler and the mainsail.” His crewmate Nick Hein (Westport, CT), who was on bow, said the team of eight is preparing for the next Newport Bermuda Race. “This was the most open ocean sailing we’ve ever done as a team,” he said.

In doublehanded class, the Tartan 4600 Meridian, sailed by the father/daughter team of Murray and Hilary Beach of Westwood, MA, would have stuck it out to the very end, but, they were too far away from the finish when the wind shut down to make it in by the time limit. They were given an award of merit, which they accepted at the awards party on Saturday night at Ida Lewis Yacht Club.

The multihull class had only one entrant, Charlie Barmonde’s Gulfstream 35 Merlin (Little Compton, RI), which was going to sail for the experience but dropped out when conditions deteriorated. Arthur Santry’s Ker 50 Temptation-Oakcliff (Oyster Bay, N.Y.), which finished sixth in IRC, took home the William Tuthill Collegiate Trophy. Complete results are posted at YachtScoring.com.

Gold sponsors for the 2017 Ida Lewis Distance Race are New England Boatworks and City of Newport. Silver sponsors are Bluewater Technologies, Helly Hansen, and Newport Shipyard. Bronze sponsors are North Sails, Rig Pro Southern Spars, and Stella Artois.

Contributing sponsors are DYT Yacht Transport, Flint Audio & Video, Goslings Rum, Mac Designs, Toni Mills Graphic Design, and Triton Insurance. For more information, visit ilyc.org/long-race. ■ windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

41

“Look Ma! No Hands!”

Reaching for Success at the Clagett/Oakcliff Match Race

By F. K. George Twenty-seven competitors on 9 teams were served a mixed bag of conditions at the second annual Clagett/Oakcliff Match Race for sailors with adaptive needs, hosted by The WaterFront Center in Oyster Bay, NY August 25 - 27. Pauline Dowell (Boston, MA) and her crew of Christian Thaxton (Sommerville, MA) and Kay VanValkenburgh (Boston), who are returning racers at this event, clinched victory without a single loss on their scoreline. They even bested Rio Paralympic silver medalist Rick Doerr (Clifton, NJ), who made his debut in match racing at the Clagett/Oakcliff and earned a second place spot after a tiebreaker with Charles Rosenfield (Woodstock, CT).

Day one was challenging, with no more than four knots of breeze, but day two saw 6 knots gusting 8, which was perfect for the competitors who were coached all weekend by two America’s Cup legends, Dave Perry and Dave Dellenbaugh (Southport and Easton, CT, respectively). Congratulating Dowell’s team after their winning race, Perry said, “Your sailing was fundamentally sound and consistent; you let the other teams make the mistakes.

I’m so proud of you guys.”

Dowell, who is heading to the Blind World Sailing Championships in Sheboygan, WI later this year, has sailed with Thaxton for two years and VanValkenburgh for three. “We have very specific communication on the boat; like a specific sailing language,” Dowell explained. When they’re on the water,

Skipper Dave Whalen takes the driver’s seat with assistance from Clagett/Oakcliff Match Race volunteers at The WaterFront Center. © Oakcliff Sailing/Francis George

VanWalkenurgh feeds driving commands back to Dowell. They are so in sync that she’s able to read the tone and volume of his command to determine how fast and how much to turn.

“This year I sailed with my regular crew and that made a big difference,” Dowell continued, “I also sailed at the Blind Nationals where Dave Perry was coaching, and we are constantly referring to the notes and his coaching information.” During Perry’s debriefs, she is also reliant on VanValkenburgh’s sight. He moves her hands around on a board with little boats to mirror the situation being discussed in the video or on the whiteboard.

If you think steering a boat blind sounds hard, take a look at Dave Whalen of Y-Knot Sailing in Kattskill Bay, NY. He does it with no hands! After being paralyzed from the neck down in a skiing accident at age 19, Whalen helms using a Winning skipper Pauline Dowell receives helming instructions from sighted crew method called “sip-n-puff.” By Kay VanValkenburgh (lime shirt), who also guides her during coaching sessions and briefings. blowing into a tube, he controls a © Oakcliff Sailing/Francis George

42 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

hydraulic steering mechanism that turns the boat. Whalen is known for his positive attitude and joyful personality.

Rick Doerr, who became paraplegic in a car crash in 1992, still has use of his arms but he needs a special arch to help him move back and forth across the boat. Julia Dorset (Boca Raton, FL), a former member of the US Paralymic Team who finished 4th at the Oakcliff/Clagett, is also paraplegic and needs an arch. Warrior Sailing, a program of the USMMA Sailing Foundation, rigged all of The WaterFront Center’s Sonars with the adaptive equipment sailors needed, including Whalen’s sip-n-puff system.

“This has been a tremendous opportunity,” Doerr commented, “and I’ve really enjoyed the clinic and regatta.” He won the silver medal in the Sonar in the 2016 Paralympic Games but found that match racing took his skills to the next level. Doerr’s crew for the Clagett/Oakcliff were Charles McClure (Brookline, MA) and Betsy Perry (Southport). “We’ve learned so much about boat handling and sailing in really tight quarters while applying rules to those situations,” Doerr continued. “This was mine and Charles’ first match racing regatta and I will absolutely be back next year!”

Returning to take part in the clinic and regatta were Clagett fleet racing regulars Charlie Rosenfield and Tim Ripley (Randolph, NJ), who teamed up in the Sonar after spending many years in the singlehanded 2.4mR. Joining Ripley and Rosenfield for this regatta was Ripley’s childhood sailing coach, Stu Caplan (Larchmont, NY), who taught him how to sail at the Sea Legs program in City Island. “It has been a great regatta and I

windcheckmagazine.com

Skipper Dave Whalen uses a “sip-n-puff” system to steer his Sonar. © Oakcliff Sailing/Francis George

enjoyed the company on the boat!” Rosenfield commented. “We had great boat handling and I enjoyed the better breeze from last year. I will be back next year for sure and hope that Stu will be able to sail with us again.”

More information about the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic & Regatta and Oakcliff Sailing can be found at clagettregatta.org and oakcliffsailing.org. ■ F. K. George is Oakcliff Sailing’s MarComm Manager.

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

43

Newport Bermuda: Give It a Go!

By Dick Holliday More than a century ago, a visionary sailor named Thomas Fleming Day invented a pioneer ocean race from America to Bermuda. The idea seemed radical but it caught on and today the Newport Bermuda Race (NBR) is the world’s oldest scheduled ocean race. Since 1926, the race has been co-organized by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. In 50 Bermuda Races since 1906, 50,000 men and women and 5,000 boats have sailed in the event known and respected worldwide as The Thrash to the Onion Patch.

The next start is on June 15, 2018 off the Castle Hill Light in Newport, RI. The 635-mile race will finish off St. David’s Lighthouse in Bermuda. The Newport Bermuda Race is open to bluewater capable yachts sailing with full crews and double-handed, from family cruisers and cruiser-racers to state-of-the-art racing machines. While the majority of yachts are raced by amateur crews, professionally raced grand prix yachts are welcome to race in highly competitive divisions. All yachts race under the Offshore Racing Rule (ORR) handicapping system.

First time entrants are the lifeblood of the Newport Bermuda

Next stop Bermuda! Michael Maholchic’s Swan 44 Stormy Weather (Annapolis, MD) powers out of Newport. © Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com

Race, and the race organizers encourage their participation. To that end, the organizers have established the Ambassador Program, in which newcomers may request assignment of an Ambassador, an experienced Newport Bermuda Race sailor, to help guide them through the entry process and preparation and inspection of their yacht. Typically, 20-25% of the fleet is under the command of first-time skippers. Contact the Participation Committee by email at participation@BermudaRace.com.

Winter Storage & Service Headquarters!

Norwalk Cove Marina features state of the art facilies and a full me staff skilled in maintenance, repair and restoraon. We are the only marine facility in the Western Long Island Sound with 4 marine travelis with a hauling capacity up to 150 tons and up to 138’ in length.

We haul Catamarans too!

Plan your Rigging projects now to avoid the spring rush!

Hathaways at Norwalk Cove is ready to make new halyards, running rigging, wire or rod shrouds, lifelines, roller furling and more! We look forward to meeng your exact requirements! Call us.

www.norwalkcove.com 203-838-2326 Service Dept: 203-838-3681

A happy crew is a fast crew on Adam Loory’s Roger Martin 40 Soulmates (Mamaroneck, NY). © Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com

Registration applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2018. The Race entry process begins with submission of an online application for entry for the yacht and her crew. After review by the Crew Qualifications Committee, entrants gain access to the registration system. Almost all of the application and registration process is handled online through the race website, BermudaRace. com.

Historic trophies include the classic St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy, which is awarded to the top yacht in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division. Other major trophies include: The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy, The Carleton Mitchell Finisterre Trophy,

44 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

Bermuda is one of the top sailing destinations in the world! © SE Benton

The Phillip S. Weld and Moxie Prizes, The Royal Mail Trophy, and more than 100 additional prizes. Included are the Youth Award (crew age 14-23) and five regional awards spanning the U.S. and Canada. In addition, there are prizes for the best combined results for yachts completing the 2018 Newport Bermuda Race and the 2017 Annapolis to Newport Race or the 2017 Marion to Bermuda

windcheckmagazine.com

Cruising Yacht Race or the 2017 Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race. There are also several special category trophies including the Galley Slave Trophy, awarded to the cook aboard the last yacht to finish.

The 635-mile course from Newport across the Gulf Stream to Bermuda is a test of yacht and crew, the reward for which is the incomparable blue water experience and unparalleled sense of accomplishment for all.

Just one more thing…As the 2017 local sailing season winds to a close it may provide an important opportunity to sail with potential 2018 NBR crew and to measure your boat in order to get a head start on the application process and its requirements. It’s never too early to start to make sure that yacht and crew are suitable and prepared, certified and invited! An early start on the application process is advised. For the 2016 NBR there were more than 200 applications, and for 2018 the invitations are capped at 220. ■ Dick Holliday is the Participation Committee Chairman of the 51st Newport Bermuda Race.

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

45

The 83rd Vineyard Race Photos by Rick Bannerot and PhotoBoat.com

Stamford Yacht Club in Stamford, CT hosted their annual Labor Day Weekend classic September 1-3, and two of our favorite contributing photographers captured the action. Complete results of the 2017 Vineyard Race are posted at YachtScoring.com.

(Top) Shelter Island Transatlantic Partners’ Mills 68 Prospector (Newport, RI) finished second in IRC Class 15. © Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com (Middle) MaryEllen Tortorello’s J/111 Partnership (Bridgeport, CT) won PHRF Class 10, fueled by the enthusiasm of railbirds Aly DiNas and MaryEllen. © Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com

(Bottom) Resplendent after the latest phase in her restoration by the crew at Cooley Marine Management, Hiroshi Nakajima’s S&S 49 Hiro Maru (ex-Scaramouche; Stamford, CT) was victorious in PHRF Class 8. © Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com

46 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

James Coffman’s Hanse 375 Gemini (Westport, CT) topped the 8-boat PHRF Class 7.

Fujin, a Bieker 53 owned by Greg Slyngstad of Sammamish, WA won the 8-boat Multihull Class. Photo courtesy Rick Bannerot © 2017

© Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com

Rich Fleischman and David Hommel co-skippered Fleischman’s Class40 Privateer (Setauket, NY) to a PHRF-DH Class victory. © Allen Clark/PhotoBoat.com

windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

47

Farrars Win International One-Design Worlds at Northeast Harbor Eight past world champions showed up within a 20-boat fleet in late August to race in the International One-Design World Championship at Northeast Harbor, ME. Five days and 10 races later, the team led by Isabelle & Jonathan Farrar of Fishers Island, NY outlasted the rest of the Norwegians, Swedes, Bermudians, Canadians, and other Americans to capture the championship—their second victory in three years.

The Northeast Harbor IOD fleet dates back to the 1930s, and in keeping with the class format, all teams rotated through 10 different boats for the 10 races with no owners sailing their own boats. Most impressive is the fact that most of these wellmaintained boats are Norwegian-built wood hulls built from the ‘30s through early ‘60s, and all have wooden spars.

Teams from the Fishers Island Yacht Club were well positioned all regatta, with the co-skipper team of Peter Rugg and John Burnham leading most of the way. It was “chutes and ladders” type of racing for everyone, with massive windshifts and lulls. By midweek, everyone had one or more double-digit finishes on their scoreline.

Another two-time champion, Elliott Wislar, from Long

Island Sound, made a run at the lead early in the week, and then local Northeast Harbor ace John Henry moved into contention with one day to go. But the Farrars stayed closest, especially after making a big comeback to win the second race of the final day when the southwester replaced the northerly.

In the finale, started just before the time limit for racing expired, the Farrars, with crew Kevin Gilman, Mike McNamara, and Kevin Wyp, finished far enough ahead to take the championship by a point. The lead widened comfortably after racers came ashore when Burnham and Rugg took a 6-point scoring penalty for a right-of-way collision in the ninth race.

John Henry finished well enough on Friday to earn the third spot on the podium for Northeast Harbor, and his fellow

Twenty teams from Norway, Sweden, Bermuda, Canada and the USA contested the 2017 IOD Worlds. © Sue Charles

fleet competitor, David Rockefeller, Jr., finished well enough on the last day to earn fourth place just ahead of Patrick Cooper (Bermuda), and Peter Wickwire (Chester, Canada).

The International One-Design Class turned 80 years old in 2017 and celebrated with the addition of a new five-boat fleet at the Manhattan Yacht Club in New York City. The fleet was represented by Eric Leitner and Luigi Galbiati, who finished 8th and served notice that they’d be back as they won a pair of races.

Complete results are posted at nehfleet.org/iod-worlds. ■

48 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

The Northeast Harbor Fleet hosted the regatta in one of most beautiful places in the world to sail. © Sue Charles

SAIL WITH INTENSITY

Best prices on Dinghy sails, parts and gear!

Back to basics on price without compromising performance!

Laser • Optimist • Bic O’Pen • Sunfish • C420 • CFJ • JY15 • Flying Scott • Vanguard • Rhodes 19 • Pico Zuma • and more

401-738-8000 windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

49

The Ms. Race

Women on the Wind

By Diane Kropfl and Bill Sabanski On Saturday, August 19, the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club in Atlantic Highlands, NJ hosted the 13th annual Ms. Race, bringing together women of all ages to celebrate “Women on the Wind, the theme for this year’s event. Race day started with a Captain’s meeting and breakfast courtesy of the generous sponsors followed by sailing instructions and a Ms. Race seminar. The 2017 edition of the race found crews anxious to get on the water, as the previous week found many of the crews on the bay jockeying each evening for practice and training.

Race time on the AHYC Olympic Circle found a light southeasterly breeze as the race got underway. About halfway through, crews were challenged by a substantial shift of the breeze to the north and diminishing winds. A major part of the Ms. Race is the large spectator fleet and festivities that surround it. Crews get a dockside sendoff, with a Bloody Mary cocktail party for family and friends. With many spouses, significant others and families on board, the fleet is far larger

Team Ted, sailing Karen Harris’ J/120 Cygni, crosses Overlap on their way to third place. © Thomas Gardner

than the actual race. Spectators, friends and families are a major part of the event, having as much fun as the women in the race, cheering them on at each mark.

Elaine Hayer’s J/24 A Good Hair Day took first place. This was the second consecutive Ms. Race win for Elaine, whose expertise as a J/24 racer includes years competing in one-design races, was instrumental to her achieving her third Ms. Race victory. Crediting the good teamwork of her racing crew, she is

Elaine Haher’s team on her J/24 A Good Hair Day claimed a second consecutive Ms. Race victory. As the 2017 Women’s Champion, Haher received the NJYRA’s Commodore’s Cup. © Thomas Gardner

once again thrilled to be awarded The North Jersey Yacht Racing Association’s prestigious Commodore’s Cup, recognizing the NJYRA Women’s Champion and presented to the top female skipper in the Ms. Race.

Second place was claimed

by Overlap, a Beneteau First 40.7 skippered by 19-yearold Lauren Pepsny. Third place went to Karen Harris and Team Ted on her J/120 Cygni. Each year, the Ms. Race welcomes women from the Atlantic Highlands Sailing Education Program. For 2017, Lauren Pepsny, a collegiate racer and graduate of the AHSEP program, drove Overlap to line honors. It was her third time as captain, and her crew included her three sisters and mother, Donna Syers, who is a past winner of

50 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

the race. Lauren made custom T-shirts that all her teammates wore, with the AHYC Olympic Circle emblazoned on the back to ensure they stayed on course. “Unfortunately, our team read the wrong course last year and went speeding off in the wrong direction,” shared Alyssa Pepsny, 17. “That was not a problem this year.”

As for Karen Harris, this was her first Ms. Race on her J/120 Cygni with her crew, Team Ted. Last year, she and her partner Ted had purchased Cygni with dreams of sailing and racing her. Tragically, Ted passed away in April.

Karen gathered her fortitude, and with support from friends and fellow racers she found the confidence to keep the boat and race at club events including the Ms. Race.

Karen and her team were full of pride for their excellent showing, and we are all proud of Karen’s accomplishment. “As a volunteer for 180,” said Karen.

“I know the great work they do, so to take the helm of my boat without a coach for the very first time to sail in the Ms. Race was an extraordinary moment for me! I was thrilled to race with my family and friends and with terrific support from my fellow 180 volunteers.”

After the race, crews convened at the club for an awards ceremony and celebration including a charity auction. Proceeds from the Ms. Race benefit 180 Turning Lives Around, a New Jersey-based organization which assists victims of sexual and

The crew of Laura Oncea’s Tartan 33 Confiscated © Thomas Gardner

domestic abuse and violence. Over the history of the Ms. Race, the event has raise more than $115,000.

The Ms. Race has earned many accolades through the years, and the AHYC Ms. Race Committee is being honored by 180 at the annual Volunteer, Staff and Community Partners Reception with a “180 Award for Outstanding Community Service” award. For additional information on 180 and the Ms. Race, visit 180nj.org and ahyc.net. ■

10% Off with this ad

windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

51

Corner

Coop’s

The Golden Pillow Award

By Joe Cooper How did it get to be Autumn already? Seems like just last week I was drifting around in the Block Island Race. Then there was the NYYC Annual Regatta or Race Week, I forget which, wherein I sailed on a mate’s boat with symmetrical spinnakers. Boy, THAT tested the memory. In mid-July, the Marblehead to Halifax was ALL downwind. We had the kite up at the start and the same kite came down at the finish. Breeze SW, 6-17 for 50-odd hours.

At the end of July there was the Candy Store Cup, during which, thanks to the hospitality of the captain, Matt Hearsum, I was able to rotate through some of the Prout Sailing Team. Over to the CJ Buckley Regatta a day or so later, only to discover the remarkable story of CJ Buckley that led to meeting his parents and an article in last month’s edition.

In August, I ran the Storm Trysail Foundation Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar, reported on last month. One detail I neglected to mention was my very informal questionnaire of the participants: From the choice of America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Olympics or the Vendée Globe, which would be your Go To regatta? The VOR won over the AC by a nose with the Olympics trailing on third, and I got a couple Vendée answers…interesting.

Two seminar attendees struck me as quite remarkable young men, and so joined me for a couple of days sailing on a VOR 70.

Their stories are on page 36.

The day after the Jr SAS, the Ida Lewis Distance Race was held in pretty seriously crappy conditions. My favorite part of this year’s race was the young men and women of the Young American Junior Big Boat Team from American Yacht Club

power reaching from Fort Adams to the finish at Goat Island, looking much like a professional crew on a TP52. I posted a live video on my Joe Cooper Sailing FB page that was about 20 minutes of seriously rough and ready, man-in-the-boat footage including me crash landing into the Young American’s J/105 from the Ida Lewis YC RIB that greets the finishers with a bottle of Champers…well, apple cider in this case. All told, that video had something like 30,000 views.

My favorite quote from this video is from Maddy Ploch, the boat’s nominal skipper and a member of the High Noon crew that crushed the Newport Bermuda Race last year. Speaking about the rain, squalls, hard wind, waves and so on, attendant to The Ida over Friday night, I remarked, “Practicing for the Volvo, eh?”

Quick as a flash, Maddy responded, “Always practicing for the Volvo.” Maddy was actually the only young sailor I queried who said she wanted to do all three events: AC, VOR and Olympics.

She thought there was no reason why she could not. Maddy is 16 and a junior in high school. Let THAT sink in, folks.

As it turns out, I had the great pleasure to see Maddy and her shipmates in action a couple weeks later. Peter Becker, a principal in the Young American (YA) program and longtime friend and shipmate of mine, called and asked if I could fill in for him on the Vineyard Race. “Sure,” I said. So, the Thursday night prior to the Vineyard Race saw me at Stamford Yacht Club, mingling with the usual suspects and swapping sea stories.

Friday’s forecast for the weekend projected light reaching winds. Well, reaching was right. Along with Maddy and I were: Gabby DelBello (16), Eric Dowd (15), Nicholas Hein (15), Meg Leary (15), Constantyn (aka Clem) van der Voort (16), and Mathew Wallace (15). After blitzing the start and sailing

© Joe Cooper/JoeCooperSailing.com

52 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

away from longer boats with a small, flat reaching kite, I decided I was more or less superfluous. I did not steer, trim, contribute very much to tactics or strategy, or navigate. The most I got to contribute was a couple of comments on risk-reward to do with sail changes. Speaking of which, the crew executed something like 35 spinnaker peels, with a success rate ranging from pretty slick to flawless. If the boat was not sailing to its polars for the wind speed and angle, someone – sometimes a couple of them at the same time – would remark on it and start the conversation on changing sails. Most of the time it did not take long to reach a decision. There were only a couple of times the ‘five minute’ rule was used.

As with all yacht racing, there are moments of pressure and times when there is not much going on. In the former, these young sailors were as calm and poised as any crew I have sailed with. In the latter, they were certainly as funny as any I have sailed with. Stories of regattas, coaching tales, school disasters or fun times were all free range on the simple rule of What Happens on YA Stays on YA. I wish I had written down some of the ripostes volleyed back at stories, but the one that sticks out was a tale of some disaster whereupon someone responded (and I paraphrase), “Ohhh, hashtag awful.” How can you not love that sense of humor?

Becker had spent two evenings coaching Clem and Matt on the Expedition routing software, a couple hours per session.

As befitting their overall MO, these two guys were able to have it just about make coffee, so proficient are they with this stuff.

On at least two occasions, Clem won versus me in discussion of where a mark was.

The worst part was trying to get back through the Race Saturday afternoon (into evening around dusk) in no wind and against the last three hours of the ebb. Maybe that was the hashtag awful line… Eventually the forecast southeaster slowly filled in, but not before I had done my Chef du Bateau routine, boiling water for the freeze-dried meal they had. Otherwise, the main meals seemed to be gummy bears, power bars, fruit and Triscuits. Looking at the slowly greying sky to the SE, I figured a full and warm tummy would be an OK thing for the last 70-odd miles of the race.

True to the clouds, the breeze filled in from the SE bringing with it rain squalls, most of which were harboring biggish shifts in wind speed and direction. As the evening wore on and the classic markers of Long Island Sound surged astern, the breeze steadily filled.

By about 2200 we were west of New Haven aboard a tiller steered J/105, crewed by a collection of high school sailors, blasting along downwind with the biggest kite up, in squalls over 30 knots and rain. Several of the crew took turns steering. My memory is the top speed down a wave was around 16 knots. The young crew was completely at home in the conditions, windcheckmagazine.com

Matt in particular exercising his Laser background in the steadily increasing sea state. He was happy as a clam at high tide steering the boat up, down and around the waves.

As we closed in on the Cows, we started thinking about the angles into the finish. Clem had it nailed and in reasonably quick succession we – they - peeled off five flawless gybes in fresh breeze, in the dark in rainsqualls and an unpleasant sea state.

The angle from the Cows, west of the red can then up to the breakwater finish dictated a two-sail reach. Yet another near flawless letterbox drop as the bow passed the Cows Bell and Maddy headed up while the rest of us looked for that elusive Can. Three quarters of the way to the Breakwater we finally nailed it, under the lee bow, and after an appropriate course adjustment, came back onto the Stamford Harbor range, crossing the line around 0030.

Turns out all that hard work these teenagers did (again) garnered a second in PHRF class and second in PHRF fleet.

I am told that I have done 18 Vineyard Races. I cannot really remember all of them…well, the time Gordy Wagner and I won the DH class in a borrowed Olson 30 does stand out, but I cannot think of a time when I did less, had the most sleep, and had such a grand result. Somehow, the word got out that I “Sure did sleep a lot.” Well, when there is nothing to do, what else IS there to do? After sailing with this crew, I can honestly say it was a race where winning the Golden Pillow Award was an honor and a privilege. ■ Australian born, Joe ‘Coop’ Cooper stayed in the US after the 1980 America’s Cup where he was the boat captain and sailed as Grinder/ Sewer-man on Australia. His whole career has focused on sailing, especially the short-handed aspects of it. He lives in Middletown, RI where he coaches, consults and writes on his blog, joecoopersailing.

© Joe Cooper/JoeCooperSailing.com WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

53

Southern YC Claims 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup

By Stuart Streuli, Communications Director, New York Yacht Club The morning of September 16 may have dawned with dense fog and little breeze on Narragansett Bay, but by mid-afternoon the sky had cleared and the same could be said of any ambiguity regarding which was the best team at the 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. In the day’s single race, the Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, LA) was as sharp as they had been in the previous 11 races, starting strongly and never wavering. SYC eventually finished second to Royal Thames in the race, and four places ahead of their only remaining competition for the overall trophy, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron from Australia. In 12 races, the Southern Yacht Club team accumulated just 34 points, the lowest winning total for a Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup by 10 points.

The 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup took place September 9 to 16 at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court, in Newport, RI. Amateur sailors representing 14 yacht clubs from around the globe converged on Newport to race in the ultimate one-design, big-boat competition. The Swan 42s and sails are provided, and the rig tune is standardized across the fleet.

The Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup is sponsored by Rolex, Porsche, Nautor’s Swan, AIG and Helly Hansen.

“It can’t get any better than this,” said SYC skipper Marcus Eagan, surrounded by a large group of club members who traveled to Newport to cheer on their crew. “It's great to celebrate with friends and members and longtime sailors.”

With a margin of 8 points over second-placed Royal Sydney to start the day, and only one race remaining, Southern Yacht Club was in a comfortable position. But light air and fog can dampen the confidence of even the most credentialed sailor. A long delay only added to the anxiety.

“It was nerve wracking this morning waiting for the breeze,” said SYC tactician John Lovell, who waited out plenty of wind delays during his 12-plus-year Olympic sailing career. “At one point we thought they might call it, but the breeze filled in, and we had

The Southern Yacht Club team celebrates a hard-fought victory. © Rolex/Daniel Forster

Southern YC leads the fleet around a mark. © Rolex/Daniel Forster

to go to the whip and sail our best. I had a knot in my stomach the whole time. We were lucky enough to get ahead of [Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron] and then we just tacked on them as much as we could. We split away when we thought we were maybe second and third and wanted to stay in the top group. We wanted to stay ahead of them; that was the whole goal.”

Southern Yacht Club was the first rookie competitor to win the Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup since the host New York Yacht Club won the inaugural competition in 2009. But the team, comprising veteran sailors with many significant campaigns under their collective belt, approached the regatta with the appropriate commitment. Buoyed by the membership, and especially crew member Stephen Murray Jr., the team was able to purchase a boat to train on all summer and sail in regatta.

“It all started back at the Resolute Cup when we qualified for this big event,» said jib trimmer Andrew Eagan. “We were super excited about it and put our heads together to try and figure out who would be the best team. This event really takes a lot of hours, a lot of days.”

Throughout the regatta, the Southern team was pressed hard

by Royal Sydney YS. The final margin of 12 points between first and second doesn’t reflect how even the top two teams were. Were

54 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

it not for one bad race, Royal Sydney and Southern might’ve been all but tied going into the final race. “Hats off to Royal Sydney, they sailed super well,” said Andrew Eagan. “They hadn’t really been in the boat as much, and they really got better every race.”

Eastern Yacht Club’s (Marblehead, MA) firm grip on third place going into the final race quickly became a lot more tenuous when they were called OCS and had to return to restart while New York Yacht Club, which started the day in fourth place and carrying a tremendous amount of momentum, punched across the line and was quickly into the top group. John Hele and the New York Yacht Club team would hold on for third place – closing the regatta with six straight top-5 finishes – but Eastern was able to grind back during the five-leg race and finish fifth, plenty close enough to the top to ensure they held onto the final podium position.

Royal Thames Yacht Club (London, GB), the defending champions, rounded out the top five with Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (Causeway Bay, HK) in sixth, the club’s best finish in this event.

Yacht Club Argentino (Buenos Aires, AR), a three-time competitor in the regatta, was in position for a top-five finish midway through the regatta. A few penalty turns and an over-early start in the final four races knocked them down the standings a bit.

However the team didn’t go home empty-handed. Based on a poll of all competing teams, the jovial Southern Hemisphere team was awarded the Corinthian Spirit Award.

The fifth edition of the 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup closed with the Rolex Awards Dinner on the grounds of Harbour Court. This event also brings to a close the

Amateur teams representing 14 yacht clubs from around the world raced in the 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. © Rolex/Daniel Forster

involvement of the Swan 42 one-design, which was instrumental in getting the regatta off the ground eight years ago. The great foundation laid by the Swan 42 class will be carried forward in 2019 with the IC37. The NYYC has committed to purchase a fleet of 20 identical keelboats built by Westerly Marine to a design by Mark Mills, which will ensure that the world’s premiere Corinthian onedesign keelboat regatta remains a must-do event for sailors around the world. More information on the 2019 edition will be released before the end of 2017. For more information, log onto InvitationalCup.org. ■

Low cost, low maintainence Completely Optimist compatible

aili

ur s o y p ru

Powe

!

ram g o r p ng

Incredibly tough

800.784.6478 optistuff.com windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

55

Milford Yacht Club Frostbite Association (Milford, CT) will be starting the Fall 2017 Season on Sunday, October 29th with a “Try It On For Size�

Clinic for those new to Frostbiting.

The Season runs November to March with Fleet Racing every Sunday. For more information contact Julia Carter at jlglcarter@yahoo.com.

56 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

from the captain of the port Hunkering Down – Hurricanes

By Vincent Pica Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR) United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused catastrophic damage in parts of Texas, Louisiana and Florida with the latter

This a grim reminder that we are not immune. Almost without exception, we get the tail, shoulder or rump of one or two of the dozen or so hurricanes that form up in the Atlantic between the Caribbean and Africa and bring so much destruction and misery as they thunder west and north…and the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season runs to November 30. We live on the water. This column is about that.

Tidal Surges For coastal dwellers, as bad as the winds will be (more on that below), it is the tides and tidal surges that will do most of the damage, which is why even these tails that go by every year leave so much trouble behind. The storm tide is added to the astronomical tides. And when those waves hit something solid, they generate force dozens of times more powerful than wind of the same speed. Andrew generated a storm tide of 17 feet. Camille in 1969? 24 feet. And of course, there was Sandy who just sat there, at high tide. During a full moon…

Add to that the population growth in our area and the increase in the value of homes and it can spell either “an absolute disaster” or “they were prepared.”

What Is It? A hurricane is, in the words of scientists, an organized rotating weather system that develops in the tropics. Technically, it is a “tropical cyclone” and it is classified as one of three states, with hurricanes being further classified into levels of destruction…

1. Tropical Depression: sustained winds of 38 mph

(33 knots) or less

2. Tropical Storm: sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph (34-63 knots)

3. Hurricane: sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or greater

Hurricanes are called typhoons in the western Pacific and

cyclones in the Indian Ocean. Six of one, a half dozen

of the other…

Are You Ready For the Glancing Blow?

Look, if a Category 4 or 5 gets up here like in 1938, there are no levels of preparedness except evacuation. A storm surge like Camille’s would basically mean that everything “south of the highway,” as real estate agents like to classify the choicest properties on Long Island, is gone for all intents and purposes. But what if the glancing blow like Ivan’s in 2004 or, Earl, who came by earlier in 2012, came in head-on?

How can you be ready?

windcheckmagazine.com

Before the Storm Arrives

1. Have a family action plan – if you’re at caught at school or at

work, who do you call? To grandmother’s house we go?

2. Flashlights working? Canned goods and water supplies? Cash?

Portable radio?

3. Where are you going to move the boat? Don’t even THINK

about staying on her!

4. How about your prescription medicines? A First Aid kit is WHERE..?!

During the Storm

1. Have the radio or TV on. If power goes out and you don’t

have a portable radio, I’d get the kids in the car and “to

grandmother’s house we go…!”

2. Propane tanks on your property? Shut them off, completely.

3. Turn the refrigerator up all the way and don’t open the door idly.

4. Fill the bath tub with water. How about the big spaghetti pot?

Anything that can hold water and keep it clean.

5. If ordered to evacuate, do so. Immediately. And tell someone

where you are going.

6. When evacuating, don’t drive across flowing water. Two feet

of flowing water can carry your car away. Yes, only two feet

of moving water. Turn around and go another way. If there

is no other way, call 911 or the U.S. Coast Guard.

After the Storm

1. If you’ve been ordered to evacuate, don’t go back until the area

is declared safe.

2. If you see someone that needs rescuing, unless the threat of

loss of life is imminent, call 911.

3. See standing water? Do you know if any power cables lie in it?

4. Never use candles and other open flames indoors. Keep the

flashlight at your side…

This is by no means an exhaustive list…but we’ve just received a wakeup call.

If you are interested in being part of the USCG Forces, email me at JoinUSCGAux@aol.com or go direct to the D1SR Human Resources department, who are in charge of new members matters, at d1south.org/StaffPages/DSO-HR.php and we will help you “get in this thing.” ■ Captain Andrew Tucci is the Captain of the Port and Sector Commander for US Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. Captain Tucci is responsible for all active-duty, reservist and auxiliary Coast Guard personnel within the Sector. As Commodore of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary First District, Southern Region, Vin Pica works closely with Captain Tucci and his staff to promote boating safety in the waters between Connecticut, Long Island and 200 nautical miles offshore. Sector Long Island Sound Command Center can be reached 24 hours a day at 203-468-4401.

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

57

B

R

O

K

E

R

58 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine 58 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

A

G

E

windcheckmagazine.com windcheckmagazine.com

B

R

O

K

E

R

A

G

E

McMICHAEL

YACHT BROKERS Call about our Winter Sales Plan

631-421-3400

Family Owned & Operated Yacht Sales, Service, Storage, Slips & Moorings Since 1975 SELECT SAILBOAT LISTINGS 53’ 1998 Amel 53 48’ 2015 Beneteau Oceanis 48 46’ 2009 Beneteau 46 45’ 2017 Beneteau Oceanis 45 45' 2003 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey45 45’ 1977 Fuji 45 43’ 2008 Beneteau 43 42’ 2004 Sabre 426 42’ 1993 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41’ 2000 Beneteau 411 41’ 2008 Tartan 4100 40’ 2011 Beneteau 40 40’ 2007 Beneteau 40 40’ 1999 Beneteau First 40.7 39’ 2006 Beneteau 393 39’ 1982 Cal 39 38’ 2014 Beneteau Oceanis 38

38’ 1982 Ericson 38 38’ 2000 Beneteau 381 36’ 1993 Catalina 36 36' 1983 Catalina 36 36’ 2001 Beneteau 36CC 34’ 1987 Express 34 34’ 2005 Beneteau 343 33’ 1984 Hobie 33’ 1974 Pearson 10M 31’ 2002 Beneteau 311 31’ 1988 Tartan 31 31’ 1987 Pearson 31

31’ 1985 Cape Dory Cutter 30’ 1987 Catalina 30 30’ 1984 S2 9.2 CC 28' 1990 Beneteau First 285 22’ 1963 Pearson Ensign

$229,000 399,000 218,750 399,000 215,000 65,000 185,000 260,000 109,000 110,000 335,000 189,000 159,000 107,000 134,000 34,000 184,000 39,900 92,000 45,000 35,000 79,999 26,000 84,000 24,500 15,500 49,900 38,000 19,900 34,500 14,900 12,000 14,900 1,200

SELECT POWERBOAT LISTINGS 45’ 1986 Bayliner 4588 Motoryacht $125,000 41’ 1968 Hatteras 25,000 38’ 2002 Regal 3860 108,000 33’ 1974 Egg Harbor 33 32,000 30’ 2003 Mainship Pilot II 70,000 28’ 2003 SeaRay 280 Sundancer 52,995 27’ 2017 Northcoast 27 Hard Top call 26’ 1990 SeaRay 260 9,900 23’ 2018 Northcoast 23 Hard Top-In Stock call 22’ 2003 SeaRay 220 Sundeck 27,500 20’ 2018 Northcoast 20 Center Console-In St call 20’ 2000 Bayliner Trophy 9,750

Call us today and let us put our years of experience to work for you!

We are always looking for new listings. Call 631-421-3400 or e-mail info@willismarine.com

Display your boat where the action is!

Save big on winter storage.

SAIL 57’ 52’ 51’ 44’ 40’ 40’ 40’ 40’ 40’ 40’ 40’ 40’ 39’ 38’ 38’ 38’ 37’ 37’ 36’ 35’ 34’ 33’ 30’ 28’ 26’ 23’ 21’

Hanse 575 ‘14 $525K Santa Cruz 52 ‘97 $325K Skye 51 ‘82 $199K Beneteau First 44.7 ‘05 $164K J/120 ‘94,’96,’96 $147K,$159K,$165K Jonmeri 40 ‘82 $109K Sabre 402 ‘00 $225K C & C 40 ‘80 $35K J/40 ‘86,’87 $85K,$98K Schock 40 ‘00 $75K C & C 121 ‘01 $129K Beneteau First 40.7 ‘04 $89K Cal 39 MK III ‘89 $73K Catalina 387 (Trade) ‘07 $119K Baltic 38 DP ‘83 $95K Catalina Morgan 381 CC ‘93 $75K Moody 376 ‘87 $69K Dickerson 37 ‘83 $50K J/111 ‘11 $254K J/105 ‘02 $73K Sabre 34 MK2 ‘88 $50K J/100 ‘06,’11 $88K,$125K Nimble 30 ‘89 $50K Alerion Express 28 ‘00 $70K J/80 ‘02,’04 $22K,$30K J/70 ‘13 $40K Pogo 2 ‘13 $70K

POWER 52’ 49’ 40’ 38’ 34’ 31’ 30’ 30’ 28’ 27’ 18’

Ocean Alexander 52 ‘05 Grand Banks 49 Classic ‘84 MJM 40z ‘10 True North Heritage 38 ‘05 MJM 34z ‘04 Bertram 31 Flybridge Fish ‘73 Grady White Marlin 30 ‘97 Pursuit 3000 Offshore ‘98 Protector Targa 28 ‘05 Tides 27 ‘92 EdgeWater 188CC ‘13

Mamaroneck, NY 914-381-5900

$445K $198K $875K $249K $285K $85K $39K $50K $99K $89K $33K

Newport, RI 401-619-5813

McMichaelYachtBrokers.com windcheckmagazine.com windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine October 2017 59 WindCheck Magazine October 2017 59

classifieds.

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL

14’ Laser 1992 - Hull in very good condition. All accessories included: Spars (standard rig upper and lower, boom), sail in great shape, all running rigging, blades, tiller and tiller extension. New, unused extra centerboard included. $1100. Located in Milford, CT. Call Chris: 203-895-0083.

22’ Etchells 1998 - Pacesetter # 1086, 2 sets Doyle sails, open sail card, North full boat cover, 3 spin poles, forward ring frame, Tack Tick compass, double axle trailer w/ sail box, new axles 2005, new brakes, bearings 2014 $12,000. 860-227-6135

26’ Colgate 2007 - Excellent day sailor located Manhasset Bay, LI. Very good condition, includes seat cushions, spinnaker & whisker poles, portable head, solar battery charger, outboard Torquedo electric engine, VHF Radio, self tailing winches.

Twaron Carbon Mainsail, Twaron Kevlar Genoa - Roller Furler, Dacron Genoa (extra), Norlon Spinnaker (Rarely used). $24,000. Paula - pkdactive@msn.com or 516-287-3818

27’ O’Day 1986 – Harmony is a pleasure to sail. 2011 Tohatsu 9.8hp long-shaft, 2007 main & 130% genoa, 2007 roller furler, Icom VHF radio (DCS functionality), tiller autohelm. Located in Bridgeport, CT. Contact Craig 203-505-9614 crgmeza@gmail.com. Asking $7,500

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 27’ Catalina 1985 - In water, New Rochelle. Wheel steering, roller furling, good main, 150 genoa. Depth/speed indicators, VHF, GPS, stereo, dodger, bimini, autopilot, PFD’s, all safety requirements.

Universal diesel, alcohol stove, Groco head, Danforth anchors. Cushions, brightworkinterior like new. Asking $5,500. Call John, 914-472- 5520.

27’ Custom Noe - EnCharette is a legendary race winner that has been meticulously maintained and upgraded throughout her stellar career. Huge North Sails inventory, custom Triad Trailer, 5Hp Honda.

203-214-5696. Asking $20,000.

28’ O’Day 1980 - Great boat. Fantastic weekender. Re-powered 7 years ago with a new 13 hp Beta Marine Engine, low hours.

Sleeps 5. Auto helm. Well maintained

by NVBY. Two sets of sails + Spinnaker.

Will include the balance of the season on mooring at Noank Village Boat Yard, Noank, CT. Asking $12,500. Call Bob @ 860-383-5405

30’ Olson 911SE 1988 - Highly regarded cruiser / racer design. BADGER is wellmaintained and upgraded, including recent carbon aramid sails - main (‘14) and two headsails (‘15). Competitive PHRF racer and comfortable family cruiser. $29,900.

Lying Westbrook, CT. Mike 203-903-3957.

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 30’ Pearson 1976 - Bill Shaw Design cruiser racer great sailing boat Atomic 4 engine and hull professionally maintained asking $7,200. Contact Carmine 631-896-0983 or carmine811@aol.com

30’ Alberg 1967 - Well maintained fresh water cooled Atomic Four engine, new exhaust, mast step and aluminum mast bulkhead support upgrade. Self tailing winches, 3 head sails, all sails in excellent condition. Barrier coated hull. 6’3” cabin head room with memory foam cushions and comes with cradle. Holds several regatta trophies (Long Island, NY). Asking $11,000 Contact Gary (516) 443-1878 or ACGEQU716@gmail.com

31’ Island Packet 1988 - Well maintained with recent barrier coat and brightwork.

Cutter rigged with 130 % Genoa and full battened main. Yanmar diesel. Full instruments plus radio and GPS. Dinghy davits for Achilles dinghy (included). Located Milford CT. Asking $55,000.

Call 203-261-8553

31’ O’Day 1986 - Very well maintained, inside and out. Comes with many upgrades that others just don’t have. Radar, chart plotter, wind & speed instruments, autopilot, dodger & bimini, Very stable pleasure to sail and cruise. $19,999 Contact Don: dromard@optonline.net

60 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 31’ Tashiba Pilothouse Cutter 1987 - Beautiful all weather Bob Perry design. One-of-a-kind pilothouse model.

Well-maintained. Full teak decks, spacious bright teak interior. Galley w/stove. Two piloting stations, sail outside or inside.

Listed at $69,000. For more info/pictures, contact john.salacain@gmail.com

31’ Beneteau First 310 1994 - New breed of modern, user-friendly, ultra-low maintenance racer/cruisers. Two cabin. Roomy cockpit, walk-through to swim platform, cockpit shower. Some of her other attractive features include auto pilot, GPS, wind, speed, depth, roller furling, cruising spinnaker w/sock, h/c pressure water. Asks 36K Prestige Yacht Sales 203-353-0373

32 Catalina C-320 1996 - For Sale By Owner. Excellent Condition 32’ with Newer Raymarine Electronics and Radar. Wing Keel, New Dinghy, Kato Davits, Doyle Stack Pack, Bimini & Dodger, Magma Grill, Edson Cockpit Table, Full Cushions and Many Upgraded Additions. Located in Glen Cove, NY. $49,900 619-895-3406

32’ Beneteau 323 2006 - Clean, in-mast furling, factory air conditioning. Many recent upgrades including, new mainsail, higher-quality Si-Br through-hull fittings, canvas covers for exterior teak, AIS receiver & transmitter, Peek-a-Boo blinds. Professionally maintained and covered during winters. Achilles inflatable w/4-Stroke OB. Turn-key. Asks 67.5K Prestige Yacht Sales 860-245-5886

windcheckmagazine.com

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 32’ Catalina 320 1998 - The 320 is light on the helm and tracks well under sail or power. Motion and heeling are gentle and predictable. The 320 performs well in a variety of conditions, with the wing keel.

Racing skippers will enjoy-the turn of speed and cruisers will appreciate the additional distance covered in a day’s passage. Carrying the deck beam well aft created space for an exceptionally large cockpit. New GPS, low engine hours. Very clean boat. (RI) $49,999 Latitude Yacht Brokerage, Tim Norton, 401-575-8326 latitudeyacht.com

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 36’ Bayfield - (41 foot overall) Classic clipper bow, high-gloss bright work.

AC 2 cycled. Radar, autopilot, VHS/AIS with remote mic. Windvane steering. Hot and cold water, shower with tub. Electric flush toilet. Large refrigerator with freezer.

6’3” headroom, YANMAR diesel. New battened mainsail with lazy jacks. Roller furling jib. New windless, 2 anchors, 6 self tailing wenches. Gas stove/oven. Ready to sail away. Two boat owner. Just reduced $59,900 OBO. 516-984-7337

33’ Dehler Optima 101 1986 - German built open transom fractional racer cruiser.

Recent Yanmar, North Sails, barrier coat, rigging , many upgrades. Light, fast and exceptionally well designed and built with cruising amenities. If you are looking at Sabre and J, check this out. Mystic, CT. $28,000 christones@aol.com, 860-857-9987

36’ Gozzard Cutter 1995 - Raven’s Nest is clean and uncluttered. Her cherry interior is very nice and the open floor plan can be transformed into a forward cabin, salon and private aft berth with a few simple panel moves. Recent electronics upgrades (2017). Yanmar engine (2013), dodger (2013) and varnish (2017) (MA) $149,900, Latitude Yacht Brokerage, Matthew Leduc, CPYB, 401-226-1816 latitudeyacht.com

33’ Hunter 2012 - A wonderful family boat with plenty of details. Very light use, 85 engine hours. Good electronics, sails like new, all lines lead to cockpit.

Opening transom/swim platform, the arch frees the cockpit of the main sheet.

Asks 88.5K Prestige Yacht Sales 203-353-0373

37’ Baltic Racer/Cruiser - Built in Finland to Baltic’s renown standards. Unusually well-equipped and updated. Sleeps 7-8 in three teak cabins. She’s strong, light, fully equipped for racing, day sailing or to places more distant. Many pictures and detailed specs at www.Baltic37.com $29,900 914-473-0606

35’ C&C 35 MK III 1984 - The best C&C 35 Mark III in North America. In bristol condition, Le Cordon Bleu (‘blue ribbon’) is ready to win more races or cruise in comfort, with every major system replaced or upgraded recently. Winter stored indoors. Asks 39.5K Prestige Yacht Sales 203-353-0373

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

61

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 37’ Hunter 37.5 Legend 1993 - Tally Two is a well kept boat with over 10K of new electronics! This is a wonderful family boat with a full width aft cabin, separate forward cabin and a dinette that drops to a double.

Our trade. Asks 57.5K. Prestige Yacht Sales 203-353-0373

38’ Ericson 1995 -Must see Ericson 38-200, top quality Pacific Seacraft build.

Re-powered in 2012 with 38 HP Yanmar, up-dated sails and canvas, bimini, self-feathering prop. Very clean and well maintained at excellent yard. Yacht quality teak interior with two stateroom layout and stall shower. A rare opportunity to get a great sailing yacht with many upgrades, price reduced $15,000 by her two boat owner. Asking $99,000. Jim Munro, New Wave Yachts, 508-972-2044.

38’ Ericson 38-200 1989 - Updates, regular professional maintenance, and consistent care from the original owner should put Restless on your list of boats to see. She is clean and has low hours on her engine.

Her upgrades include Raymarine Radar/ Chartplotter and ST-6000 Autopilot, dodger and sailcover, mainsail and 135% genoa from Quantum and Tempurpedic mattresses in the V-berth and aft cabin.

(RI) $50,000 Latitude Yacht Brokerage, Matthew Leduc, 401-226-1816 latitudeyacht.com

Place your classified ad by sending your listing to WindCheck, P.O. Box 195 Stratford, CT 06615

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 39’ Gulfstar Sailmaster 1981 - Savannah Leigh is clean and in good condition for her age. The open floor plan is great for cruising and accommodation. She sails very well and should be on your list of boats to see.

Features great sails, electronics, AC/Heat and low hours on a very reliable Perkins 50Hp diesel engine. Call for an appointment to see this great boat! (RI) $69,900, Latitude Yacht Brokerage, Matthew Leduc, 401-226-1816 latitudeyacht.com

39’ Vilm-116 2004 - Fast, comfortable, and extremely seaworthy. Recent upgrades and specifications: Doyle Mainsail (2014), air conditioning w/reverse cycle heat, 4 AGM Batteries (2014), Simrad AP22 hydraulic autopilot, Garmin GPS 128 Chart Plotter. $189,900 (MA) - Call Ryan J. Miller CPYB: 401-835-0069 www.latitudeyacht.com

40’ Beneteau 2008 - Start sailing immediately! Dinghy, kayak, full canvas, full electronics, furling mainsail & genoa, shallow draft, aft cockpit cushions, motor hoist, plus more. Less than 500 hours on Yanmar diesel which looks and runs like new. Asks 159K Prestige Yacht Sales 860-245-5551

40’ Beneteau - The Beneteau 40 offers a great combination of performance, ease of handling and interior comfort that make her a perfect choice for cruising couples or families. Two available from $159,900.

Call Willis Marine 631-421-3400

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 40’ Beneteau Oceanis 2011 - Very rare find to find one newer than 2010 and in such great condition. NEW (2014) salon cushions, pillows and mattresses put her above all of the other brokerage boats on the market.

Full electronics package, bow thruster, furling mainsail and genoa, dodger and bimini make her easy to sail. (RI) $199,900 Latitude Yacht Brokerage, Matthew Leduc, CPYB 401-226-1816 latitudeyacht.com

42’ Sabre 426 2004 - Fresh Awlgripped in 2014 flag blue with a white boot top.

New sails in 2012. She looks beautiful and is ready for a new owner. $260,000. Call Willis Marine 631-421-3400

43’ Beneteau 432 1988 - Features three separate sleeping cabins, two full heads with showers, a full galley with double sink, refrigeration, freezer. Rebuilt Perkins 4108, Raymarine Auto-pilot, Electric Windlass, large self-tailing two-speed winches.

Asking $49,500 For more, contact Fred: 347-927-3350

43’ Bristol 43.3 1987- Altair is a Ted Hood designed yacht with desirable classic teak interior, two staterooms and ample space.

The Bristol 43.3 is well known to have great sailing characteristics, featuring a centerboard and aft cockpit. Currently stored indoors and available for inspection this 43.3 has seen major improvements over the past few years totaling over $65,000! Some of the key improvements include: new Westerbeke 55D Diesel Engine (2013), new fuel tank (2016), mast rewired (2016). $149,000 (RI) Latitude Yacht Brokerage, Ryan Miller CPYB, 401-835-0069, latitudeyacht.com

contactus@windcheckmagazine.com

or call 203-332-7639

62 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 43’ Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 439 2013 - A la Vie is well equipped, clean and regularly maintained. This three cabin, two head version has been kept on the North Carolina waters. There is standing headroom throughout (at 6’6’’) and a beautiful large dodger and bimini covering a very roomy cockpit. Additional features include: roller furling main, electric self tailing winches, electric bow thruster, and air conditioning. $238,000 Latitude Yacht Brokerage, Tim Norton, 401-575-8326 latitudeyacht.com

44’ Tartan 4400 2005 - “Her raised salon provides for a comfortable and conveniently accessible main cabin” - Tim Jacket. She is in the water with less than 500 hours on the engine and includes a new dodger and bimini. - $299,000 (NJ) Ryan Miller, CPYB, 401-835-0069 – www.latitudeyacht.com

45’ Beneteau Oceanis 2017 - Change in plans has this brand new boat on the market. Extensive factory options including electric winches, furling main, air conditioning, generator, B&G instruments and performance sail package. Asking $399,000. Willis Marine Center 631-421-3400 willismarine.com

Place your classified ad by sending your listing to WindCheck, P.O. Box 195 Stratford, CT 06615

contactus@windcheckmagazine.com

or call 203-332-7639

BOATS FOR SALE- SAIL 45’ Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 2003 - Immaculate 1 owner vessel here in our harbor! Well equipped with roller furling main and genoa, oversized winches, beautiful rich wood interior and teak decks.

Asking $215,000. Willis Marine Center, Huntington, NY 631-421-3400

CREW

Offshore Passage Opportunities Your Offshore Sailing Network. Sail for free on OPB’s. Learn by doing. Gain Quality Sea time towards your lifetime goals. Sail on different boats with different skippers to learn what works and what does not.

Want to be a paid skipper? Build sea time and network with pro skippers. We are the crew network for the ARC, Caribbean 1500, NARC, World ARC Rally, Salty Dawg Rally, Newport/ Bermuda Race and delivery skippers worldwide.

45’ Hirsh Gulfstar Center Cockpit Sloop - Second owner. Getting out of boating.

On the hard since 2010. Needs new electronics. Sails are fine for coastal cruising.

Slight cabin leak in the salon needs repair.

Enjoyable boat that shouldn’t take much in the way of repairs/refurbs to cast off. Selling “As Is” $50,000. No donations, trades, leases, financing, etc. Located Branford, CT. Gulfstar45sloop@gmail.com

Helping Sailors Sail Offshore Since 1993.

Learn more and join online at www.sailopo.com or call-1800-4-PASSAGe (1-800-472-7724) Keep the Dream Alive for the cost of a good winch handle.

EQUIPMENT

46’ Baltic 46 – MERRYTHOUGHT Finnish quality throughout in this well found and very able racer-cruiser. Close-winded, fast and comfortable with full teak interior, good electronics and large sail inventory. Single hand cruise or full crew race this exceptional design. Sell or trade. sailmyles@aol.com 860-823-7952

48’ Beneteau Oceanis 2015 - Just arrived at our moorings! This boat is fully equipped including A/C, generator, electric winches and many more factory options. Owner has moved up. Asking $399,000 Willis Marine Center 631-4213400 www.willismarine.com

REMOVABLE BOWSPRITS

SPRIT

RUBICON MARINE PRODUCTS

www.csprit.com windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

63

EQUIPMENT

dwyermast.com

MARINE SERVICES

SAILS

• Masts • Hardware • Booms • Rigging Dwyer Aluminum Mast Co.

203-484-0419

HELP WANTED MARINE POSITIONS AVAILABLE M Yacht Services, Annapolis, a large, full service marine company, is hiring additional highly experienced crew in the following fields: marine systems (mechanical & electrical), carpentry, sailboat rigging, fiberglass/gelcoat/painting. We offer excellent wages and benefits. Applicants must have in-depth knowledge of their trade. Must have a clean driving record. Email resumes to admin@myachtservices.net

MARINE SERVICES

203-787-2322 fairclough.com

Quest Marine Services

STORAGE TRAILER STORAGE SAFE, SECURE AND DRY IN S TA M F O R D Your boat and trailer in one affordable location Call Today for Availability

Professional Marine Surveyor Captain Eric Takakjian, Navtech, ABYC 35 Years of experience with Sail and Power vessels.

203-644-1554

VACATIONS

www.questmarineservices.com 508-789- 5901 drvquest@gmail.com

Key Largo Cottages @ Key Lime Sailing Club Paddle Boards • Kayaks Snorkeling • Fishing • Sailboats Manatees + More

All FREE with COTTAGE rental! ++ onsite Sailing School, Sailboat Rentals 22' to 68', Sunset Sails, Reef Explorations, Fishing trips, Mangrove Jungle tours.

Did someone Say DEAL?

Voyage

www.Keylimesailingclub.com 305-451-3438

Preparation Services

You Can Still Read Back Issues at windcheckmagazine.com

Offshore Race or Cruise Planning & Logistics Lee Reichart Mystic, Connecticut mysticvoyageprep@gmail.com

(614) 209-7579

find us on facebook

64 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com

advertisers index.

Aeroyacht Multihull 631-246-6448 aeroyacht.com.............................. 8

Mack Boring & Parts Co. 908-964-0700 marinedieseldealers.com..... 14

AkzoNobel akzonobel.com................................................................. 11

McMichael Yacht Brokers mcmichaelyachtbrokers.com.................. 2, 59 Mamaroneck, NY 914-381-5900 Newport, RI 401-619-5813

Barron’s Marine 718-885-9802 barronsmarine.com........................... 56 Milford Frostbite Association............................................................. 56 Blue Water Sailing School 800-255-1840 bwss.com........................... 51 Miller Marine Canvas 203-878-9291 millermarinecanvas.com........... 18 Boat Talent boattalent.com................................................................. 58 Nautical School 800-992-9951 nauticalschool.com............................ 43 Chart Metalworks 207-221-6807 chartmetalworks.com..................... 13 Newport Bermuda Race bermudarace.com......................................... 17 Consolidated Yachts NY 718-885-1900............................................. 55 Noank Village Boatyard 860-536-1770 noankvillageboatyard.com.... 15 Cooley Marine Management 203-873-6494 cooleymarine.com......... 33 Custom Marine Canvas 800-528-9262 custommarinecanvas.com...... 32

North Sails northsails.com................................................................... 3 Milford, CT 203-877-7621 Huntington, NY 631-421-7245

Defender 800-628-8225 defender.com............................................... 19

Norwalk Cove Marina 203-838-2326 norwalkcove.com.................... 44

Destino Yachts 860-395-9682 destinoyachts.com............................... 43

Ocean Link Inc 401-683-4434 oceanlinkinc.com.............................. 27

Doyle Sails doylesails.com.................................................................... 7 Bronx NY 800-237-4453 Huntington Station, NY 631-673-5055 East Greenwich, RI 800-238-0107 South Dartmouth, MA 508-992-6322 Salem, MA 978-740-5950

Performance Yacht Sales 860-467-4775 pyachtsales.com.................... 67

Fairhaven Shipyard 508-999-1600 fairhavenshipyard.com................. 31

Port Sailing School 914-355-5400 portsailing.com............................ 58 Prestige Yacht Sales, prestigeyachtsales.net...................................... 9, 58 Norwalk, CT 203-353-0373 Essex, CT 860-767-0528 Mystic, CT 860-245-5551

Hamilton 800-639-2715 hamiltonmarine.com.................................. 30 Sailcube (McLaughlin) 800-784-6478 optistuff.com.......................... 55 Headsync 401-619-3800 headsync.com............................................. 16 Sea Bags 888-210-4244 seabags.com.................................................. 13 Helly Hansen 401-849-6666 bigweathergear.com.............................. 43 Sparcraft America 704-597-1052 sparcraft-us.com............................. 41 Intensity Sails 401-738-8000 intensitysails.com................................. 49 Sperry Sails 508-748-2581 sperrysails.com......................................... 45 Island Nautical Canvas 888-8CANVAS islandnauticalcanvas.com..... 51 Joe Cooper Sailing 401-965-6006 joecoopersailing.com..................... 58

TGM Anchor Point Marina 203-363-0733........................................ 23 tgmanchorpointmarina.com

Landfall 800-941-2219 landfallnav.com............................................. 68

Thames Yacht Club thamesyc.org....................................................... 54

Lime Yacht Charters 631-743-5600 limeyachtcharters.com............... 25

Wichard 401-683-5055 wichardamerica.com..................................... 24 Willis Marine Center 631-421-3400 willismarine.com.................. 5, 59

windcheckmagazine.com

WindCheck Magazine

October 2017

65

on watch.

Bob Cullen

One of the driving forces behind the revitalization of Force 5 Fleet 32 at Thames Yacht Club in New London, CT, Bob Cullen also produces beautiful sails for that venerable 14-foot singlehander.

“I started sailing in 1962 through my father’s friend and co-worker Jim Brooks, who owned an 18-foot Harpoon centerboard sloop and gave us our first taste of sailing,” recalls Bob, who lives in the Lake Hayward section of East Haddam, CT with his wife Jeanie. “Shortly thereafter, my father, Bob Cullen, Sr., purchased Lightning #6115 and joined the Thames Yacht Club.

Soon, at 11 or 12 years old, I was taking the Lightning off the mooring without permission and sailing in the Thames River… until I was caught. My father was a professional musician, and he conveyed the notion that a sailboat is basically an instrument and should be treated as such.”

“After looking at the active fleets at the TYC and realizing the Blue Jay was unaffordable, I delivered the Hartford Courant for all of 8th grade and with my father matching what I’d saved, I purchased Penguin #6720, built by TYC’s Aborn ‘Denny’ Smith.

Racing the summer series against mostly adults proved to be a painful but rewarding learning experience thanks to all of my competitors, several Brouwers amongst them. After two years of taking a beating, I sold 6720 and purchased a brand new Austin Penguin (unfinished, of course) and bought Sandy Van Zandt’s personal, slightly used sail. I began to move to the front of the fleet, and by 1968 had won the TYC summer series and the Eastern Connecticut Yacht Racing Association Regatta. I quit sailing after high school graduation in ’69 to attempt to make a career as a musician, but got back into it when my best friend and crew Tom Oldroyd returned from the Vietnam War, and into the world of International 110s we went.”

“After five years of guitar slinging and travelling with a band my ears were shot, and I was told to find another profession immediately,” says Bob. “Because sailing was my only other real interest, I found myself at AMF Alcort/Paceship Yachts in Waterbury. As the only person with any sailing background in the shop, I found myself working under Paceship project engineer Joe Puccia, learning all phases of the recently acquired PY26 and PY23 lines and subsequently teaching new hires. Joe made it possible for me to purchase an engineering test boat (which would become the Force 5) and it was off to the races!”

“After Alcort’s demise, the F5 was picked up by Weeks Yacht Yard in Patchogue, NY, who built a small number of very pretty boats, relying on the sale of spare parts to recoup their sizable initial investment. It was just before Weeks’ involvement in the class

that I started producing sails for the class.

I’ve been the sailmaker for the Force 5 Class since ’94, and have served as Class President and Measurer. I work in Aerospace by day, and have kept Cullen Sailworks as a means to support my habit. To date, I’ve owned or sold over 115 Force 5s and still have eight in my yard…I’m trying to get a TV deal with Hoarders or Clean Sweep!”

Bob has won 11 Force 5 National Championships. “Some I feel I earned, some I felt lucky,” he says. “Other times I learned more by not winning, but that’s the way the sport plays out. After #10, I decided to step away for a while, but hopped back in for this summer’s North Americans, hosted by the TYC. I was just hoping to be competitive, but turned out to be just lucky enough!” (He won.)

Thames Yacht Club is blessed with an amazing white sand beach, which makes this friendly club a perfect venue for the Force 5 NAs. “The beach has tripled in size since my early teens,” says Bob, who joined the club in 1974 and served as Rear Commodore and Measurer in recent years. “The devotion of the TYC’s officers and volunteers is equally impressive, and the club has numerous activities besides racing.”

Bob and Jeanie also enjoy sailing their Nonsuch 30 Cat ‘n Mouse. “After a few Dark ‘n Stormies in a very close friend (and longtime F5 sailor) Byron Hicks’ camper at the Western Carolina Sailing Club, somehow the idea of purchasing his ‘79 Nonsuch 30 Classic was planted in my head,” he explains. “Never, ever, had I considered such a boat and virtually ignored them on the water, but after eight years of working on and sailing our ‘79 J/30 the idea of singlehanding a living room was appealing. So, without much delay (or permission), I sent a deposit to Byron to secure the boat, knowing (or at least hoping) I’d be able to sell the J/30 before I was found out. That wasn’t exactly the case, but I sold the J soon enough to prevent banishment to live on the Nonsuch!”

Bob steered Cat ‘n Mouse to victory in the Nonsuch class in the Off Soundings Club Fall Series last year, and topped the 14boat Nonsuch class in that event again last month. “Our intentions are to start cruising and seeing the sights while we’re still able,” he says. “We mostly do weekend trips to Watch Hill or Napatree, and on occasion to Block Island or Greenport. There’s still more work to be done to Cat ‘n Mouse before venturing too far.”

On the appeal of sailing, Bob relishes “a certain sense of freedom, utilizing and coping with the elements, and using skills gained not only on the racecourse against other like-minded competitors, but the conditions as they present themselves to you.

You’re always learning and re-learning…and let’s not forget satisfaction!!! I’m basically proof that a working stiff can compete in a so-called money sport, as long as you put in the effort…and it sure has been a lot of effort, to say the least! How many other sports can you remain competitive for 50+ years?” ■

66 October 2017 WindCheck Magazine

windcheckmagazine.com