Cruising World

off to the races

It was the first Saturday in May, and things were getting off to a hazy start in Annapolis, Maryland. I was there on a busman’s holiday of sorts, to hitch a ride in the North Sails Rally, an around-government-buoys race that’s part of the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) regatta series, put on by our sister magazine, Sailing World. After a long and lingering New England winter, it was good to be in a town where flowers were blooming, but still I cursed the weatherman because it actually looked as though the forecast was going to be right: northeast breeze around 6 knots early, diminishing in the afternoon. These were not favored conditions for Magic Eight Ball, the vintage 16,700-pound C&C 38 that’s owned and pampered by my pal…

cruising world

EDITORIAL EDITOR Mark Pillsbury mark.pillsbury@bonniercorp.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Herb McCormick herb.mccormick@bonniercorp.com SENIOR EDITOR Jennifer Brett jen.brett@bonniercorp.com MANAGING EDITOR Megan Williams megan.williams@bonniercorp.com ELECTRONICS EDITOR David Schmidt COPY EDITOR Cindy Martin ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dave Weaver EDITORS AT LARGE Bernadette Bernon, Cap’n Fatty Goodlander, Gary Jobson, Elaine Lembo, Tim Murphy, Angus Phillips CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jim Carrier, Lynda Morris Childress, Wendy Mitman Clarke, Barbara Marrett, Jeremy McGeary, Michel Savage, Alvah Simon, Diana Simon, Ronnie Simpson PRODUCTION GROUP PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Rina Murray ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Kelly Kramer Weekley PRODUCTION MANAGER Shari Smith shari.smith@bonniercorp.com PRODUCTION ARTIST Peter Coffin BONNIER MEDIA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Gregory D. Gatto EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Shawn Bean VICE PRESIDENT, MANAGING DIRECTOR Glenn Sandridge CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dave Weaver EDITORIAL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Stephanie Pancratz COPY CHIEF Cindy Martin GROUP MARKETING DIRECTOR Haley Bischof MARKETING MANAGER Christopher Cole DIGITAL STRATEGY DIRECTOR Mike Staley DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR Mark MacKenzie CUSTOM AUDIENCE MANAGER Jackie Fry DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCTION AND PRESENTATION DIRECTOR Michellina Jones DIGITAL PRODUCER Jeff Williams PUBLISHER SALLY HELME 401-845-4405 sally.helme@bonniercorp.com ADVERTISING ADVERTISING DIRECTOR,…

bucket-list chartering in raiatea

When the organizers of the annual Tahiti Pearl Regatta contacted us in Hawaii to ask if we’d like to photograph their event between the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia, my wife, Kyoko, and I were so overjoyed that we couldn’t resist telling a few friends. Their response was pretty much uniform: “You suck.” Tahiti has the reputation of a South Pacific paradise, even among those of us based in Hawaii. Since the late 1700s, when Adm. Bougainville and Capts. Wallis and Cook first visited, stories of these lush islands and their gorgeous people have circulated in popular culture. One even feels a certain sympathy for Fletcher Christian and his fellow Bounty mutineers for dumping mean old Capt. Bligh in a longboat so they could make a U-turn right back to their…

passage notes

Take a Sailing Sabbatical Officially launched in January 2019, the Dream Yacht Charter sabbatical program is a long-term charter offering with terms ranging from one month to one year. Options include the Mediterranean, Caribbean, South Pacific, Asia and even a trans-Atlantic. Added benefits of a sabbatical voyage include a dedicated team to help with trip planning and support at any of Dream Yacht Charter’s bases. cruisingworld.com/1908sabbatical Celebrate 50 Years with the Moorings The Moorings turns 50 in 2019, and you’re invited to celebrate the occasion at one of two rendezvous planned for this fall. The first event will be held in Croatia, October 12-19, and the second event will be in the British Virgin Islands, November 10-16. Each of the events will feature a special itinerary, parties and more. moorings.com Deals and More Visit cruisingworld.com/1908charter…

a gender-parity initiative for sailors

Thanks to her mother and family friends in Jamestown, Rhode Island, some of Sarah Gautier’s best childhood memories took place on the water, with her family. “We worked as a team aboard,” she recalls. “When Kevin, my husband, asked me if I wanted to learn how to sail, I was delighted. I want to pass on this experience to Sophia, our 2-year-old daughter. I’m very excited to see where this leads us as a family.” Her successful participation in a basic keelboat class on the U.S. West Coast with instructor Wendy Sarnoff of the American Sailing Association has transformed Sarah into an ambassador for an ASA initiative launched earlier this year. Women Wake Up Zone is an educational campaign whose goal is to get more women out on the water. “When people hear ‘sailing,’…

sail trim quick guide: headsail

1 HOIST Hoist the sail with minimum halyard tension and then sheet the sail appropriately for the point of sail. Now tension the halyard just enough to remove any horizontal wrinkles emanating from the luff. You can leave a hint of wrinkles in light apparent wind velocity. In more wind, more tension is needed—and vice versa. 2 TUNE The lead position controls headsail leech tension and foot depth. Set the lead so that the sheet bisects the clew, thus applying equal tension to the leech and foot. To fine-tune the position, move the lead forward to add power (full foot, minimal twist) in light conditions and aft in bigger air to de-power (flat foot, more twist). When you’re reaching, the lead should follow the clew, moving outboard and somewhat forward as the sheet…