Hey, you – turn around and look behind you!

A popular film reference is often used while boating. The scene in Caddyshack when Rodney Dangerfield’s character Al Czervik tells his captain, “Hey, Swanson! Move over, I’m drivin!” and then grabs the helm of his large sportfisher Seafood and wreaks havoc in a busy harbor is certainly funny, but what about when it happens to you? How often have you been aboard your boat when someone said, “Hold on, here comes Rodney!”?

The captain of a popular charter schooner on the Connecticut River believes such irresponsibility is a growing problem. He recently said, “You should do an article about how boaters on this river need to learn the Rules of the Road and how to control their wakes.” He’s sailed all over the world, and in his opinion Northeast boaters are among the most thoughtless and inconsiderate he’s ever encountered. Yikes!

Review by Colleen Perry

This is one of those exquisite books rarely seen in today’s world of digital printing. You’ll want to remove the dust cover and place it proudly on your coffee table, where, instead of gathering dust, it will beckon to be picked up and relished time and again. For this is not the mere telling of a how the Paine twins, Chuck and Art, grew up in Jamestown, RI, but, in a sense, the reader will find their own stories as they turn the pages.

Throughout the telling, Chuck admits to being lucky. “By the time I was ten years old, I could freehand the profile of a yacht...for 40 years I had the good sense never to stop.” He gives credit to those who, along the way, participated in his luck: Bill Berky, who took the twins under his wing and introduced them to sailing at the East Greenwich Yacht Club; Charles (Chick) Street who mentored the boys, teaching them everything he knew about boat designs; his years working for Dick Carter where he learned that, “if you design racing yachts, you have to be able to make them win;” to British marketing guru Peter Gregory who “sold the sizzle, not the steak”; Tom Morris, a great builder who “made his (Chuck’s) designs look good”; countless others who contributed to his success; and his wife Debby who endured and stood by his side with encouragement through the good and difficult times.

I am pleased to introduce myself this month as your new Captain of The Port. My name is Captain Joe Vojvodich and I relieved Captain Daniel Ronan as Sector Commander at CG Sector Long Island Sound on June 21. I moved to Connecticut with my family after serving as the Acquisition Program Manager for the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance projects at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and am thrilled to be back in New England! Over the next three years, I look forward to opportunities to serve the great citizens of Connecticut and Long Island and to working with Wind- Check’s readers in the Coast Guard’s efforts to promote boating safety. Thank you for your support; let’s keep working together to keep ourselves and our fellow mariners safe on the water. Now for this month’s article...

In the June issue, I wrote about the two biggest influencers in a young sailor’s life—parents and coaches. There are other important influencers who deserve a column for themselves. They are the members of the United States Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG). Thanks goodness they have an acronym, because that’s a long name to type each time.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work closely with the US Olympic Sailing Team for over 10 years—first as a sponsor and then as a fundraiser. The team is made up of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, as well as the Paralympians and Paralympic hopefuls since those Games added sailing as a medal sport in 2000. They are one terrific group of people.

Easing himself onto the beige, plush sofa, David Hirsch takes a swig of his Corona and glances around. At first it would appear “Hirsch,” as he asked me to call him, is tense and unsteady. In fact, he is constantly aware, taking in and measuring all of his surroundings. It is in his nature and training, after all. After working for North Sails for more four decades as a designer of racing sails, he is anything but unprepared. Hirsch, 62, has had experience sailing his entire life. Chockfull of sailing knowledge and history, he is a walking oceanic almanac of the past 50 years; his incredible sailing anecdotes mesh into a history lesson as he recounts memorable moments and experiences.

At an even six feet, Hirsch appears like a typical, weathered sailor. His windswept grey hair is pushed off his face, propped back by a pair of vintage Oakley sunglasses. Laugh lines and crows feet crease his weathered face, his skin tan and tough from constant exposure to the elements. His sharp, clear blue eyes, deeply set in by his bushy eyebrows, pierce into you, glinting with expression. He is not a man of many words, but his eyes alone could tell a story. From his beat up Levis to his North Sails fleece, Hirsch’s clothes embody his “salty sea-dog” persona. Propping his foot on his knee, he takes a quick glance at me before beginning his story.

I need to cruise more.

The other day I was on the dock at the club and my friend Stephen came by to say hello. He’s a jocular guy who always has something nice to say and a short, interesting story to tell. Stephen had just gotten back from a long weekend trip to Block Island where he’d ‘recharged’ his batteries. He explained that while he was there, this time aboard a friend’s boat, he rowed ashore and was relaxing on the beach. Resting, with a large straw hat tipped over his head, he heard a passerby nearing. He looked up and said hello, and a conversation ensued.

Stephen didn’t get into the details of what he and the passerby spoke of, how long the conversation lasted, or even if they were male of female. He simply said that boating people and island people are nice and that it’s a refreshing and special feeling to be able to say hello to someone and get a kind response.

Review by Lucy Alexander

Al Trescot is much more than a local photographer, he is a storyteller, capturing the beauty of Muscongus Bay and snippets of life in strong, vibrant color – a strength and vibrancy belonging to the people as much as the land and water. With the exception of a few words by the author and the forward by Robert Ives, this is a simple book of pictures…telling a powerful story.

This article brings me to the end of my three-year tour as the Sector Commander for Long Island Sound, serving the mariners of Connecticut and the north and south shores of Long Island. On June 21, Captain Joe Vojvodich relieved me of command as I retire from the Coast Guard. These past 26 years have been incredibly fulfilling for me. I want to give a heartfelt thank you to all the WindCheck readers for your support of me, the Coast Guard, and your fellow mariners. As professional mariners with a penchant for safety, you have made my job very easy. BZ! Semper Paratus!

You may remember telling your parents, “But the other kids were doing it!” That excuse never got you out of trouble...and it won’t work in front of an Admiralty or Maritime Board either! But, this time you may be looking for an excuse for following the rules – when you should have broken them!