Search Results for: 75 years

By Brian M. Stinson Editor’s note: With the Ida Lewis Distance Race presented by Bluenose Yacht Sales starting August 16, we wonder how many participating sailors – particularly those in the Youth Challenge division – are familiar with the namesake of both the race and its host yacht club. Much has been written about “the Heroine of Lime Rock,” though not always unembellished. Newport historian Brian Stinson sets the record straight.   In the fall of 1858,…

Inside the marbled halls of One First Street NE, things were heating up. The Supreme Court session was strolling toward recess, and several of its biggest decisions were still to be handed down—including decisions with profound consequences for the Long Island Sound region. The world outside was already hot. Washington, D.C. simmered through an early summer heat wave; a week earlier, the city endured its first 100-degree June day since 2012. Daily temperature records dropped across the…

Bring it on! NEWPORT, R.I. (August 1, 2024) – In its four short years of existence, the three-day Safe Harbor Race Weekend has established itself as a revered sailing tradition on the summer regatta schedule for Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. To date, 65 teams have registered for the August 9-11 event, which will host as many as ten classes competing in ORC, IC37 One-Design, PHRF, and PHRF Performance Cruising. And while these teams are psyching up for…

At the end of the North Fork of Long Island, there’s a fishing and boating town called Greenport. For most, it’s the jumping off point via ferry for Shelter Island, long past its origins as a sleepy Quaker refuge. Shelter Island is home to the largest concentration of classic boats out East. That fleet numbers as many as fifty fiberglass Doughdish sloops, Cape Cod Shipbuilding’s transcription of Herreshoff’s most prolific 1914 design, the Herreshoff 12 ½. At…

By Dave Hemenway   Do you like to casually race, but are tired of scrubbing your boat’s bottom or finding crew? Do you like to fiddle with boats, but don’t want yard bills or worrying about boats stored at a marina? Well, if the answer is yes, you might want to consider a classic Finn sailboat. Finns are 14’ 8” long, weigh about 300 pounds, and are easily stored and transported on a light trailer. They were…

Reliving the Past in Intercollegiate Sailing We learned in the recent streaming series on the New England Patriots, “The Dynasty,” that a true dynasty team needed to have at least three successive championships in four attempts to be described with the D-word. The 1960s Boston Celtics, the ‘80s LA Lakers, and ‘90s Chicago Bulls come to mind. In the mid-1970s, in the very early days of Women’s intercollegiate sailing, one team made that grade and went one…

A strong return of past participants and an energetic influx of new teams (over 30%) says a lot about Edgartown Race Weekend on Martha’s Vineyard, coming up June 20-22. The event endears itself to veterans and newcomers alike with varied distance racing, including Saturday’s ’Round-the-Island Race (’RTI) – one of the oldest distance races in this country – and the preceding Thursday/Friday’s ’Round-the-Sound Races (’RTS), which are separately scored and a keen tune-up for Saturday, not to mention…

Event Raises Funds for RI Community Food Bank By Barby MacGowan, Media Pro International NEWPORT, R.I. (June 3, 2024) – The International Yacht and Athletic Club (IYAC) hosted its second annual Rhody Regatta on Saturday, June 1, and Matt Brooks’s (Freemont, Calif./Jamestown, R.I.) 1929 Sparkman & Stephens yawl Dorade stole the show. Not only was the 52’ classic yacht visually striking by virtue of her sleek lines drawn by famous naval architect Olin Stephens, but she also appeared to be “always in the…

Interview by Tom Darling, Conversations with Classic Boats, “the Podcast that Talks to Boats” Last month, we opened this gam – that’s whaling talk for a social conversation at sea – with whom I consider the top curator minds at Northeast marine museums. Christina Connett Brophy (CB), Senior VP of Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT, and Evelyn Ansel (EA), Curator of the Herreshoff Marine Museum in my old homeport of Bristol, RI, follow up this month…

Story and photos by Roger Hughes The first indication there was a problem with the bowsprit on my 1977 Down East 45 schooner was when I was hoisted up the foremast using the electric windlass which was bolted on top of the bowsprit. The operator mentioned the windlass “moved” as he hoisted me using the winding drum. When I came down the mast I saw what he was talking about, because the windlass was noticeably out of…