Profiles

Rich Wilson Honored in Boston, Considers Future

by MacDuff Perkins, Posted April 21, 2010

Over 300 supporters came out to honor the American skipper Rich Wilson on on April 7th for his contribution to American sailing and youth education. Wilson, the 60-year old skipper of Great American III and math teacher from Boston, is best known for his participation in the 2008-9 Vendee Globe race, where he finished 9th after 121 days. But the skipper's

The Multigenerational

by David Schmidt, Posted June 8, 2010

Few sailors are as genetically predisposed to sailing as Andrew Campbell, 26, of San Diego. Both sets of grandparents were E-scow sailors, and his parents—both active J/105 sailors—are highly encouraging of their son’s Olympic dreams. Andrew’s father, Bill Campbell, has sailed in three America’s Cups (1983 with Courageous, 1992 with America3 and 1995 with Nippon

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

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).

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

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

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

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

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

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