In choosing this month’s cover photograph, as usual, the WindCheck team had a lot of very good options. When presented with Kerstin’s (Kerstin Fairbend, WindCheck’s Graphic Designer) first choice, part of me groaned. Again?! “Seriously, how many times has that boat been on the cover of WindCheck?”(WindCheck hat for the first one who provides the correct answer). “It seems like every month there is a fantastic photo of her submitted for a cover or a story!” Zep (Chris Szepessy, Editor of WindCheck) said in an almost begrudging way, “But she is beautiful...and what a shot!” 

My father was an artisan. He loved craft and beauty. So much so that as a kid, if I wanted to fashion a new Laser tiller in his shop, I had to be sure to cut and drill the Montreal hockey stick and attach the PVC tube for a tiller extension when he was not around. Otherwise, while he might appreciate my logic for the weight-to-strength ratio of those laminated Montreal shafts, he would be far more concerned with why I had not chosen mahogany. And which plane was I going to use to round the edges before sanding them? And wasn’t I going to varnish it (four coats minimum, seven coats recommended)? And when did I need it by? And no, today was definitely not going to happen.

“The Personal Locator Beacon – It Locates You!” (From the Captain of the Port, May 2018) is a good article, but 12 nautical miles by 12 nautical miles is not 12 square nautical miles but 144 square miles – a real lot of water to cover! All the more reason to get a PLB if you are going out there.

Lloyd Herman, via email

What the heck is JYRA? Well, at one time it stood for Junior Yacht Racing Association and has since been renamed Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound. We had a reunion of JYRA sailors in 2009, and we have been encouraged to do an encore performance. Over 125 showed up in ’09.

What good is WindCheck without the tide tables? Just kidding – mag looks good.

Tom Pilkington, Prestige Yacht Sales

What happened to the tide charts? WindCheck is my primary source for local tides. I dog ear the page and keep a copy on my chart table for instant access. No computer or thick, orange book to fool with. Please put them back in. That said, I have been reading WindCheck (pick it up at Mystic Shipyard or Willow Point Marina in Mystic, CT) for many years and always enjoy it. Keep up the great work. 

Greg Potts, S/V Synergy

Publishers response: This has been a lively topic since the May issue, when the tide tables did not appear in the magazine for the first time in 16 years. Many people have commented negatively, while an equal number have said, “Thank you, I have two devices on my person that tell me the tides!” Well, we are listening and aim to please. While the Tide Tables are not in this June issue, we have a plan to fix this. Stay tuned!

Well, that was brutal. After a teasing thaw in February, enough to even get in a first round of golf, March and April have not been much fun for us in the Northeast. And while this is typical, it’s definitely upset some schedules as we prepare for the season. Hopefully, some of you got south to Sperry Charleston Race Week or further south to race in Miami or the Caribbean for a break! Now the sun is working and it’s going to be full on to get ready. May is going to be very busy regardless of the weather.

By the time you read this, hopefully the string of nor’easters in March is just a bad memory.  The April sun has melted the snow away, and the kids are actually going to school again on a regular basis. For me, it has truly been a period of reawakening. I have been working with the dedicated WindCheck team to carry on the sixteen year tradition of this great publication and been scheming on how we might improve it for the future. 

A poem by Storm Trysail Club LIS Station Captain Buttons Padin

In Marblehead they gather at Maddie’s,

They meet at The Boat Yard in Naptown,

In Newport, STC goes to IYAC,

But we’ve not found a home on the Sound!

I’ve had a difficult time putting this month’s Editor’s Log together. Ironically, I am often forced to leave this space blank until the myriad other items on my monthly list have been checked off. Yet I’ve not been struggling with time management, but instead how best to explain all of the emotions that are going through my head at this time.

Dear Sailing Community,

The overwhelming response and generosity to Jim Hahn’s GoFundMe page (gofundme.com/JimHahn) has been a powerful cog in Jim’s recovery. Watching the fund jump to over $100,000 in under 48 hours and reading the thoughtful comments put Jim and his family into full-send mode. 

Jim’s catastrophic skiing accident on February 3 left him paralyzed from the waist down, and a GoFundMe page was quickly established to ensure that he can one day return to his life as the well-known energetic Ronstan traveling salesman, a sailor with a wealth of nautical knowledge and jokes, and the consummate cheerleader for his family (his wife Alix is the two-time International Women’s Keelboat champion and his son Nick is an American Yacht Club Optimist sailor).

Jim is already making great progress in physical therapy and while the Hahn’s course has been changed forever, the wave of support from the sailing community – well beyond what we originally hoped – is helping them navigate their new reality. Please know your good vibes and well wishes are fueling Jim’s recovery and giving them all the strength to get through today and look towards future days on the water.

With great appreciation and of course, Send it!

Carolyn Russell, Meghan Hopkins, and Jennifer Leary