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…
I first met Katie when she worked at Sail Newport and I was on the board, in the early 2000s. We spoke on the deck at Ida Lewis Yacht Club. Coop: Katie, thanks for coming out. KB: Hi Coop, thanks for asking me. Coop: Are you a Newport native? KB: I grew up in Narragansett, so not a native Newporter but Rhode Island born and raised. I went to Florida for college, at Rollins College. After that…
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,…
Planes, trains, and pilot cutters Dateline: October 2023, The Royal Ocean Racing Club, London The pilot cutter in question, Jolie Brise, won the first Fastnet Race in 1925. Originally a French Pilot Boat out of Le Harve, in the 1920s, she was subsequently sold to the British yachtsman Bobby Somerset. The first edition of what became the Rolex Fastnet Race was at that time called, no kidding, The Ocean Race. At the post-race gathering of competitors in…
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…
Jessy Nees washed into Newport about a year ago and is a service and production technician at Quantum Sails Newport. We met at her favorite café in Bristol. Coop: Hi, Jess. Thanks for the lead on Borealis…nice place. JN: Thanks for the invite. Coop: Where are you from, and was sailing a “thing” when you were a kid? JN: I grew up in Port Washington, New York, and yes. My dad purchased a Sabre 30 when I…
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…
My longtime friend Phyllis Detwiler is a Training Captain with In-Command Seamanship Training, a US Sailing certified Safe Powerboat Handling Instructor, and an instructor at Sail Newport who relishes teaching Pell Program 4th graders about maritime life and Newport, Rhode Island history. Part 1 of our conversation can be found at https://www.windcheckmagazine.com/article/phyllis-detwiler/. Coop: Phyllis, we left you with the seagoing SUV at Hyannis YC, doing race committee and helping with the Optis. In previous chats with you,…
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…
My longtime friend Phyllis Detwiler is a Training Captain with In-Command Seamanship Training, a US Sailing certified Safe Powerboat Handling Instructor, and an instructor at Sail Newport who relishes teaching Pell Program 4th graders about maritime life and Newport, Rhode Island history. Coop: Phyllis, Hi and thanks for coming out. PD: Well Coop, thanks for having me. Coop: So, name rank and serial number: Who are you, where do you come from, and what’s yer story, girl?…
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