Publisher's Log

The list of boats, names and sponsors is impressive, but the fact that many of these events overlap one another, primarily in New York City, is really something special and absolutely not to be missed.

While reading the Editor’s Note by Molly Winans in the March issue of Spinsheet, I made a decision – and one entry into my calendar. Molly’s article “The Spaghetti Solution” talked about planning the season’s sailing adventures with friends over a spaghetti dinner in March, and as her skipper noted in the article, “If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not happening.” So, thanks Molly. Although there was no spaghetti served, I have inked (well, selected, highlighted,…

Sailing is indeed an abundant provider of great things. I recently had a reminder of this while competing in the inaugural Miami to Havana Race. As often happens in the early morning hours offshore, I reflected on how I’d gotten there. No matter what the conditions, it seems that toward the end of watch I seem to settle into a calm, contemplative mode (likely just exhaustion). As first light approached on a churning and active sea, with…

Paul Risseeuw was a formidable champion of junior sailing. From the Pettipaug Yacht Club in Essex, he led thousands of kids through junior sailing programs.

The other night, after a round of proofreading the magazine that you’re reading, I watched one of my favorite movies. In a scene from The Freshman, Matthew Broderick’s character Clark Kellogg is a college student thrust into a daunting situation after being robbed the minute he arrives in New York City to begin film school. Accepting a shady job from a would-be mafia boss in hopes of recouping some of his  loss and the web of issues…

As I think back on sailing as a youth, it occurs to me that many of my most memorable experiences were not had in the heat of close fleet racing or heavy weather offshore battles, but rather during much more gentle times while cruising – and even at anchor.

The protest process is sometimes thought of as daunting or scary to competitors, and especially young sailors, many of whom have never had to file a form or state their case in front of a committee. On page 46, the Pequot Yacht Club Junior Sailing Committee has taken much of the mystery and fear of the protest process away by holding open hearings.

Clearly, the discipline that sailing demands of its participants and the self-reliance and camaraderie that it fosters carry on through everyday life. Youth sailors, keep up the good work, and thanks for making headlines that we can all be proud of!

Here we are in the middle of a wonderful summer sailing season in the Northeast, but several occurrences, both locally and elsewhere in the boating world, have had an impact on me. I, as with all of you, enjoy ‘letting it all go’ when I step aboard the boat.

I was counting on Newport to deliver everything that I thought was missing from the previous Volvo Ocean Race stopovers that I’d visited in New York and Boston – chiefly atmosphere and personality – and Newport did not disappoint.