Coop's Corner

I have not told anyone about the theme of this month’s essay, nor have I asked if it’s OK to write on the subject. I have thought about one or the other or both for about a week. All the while, each afternoon we gather to sail, watching, mostly, the smiles and good cheer returning. For most, not all, for some still show the pain they carry. I’m fortunate in that I have a lifetime of hiding…

I usually have a decent idea of what I want to talk about here, a couple weeks before putting bytes to silicon. This month’s column was intended to be on the memories we get from our sailing. This is, after all, the biggest and most important takeaway from our sailing adventures. But then there was Pen Duick losing a hand overboard nano-seconds after starting the last leg of the Ocean Global Race, aka Whitbread Redux. This was…

Not necessarily because I come from a family of scribes, though it cannot hurt, I have been musing on writing a book. For some time in fact. One wise wag once remarked, “If you’re going to be silly enough to want to write a book, write about what you know.” Following that wisdom narrows my content field dramatically. Astrophysics is out, though my uncle was just that. Economics? Nah. I’ll write about Sailing. The boats, the adventures,…

By now, hopefully everyone who is engaged by personal challenges, long distance offshore sailing, and helping foster more women in sailing are among the 323,000 followers (as of 1 February) of Cole Brauer on Instagram (instagram.com/colebraueroceanracing). If not, ya outta be. The development – and considerable success of – solo around the world non-stop for the everyman and woman races, like The Golden Globe Redux and Global Solo Challenge (Cole’s race), are starting to crack the American…

Perhaps the most famous example supporting the general proposition that solo sailors are nuts is the Donald Crowhurst story. Crowhurst was an entrant in the original Golden Globe Race, sailing a trimaran, Teignmouth Electron. The Wikipedia entry alone is a fascinating read. With the passage of time, the original verdict related to his proposed depression, and or any other mental state, but at any rate the falsifying of his logs and jumping off the boat to avoid…

One of several remarks I make to the assembled throng, at the first meeting of the Prout Sailing Team, usually in late February, has to do with the amount of time sailing takes up. I mention this in concert with the admonition to use our time on the water wisely. The background to these remarks has to do with the proposition that generally sailing is not the kind of sport where you can come home from school…

Welcome to Bermuda!  Cole Brauer and her Class40 First Light claiming line honours in the singlehanded Leg 1 of this year’s Bermuda One-Two.   © E. Michael Jones   Many, most, maybe all sailors have some version of a dream of sailing around the world. They are, perhaps like Clancy’s office-bound correspondent, fed up with city life: I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,…

The gist of this month’s column started after (during, actually) a discussion about the importance of high average speeds when sailing or racing offshore. We got there from the response to the at least two dozen things I reckon the average bear can do to their average normal sailing boat in order to “speed it up” without breaking the bank. The proposition of high averages is sufficiently critical that none other than prominent French sailor Jean Le…

It’s quite possible this month’s column on boat captains is going to be of more interest to the high school sailors in the readership than boat owners, although both play a part. The topic is The Boat Captain, and more specifically how does one become a member of this august community? Much like one floats to the top of any game, it ain’t rocket science. Simply showing up on time with a plan, knowing enough, even if…

A Tale of Two Boats “Refit” conjures up a picture gallery in the Lifestyles of the Rich and Secretive in the marine industry’s glossy magazines. We have all seen the pictures. The latest Silicon Valley teenage billionaire’s 60-meter small ship getting the full day of beauty re-do. A massage, facial mask and Mani-Pedi. All in one. The refit would be new carpets, artwork, generators, furniture, upgrading of the computer systems aboard, new dishwashers, a paint job. A…