Regattas

The 2010 Heineken High Performance Dinghy Open (HPDO) regatta will take place October 9-10 at the American Yacht Club in Rye, New York. Since its creation in 2004, the two-day regatta regularly attracts some of the best performance sailors from North America and Europe.Approximately 120 boats are expected to race this year, up 20 from the 2009. Dinghy classes invited to participate

“Orcas! Two-o’clock!” The call from the on-deck watch filters into the thin, relative warmth of the cabin on JAM, John McPhail’s J/160. I look through the cold, spitting rain at the sea’s tumultuous surface. It takes a few moments to spot the orcas’ distinctive white spots amid a sea of whitecaps. Then three majestic mammals appear, obviously interested in the parade of raceboats

On Memorial Day weekend in 1972, four sailing buddies came up with a great idea. “Let’s sail from Hyannis to Nantucket, spend the long weekend there, then sail back—and let’s race.”It was so much fun they decided to do it again, inviting other friends to join in. By 1978, there were more than 75 boats on the starting line, and the newly established race committee added a lay-day in

If the crew of an ocean racer sails on its stomach and a happy, well-fed crew is a skipper’s strongest asset, then the cook is as crucial as the navigator.We asked some competitors in this year’s Newport-Bermuda race how to keep a crew well fed and ready to go. All had years of experience provisioning for offshore racing, leading to as many galley philosophies as there were boats.On

n early 2007, I sat down with the offshore committee of the Newport Yacht Club and, after much debate, was told that the 21-foot Mini 6.50—the same boat used for Europe’s Mini Transat Race from France to Brazil—would be granted its own division in that year’s Bermuda 1-2 Race.Since then, the number of Minis actively sailing in the United States has doubled, to about 30 boats. Although this

“Serious racing, serious fun…” The Snipe class motto neatly sums up the appeal of this ubiquitous dinghy. Fifteen and a half feet long, light and uncomplicated, easy to trailer and launch, the Snipe is a boat that never gets old. Go to any Snipe regatta and you’ll see septuagenarians mixing it up with teenagers, pro sailors battling it out with Sunday-afternoon amateurs.The boat’s

Better known for its skiing, Park City, Utah, has been the site of a recent upsurge in sailing activity on the Jordanelle Reservoir—elevation 6,200 feet—about five miles outside town.The Park City Sailing Association (PCSA) got its start in 2008 when a bunch of transplants decided they wanted to do some Laser sailing. The group went on to buy a small fleet of boats and organize training

No matter where you go in the world it’s “never like this” when they switch the weather on. So it goes with distance events as well. The 2010 edition of the Singlehanded Transpac has been slow going much of the time, with difficult seas and opposing sets kicked up by distant storms. A thirteen-day crossing is certainly not the best-possible time for a

It was a slow start for the 183-boat fleet as nearly 2,000 sailors began the 635-mile race across the Gulf Steam from Newport to Bermuda on June 18. With 16 classes underway, this year’s Newport-Bermuda race boasted the third largest fleet in the race’s 104-year history.By sunset on the second day, Alex Jackson’s 100ft maxi sloop Speedboat took the lead from Tom Hill’s Titan

No matter where you go in the world it’s “never like this” when they switch the weather on. So it goes with distance events as well. The 2010 edition of the Singlehanded Transpac has been slow going much of the time, with difficult seas and opposing sets kicked up by distant storms. A thirteen-day crossing is certainly not the best-possible time for a