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Editor’s note: Our friend Bruce Kirby, a man who arguably did more to advance the growth and popularity of sailing than anyone else, crossed the bar on July 19, 2021 at age 92. A longtime resident of Rowayton, CT, Bruce had been working on his memoir with his friend Mark Smith of nearby Norwalk for two and a half years before his passing. “Our collaboration was challenging and spirited,” says Mark. “It’s been a long road and…

Imagine this. You are looking at a boating industry magazine and see an article from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. It reads: “Powerboat sales are still booming in 2021. Retail unit sales of new powerboats in February 2021 were up 34% compared to the same period last year.” Everyone saw it. No one saw it coming: The Great Powerboat Drought of ’21. In the year of COVID, sales of small boats and engines were off the charts…

Veronica Brown is the Director of Experiences and Events at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard in Newport, RI. We chatted over coffee at Belle’s in early November. Coop: Veronica, thanks for the coffee. Where did you grow up, and was sailing a ‘thing’ in your family? Veronica Brown: I grew in Bath Maine. My dad was in the Merchant Marine and mum was a politician, so despite that background, I did not grow up sailing. Coop: Hummm, OK,…

An interview with Butch Ulmer This is the second installment of our conversation with Charles “Butch” Ulmer about the history of the company founded by his father in City Island, New York in 1946. Part 1 can be found at windcheckmagazine.com/article/75-years-of-uk-sailmakers/. WindCheck: So, you started working full time at Charles Ulmer, Inc. in 1965… Butch Ulmer: Yes. I had worked during the summers in high school and when I returned home after leaving the Navy, I went…

Story & photos by Greg Anthony We had just crossed the finish line. As I rounded the boat up for the 5-mile beat home, the elation of saving our time on “Z” and flat out finishing ahead of all our other fleet members turned to dread. It would be dark in 15 minutes, it was blowing 15, and the Mt. Hope Bridge, 4.5 miles to windward, was disappearing in the approaching fog bank. Lights on the bridge…

When you ask one of “The Women” to do an interview and she says, “Sure, come on over,” well you do. “Over” in this case is the west facing deck, overlooking the Sakonnet River, in Tiverton, Rhode Island of the home of Joan Touchette Porter and family. Coop: Thanks for the coffee. Joan Porter: (Laughs) It’s easier that way. Coop: Was sailing a “thing” in your family as a kid? JP: (Pointing to a ramshackle 30-footer on…

An interview with Butch Ulmer If you’re reading this magazine, there’s a good chance you’ve sailed on a boat with sails built by the company known today as UK Sailmakers. Founded in 1946 in City Island, New York by Charles “Buster” Ulmer as Charles Ulmer, Inc., UK Sailmakers is one of the world’s oldest groups of sail lofts. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Charles “Butch” Ulmer to discuss his father’s founding of the company…

By Roger Vaughan Editor’s note: On August 14, 1979, a rogue storm in the Irish Sea overtook the 303 yachts competing in the Fastnet Race. Twenty-four boats were abandoned including five that sank, and fifteen sailors lost their lives. Roger “Fingers” Vaughan was aboard Jim Kilroy’s 79-foot maxi sloop Kialoa. Driving was exhausting. The helmsman needed encouragement. He faced painfully into blowing scud that stung like sand, looking for the optimum path through confused seas that lifted…

  Editor’s note: Our friends at the Herreshoff Marine Museum & America’s Cup Hall of Fame in Bristol, Rhode Island are celebrating their Golden Jubilee year – the 50th anniversary of the museum’s founding, and WindCheck is honored to be the official Jubilee Media Partner. We’re changing course for this month’s Golden Jubilee feature with a look at a few of the museum’s countless archival images. Most of the photographs shown here appeared in The Chronicle, a paper newsletter…

For those seeking inspiration for women in sailing, one might do worse than look at Robbie Benjamin, longtime presence around the Newport, Rhode Island waterfront, and one of only two women commodores of a yacht club named for a woman, the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. I spoke with Commodore Benjamin at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard in early August. Coop: Was sailing a thing in your family? Robbie Benjamin: Well, being around boats, yes. My family roots are…