Author: Chris Szepessy

An inspiring teacher, avid racer, and recipient of both the Eastern Connecticut Sailing Association’s Excellence in Instruction Award and US Sailing’s Excellence in Instruction Award, Annie Longo says she has the best job in the world. “I grew up on Mason’s Island in Mystic, Connecticut,” says Annie, who resides in Westerly, Rhode Island. “I’ve been on boats since I was a baby and started sailing lessons at Mason’s Island Yacht Club at six. I sailed my Opti…

By Valeriia Povysheva It is easy to take lighthouses for granted now that GPS and other navigational technologies exist. Sailors today use buoys, radars, and online nautical charts for navigation. And yet sailing used to be dependent on lighthouses. From their impact on local communities to the whaling industry (since one of the primary uses of whale oil was lamps), lighthouses hold a huge historical and cultural significance. In fact, the first public infrastructure program by the…

By Chris Otorowski, Cruising Club of America Pacific Northwest Station and Narragansett Bay Post The long-anticipated Newfoundland Cruise finally happened in July 2022. This was the first CCA cruise to Newfoundland in about 30 years, and Bill Bowers and the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club did a beautiful job organizing it. The run-up involved numerous Zoom meetings with members of the RNYC and multiple year-long delays due to COVID exigencies.     We had the newly published CCA…

By Melissa Pappas and Katie Friedman     What are living shorelines? How can they save our coastal communities? Save the Sound’s New York ecological restoration program manager, Katie Friedman, shares her knowledge of this nature-based solution. Q: Can you explain the concept of a living shoreline and its purpose? Katie: In an urban area where we want to stabilize the coast or protect infrastructure from high wave energy or erosion, people typically build hard structures out…

By John Fries Handicap racing in the U.S. is an interesting journey with many twists and turns, and like many racers Eastern Connecticut competitors have been racing under PHRF (Performance Handicap Rating Formula) for a number of years. PHRF has been a trusty companion but has faced stiff challenges in providing fair handicaps with ever-changing boat types in our fleets and a wide diversity of race courses.     While serving on the Connecticut PHRF board I…

All-Women Crew Sets Their Sights on the Annapolis to Newport Race By Maya Hoffman The never-ending allure of blue water races is real. Last summer I was one of the onboard coaches for Team Bitter End, the youngest all-female crew to complete the Newport Bermuda Race. The journey with Team Bitter End was everything I imagined it would be and more. The intensive six weeks I spent at Oakcliff Sailing, training and working with the team, proved…

By the time this issue hits the newsstands, the sailors and yachts in The Ocean Race will be bearing down on Newport, RI, and the finish of Leg 4. For the third consecutive edition of the globe-girdling race, Newport is the lone North American stopover port. The previous stopovers in 2015 and 2018 attracted more than 247,000 visitors to the City-by-the-Sea. Will you be part of it this year? Leg 4 of The Ocean Race, a 5,550-nautical…

River Jam is a local music festival hosted by our friends at Mystic Shipyard (100 Essex Street in Mystic, CT) June 23 & 24. Showcasing music from rock to reggae to country, this event supports two great charities. Tickets for Friday are $15. Tickets for Saturday are $25, or get a weekend pass for $30. 2023 Lineup Friday, 6/23 The Pneumatics 5-5:45pm The Troublemakers 6-7:45pm Mystic Dead 8-10pm   Saturday, 6/24 Chris MacKay and the Toneshifters 1-2pm…

Our friends at the Connecticut Marine Trades Association (CMTA) have announced the 2023 recipients of the Jeanne Czel Person of the Year Award. The first recipient is Devin Santa, a member of the CMTA Board of Directors and CMTA Environmental and Dredge committee. The President of RACE Coastal Engineering whose stated mission is “to provide responsive solutions where water meets land,” Santa has had a role in the planning, design, and implementation of hundreds of coastal engineering…

Annual mammograms and follow-up biopsies are crucial in identifying breast cancer early, as early detection can lead to better outcomes. Middlesex Health uses a specialized breast biopsy system to perform stereotactic, ultrasound, and MRI-guided biopsies at its Radiology locations. These image-guided biopsies allow the radiologist to obtain a small tissue sample for laboratory testing and are less invasive than a surgical biopsy. The computer-guided system can pinpoint and mark the exact location of an abnormality and the…