The fleet left the warmth of New Zealand for the chill of the Southern Ocean.

Weighing on the sailors’ minds was the fact that they are embarking on the longest and toughest leg of the 2011-12 race - a 6,705 nautical mile race dodging icebergs in the Southern Ocean and rounding the notorious Cape Horn. 

“Oakcliff looks like something that I have been wanting to attend my whole sailing life. I just hadn’t found it until now.” So wrote one applicant to the Acorn Program at Oakcliff Sailing Center, a non-profit sailing center in Oyster Bay, NY. He has yet to attend this summer’s program, but his comment is indicative of a gap in the growth path of American sailors.

SHU Sailing, which comprises both a recreational sailing club and an intercollegiate racing team at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, has partnered with Stamford Yacht Club in Stamford, CT to create a new Corinthian division for the 78th Vineyard Race, which starts August 31. 

One of America’s flagship regattas celebrated its 25th anniversary the week of January 15 - 20 with a new title sponsor, and sailors on 119 IRC, PHRF and One-Design boats reveled in ideal conditions at Quantum Key West 2012, with the exception of light, fickle winds that forced the cancellation of racing on Wednesday. Despite the fact that fewer boats from the Northeast finished at the top of their divisions than in recent years, one team hailing from Newport, RI and competing in the Farr 40 One-Design class pulled off what has to be one of the most remarkable comebacks in a quarter-century of racing in the Conch Republic.

It all started with a simple, “Hey, would you like to sail Key West Race Week?” Bora Gulari, former Moth World Champion and 2009 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, was looking to find someone on the small size to round out his boat and complete his team. It was then that he asked his friend Sarah Callahan, the sister of Roger Williams University Head Sailing Coach Amanda Callahan, for some help and from there I was hooked. Having never sailed a Melges 24, been to Key West, or ever met any of my soon-to-be teammates, I surprisingly said, “Sure, it sounds like fun.” 

I had one of the best seats for one of the greatest sailing events ever- the 1987 America’s Cup in Fremantle, Western Australia. I was the Tender Driver for Dennis Conner and Stars and Stripes. It’s cliché but true; it’s hard to believe that February 4, 1987 was really 25 years ago. I recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of our victory with some of my teammates in Newport, while some of the others gathered at the San Diego Yacht Club. We shared our reflections and memories of the event while watching Gary Jobson’s retrospective on the TV.

Participating in an event like that is obviously a life-altering experience. The special bond we forged as teammates is something very unique that we’ll share for the rest of our lives. I could wax poetically about the sights and sounds, but if you caught Gary’s production on ESPN last month you got a look back at what is thought by many to be the “pinnacle of sailing.” If you’re too young to remember the event, take it from me - every bit of it was truly spectacular for a hundred different reasons, many of which have little to do with the sailing. We had no idea what was going on back home while we were “Down-Under,” but it turns out that people who didn’t know port from starboard were up all night watching sailboat races on TV!

After several days of banging into it, you’re feeling a little weary and a trifle sore. Then Gibbs Hill Lighthouse rises above the blue-green sea, and, almost tasting the rum punch, you sail a little harder. You’re almost there, at Bermuda.

I’ve raced to Bermuda nine times and written the race’s history (A Berth to Bermuda), and there are very few tests of blue-water seamanship as iconic, popular, and accessible as the 635-mile Newport Bermuda Race. 

The six Volvo Ocean Race teams made a rapid return to tough offshore conditions encountering solid breezes and steep waves up to twenty feet soon after leaving Sanya, China on their way to Auckland, New Zealand on the second stage of Leg 4.

After a slow start in the lightest of zephyrs, the breeze and sea state quickly ramped up, enabling the boats to power their way towards the Strait of Luzon at speeds up to 20 knots. Condi-tions on board have been brutal as the crews struggle to control their Volvo Open 70s and avoid teeth-rattling crash landings off the backs of the monster waves.