Regattas

The New York Yacht Club has finalized the list of yacht clubs it plans to invite to the second running of its biennial Invitational Cup, scheduled for September 10-17, 2011. In all, the club will include 19 teams from 14 nations in the event. In addition to the NYYC team, there will be three other U.S. teams. These three teams will be selected based on their performance at a qualifying regatta

For many of the crew—myself included—it was the stuff of dreams. Thundering past the committee boat was the Wally 82 Highland Fling. Off in the distance, the Reichel/Pugh 90 Rambler threw in a quick gybe as the R/P 75 Titan 15 suddenly appeared from under our genoa, her razor-sharp bow slicing the cobalt waves. It was day two of the 30th annual St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. Skies were blue, it

After years of talking about it, a group of members at the Palmer Cove Yacht Club in Salem, Massachusetts, finally decided we had to do Key West Race Week before we all got too old. The group included Joe Naroski, 66, John Burke, 71, Steve Kelley, 61, and me, now 64. We later brought in a young whippersnapper, Joe Grenier, 55. All of us have boats, but Naroski is the only serious racer.We

In 2004, SAIL named Charlotte Harbor, Florida, one of its top 10 places to sail. Two short months later, fierce 120-knot winds from Hurricane Charley destroyed many homes, boats and businesses in the area.Now, five and a half years afterward, the mangroves have returned, and thanks to the community’s remarkable determination, Charlotte Harbor is becoming a better sailing destination than

The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center (MCSC), perched on the shores of Lake Michigan, is celebrating the completion of a new 6,000 ft2 building that includes everything from expanded classroom facilities to indoor plumbing. Nice!Founded in 1979, MCSC offers sailing classes for adults and sailing programs for at-risk kids. It maintains a fleet of about 75 boats, comprised of everything

From May 28 to June 3, the University of Wisconsin at Madison will host the 2010 ICSA Spring Nationals, college sailing’s pinnacle regatta. Over the course of 10 days, Lake Mendota will see fierce competition in three back-to-back events: women’s racing, team racing and the collegiate co-ed championships.400 sailors on 59 teams from 18 schools will participate, with hundreds more

The 2010 BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival, as it’s more properly called, falls in the height of the Caribbean racing season, a couple of weeks after the Heineken regatta in St Maarten and a couple of weeks before Antigua Sailing Week. Plenty of serious racers do all three regattas, and probably also the Rolex regatta in St Thomas and the Heineken regatta in Puerto Rico, which are also

Earlier today, the IMOCA 60 Estrella Damm was almost assured of victory as it closed in on the finish of its NY-BCN record passage, between New York and Barcelona, Spain.Crewmembers Alex Pella, Pepe Ribes and Stan Schreyer are hoping to finish this afternoon with the help of a thermal breeze, which they were worried will drop with the sun this evening.Currently, they have

After riding an express train across the Atlantic, the two Open 60s vying to establish a new sailing record between New York and Barcelona, Spain, have slowed to a crawl in the Mediterranean.Estrella Damm was the first to enter the Straits of Gibraltar, with W Hotels about 130 miles behind. However, W Hotels has since cut the deficit in half.Although

The three sailors aboard the Open 60 W Hotels were dealt another blow early this morning when they broached after being struck by a large wave. The trio had been waiting for an opportunity to re-ship its port rudder, which had only recently been repaired.Although there were no injuries, the boat is now over 100 miles behind its rival Estrella Damm, which crewmembers Alex