Saunderstown Classics

Saunderstown Classics, photo by Willie Waw.

The classic division at Saunderstown Yacht Club's weekly races includes Herreshoff 12-and-a-halfs, catboats, Javelins and Bullseyes.

Saunderstown Yacht Club is on Narragansett Bay's West Passage.

Juan Sebastian de Elcano

Elcano in Cadiz, photo by Willie Waw.

Spain's naval sail training ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano is shown soon after the start of the Tall Ships 2000 race from her home port of Cadiz to Bermuda.

Juan Sebastián de Elcano (1460-1526) was the first to circumnavigate the globe and Spain's best-known naval hero

Link here for more photos of the Elcano.

Evening Light

Evening Light, photo by Willie Waw.

Wickford Harbor in warm, summer evening light...

The lighthouse belongs to the home on the point and is no longer used for navigation.

Wickford Catboats

Wickford Catboats, photo by Willie Waw.

Serene evening racing on Narragansett Bay -- the Wickford Catboat Association holds races for Marshall 18 and 21 catboats each Tuesday in the summer.

Concordia 41 Yawl Suva in Padanaram

Concordia 41 Yawl Suva in Padanaram, photo by Willie Waw.

Suva and two slightly smaller Concordia 40 yawls grace Padanaram Harbor, Massachusetts, home of the famous Concordia Company. Most of the 103 yawls were built for Concordia by Abeking & Rasmussen in Germany between 1938 and 1966 and were delivered to Boston by ship.

To learn more about the history of these beautiful craft, link here.

New Bedford Junior Regatta

New Bedford Regatta, photo by Willie Waw.

Son Lyle and crew Katie power downwind in the New Bedford Junior Regatta -- they did well with a 7th out of about sixty-five 420s in the regatta.

Additional regattas in Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York will keep them very busy this summer -- that's the way we like it!

Brigantine Fritha out of Newport

Brigantine Fritha out of Newport, photo by Willie Waw.

The beautiful Fritha, built in New Zealand, is gearing up for charter work from Newport, Rhode Island. She will also be used as a sail training vessel for the American Sail Training Association and Northeast Maritime Institute.

Link here for a beautiful photo of the Fritha under sail.

Schooner Brilliant from Mystic Seaport

Schooner Brilliant from Mystic Seaport, photo by Willie Waw.

61-foot Brilliant was built in 1932 at the Henry B. Nevins shipyard in City Island, New York. Designed by Sparkman and Stephens, she was raced for many years and served with the Coast Guard during World War II.

Brilliant is shown here at anchor in Newport with a teen group aboard -- some of them can be seen swimming alongside. Brilliant has hosted more than 9,000 adult and youth sail trainees during her illustrious sailing career.

In 1933, Brilliant sailed from Nantucket Lightship to Bishop's Rock in the Scilly Islands (48nm WSW of the Lizard) in 15 days, one hour and 23 minutes. In 2000, under current Captain George Moffett, Brilliant won the race from Halifax to Amsterdam during Tall Ships 2000.

For more details on the Brilliant, her history and programs, link here.

New Record for Orange II

The maxi catamaran Orange II team established a new transatlantic sailing record finishing this evening in a time of 4 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes and 54 seconds (from New York's Ambrose Tower to the Lizard, the southwestern point of England). Their average speed was 28.02 knots and they shaved more than 9 hours off the old record held by Steve Fossett and crew on Playstation.

They would have finished earlier had their rudder not been damaged when it hit ice or debris -- speed had to be held under 30 knots for the latter part of the crossing. Congratulations to Bruno Peyron and his eleven speed-demon crew.

See post below for links.

Orange II Seeks Transtlantic Record

Orange II Seeks Transtlantic Record, photo by Willie Waw.

Bruno Peyron and his all French team aboard G-Class catamaran Orange II left New York City today just after 7:00 am local time in an attempt to beat the record held by Steve Fossett's Playstation since October 2001. The record stands at 4 days, 17 hours and 28 minutes to the southwest tip of England.

They are currently speeding along at about 30 knots and will have to average about 26 to set a new transatlantic record. In August 2004, Orange II missed setting a new record by just 31 minutes. If they break the receord, they will have to arrive at the southwest point of England (The Lizard) by 2:28 am on Friday morning, July 7th, New York time.

To follow the progress of Orange II, link here or to learn more about the vessel and the team, link here.