Search Results for: 75 years

After an estimated 76,000 combined hours of fabrication and finishing work by the production and shore teams of New York Yacht Club American Magic, the U.S. Challenger’s first AC75 racing boat was officially named and launched at the team’s base in Portsmouth, Rhode Island on Saturday morning, September 14.   Named Defiant, the cutting-edge foiling monohull is the first America’s Cup class boat built to represent the New York Yacht Club in more than 16 years. The boat underwent initial testing on Narragansett Bay earlier in the week. Defiant was constructed at a dedicated…

After an estimated 76,000 combined hours of fabrication and finishing work by the production and shore teams of American Magic, the U.S. Challenger’s first AC75 racing boat was officially named and launched at the team’s base in Portsmouth, Rhode Island on Saturday morning, September 14. Named Defiant, the cutting-edge foiling monohull is the first America’s Cup class boat built to represent the New York Yacht Club in over 16 years. The boat underwent initial testing on Narragansett Bay earlier in the week.   Defiant was constructed at a dedicated facility in Bristol, Rhode…

By Ben Cesare On June 1 and 2, twenty brand-new Melges IC37s, 131 amateur sailors, a team of coaches from North Sails, the team from Melges Performance Sailboats, and the team from New York Yacht Club who were responsible for getting the boats in the water and ready to sail, gathered at Sail Newport in Newport, RI for an inaugural “training weekend.” Class President Phil Lotz welcomed all, thanked all who had made it possible and then…

By Dick Holliday Within several weeks of Neil Armstrong’s historic first steps on the moon in July 1969, Frank Hall Boatyard in Avondale, Rhode Island launched two prototype fiberglass Watch Hill 15s. These two 24’ 7” racing sloops, the first of a fleet of 25, were commissioned by Hubbard Phelps and Avard Fuller, Past Commodores of Watch Hill Yacht Club in nearby Westerly. Avard Fuller’s vision was to sponsor an active racing fleet to replace the aging and…

An enthusiastic group of students and alumni have revitalized the Sailing Team at Fordham University in New York, NY. A former team member (Joe Sullivan (Class of 1958), chronicles the Rams’ resurgence from a defunct club to a strong presence in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.

In the Gilded Age, gentlemen sailors looked to designers like Herreshoff, Crane and Burgess for their custom sailing yachts. As the 20th century unfolded, however, a new age design emerged, that of the semi-custom keelboat, purchased by like-minded sailors interested in competing in fleets as one-designs. We call it the “Club Classic Keelboat.” The idea of designing a boat to a single design or class was a 20th century phenomenon. When young Clinton Crane was commissioned in…

In the spring of 2021, we embarked on a four-episode podcast tracing the development of the International Six Metre Class. The hubs of that furious design and competitive scene were Seawanhaka Corinthian and Larchmont Yacht Clubs in New York. The sailing characters included Briggs Cunningham, Herman Whiton, and many future 12 Metre skippers. We still get podcast listener comments today on those episodes; Sixes stories abound. The drama of the competition played out between designers young and…

(Editor’s note: In our October issue, we presented the first part of an interview with Charles “Butch” Ulmer (“75 Years of UK Sailmakers’). The article, which can be found at windcheckmagazine.com/article/75-years-of-uk-sailmakers/, contained a bit of erroneous information on the subject of accidental puncture wounds sustained by sail loft handworkers. Dear Ben, First, thank you for making me a household name in the Long Island Sound sailing world. I’ve never gotten so much press. Second, somewhere in our…

New York Yacht Club American Magic, the U.S. Challenger for the 36th America’s Cup, has announced an initial roster of 17 sailors who will train and compete with the team.

On the same Newport, Rhode Island waters where the legendary Ranger cleaned up 4-0 in 1937, the last time ever that the mighty J Class raced for the America’s Cup, the first J Class World Champions is Lionheart, the owner-driven, Dutch-flagged modern day Ranger descendent.