Author: Chris Szepessy

A third generation boatbuilder and the newly appointed Curator at the Herreshoff Marine Museum & America’s Cup Hall of Fame in Bristol, Rhode Island, Evelyn Ansel is preserving maritime history and loving her work. Evelyn is the granddaughter of Willits Dyer Ansel (1929-2019) and daughter of Walter Ansel, both shipwrights at Mystic Seaport Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. “Growing up in a family of boatbuilders had a very direct impact on my interest in boats,” says…

Pamela & John Tomlin’s handcrafted nautical signs are a hit.   The North Shore of Massachusetts is all about the water – for centuries home to sailors, fishermen, lighthouse keepers and sea captains. In 2020 as the world hunkered down, creativity was sparked in thousands of homes across the country. One was on the North Shore. Pamela Tomlin is an award-winning freelance television producer, and was experiencing the seasonal lull between projects. That’s when she decided to…

A cruising couple signs on for a Salty Dawg Rally to the Caribbean By Jim Bradley Azure blue skies, steady trade winds, white sand beaches, rum drinks, watching the Caribbean sun sink into the sea – these were on our mind as we thought of bringing our Shannon 47/52 sailboat Kalli to the Caribbean after a summer of sailing in the Northeast. Weather bombs, dismastings, mechanical problems, spare boat parts – these were also very much on…

By Emily Conklin, Clean Ocean Access Everyone has the right to enjoy the coastline. In Rhode Island, this right is enshrined in our Constitution. Clean Ocean Access (COA) started out when a parking issue along the Cliff Walk in Newport, RI threatened this right to ocean recreation. A group of wave riders came together to protect their ability to access the water, and from this community effort, COA was born. Over the past fifteen years, COA has…

By Martin Hain, Communications Specialist, Save the Sound We are so fortunate that Long Island Sound is encircled by hundreds of beautiful beaches. Millions of people visit many of these beaches each year, supporting our coastal economies and forging personal bonds with the Sound estuary. However, the sad reality is that a lot of these beaches—including many of the best—are fenced off and inaccessible because they have become privately owned. Many others are restricted to local residents…

Photography by Caryn B. Davis Narrative by Eric D. Lehman Published by Globe Pequot, an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 226 pages   hardcover   $27.95 Connecticut Waters, a collection of 300 images by award-winning photographer Caryn B. Davis, is a beautiful exploration of the Constitution State’s maritime roots, both past and present. With a fascinating narrative by Eric D. Lehman, this title from our friends at Globe Pequot explores Connecticut’s shorelines, sounds, rivers and…

  By Wendy Popp-Simmons, Allegro S20   Editor’s note: This is the fifth article in a series we’re publishing throughout 2021, showcasing iconic Herreshoff fleets and their owners as important stewards of Herreshoff boats, originals and replicas alike. Our friends at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI are celebrating their Golden Jubilee year – the 50th anniversary of the museum’s founding, and WindCheck is honored to be the official Jubilee Media Partner.  The Herreshoff Marine Museum is located…

A remarkable victory for Roust in the 2013 Marion to Bermuda Race By Ian N.H. Gumprecht In February 2013, I had been doing my best for the previous couple of months to pull together a crew for the 2013 Marion to Bermuda Race. Of the four individuals I was hounding, only one, Mark Swanson, had thus far committed. Mark and I had done five Newport Bermuda Races together as crew on a J/44. For this race however,…

The Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club (BHYC) in West Boothbay Harbor, ME is expanding its 2021 regatta to include four classic yacht divisions, which will sail under the Shipyard Cup Classics Challenge banner. The 47th running of the historic BHYC Regatta takes place the weekend of July 24 & 25, 2021. The Shipyard Cup Classics Challenge was inspired by growing participation in classic yacht races in Maine and evolved out of The Shipyard Cup Regatta, which ran for…

Our friends at North Sails are moving their Milford, CT manufacturing, sales, and service loft to Steelpointe Harbor in Bridgeport, CT.     Located in the former Derecktor Shipyards facility just off Interstate 95 on Seaview Avenue, the 35,000 square foot flagship loft will open on July 1, 2021, bringing several global departments under one roof and serving as the global headquarters for North Technology Group. This location puts North Sails at the heart of an exciting nautical destination…