Juniors

By Michael Parente The same students who could barely use a tape measure or screwdriver when they enrolled in the Community College of Rhode Island’s Youth Summer Boatbuilding Program successfully launched their finished products into the saltwater pond at Ninigret Park in Charlestown in August, wrapping up a fun, but informative, five-week workshop learning skills often overlooked on today’s education landscape.   At a time in which career and technical education (CTE) training – otherwise referred to…

Over 150 sailors from around the USA and USVI converged on the Goddard Park Carousel in East Greenwich, RI on July 29 & 30 for the 17th running of the CJ Buckley Regatta for the Club 420 National Junior Team Racing Championship. The regatta was hosted by the Greenwich Bay Sailing Association and East Greenwich Yacht Club.   This event began in 2003 as a token of friendship to honor the memory of CJ Buckley. As a…

By Kathryn Ryan Pettipaug Sailing Academy hosted its annual Paul Risseeuw Pettipaug Junior Sailing Regatta on Sunday, August 4 at Pettipaug Yacht Club in Esssex, CT. Fifty-eight junior sailors representing four area clubs participated in racing on the Connecticut River. The weather cooperated and the sailors competed under sunny skies with relatively steady winds out of a northerly direction. Sailors competed in eight different divisions on three different racecourses. This annual regatta is hosted by Pettipaug Sailing…

By Ben Cesare A great amount has been written about making sailing more fun for kids so as to keep them in the sport long term. We all know the reasons…the structure and competition (and arms race) of racing is not for every kid, helicopter parenting, competition for time with other sports and activities, and of course the “dreaded digital” are all regularly cited as problems. Sailing instructors know this all too well! They have been answering…

By William Owen McClung     DON’T PANIC! The cover of the Hitchhiker’s Guide flashed through my mind when I learned that I had won the Sail Black Rock/Oakcliff Sailing/WindCheck Magazine essay contest for the Oakcliff Foiling Camp scholarship. Oakcliff bills itself as the premier American institution for developing next-level sailors, and it suddenly dawned on me that I might be out of my league. En route to Oakcliff in Oyster Bay, New York, the butterflies in…

Editor’s note: With each season, more and more young sailors are getting aboard big boats for overnight races. WindCheck applauds the owners giving these capable, enthusiastic racers a berth, and we’re pleased to share some of their stories from the Storm Trysail Club’s 74th Annual Block Island Race.   Forever a Child at Sea By Marisa DeCollibus In my almost quarter century of life, I have met a lot of sailors. It’s easiest to categorize a sailor…

Editor’s note: The inaugural Oakcliff Sailing/Sail Black Rock/WindCheck Youth Essay Contest was a success. With the most exciting prize in the history of junior sailing up for grabs, we received entries from as far away as Georgia, Florida, California, and France! All of the essays were thoughtful and well written, but of course there’s only one winner. As this issue was going to press, Owen McClung of Norwalk, Connecticut was packing his bags for a one-week Foiling…

By Dave White “If you don’t like the weather in New England, wait a few minutes.” Do you know who said that? Was it Mark Twain, or someone named Samuel L. Clemens? Yes, it’s the same guy, but did you know he also had other pseudonyms including Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab, Sergeant Fathom, and Rambler?   Sail Black Rock at Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport, CT, the home of the intercollegiate sailing teams of…

By Laura Beigel Sailors and enthusiasts alike gathered at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT on Tuesday, March 12 for the first MudRatz fundraiser of the year where “Chief Executive MudRat” Brandon Flack announced the donation of two keelboats to the organization and its new initiatives for youth sailors. The evening, billed as “Charlie & Sam: Stories and Surprises,” featured a special presentation by The Ocean Race (formerly the Volvo Ocean Race) skipper Charlie Enright…

By Debbie Huntsman and Joan Thayer AdventureSails are about small steps. We have been told that girls are most vulnerable when they enter the 7th grade. They have moved out of grammar school. They are growing awkwardly. Their bodies are changing. It is a time of wonder and each girl should be able to experience positive wonders. But for a variety of reasons, many girls do not have a support system in the family or schools. Thankfully there are organizations…