August 2025

It’s kind of fun to say that. It’s also a little embarrassing not to notice it sooner. So, a little research had to be done. It is definitely contest-worthy. Name the sailor who has appeared on the cover of WindCheck two months in a row. As I said, it’s the first time ever…as far as we know. To confirm, you may have to contact Chris Gill or Anne Hannan, but it would be mean to share their…

By John Burnham Rockport Marine has relaunched the iconic schooner Brilliant after completing significant restoration work on behalf of its owner, Mystic Seaport Museum (MSM). After sea trials in Maine, Brilliant has sailed home to Mystic, CT for the 2025 sailing season.     Described by WoodenBoat magazine as “one of the best-maintained and sailed classic yachts in the country—if not the world,” the 93-year-old Sparkman & Stephens design came to Rockport Marine last year to capitalize on the company’s traditional wooden-boat building skills to replace aging…

By Kasey Commander, Director of Marketing & Communications Pour friends at the New England Science & Sailing Foundation (NESS) in Stonington, CT recently launched The NESS Mobile Classroom, an innovative education initiative powered by the City of New London. This fully equipped mobile STEM lab is designed to deliver hands-on marine science, adventure education, and environmental programming directly to students and families across New London County.   The Mobile Classroom is a key step in NESS’s mission to…

By Kate Somers, rising Photos by Stephen R Cloutier Block Island Race Week’s final tent party was abuzz with anticipation and excitement the evening of Friday, June 27 as sailors and spectators awaited the announcement of cumulative awards for the regatta’s 60th anniversary. For the first time in recent memory, BIRW featured racing on all five days of the week, with fierce competition, extraordinary sailing and shoreside revelry.     “The Race Week and Storm Trysail team…

By Sam Crichton The 23rd C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta wrapped up in Newport, Rhode Island on June 22 for the 30 sailors with disabilities, after three days of competitive racing and camaraderie along with a two-day coaching clinic in the single handed 2.4mR class and the doublehanded Martin 16 class.     The three days of racing provided challenges for the Race Management team and sailors with a 30+knot breeze greeting the fleet on the…

By Cary Wang From being the youngest sailor in the 2023 Newport Bermuda Race to being the lightest in the ILCA 6 class in the ILCA U.S. Championship, I had the incredible opportunity to race alongside 146 of the best Laser sailors and world champions from the US and other countries at the regatta, hosted by Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in Oyster Bay, NY June 27-29. It’s like if you’re a quarterback and you’re in the same…

Report & photos by Stuart Streuli, NYYC Communications Director   A century ago, R Class yachts were the sports cars of the yachting world, sleek and low to the ground, nimble in the corners and quick around the course, and, above all, demanding to drive. A century later they still are, at least in the eyes of the skipper and crew that sailed Gamecock to victory in Class B at the 2025 Robert H. Tiedemann Classics Regatta. The biennial…

The bigger your fleet, the more boats there are to get in the way of your strategic gameplan. In order to stay on track, therefore, you need good boat-on-boat tactical moves. In a small fleet, you may choose to maneuver tactically against one or two other boats, even early in a race. These moves let you follow your strategy, but they also help you beat those boats. With a big fleet, however, you can’t afford to mess…

In 1959, Carleton Mitchell, the adventurous sailor and author that brought Caribbean cruising to the sailing public, released a very different book. It was called Summer of the Twelves and it was based on the Sports Illustrated articles that he wrote on the events of the summer of 1958, when America’s Cup racing resumed after the wartime hiatus. The boat in question was the 12 Metre, some 69 to 72 feet long overall, 30 feet shorter than…

On one side of a wooden picnic table, Adi Kolff leaned over a colorful poster depicting a busy harbor, with cartoon kayaks, sailboats, and powerboats sharing the water. More than a dozen campers hovered around the sides of the table, looking out from under the brims of their visors, baseball caps, and bucket hats. At their backs was another busy waterbody—a real one, where dozens of sailboats bobbed on their moorings on a hazy July morning.  …