Profiles

Navigating the Future

by Kimball Livingston, Posted September 7, 2011

Years ago, Stan Honey described how he could transform sailing on television by making racing tactics easier to “see” and understand—if he had the budget. It would be, as they say in the NFL, a “difference-maker,” just like the technology Honey’s company Sportvision created to electronically paint a yellow first-down line on a football fan’s television screen. Now the man

Hotseat Interview: Roy Disney

by David Schmidt, Posted October 12, 2009

Anyone who follows high-end sailing will be familiar with Roy Disney’s long line of Pyewacket’s, boats that have defined state-of-the-art sailing for more than a decade. But few people know the true extent of Disney’s love affair with the Transpac Race, an event that he has been active in for the past four decades. In fact, Disney has held the Transpac record twice, first with his Santa Cruz 70,

Charlie McKee Interview

by David Schmidt, Posted November 2, 2009

Moth Madness: A Q&A with Ace American Moth Sailor Charlie McKeeThe Moth class has a storied tradition dating back decades, but what’s kept it thriving is that it’s a development class, freeing designers to experiment with sailplans, rigs, hull shapes, and, recently foils. You’ve likely seen the amazing images of these tiny craft zooming around at astonishing speeds, with a wetted

The Wonderkind

by David Schmidt, Posted December 7, 2009

For most sailors, winning the right to compete in the Olympic Games is a dream come true, but for Anna Tunnicliffe-Funk, 27, getting to the games was only the start: the real bull's eye was winning a gold medal, a goal that she set for herself at the tender age of 12 just after immigrating to the U.S. with her parents from England. But in the 2008 Olympic Games in Qingdao, China,

Ruling the Rules of Physics

by Kimball Livingston, Posted January 5, 2010

Around Morrelli & Melvin's design office in Hungtinton Beach, it’s OK to let your mind wander from the long-legged catamarans the company is famous for. Down at the Coast Highway, the welcome sign says Huntington Beach: Surf City USA (hint hint). When Gino Morrelli finds Nat Shaver with a foiler Moth project on the computer screen, the “bust” is a laugh. Minutes before, jaywalking under a warm

SAIL's Top 40 Sailors who Made a Difference

by Chip Lawson, Posted February 1, 2010

Put two or more sailors in a room and ask them for an opinion on any sailing-related topic, and before you know it you’ll have an argument. Ask a group of SAIL editors for a list of the most influential people in the sailing world and before you know it, you have a brawl.As SAIL magazine marks its 40th anniversary, we decided to highlight the 40 sailors who’ve had the

Sir Robin Weighs In

by MacDuff Perkins, Posted April 6, 2010

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is sitting in the lobby of New York’s Algonquin Hotel. He's in town to receive an award from the Cruising Club of America, and he's telling me a story about his encounter with the American astronaut Buzz Aldrin.“He’s a marvelous man, brilliant,” Sir Robin says. “You meet him and you realize that this man was born to be an astronaut. Everything about him, from the

Sunsets: Peter "Spike" Doriean

by Sail Staff, Posted April 8, 2010

The international sailing world was stunned on tuesday April 6 2010 by the news of the sudden death of Peter ‘Spike’ Doriean, 38, one of Australia’s best known professional sailors and one of the nicest guys any of us have had the privilege of knowing.Trimmer on Movistar in the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race and member of the News Corp team in 2001-2002, he was also a regular in the TP 52

Kenny Speaks

by Kimball Livingston, Posted April 12, 2010

Little-known fact: Puma's store in Boston, the U.S. stopover for the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, is now the sports apparel maker's hottest store.I got that small but meaningful tidbit out of a sit-down with Puma Ocean Racing skipper Ken Read on the final day of competition at Les Voile de St. Barth, where Read spent the week aboard David George's winning maxi sloop, Rambler. With Puma

Swiped my Dolly

by Adam Cort, Posted April 15, 2010

Sailors have long sought to express their love of boats and the water in song, but few have done it as well, or with as much originality, as Dayton Colie of Charleston, South Carolina.A lifelong sailor and founder of what he describes as the “Sailcore” movement, Colie recently released his second album, “Somebody Swiped my Dolly,” a collection of melodies paying homage to everything from