SAIL

after the storm

We live in interesting times. I’m not sure if that phrase actually is an ancient Oriental curse, but sometimes it sure feels like it. In early September, I watched with a mixture of horror and resignation as Hurricane Dorian first squatted over Grand Bahama until it was levelled and then trundled up the entire southeast coastline of the United States, not heading seaward until it had given Nova Scotia a thorough pasting. The fact that my boat was in its sights for a time—on the hard in northeastern Florida—accounts for the resignation, shortlived though it was. For the people of the Bahamas, the horror lingers on. After Hurricane Irma went across the Virgin Islands and St. Martin two years ago, the destruction was the worst I’d seen from any weather-related event.…

sail

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PETER NIELSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR ADAM CORT ASSOCIATE EDITOR LYDIA MULLAN WEB EDITOR EMME HURLEY CRUISING EDITOR CHARLES J. DOANE TECHNICAL EDITOR JAY E. PARIS ELECTRONICS EDITOR BEN ELLISON CHARTER EDITOR ZUZANA PROCHAZKA CONTRIBUTING EDITORS NIGEL CALDER, DON CASEY, TOM CUNLIFFE, DUNCAN KENT, TOM HALE, ANDY SCHELL, GORDON WEST, ANNIE DIKE, PETER SWANSON ART & DESIGN ART DIRECTOR STEVE JYLKKA ADVERTISING GROUP PUBLISHER BOB BAUER / bbauer@aimmedia.com MARKETING DIRECTOR SARAH WEBSTER OPERATIONS MANAGER ANDREA BAK HOWEY / ahowey@aimmedia.com EUROPEAN ADVERTISING DIRECTOR ELENA PATRIARCA / patriarca.elena@gmail.com NORTHEAST, UPPER MIDWEST & EASTERN CANADA REGIONAL MANAGER ANDREW HOWE / ahowe@aimmedia.com FLORIDA AND THE CARIBBEAN JESSICA SCHULTZ / jschultz@aimmedia.com MID-ATLANTIC, CENTRAL MIDWEST, WEST COAST, WESTERN CANADA REGIONAL MANAGER BOB BAUER / bbauer@aimmedia.com MARKETPLACE SALES MANAGER CATHY BREEN / cbreen@aimmedia.com MARINE GROUP PRESIDENT GARY DE SANCTIS VP, MARKETING AND EVENTS JULIE JARVIE VP, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR WILLIAM SISSON VP, MARKETING INNOVATION ERIC DALLIN FINANCIAL ANALYST CHRISTINE NILSEN PRODUCTION MANAGER SUNITA PATEL EVENT…

the sailing scene

Share your experiences with other readers. Send your photos to sailmail@sailmagazine.com And don’t forget to sign up for our free eNewsletter, Under Sail, via our website sailmagazine.com We were on our Catalina 30 sailing to Annapolis and were so happy to be so close to this wonderful regatta on a Saturday afternoon.— Mohsen Masoudfar, Annapolis, MDThis photo was taken by Channel Cruising Club member Rob von Zabern’s drone as we “rounded up” on our annual long cruise in August at Mariner’s Basin in Mission Bay.— Mike Schneider, San Diego, CAI shot this photo on a beautiful pre-Thanksgiving sail back in 2017— Matthew Plaisted, Clearwater, FLThis photo is from the last leg of the GBCA Rum Race #8 on Galveston Bay. You don’t see a Cheoy Lee 38 with a wooden mast racing…

letters

IPAD REVOLUTION Further to Finding the Way (October), I too remember when the GPS revolution began and the naysayers and detractors who poo-pooed the technology. Here we are decades later, and if you don’t have GPS on board your boat, you are considered by your sailing peers to be foolish at best and negligent at worst. I have sensed another, albeit smaller, evolution occurring over the last few years, and I am curious what others think. The large networked multifunction displays (aka chartplotters) are ubiquitous on many sailboats these days, and most new production boats come with this equipment standard. I have used these on many other sailboats over the years, and I have mixed feelings. Overall, I have found them to be a convenient central reference for a lot of useful…

lake effect

“Focused on racing, dedicated to fun,” says the Wayzata Yacht Club’s website, and its Thursday evening races on Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka certainly bear that out—up to 130 boats turn out for the 65 races it organizes each year, and the weekly beer can races often attract 100 or more crews. The club keeps it real—most of the boats are 22ft to 25ft keelboats, like the Catalina Capri 25s pictured here doing battle with each other and shifty winds. It also organizes a program of big-boat racing via its Apostle Islands station in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Way to go, Wayzata!…

to sail or nor to sail

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em Know when to fold ‘em Know when to walk away And know when to run— Kenny Rodgers “The Gambler” When I was young I would unflinchingly go out sailing in anything. Big boat, little boat, alone or with a crowd, it didn’t much matter. Same thing with setting all kinds of sail, weather forecast be damned. Reefing is for wimps! This, of course, resulted in some memorable moments afloat, as well as some equally fun sailing stories back on shore. “Remember that one time when we set the kite and…” Since then, however, I’ve become a good deal more cautious (or maybe “prudent” is the better word). Part of this, I believe, stems from my having had the opportunity to sail aboard a series of…