As a kid, I saw the David Lean production of Lawrence of Arabia in the local cinema. I was fascinated. Of all the movie’s magnificent scenes, one continues to stand out. The one where T.E. Lawrence brings a young Arab kid into the officer’s bar in Cairo. They are both in Arab dress, filthy after having been in the desert for days, weeks. Lawrence approaches the bar and orders two lemonades. The inhabitants of the bar, the…
File under two degrees of separation. I met Trudy Robinson as a consequence of my time with Dr. Phil Haydon, he of Sail 4 Epilepsy. Dr. Phil kept his boat at Safe Harbor New England Boatworks in Portsmouth, RI. Trudy was the guardian of the front office and was taken by the branding on Phil’s boat. It transpired she too has epilepsy. I spoke with her at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard in July. Coop: Thanks for coming…
For the dear reader with a long memory or nothing better to do on a snowy February evening, I bring your attention to a previous Corner column, “Bresting the Ribbon,” on the ugly duckling of human diseases, Epilepsy (windcheckmagazine.com/article/bresting-the-ribbon/). Extra credit for remembering the name Phil Haydon, Ph.D., Neuroscientist extraordinaire and founder of Sail 4 Epilepsy (S4E; sailforepilepsy.org). I met Phil through the Bermuda One-Two Yacht Race community at one of their not infrequent gatherings at Newport…
What is it that the scroll reads…? “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” Or perhaps, “I had a farm in Kenya.” Regardless, I had a Laser. Built by Performance Sailcraft in Australia. My boat was #14172. Turns out I was an OK Laser sailor. Pretty slippery in breeze and OK the rest of the time. NOT as good as in a Finn, but there ya go. (Cf my column on transitioning, at light…
Interview by Joe Cooper What is the gag about “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” I caught up with another new Newport Local, Suzy Leech, the self-described bow chick on that legendary Mighty Mary, for a coffee at Belle’s in Newport recently. In addition to the America’s Cup (albeit defeated in the Defender Finals) Suzy’s CV includes a cruise around the world (well, half of it) with the family as a Padawan Learner; an Olympic…
By Joe Cooper Rodney, the man with a face that would stop a runaway semi-trailer whose memorable quote, “I don’t get no respect,” could be on his gravestone. Respect is a commodity in somewhat thin supply these days if one watches too much social media. The people versus the politicians, people, some of them, versus the police, a fool’s errand at the best of times. Kneeling athletes and saluting police… At the time of this writing, a…
Editor’s note: This month’s Coop’s Corner was originally published by Sail1Design, “a grassroots organization, by sailors for sailors, dedicated to the youth, high school, college, and one-design sailing communities,” and is reprinted with permission. You’ll find this superb resource at sail1design.com. With summer not far off, sailing programs around the country are gearing up for their sailing lessons sessions. There will be high school sailors teaching and coaching Opti sailors, college sailors teaching and coaching high school…
Well, The Vendée Globe has placed its podium people. Dear old Roi, Jean Le Cam, could not, sadly, break onto the august triple stair. Pip Hare continued to impress and cheer us all the way to, and inside, the Barn. What an effort, dragging a 20-year-old-boat, sans foils, on the financial equivalent of the smell of an oily rag, spending an afternoon hanging off the side of her boat replacing a rudder, and later dragging a busted…
Editor’s note: A few months ago, Contributing Editor Joe Cooper pitched an article titled “The Girls of Newport” about the outstanding women sailors residing in the City by the Sea. Ben and Zep loved the idea, of course, but soon realized that story would fill this entire magazine. After changing tacks in favor of monthly Q&As (with sailors throughout the WindCheck region), we agreed unanimously on our first interviewee. The founder and owner of Team One Newport…
If someone told you they were born in the shadow of the Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec, and in the next breath said they were in Newport, Rhode Island the following year watching the America’s Cup, you might scratch your head a bit. Stephanie McLennan was not properly “watching” the regatta, but she was there with her grandparents. There is a picture taken by her grandfather of Stephanie in a state of infant repose on the…
© 2021 WindCheck Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
