Publisher's Log

I just took a look at the WindCheck Publisher’s Log that I wrote for our June 2019 issue, which was ironically titled “Change!”. (windcheckmagazine.com/article/change/). Ohhhhh boy…it’s perspective time. The big theme…the big story…the almost controversial topic was…we had decided to go with glossy cover stock for the first time in the magazine’s eighteen-year history. And we got letters, both pro and con! The Publisher of a “sister” publication (actually more like WindCheck’s aunt) commented to the negative…

There’s going to be a lot of family boating this summer. Professional sporting events have been severely curtailed. Concerts? Amusement parks? Festivals? Hard to imagine. If you thought you were the family’s Chief Entertainment Officer before, there’s a whole new level of responsibility coming at you in Summer 2020. First, if you’re going boating as a family, then the whole family needs to have fun. Many of you are blessed with spouses and kids who have always…

I often write about our cover photos, and the one on this month’s issue is extremely poignant. It’s a beautiful shot of high school kids, using old Brown University sails, in a springtime team race. For so many of us, it brings back instant memories of some of the most fun sailing we have ever done. Even if you only dabbled in some high school or college dinghy sailing, the feeling is still unmistakable. If you were…

My wife wants to buy a boat…Some might say I am a lucky man. So what’s the holdup? The quest for the perfect boat is on! Criteria: Must fit in the driveway next to the garage on a street legal trailer. That limits her to 22 feet realistically. This is good for keeping down overall costs, narrowing the list in the search phase. Must draw very little as it will be moored in a tidal flat area and…

Happy New Year to all in the WindCheck Community! What resolutions have you made? If it’s to do more on the water this year, you are in luck. With a modicum of effort, you can plan cruises, regattas, weekday cocktail trips or weekday evening races for all of 2020. If you are doing Sperry Charleston Race Week (congrats to them on their 25th anniversary), or headed further south this winter (lucky you!) or the Block Island Race…

OK, call me whatever but this month’s cover shot looks chilly! People love to complain about how we don’t have a spring anymore. “Goes from cold to 90s overnight!” is the refrain. Well first of all, I don’t think that’s true. We have lovely springs of 45-65 degrees with a fair amount of rain…that’s what spring is supposed to be! Seventy is a bonus, and 75-degree days mean you are late in getting the boat in the…

One thing that very rarely happens at the WindCheck factory is a concern about what we are going to publish in a given month. And when it does appear that we might be a little light, by the first production meeting we are usually trying to figure out how to fit it all in. There is no lack of compelling stories going on in your Community, ever. Traditional. Professional. Goofy and Fun. It’s never ending! From the…

So, this month we whip-saw back to an action shot on the cover. Last month’s delightful capture of kids making memories with a great instructor (we got a number of calls looking for the builder of her coach boat) was very popular. But now it’s time to report on a lot of high-test racing action that took place while they were playing sponge tag. This month’s cover shows a glimpse of a new class that we cover…

Well, it was only mid-July when I wrote this, and there had already been an epic amount of ‘big boat’ racing and other events in the Northeast. Annuals like the Block Island Race, then Marion Bermuda, followed by a very well promoted and executed Block Island Race Week (as we all should be aware by now…Presented by Margaritaville!), then Larchmont Race Week #121, then the Sail Newport Regatta followed by the 175th Anniversary Regatta by New York…

Raise your hand if you knew that the Herreshoff S Class was a box rule. A box rule means that a yacht designer is given a set of parameters: length, displacement, rig size, etc. and designs within that rule; like the America’s Cup, TP52s or 12 Metres, or any of the current grand prix rules. Some of us sail under those parameters, but mostly “grand prix” type sailing with a mix of pros and amateurs. PHRF gives…