Saturday, December 26, 2009

J-Class Hanuman in Newport



Beautiful new J-Class yacht K6 Hanuman (Endeavour II replica) sails off Newport at the time of the 12-Meter Worlds in September. The original Endeavour II was defeated in the America's Cup in 1937 by Ranger, which has also been replicated recently.

Link here to learn more about the Hanuman and the other Js now sailing or being built or planned. There may be as many as 10 of these stunning J-Class yachts sailing in a few years.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

12 Meter Worlds



The 12 meter worlds were held in Newport this year as part of the 12 meter Golden Year of Racing. Heritage (US 23) is on the left passing a handsome yawl.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Wickford Catboats



The catboat fleet heads back to Wickford on a beautiful summer evening.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Adirondack II in Newport



Here's the handsome 80-foot Schooner Adirondack II in Newport in the summer. She's now headed for Key West for the winter.

Link here to lean more about the Adirondack II built by Scarano Boat Building in Albany in 1999.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Gloucester Schooner Festival



Last photo from the Schooner Festival -- from left to right, the Maine, Pride of Baltimore II and the American Eagle.

Ed Salas photo -- thanks, Ed & Shelby

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Pride of Baltimore II



Schooner Pride of Baltimore II is a reproduction of an 1812-era Baltimore Clipper privateer.

Here she is competing in the Gloucester Schooner festival. Photo by Ed Salas.

Link here to go to the Pride II blog and web site.

Friday, October 09, 2009

Schooner Roseway in Gloucester



Schooner Roseway under sail at the Schooner festival in Gloucester.

Link here to learn more about the Roseway and her sailing programs for youth and adults in Maine and the Virgin Islands.

Photo by Ed & Shelby Salas.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Schooner Alabama from Vineyard Haven



Here's the handsome Schooner Alabama in the Gloucester races.

Link here to learn more about the Alabama and her larger sister the Shenandoah.

Photo by guest photographers Ed & Shelby Salas.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Schooner Summertime



Here's Pinky Schooner Summertime from Rockland, Maine sailing in the 25th Gloucester Schooner Festival. This photo is by guest photographers Ed & Shelby Salas.

Link here to learn more about the Summertime and what makes her a pinky.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Gloucester Schooner Race



Lots of vessels sailed to Gloucester, MA on Labor Day weekend to race in the 25th Anniversary of the Gloucester Schooner Festival. The large vessel on the right is the Pride of Baltimore II.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Catboats on the Gloucester Marsh



Three catboats are sailing on Jones River in marsh country near Wingaersheek beach in Gloucester, MA.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Sunfish Doubles



Sunfish doubles used to be very popular -- great way for the younger kids to learn from the older kids.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Rhodes 19s Racing



Saunderstown Yacht Club has a few Rhodes 19s racing each week -- the motor on the stern isn't a problem if they all have them...

Friday, September 04, 2009

Two Schooners in Newport



Schooners Aurora and Mystic Whaler pass near Castle Hill in Newport.

Click here to read more about the opportunities to sail onboard the Mystic Whaler. They have lobster dinner cruises, daysails and 3 abd 5 -day cruises -- great food from what I have heard.

Guest photo by Rudi -- taken while onboard the Sweet Escape.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Schooner Brilliant



The 61-foot Schooner Brilliant, designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built in 1932 at the Henry B. Nevins yard on City Island, is owned by the Mystic Seaport Museum and has wonderful programs for young people. Link here to learn more about the teen programs on Brilliant.

And link here to see two more nice photos of her underway.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Schooner Aquidneck in Newport




Another beautiful Newport daysailing schooner, the Aquidneck shows her style.

Click here to learn more about the Aquidneck.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Wednesday Night Pizazz



Brutus from Wickford sails upwind in the Wednesday night races.

Friday, August 07, 2009

Aurora Newport



Schooner Aurora with her distinctive tan bark sails takes passengers on daysails / harbor tours in Newport. Link here to learn more about the Aurora.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Northern Light in Newport



Built in 1938, the beautiful 12-meter Northern Light is still active as a charter vessel in Newport. Here she is sailing in front of Clingstone, the house on the rock off Jamestown.

To learn more about the Northern Light, click here and to see some great interior and exterior photos of the 103-year-old Clingstone Mansion, click here.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Catboat Racing Saunderstown




Catboats racing on a breezy day at Saunderstown Yacht Club hug the shore to stay out of the strong current running against them.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Classic Sloop Near Dutch Island




A handsome classic gaff-rigged Friendship sloop, the 'Heidi Lee,' seen off the north tip of Dutch Island in Narragansett Bay.

Friday, July 17, 2009

3 Js on Wednesday



Three Js racing in the Wickford Wednesday night series...

Friday, July 10, 2009

Windsurfing Practice



Son Lyle practices his moves on the bay near Wickford.

Friday, July 03, 2009

Wickford Yawl



A classic yawl is bound for Wickford on a breezy and hazy July day.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Close Opti Action



The talented Optimist fleet at the Saunderstown Yacht Club scoots toward the leeward mark in a warmup race last weekend.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Fog on the Bay



An unusual low fog still allows good visibility above it.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Competition to Leeward



These two boats to leeward are our main competition -- the Nonsuch is leading the series and the Freedom is always in the fight, but has trouble sailing to its rating. I sail on a nice old wooden 8 meter and we are a bit erratic, but have had a good start this season with a 1st and 2nd.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Wickford Racing



Another Wednesday evening race shot -- prestart.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Twelves in Newport



Two twelve-meter yachts gear up for the season in Newport.

This is the 12 Meter 'Golden Year' -- 50th anniversary of the founding of the class -- link here to see the amazing schedule of events for 12 meters this year in the northeast including the 12-meter worlds in Newport September 22-26.

More than 30 of these beautiful yachts are expected to participate in events this season.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wickford Wednesday Racing



20 boats turned out on a cloudy but comfortable Wednesday evening to race in Wickford -- 4 fleets -- no waiting.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Wickford Schooner



Schooner on the bay on a quiet spring day.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

505 Heading in after the Race



A 505 returns to the beach after the Wickford Regatta.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Volvo Start Video



Here's some footage from the start of the Volvo Ocean race in Boston -- you can see the arriving ship that disrupted the start. Also has a nice shot of the Puma foiler moth. This was taken by Maia and Cal.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Another Volvo Start Photo



Puma is leading Ericsson 3 and 4 at the Volvo start in Boston. Most of the fleet completed the race to Galway, Ireland in less than 8 days, despite having to sail extra miles to avoid the right whale and iceberg exclusion zones.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Volvo Start Boston



This photo of Green Dragon and Puma at the start of the race from Boston to Galway Ireland was taken by Sailscape correspondent Maia Pilzer.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

International 14



Here's an International 14 at the Wickford Regatta almost ready to head out. The unusual rudder with perpendicular hydrofoil has to be mounted in deep water.

To learn more about the class, link here. And to see the unusual foils, link here.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Wickford Regatta



Last sailed in 1980, the Wickford Regatta has been resurrected by former Olympic coach Skip Whyte and the Wickford Yacht Club. Classes racing are the International 420, 505, International 14 and Laser. Next year the A Class cats will be included if they don't have another major event conflict.

Link here to learn more about the event.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Spring Training on the Bay



The local high school team practices on the bay regularly now even though the water is still pretty cold.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Cruiser returns from the Bay



A few more cruising boats are venturing out of the harbor for their early spring test sails. Soon the harbors will be full of boats on moorings.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Volvo Fleet Arrives in Boston





Here are some distant photos of the top three Volvo boats in leg 6 from Rio as they pass Gloucester, Mass on the way to the finish this afternoon in Boston. They passed so close to Gloucester because they had to circumnavigate the right whale exclusion zone en route to Boston.

Top is Ericsson 4, winner of the leg.

Ericsson 3 is shown passing Thacher Island; they finished in second place, but only twelve minutes behind Ericsson 4 after 15 days.

And bottom is Telefonica Blue -- they finished only 6 minutes after Ericsson 3.

Click here to visit the Volvo Ocean Race page -- or drive to Fan Pier in Boston to see them in person.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Early Cruiser



Sloop Raven is one of the first cruising boats to venture out of Wickford this spring. The Jamestown bridge, Fox Island and Plum Beach Lighthouse are in the background.

The Volvo Ocean race fleet is fast approaching Boston -- updates at www.volvooceanrace.org.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Signs of Spring



Not much sailing on the bay yet, but high school teams are out in the chilly weather practicing and having matches. This team sails out of the Newport Yacht Club.

Friday, April 10, 2009

New Tall Ship for Rhode Island




Rhode Island's new sailing school vessel, the Oliver Hazard Perry, is in Newport waiting for work to start to rig her as a three-masted ship. The hull is 132 feet long and she'll have a sparred length of 207 feet.

To learn more about Tall Ships Rhode Island and to see how she'll look when completed, click here. You can also read about the objectives for this sail training ship.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Hobie Cats Ready to Go



Hobie Cats, kayaks and more for rent on the beautiful west coast of Barbados.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

World's Largest Sailing Ship?



This car carrier has more sail area than anything else I've seen!

I wonder how this ship handles in a gale offshore -- do you think they sail her without engines if the wind direction is right?

Imagine the wind shadow!