Sail Magazine

by David Schmidt

David Schmidt, a SAIL editor-at-large, is a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest from SAIL's Boston offices

Riders on the Storm

by David Schmidt, Posted May 24, 2010

To sail to windward in heavy weather, you need a flat-cut headsail. A heavily reefed roller genoa typically is anything but flat. The draft in the sail migrates aft as the sail is reefed, and you end up with a baggy sail that presses the boat down and won’t allow it to point.One solution is to drop your genoa and hoist a storm jib. Another is to set a storm jib on a detachable inner

Landing School 30

by David Schmidt, Posted April 28, 2010

Most production boats are conceived with a design brief from a builder who has a targeted market in mind. Not so the Landing School 30 (LS-30). It’s built by students at a non-profit boatbuilding and design college. The Landing School and its resident designer, Steve Dalzell, design and build boats as part of the curriculum: selling them is an afterthought. As a result, only two or three LS30s

Push Button Grinding

by David Schmidt, Posted March 1, 2010

Like thousands of other sailors, I scoffed at powered winches until a rock-climbing injury reduced my right shoulder to an arthritic mess. So, while I love to spin handles, I’ve realized that powered winches are my friends. And I’m not alone. Most medium-to-large cruising boats I saw at last year’s United States Sailboat Show at Annapolis either came fitted with some (or all) powered winches, or

Crucial Equipment

by David Schmidt, Posted February 11, 2010

Chandleries are rife with good folding sailing knives. Selecting the right one often comes down to utility and taste. While the latter quality is subjective, utility is easy to quantify. I’ve been using the Gerber Crucial Tool for several months and I’ve been impressed with its clever design, fantastic utility, and small size and minimal weight (just 5 ounces). While a sharp, locking blade is

The Wunderkind

by David Schmidt, Posted January 26, 2010

For most sailors, just competing in the Olympic Games is a dream come true, but for Anna Tunnicliffe, 27, getting to the Games was only the start. The real dream was winning a gold medal, a lofty goal Anna set for herself at the tender age of 12 after immigrating to the U.S. from England with her parents. Anna’s gold in the Laser Radial class in the 2008 Olympic Games at Qingdao, China, was the

2010 Pittman Innovation Awards

by David Schmidt, Posted January 26, 2010

Sailors today live in an era replete with new equipment and innovation. Looking back on the state-of-the-art in February of 1970—when SAIL’s first issue was unveiled—you’d find aluminum was still considered a pretty high-tech material. Wooden spars were still relatively common. Electronics were primitive: LORAN was top dog, and plenty of cruisers used radio direction finders when navigating out

Boxing Day Bash

by David Schmidt, Posted December 21, 2009

For Australia’s hard-core sailors, the question isn’t whether you’re going, but how many you’ve sailed (so far). Even among the most hardcore of this decidedly hardcore country, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, or “The Hobart” as it’s known, represents a serious challenge. The brochure goes something like this: start on Boxing Day (December 26) on one of the world’s most brilliant starting

The Tradition

by David Schmidt, Posted December 15, 2009

A Look at the 2009 Sydney-Hobart RaceAmongst Australia’s hard-core sailors, the question isn’t whether you’re going. It’s a question of how many you’ve sailed (so far). Indeed, amongst the most hardcore of this decidedly hardcore country, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, or “The Hobart” as it’s known, represents a serious challenge. The brochure goes something like this: Start on

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,

2009 Holiday Gift Guide

by David Schmidt, Posted December 1, 2009

Finding the perfect gift for the sailor who’s got it all can be as tricky as trimming a mainsail in an oscillating breeze while sailing through sharp square waves. Get it right and your “skipper” will be happy; bugger it even a little bit and the old salt with a careful eye might subtly let you know that your efforts need to be stepped up a bit. To help avoid this dilemma, SAIL searches