Profiles

Alessandro the Great

by Charles J. Doane, Posted March 10, 2011

Sailing around the world in a modified 21-foot Mini Transat 6.5 to set a world record for the smallest boat to circumnavigate non-stop is one thing. Doing the part around Cape Horn with a jury-rigged mast is quite another. In recognition of these impressive feats, the Cruising Club of America is awarding its Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy to Franco-Italian solo sailor Alessandro di Benedetto in a

The Stan Honey How-To

by Kimball Livingston, Posted February 3, 2011

The giant trimaran that holds the round-the-world sailing record, with the speed to hop from weather system to weather system, and the even larger—suddenly crippled—trimaran that is out there now trying to beat that record . . .“Are fragile,” says Stan Honey. “The premise is to build a china cup that is extraordinarily fast in flat water and 25 knots of breeze. You use the boat’s

Ryan Breymaier Takes on the World

by Chris Getman, Posted December 22, 2010

“I feel like you have to start somewhere,” says Ryan Breymaier. For the 35 year-old Annapolis native, that somewhere is Barcelona, Spain, followed by 25,000 nautical miles around the globe through some of the planet’s most treacherous waters, with just one other soul aboard.On December 31, 2010 Breymaier began the second edition of the Barcelona World Race (BWR), sailing with Boris

Kimo on the Cup

by MacDuff Perkins, Posted November 8, 2010

In the wake of the 34th America’s Cup announcements, SAIL talks to Kimo Worthington, 6-time AC veteran and now the General Manager for PUMA’s Volvo Ocean Race team.Q: Kimo, the America’s Cup announcement detailed specific changes to the format of the race aimed at putting the Cup “back at the pinnacle of our sport.” What, in your opinion, are some of the steps that got the Cup

Save Sailing

by Adam Cort, Posted October 4, 2010

It’s been a year since Nicholas Hayes published Saving Sailing: The story of choices, families, time commitments and how we can create a better future. Since the book came out, Hayes has spoken with sailors across the country about his ideas. We recently caught up with him to find out what he’s learned during his travels.Have you found out anything new about sailing in the

A Brand of Brothers

by Kimball Livingston, Posted September 21, 2010

I am pretty sure the Johnstone brothers never imagined creating anything so very successful as the J/Boats, Inc., that we know today. But imagining success on some level—that would come naturally to Rod, the designer and to Bob, the marketer. Long before J/Boats became the Johnstone family business, sailing was a family passion. Then came a case of left brain meeting right brain and—Don’t

Robin Lee Graham on the Latest Teen Circumnavs

by Michael Petrie, Posted July 22, 2010

In July 1965, at the age of 16, Robin Lee Graham set out on a 33,000-mile, five-year circumnavigation aboard his Bill Lapworth-designed 24ft sloop Dove. National Geographic magazine famously covered the voyage, which spawned two best-selling books—Dove and Home Is The Sailor—a children’s book and a 1974 Hollywood movie, The Dove.In recent years, another

Speed to Burn

by Stan Schreyer, Posted June 23, 2010

We were preparing to pass Ambrose Light, the traditional starting point for record attempts from New York City. The wind was gusting over 25 knots, and we had reefed the mainsail and were flying a mid-sized jib. Bearing away to cross the starting line, our boatspeed shot up to 20 knots—and pretty much stayed there for the next four days. I’ve done plenty of sailing over the years—multihull

RPGs and the Big Ocean

by Kimball Livingston, Posted June 16, 2010

Walking toward his ride for the solo Transpac, Ronnie Simpson slowed us down to point out that the mast of his 30-footer is taller than the mast of the 35-footer next door. I like this guy. He made one fast passage through youth—Enlisted in the Marines. Got blown up by an RPG in a firefight outside Fallujah at age 19. Medi-vac’d out in a coma. Slowly, eventually, recovered (enough).

Sunderland Found

by Adam Cort, Posted June 11, 2010

Sixteen-year-old solo sailor Abby Sunderland has been located adrift in the Indian Ocean and a French fishing boat is on its way to rescue her.According to Sunderland’s family, an Australian search and rescue team has made contact with Abby and she is not injured. Her boat Wild Eyes, however, has been dismasted, and Australian authorities estimate it could be another day before