Author: Chris Szepessy

By Todd Vorenkamp, NESS Communications & Public Relations Director   Despite the global COVID pandemic the New England Science and Sailing Foundation (NESS), with proper precautions and an emphasis on mask wearing and social distancing, was able to pull off a successful 9th Annual Catch-A-Curl Youth Surf competition at Westerly Town Beach in Westerly, RI on Saturday, September 19 with a record 53 young surfers competing for glory. As the event nears a decade as a local…

Story & photos by Colgate Sailing Adventures® Trip Co-Leader, Heather Atwater Editor’s note: Our friends Heather & Nate Atwater are the Co-Leaders of Offshore Sailing School’s Colgate Sailing Adventures® Flotilla Cruises, which visit exotic destinations around the world. In this installment, Heather recounts a visit to the Apostle Islands, a group of twenty-two scenic islands in Lake Superior.   Saturday, July 11, 2020 marked the start of our Apostle Islands Flotilla in Bayfield, Wisconsin, a quaint lakeside…

By John Dyson     The morning had started out well as we began our return trip from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to Brooklyn, New York. We were moving well in our small 24-foot sailboat. We had both sails up; clear skies and a southwest wind. The first part of the trip took us north out of Sandy Hook Bay, past the Naval Installation and the Sandy Hook Lighthouse and then we had a choice of either…

By David F. Guertin, Jr. After fifty-seven years at the helm of his iconic schooner Shenandoah, Captain Robert S. Douglas and his family have announced their intention to pass down Captain Douglas’ beloved ship to the Foundation for Underway Experiential Learning (FUEL). Based in Vineyard Haven, MA, FUEL is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by two of Douglas’ protégés, Captain Ian Ridgeway and Captain Casey Blum, LCSW. “Sailing Shenandoah is what I wanted to do with my life more than anything…

By Martin Hain, Save the Sound Communications Specialist Has there ever been a summer we’ve all been more acutely aware of our own health and the health of those around us? But even now, few give a second thought when plunging into their local river or beach for a refreshing swim or reeling in a fish and serving it up for their family’s dinner. The health of the waters that you swim in, boat on, and fish…

By Connor Jones, FISM Project Manager   Seagrasses are under intense pressures globally, and these pressures are particularly acute in Long Island Sound. Historically, eelgrass (Zostera marina) – the predominant species of seagrass found in the Sound – was so abundant, it was harvested for insulation and fertilizer; but today, fewer than 1,500 acres remain. A number of threats have caused this decline in the extent of eelgrass beds. The meadows that persist are threatened by eutrophication…

Published by The Greenwich Workshop Press   80 pages   softcover It’s fascinating that prodigious talent is not only hereditary but also frequently multi-generational in a family (i.e. Williams and Andretti in music and motor racing, respectively.) The son and grandson of well-known illustrators, our friend Christopher Blossom grew up on the eastern seaboard and started sailing at age six. Today, he’s one of the world’s greatest marine artists. By twenty, Blossom had sailed aboard the square-rigged brigantine Young…

Report and photos by Paul L. Roberti Despite what is going on in the world with COVID-19, the M32 catamaran fleet in Newport, RI has been able to consistently race this summer because of the formatting of the regattas, which are collectively organized by the fleet.     Designed to provide fun and competitive year-round racing for M32 owners and crews, the M32 Series North America comprises events in Newport, Miami, FL, and Chicago, IL. The most…

A former apprentice at Arey’s Pond Boat Yard and a graduate of The Landing School, Brian Porter is a member of the team that built the AC75 that the American Magic Sailing Team will be using to bring the America’s Cup back home.   WindCheck: Where did you grow up, and how old were you when you started sailing? Brian Porter: I grew up in Orleans, Massachusetts on Cape Cod and still call it my home. I…

As befitting a regatta named after the multi-faceted Ted Hood – sailmaker, yacht designer, inventor, yacht builder, and America’s Cup-winning skipper, designer, sailmaker and builder – the Storm Trysail Club’s Ted Hood Regatta, sailed August 21 – 23 in Marblehead, MA, had a wide variety of courses, sizes and types of yachts. The 45 participating boats included everything from a Rhodes 19 one-design fleet, to larger keelboat one-designs (J/105’s and Etchells 22’s), inshore course ORRez big boat…