Spindrift

Racing Around the World - Virtually

2008-10-19T09:42:00.008-04:00

As of this morning's sked, Atlantis 1 is in 10,765th place having gained about 400 places overnight. Not bad for a night's work. We're about 593 miles off the lead. Hard to figure out where we lost so much distance, but as the leaders hit lighter air as they approach the doldrums, maybe we can make up a little ground.

Son Peter, 11, in Atlantis 2 has the family lead. This morning, he was in 2,262nd, only 273 miles off the lead, and daughter Hannah's not too far behind him in Sol y Escopetas ("Sun and Guns" in Spanish - don't ask me). Not sure exactly where they are, but based on what we're looking at for breeze over the next 36 hours, I think Atlantis 1 is positioned to make a move.

OK, I'm addicted. Which isn't terribly surprising, given the number of other people who seem to be as well. There are 32,666 boats in the Volvo Ocean Race Game, and while I'm sure that quite a few players have multiple horses in the race, that's still a pretty impressive number of people who, like all of us, are spending an unhealthy amount of time in front of the screen. In fact, the timing of the start of the Volvo Ocean Race and the global economic meltdown may just be too much of a coincidence.

It's not too late to jump in, and it's better than fantasy football. Probably better than actually sailing around the world too - you can jibe and change spinnakers, and then go sleep in your warm, dry bed.

Sportsmanship at the C of C

2008-09-29T10:47:00.006-04:00

Last week, I had the good fortune to sail in US Sailing's Championship of Champions. The event was ably hosted by Sayville YC on Long Island and sailed in Sunfish.

This post isn't really supposed to be about who won, but the fact is that the winner and the runner-up both sailed such a great regatta that their respective performances deserve mentioning. Doug Kaukeinen, the reigning Sunfish North American champion, and Mike Ingham, perpetual champion in one or another of the several one-designs he sails regularly, staged a duel that came down to the last lap of the 13th and final race. Mike led after the first lap, but Doug caught him at the gate, beat him in the race and won the event. The other reason this bears mentioning is that both of these guys sail out of the Rochester Canoe Club in Rochester, NY - pretty impressive for any club to put two guys in the top 2 places in this event, let alone a relatively unheralded one in upstate NY.

So congratulations are due to both Doug and Mike, but the main point here is that the event was notable not just for the collection of talent, but also for the high level of sportsmanship and camaraderie on display. From the very beginning, the atmosphere was low-key, collegial, and all about sharing. Sunfish expert Paul-Jon Patin from Starboard Passage ran a clinic for all the competitors on Wednesday afternoon, and there was a ton of idea sharing going on all the time. The Sunfish sailors in the crowd were very forthcoming with their rigging, tuning and boathandling techniques, and every time someone discovered something that seemed to work, he or she was very quick to tell everyone else about it. Jim Koehler from the Dinghy Shop was also around to impart his wisdom gained from many years of Sunfish sailing (and to dole out 5/16" mainsheets), and I benefitted greatly from his input.

In addition, each evening a "Rolex Round Table" was held at which the folks who did well each day shared their approach, and the ones who had struggled a bit could ask questions and seek advice. Many theories were bandied about at these sessions, and I'd guess they helped everyone move up the learning curve at a pretty good clip. Doug was clearly the best Sunfish sailor there, but I think even he would concur that by the end of the regatta, everyone was sailing the boats at a fairly high level.

On the water, the atmosphere of cooperation and sportsmanship continued. There were very few facials, and over the course of 13 races, not a single protest was filed. People were quick to do circles when in doubt, and no one really pushed it at any mark roundings that I saw. One collision almost occurred when two boats on opposite tacks were approaching each other upwind, and they both decided to duck.

Overall, I'd love to see all regattas should work this way. A naive opinion, I know, but one can hope, can't one?

Maureen McKinnon-Tucker Day

2008-09-21T10:56:00.011-04:00

On Saturday, Marblehead turned out to pay tribute to our newest gold medalist, Maureen McKinnon-Tucker. Maureen and her skipper Nick Scandone have provided us with one of the most inspirational stories of the year, and Saturday's parade through downtown Marblehead ending at historic Fort Sewall was a fitting salute to the team.

Maureen rode in a sexy red Corvette provided by Hillcrest Chevrolet, and her daughter and her classmates from the Eveleth School carried the spinnaker with the American flag on it that Maureen and Nick used in the regatta. Parade organizer and bagpiper extraordinaire Julie Hahnke provided a march, Glover's Regiment followed with fife and drum, and the route was lined with fans waving little American flags.

Once the parade arrived at Fort Sewall, state and local politicians read proclamations where every sentence started with "Whereas...", and a representative from the Marblehead Board of Selectmen proclaimed September 20th as "Maureen McKinnon-Tucker Day" - not a bad thing. I had been asked to speak about my mother's involvement in putting disabled sailing on the map as a paralympic sport, and Katie Kelly from US Sailing presented Maureen with an Olympic flag signed by all of the members of the Olympic and Paralympic sailing teams.

We also acknowledged Marblehead's other Paralympic representative Tim Angle. Tim sailed with Rick Doerr in the Sonar, and unfortunately, despite being highly touted for gold, the team came away with an 8th place finish.

Chowder and ice cream were thoughtfully provided by several local Marblehead businesses, and the ceremony came to a fitting close with Marblehead's Glover's Regiment giving Maureen a 9-gun salute followed by the playing of the national anthem on fife and drum. The paraders then retired to the Landing for some well-deserved refreshment, and the celebration continued well into the afternoon.

Where Was The Navy Born?

2008-07-15T10:06:00.015-04:00

Atlantis HQ is located in Marblehead, MA, and it’s where we all live. When I drive into town, it says right there on the “Welcome to Marblehead” sign: “Birthplace of the American Navy”.

Now, my parents taught me not to believe everything I read, but given Marblehead’s heritage as a seafaring town, is there really a reason to question this assertion? Apparently there is, as evidenced by an ad we ran in Scuttlebutt two weeks ago in which we referred to Marblehead as the place the Navy was born. We received many responses from the Scuttlebutt audience, some gently correcting our misperception and others more stridently making a case for other towns and cities including Philadelphia, Whitehall, NY, Portsmouth, NH and our neighbor Beverly, MA. The facts surrounding the case are not totally clear, but at the end of the day, it would seem to us that Marblehead’s claim to the title is solid. Here’s what we think we know:

The spring and summer of 1775 marked the beginning of the American Revolution, and it essentially began with the Seige of Boston. Continental militia forces surrounded Boston and cut off the British forces occupying the town from escape to or support from the surrounding countryside. The Battles of Lexington & Concord and Bunker Hill took place as the British made attempts to break out of Boston, but to their surprise, the Continental forces were too strong and too well-organized. They couldn’t do anything to cut off the British from the sea, however, and this allowed the occupiers to hold out for as long as they could receive supplies and material via ship.

George Washington, who’d arrived in July to take command of what had become the Continental Army, came to the conclusion that harassing British supply vessels entering Boston harbor could accomplish two objectives: tormenting the enemy and supplying his own troops. So on September 5, 1775, he asked Marblehead merchant Col. John Glover and members of his Marblehead Regiment to take his sloop Hannah to sea to “cruise against the enemy” and to seize “such Vessels as may be found on the High seas or elsewhere, bound inward and outward to or from Boston in the Service of the ministerial Army". Glover and his Marblehead militia were one of Washington’s favorite units, and they later distinguished themselves as the 14^th Continental Regiment for, among other things, ferrying the army across the Delaware River in December 1776 for the surprise attack on the British at Trenton.

The Royal Navy squadron on the Boston Station at that time had some pretty serious firepower in it, so expectations for the Hannah, a 43-footer with no real armament to speak of (4 guns) nor an experienced fighting crew, can’t have been too high. In fact, you could argue that it was a ridiculous proposition to send her out there at all, and the initial foray ended somewhat ignominiously when the Hannah crossed paths with the HMS Lively. The Lively was a 20-gun sloop-of-war with a full complement of battle-tested seamen, and she’d been part of the North American Squadron for many years. Being Marbleheaders, however, one thing the crew of the Hannah could do well was sail, and they were fortunately able to elude their pursuers by setting everything they had and nipping into Gloucester harbor before the Lively could catch them.

It’s reported that Hannah captured the British sloop Unity two days later, but that would prove to be the only bright spot in the ship’s short career as America’s first warship. A month after getting started, she was run aground in Beverly, and despite being saved from capture by a bunch of citizens with guns, she was removed from service.

We are certain that strong cases can be made for other cities and towns as the Navy’s cradle. There is no question that the Hannah spent a significant amount of time in Beverly, and Philadelphia’s claim is, one assumes, based on the fact that it’s where the Continental Congress voted to authorize the construction of the famous six frigates and that’s where the USS United States, the first one launched, was built.

Whitehall’s claim is based on the fact that it was where Philip Schuyler had a fleet of 16 schooners and gunboats built in 1776 which Benedict Arnold used in the Battle of Valcour Island. The British thought they could end the Revolution by gaining control of the Hudson River Valley and linking Canada with British-occupied New York City, thereby cutting rebellious New England off from the rest of the colonies. In order to accomplish this goal, the Brits needed to neutralize the American strongholds at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the only way to get there from the St. Lawrence River Valley was via Lake Champlain.

The Brits brought 30 ships to the party vs. Benedict Arnold’s 16, and while the battle resulted in a British victory, it slowed them down enough to delay the planned assault on Ticonderoga and Crown Point until the following year. This delay gave the Americans much-needed time to gather a larger and better-supported force which would eventually defeat the British at Saratoga in 1777. Saratoga represented the first real American military victory, and is largely thought to be the tipping point that brought France into the war on the American side.

All great stories, and they give each town a strong case to make on their respective behalves. But, while Hannah going to sea may not have had quite the impact on the formation of the young republic that Benedict Arnold’s fleet or Philly’s United States did, she was the first American warship sent to sea by George Washington. With all due respect to those other places, there can only be one “birthplace”, and Marblehead is it.

Welcome to America!

2008-05-28T12:01:00.006-04:00

My 11 year old son and I got up at 5AM today to welcome Giovanni Soldini to Marblehead.

The Italian sailing hero has been leading the Class 40 contingent of the 2008 Artemis Transat pretty much the entire way from the start in Plymouth to the finish in Marblehead, and after about 17 days of sailing, we wanted to be the first humans he saw. It was a picture perfect morning (if a bit on the chilly side), and the fresh northwester set him up for a straight shot closehauled on starboard to the finish line at the MH1 bell.

The Class 40 is not as imposing a sight as an Open 60, the last of which had finished the previous evening, but it's still pretty compelling to see a sailor approaching the end of what is surely an epic journey by any standard - crossing the ocean alone in a relatively small boat. In fact, it's kind of a shame that there are no Americans in the race, as it would be a pretty amazing homecoming. New England blue water sailing legend Rich Wilson, a participant in the last Transat 4 years ago in his Open 50, and a guy with several ocean crossings to his credit, probably felt pretty good when he saw that Boston skyline after a couple of weeks at sea.

We also had the good fortune to meet a couple of the Open 60 competitors last night. British solo sailor Dee Caffari, having finished that afternoon, looked ready to go out on the town - hard to believe considering the fact that she'd battled a 25 knot headwind for the final couple of hundred miles. And Yannick Bestaven, fresh from his 7th place finish, was looking forward to heading up the St. Lawrence River for the start of the Quebec-St. Malo Race starting July 10th. He loves ocean sailing, and it seems that he can't get enough of this stuff. He's already qualified for the Vendee Globe, the solo non-stop lap around the world in Open 60s starting in November that all of these sailors are preparing for, so he could just sail straight home, but he'd rather race, and Quebec-St. Malo is a cool event. The first 300 - 400 mile stretch takes place in the St. Lawrence River, and the race passes the tiny French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon on or around Bastille Day - and according to Yannick, the party spills off the shores and out to the passing boats.

Never what you'd call particularly popular in the past, solo distance racing seems to be catching on in a pretty big way. These folks are national heroes in some European countries, but until recently, very few people were nuts enough to actually want to go way offshore alone. And while it still hasn't really caught on in the US, the combination of technology and momentum has attracted a steadily increasing number of world-class sailors to this unique aspect of the sport. The Vendee Globe currently boasts 31 entries including the winner of the Transat, Loick Peyron in Gitana 80 (pictured here) and Vincent Riou in PRB, the guy who was winning until he chopped a shark in half with his keel to the detriment of both the shark and his boat which he subsequently abandoned. Ten years ago, you couldn't find 31 people who'd want to do this race with full crew, and the sight of 31 boats charging off the starting line at high speed in France should be something to behold. To be sure, the Bay of Biscay, which boasts some of the nastiest conditions in the world, will probably send a few victims limping home within the first week, but the prospect of a good-sized fleet racing around the planet should be good fun.

Maybe it will even spark some interest in long-distance solo sailing in the US. Though he sails alone, Rich Wilson wants some company.

Spring Has Sprung?

2008-04-18T10:28:00.002-04:00

As we look out the windows of our offices at the Marblehead Trading Company boatyard, it looks like a classic spring in Marblehead. In other words, some activity, but mostly still buttoned up pretty tight.

Spring here is typically non-existent – we go straight from winter to summer – which seems to be part of what makes Marblehead sailors a different breed. Not only do you need to deal with a broad range of conditions on the water, but if you want to get your boat in before July, you better buck up and figure out how start working on your pre-launch checklist in the snow.

It’s still ski season, but down on Long Island Sound, they’re gearing up for the first regatta of the season, and the water temperature is probably already where it won’t get to here until June (if we’re lucky). It can be 80 degrees here, but as soon as you get a hint of a seabreeze, you can watch the temperature plummet before your eyes. It’s the only place I’ve ever lived where there’s a wind-chill factor in May.

This is the crucible from which our performance sailing gear is formed, and it’s where we make sure it works. Here, we design the gear we think New England sailors need: rugged and versatile gear built out of high-tech fabrics that keep you comfortable and let you function at a high-level no matter what Mother Nature’s cooking up for you.

2007 was the first year of "the new Atlantis", and the reception was fantastic. People seemed to like that we're thinking differently about sailing gear, and they seemed to like the direction we went. For 2008, we’ve made some improvements to the things that were already working well, and we added a few new pieces that our customers and our dealers suggested. It’s not a broad line, but we don’t think you’ll find many gaps. If you do, tell us where you think they are and we’ll take that into consideration in our product development process.

Our "Discover" brand idea is built around the concept that no matter what we all like to do on or around the water, our gear can make the experience better. Whether it's racing sailboats, spending an evening at anchor in a quiet cove, chasing stripers in a center-console or just kicking around the waterfront, we want our customers to enjoy the time they spend around the water, and we want to help them do it.

We'd love to hear about what you do in your Atlantis gear, and if you send us pictures, we'll put them in the gallery on our website. Its always fun to see pictures of people having fun.

White Rats

2008-03-03T10:33:00.003-05:00

At the Etchells Midwinters in Miami, PRO Dave Brennan decided to try something new, and in the process may have changed sailboat racing as we know it.

The Etchells class has been around since the early 70’s, and at age 35+, it is arguably the hottest one-design keelboat in the world. Many of the biggest names in the sport sail them now along with a strong and committed group of class stalwarts who’ve been sailing them for years. The Jaguar Cup, an annual series consisting of four events sailed in Miami and capped off by the Midwinter Championship, now draws 90 boats from all over the world. And this isn’t just any 90 boats – it’s a deep 90 – and while the racing is off-the-charts good, the unfortunate by-product is that even after a 2.2 mile first beat, everyone gets to the windward mark at the same time. I mean EVERYONE.

The Etchells is a very pretty boat, and it’s a joy to sail. There are very few designs that are quite as pointy, however, or as unresponsive when the helm is hard over, which makes these “en masse” mark roundings particularly scary. So the Biscayne Bay race management team decided to try something new: two windward marks. And why not? Given the fact that the leeward gate has become de rigeur at pretty much every event that I’ve sailed in over the past 10 years, I’m surprised it’s taken this long for someone to take a shot at the windward gate. Paul Elvstrom incorporated it into his innovative “triple racing” format, but to my knowledge, it hasn’t been tried in a high-profile fleet race yet.

So despite some whingeing from the peanut gallery, Dave told us his plan on Thursday evening at the competitors’ briefing: We would have two marks approximately 10 boat lengths apart that would be rounded from the inside out – with no offset marks (which would turn out to be the fly in the proverbial ointment). Our team did quite a bit of thinking about the tactics and rules situations that rounding the right-hand mark to starboard might create – things like:

· The spinnaker would be hooked up on the wrong side – we would need to figure out how to add a windward set to our repertoire.

· Bearing away on port into the teeth of a lineup of starboard tackers on the layline to the right-hand mark while trying to do a windward set would be challenging to say the least.

· Should our choice of windward marks be dictated by traffic, by which mark is further downwind or by which side of the run we wanted to play?

· In a port rounding, the boat coming in on the layline and tacking has few rights – in a starboard rounding, the boat coming in on the layline and tacking is in total control.

So our assessment was that the addition of a second mark would significantly open thing up and create new opportunities to gain (and lose) ground, but we would need to rethink our spinnaker packing and setting routine. Given the likelihood that there would be a line of starboard tack boats that would make it difficult to bear away to a run or roll right into a jibe set, we would need to run the spinnaker forward and set it off the bow. For this, we went back to the old “Soling roll” technique of rolling the chute into a bundle, and we set it up with the sheets and halyard led between the mast and the shrouds so that it could be easily run forward by the forward hand like a running back with a football while the middleman (me) shifted forward to the halyard for the hoist.

But what about the “fly in the ointment” that I mentioned earlier? Along with leeward gates, offset marks have also become the norm, and with good reason. When a starboard tack boat bears away around the windward mark into a line of port tack boats sailing upwind, very bad things can happen - and the offset mark does a reasonably good job of preventing these bad things. But with a windward gate, would you still need offset marks? Would setting two windward marks AND two offset marks be too much for a single mark boat crew to handle? The BBYC race management team determined that the windward gate would obviate the need for offset marks – and this was the one and only mistake they made. When a boat that’s going downwind on starboard jibe and heeling to windward passes to leeward of a boat that’s going upwind on port tack, masts can come very close together, and on the very first rounding, aside from a number of incredibly close calls, Bruce Burton got his mast taken down.

For the second race, out came the offset marks, and after that, it was relatively smooth sailing. A windward gate doesn’t thin the herd as much as a single weather mark does, and one of the interesting side effects is that everyone gets to the leeward gate at the same time. There were some hair-raising pileups there, but most people are used to leeward gates by now, and good judgement seemed to carry the day.

Overall, I think the experiment was a success. Two windward marks are probably better than one as it keeps the fleet closer and creates more opportunities to pass boats – good if you’re behind. The downside is that you apparently still need offset marks which will strain the resources (and the backs) of many race management teams. Not so bad in Biscayne Bay dropping marks in 20 feet of water – a daunting prospect in places where the water’s pretty deep. There are those who’ve argued that a 90-boat fleet may not have been the best place to try this out, but I’d like to see other clubs follow Dave Brennan’s example and give it a shot.

Who knows? Ten years from now, we may not be able to remember what it was like to sail in races with only one windward mark.

Smoke On The Water?

2008-01-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

Brrrrr!

If you live in Canada, this probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but we're not exactly used to waking up to 5 degrees Fahrenheit here. Cars don't start, water pipes freeze, the dog has no interest in going outside, and for whatever weird reason, the harbor starts smoking (I'm sure there's a simple meteorological explanation for it, so if you know what it is, please tell us).

When this happens, we start thinking about the next chance we have to go sail somewhere warm, and the good news is ONLY TWO MORE WEEKS UNTIL KEY WEST! Run by our next door neighbor Peter Craig and his Premiere Racing team, Acura Key West Race Week has become the premiere sailing event in North America. 261 entries and counting including 60 non-US boats (a new record according to Peter, and not terribly surprising given the current state of the US dollar), this fleet includes all the names you've followed in the sailing press and around the race track over the years (except Mr. Coutts, who probably has a full plate right now).

Go for the sailing, go for the parties or just go to get warm. It's a chance to see old friends from around the country, meet some new ones, experience some incredibly competitive racing with world-class race management and enjoy the climate and atmosphere on this funky little island at the south end of America. If you want to go but don't have a ride, check out the Scuttlebutt Crew Board at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/eventdescription.asp?ID=5344. Looks like there are a couple of boats still looking for crew.

And as much as we tend to complain about the cold, and wonder why we chose to live in a place where it can get so cold that the harbor smokes, here's a little something to give you some perspective. You think you're tough? Try doing this for a living...

Where The Action Is

2007-12-12T22:02:00.000-05:00

As we continue to read about the latest twists and turns in the America's Cup saga and the uproar over which classes were selected for the next Olympics, it's easy to start to feel a bit jaded about the direction in which our sport seems to be headed. But if you want to get your head back in the game and reaffirm your positive attitude toward sailing, I'd suggest a visit to Coconut Grove, FL to sail in the Etchells Jaguar Series.

My family's been very heavily involved in the Etchells class, almost from it's infancy (our first boat was hull #16 when it was almost new), and I recall the early days when they were trying to get a Midwinter regatta going. J-24s, Lightnings, Snipes, etc. all had pretty well-attended Midwinters in Florida, but the first couple of Etchells Midwinters were very low-key affairs with only a handful of boats. Now? Different story.

73 boats showed up last weekend for the first of the four events of the Jaguar Series hosted by Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, and it wasn't just any 73 boats. The list of participants read like a Who's Who of sailing including world champions Jud Smith, Dirk Kneulman, Vince Brun, Andy Beadsworth, Bill Mauk and Bruce Burton (that's 6 Etchells world champions showing up for a weekend regatta) as well as a deep, deep fleet of longtime Etchells hotshots like Peter Duncan and Scott Piper and very talented class newcomers like John Kolius and Tom Lihan. Even the coaches were world-class with Morgan Reeser, Ed Adams and Moose McClintock watching the races and offering pointers to their clients.

With a maximum weight limit of 638 lbs. (and the need to be as close to that as you can get), many Etchells are being sailed with 4 instead of the standard 3 crew. I had the good fortune to sail with the SoCal duo of Bruce Golison and Steve Flam, two outstanding sailors who are an absolute pleasure to ride with. The icing on the cake was that we needed an extra 100 lbs. , so I got to bring my 13-year-old daughter Hannah. While she spends most of her time sailing Optis, she has ridden with me in keelboats before, and she's pretty comfortable in the environment. I think she's still processing it all, but my guess is that this is one event that Hannah won't soon forget.

Biscayne Bay Yacht Club's Race Committee did a terrific job getting off five great races (although their job was made somewhat easier by the fact that the wind blew from exactly the same direction for 48 hours). They communicated openly with the fleet, telling us exactly what they were thinking, when they were getting ready to start, what the course was, and counting down to the signals so that everyone's stopwatch was spot on. Nobody won more than one race, although Bill Hardesty from San Diego did manage to put together 2 races in the top 2 to win by a point over Marblehead homeboy (and Atlantis test pilot) Jud Smith.

Sunday afternoon, the fleet scattered among the four top-flight shore bases in the Grove, Shake-A-Leg Sailing Center, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, Coral Reef Yacht Club and the US Sailing Center, to get hauled and stashed in the parking lots until the next regatta on January 5th and 6th.

This is what sailboat racing should always be like: great boats, terrific sailors (both kids and adults) and a world-class event with plenty of sun and wind. Next time you start to wonder whether sailing's headed in a good direction, call Dirk Kneulman at Ontario Yachts and ask him to build you an Etchells. There are a couple hundred Etchells sailors in Miami who will tell you that none of the rest of that stuff really matters as long as they can keep doing their thing.

Nice Boat!

2007-11-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

Pictured at the right is the prettiest lobster boat we've ever seen. She is the Sea Hooker, a working lobster boat owned by Jay Sahagian, proprietor of Marblehead seafood mainstay The Barnacle.

Next up is the new Numbers, an IRC 66-footer designed by Rolf Vrolijk, built by Eric Goetz and owned by longtime Marblehead resident (currently of Boston and Newport) Dan Meyers. According to Dan, his new boat is like nothing he's ever driven before - and he's driven quite a few (this one's #6 in the series). The boat's shakedown event, the IRC East Coast Championship, resulted in a narrow last-race loss to John Kilroy and his very well-sailed Samba Pa Ti (TP 52), and we expect nothing but great things from Dan and his new hot rod.

While we've not yet geared Jay up, we have outfitted Dan and his team with custom gear. They report that the stuff works better than advertised, and we think they look pretty good.

Big Wind

2007-11-03T13:53:00.000-04:00

Bottom's falling out of the barometer, and the offshore buoy data shows gusts above 50 knots. Look's like Noel's coming by for a visit this afternoon.

All in all, we'd rather be in Annapolis right now where Dan Meyers and his crew of Alinghi guys are hanging tough at the IRC East Coasts in Annapolis as they work out the kinks in his new IRC 66-footer Numbers. This is the boat's first event, and we're particularly interested in how they're doing as they are sporting a full line of Atlantis gear. So regardless of how they fare, at least they'll be dry and comfortable.

Based on the buoy readings from Annapolis, it looks like they dodged a bullet as the 50-60 knot gusts they got there were very early this morning. They're racing now, and based on the satellite imagery, it looks like the sun's about to come out there.

Not here though. Noel's closing in on New England, and here at AWG HQ, the noise level is steadily increasing. Yesterday saw the frenzy of boat extraction that typically precedes the first northeaster of the fall. Though this year wasn't quite as crazy as usual as it arrived so late in the season that most boats were already out.

Here's the view of the town docks with ramps up from our office in the boatyard:

After this one, the hatches will be well and truly battened down here, and we'll start looking forward to spending a bit of time on the slopes in between Florida regattas. The Etchells winter circuit kicks off the 2nd weekend in December, right around the same time as the Palm Beach Race, and the big one, Peter Craig's Key West Race Week, starts January 14th. Hope we see everyone there.

Cars with surfboards on top are starting to show up at Devereaux Beach to take advantage of the killer point break that starts up when the wind's out of the northeast. We're gonna go do a little spectating.

AWG out.

Sashimi

2007-10-24T15:52:00.000-04:00

Even a bad day at the office turns out OK when it ends this way (not that we ever have those here!).

Our AWG Test Pilot program bore unexpected fruit yesterday when alpha fish-catcher Jock Danforth popped in around 5:00 with a pile of tuna that less than 18 hours earlier had been swimming around minding it's own business out on Stellwagen Bank. First time we'd seen him not wearing his Microburst in awhile, but we were willing to let it slide in return for a couple of pounds of sushi grade.

Thanks Jock!

Proper Yachting

2007-10-12T10:58:00.000-04:00

"Who's the winner? Yachting's the winner! Yachting's always the winner!" With these words, Donald Tofias, owner of the two W-Class 76-foot "Spirit of Tradition" sloops, rallies the troops before going sailing.

Against a backdrop of the World Financial Center skyscrapers, the boats tied up to the dock in North Cove look relatively small. There's Black Watch, a beautiful 68' Sparkman & Stephens yawl built in 1938, the two replica New York sandbaggers, Bull & Bear, the replica Baltimore Clipper Pride of Baltimore, and of course, the two W-Class yachts, White Wings and Wild Horses. This somewhat random collection of boats and sailors are here for the first annual New York Classic Week regatta, organized by Mike Fortenbaugh and his team at the Manhattan Yacht Club.

People who've sailed in or watched classic yacht events in the US know that that the two W-Class yachts generally travel as a matched set. Designed by Joel White and built in Maine in 1998, the boats were conceived as the "starter set" for what Mr. Tofias hopes to build into a one-design class. As such, they are the marketing platform for the W-Class, and Donald likes to add twists to spice up the inevitable match race between the two boats. For this event, Donald and Wayne George, owner of nautical store FL Woods in Marblehead and the Marblehead Greens apparel brand, came up with the concept of a match race between Marblehead and Newport with the stakes being nothing less than the title of "Sailing Capital of the World".

This battle for global supremacy, billed as Marblehead Greens ("Marblehead yachties sail because they can afford to") vs. Brenton Reds ("Newport yachties sail because they need the work"), would prove to be the centerpiece of the event. I got the nod as the skipper of the Marblehead team, so I recruited a ragtag collection of outstanding sailors from the Marblehead area and showed up on the dock at North Cove on Thursday morning.

Manhattan Yacht Club runs a fleet of J-24s out of North Cove, but the clubhouse is on a barge called the Honorable William Wallace that's permanently moored out by Ellis Island and accessible via launch. This is the platform from which the races are run, and Thursday found the fleet gathered there for the first race, titled the "Introduction to the Harbor Race".

Quite an introduction it was, too. Government marks were designated as turning marks, and New York has way more than their fair share of them. Bell buoys in New York Harbor are like lobster pots in Maine - I don't know how all the commercial traffic gets around in there without running over them. There's also a ton of current in the harbor, and you do whatever you have to do to avoid the East River which actually flows along the east side of the harbor at 2-4 knots.

Race 1 went to the Marblehead Greens on White Wings, while Race 2, the Skyline Race, went to the Newport team on Wild Horses. Both races featured good boathandling, close action with lead changes, and some drama at the turning marks (a little too much drama for White Wings at the final leeward mark in Race 2 when the spinnaker wouldn't come down). So it was all even going into the deciding race, the Statue of Liberty Race.

Aboard White Wings, we thought the wind would shift to the right at some point. Unfortunately for us, that point came right at the starting gun and we'd elected to start to leeward and ahead of Wild Horses. They immediately lifted off our hip in a 25-degree righty with pressure, and we spent the next three legs just trying to keep it close enough so that we'd be in a position to attack if they made a mistake. Fortunately, Wild Horses opted to try to carry the spinnaker on a leg that was too tight, and with a spectacular gybe into a Mexican takedown, we were able to grab the inside and slip past into the lead.

With a long and torturous run up current to the finish at the entrance to North Cove, the Wild Horses crew worked hard to catch us, and they gained quite a bit of ground when we were forced to gybe out into the current in the Hudson. At the finish line, however, it was White Wings by a length or two, while "yachting" definitely had a great three days, the winner was the Marblehead Greens. What else would you call it when you get to spend three days with your friends sailing a beautiful boat on one of the greatest harbors in the world?

The Prettiest Girl at the Dance

2007-09-16T22:11:00.000-04:00

If you've ever seen something that was so pretty and so perfectly designed that it took your breath away, you'll know what I mean when I say "I'm in love with the W-Class boats".

These 76-foot sloops are the brainchildren of Boston real estate developer Donald Tofias. Designed by renowned classic yacht designer Joel White and built in Maine, they are absolutely breathtaking to look at, and a thrill to sail.

The two boats, Wild Horses and White Wings (both owned by Mr. Tofias), are typically together wherever they are. We were fortunate to be invited to go sailing on White Wings two weeks ago in Nantucket, and the fascinating thing about sailing the two together is that it's like looking in a mirror while you're sailing. While you're getting a sense of how the boat feels as it's riding the waves (REALLY nice!), you can see what you'd look like to other boats (also, REALLY nice!).

Mr. Tofias and his W-Class boats are active participants in the classic yacht racing circuit which includes regattas in Maine, Newport, Nantucket, New York, the Caribbean and the Med. If you're in the area when one of these events is taking place, and you'd like to go for a spin, let us know. Donald is very welcoming, and if he has room on the boat, he'd probably take you along.

From October 3-7, Mike Fortenbaugh and the Manhattan Yacht Club will be hosting the Panerai New York Classic Week for classic yachts as well as "Spirit of Tradition" yachts like the W-Class boats. Donald has invited us to sail one of the boats, and we're itching to get out there and see what it's like to race a beauty. New York harbor should be interesting as well with it's strange currents, and we're told that North Cove spokes-sailor Dennis Conner might make an appearance. Classic yacht racing has become near and dear to Dennis' heart as he's been doing the Med circuit on his 1925 Q-Class sloop Cotton Blossom II.

We're told that this is a "Med-style" regatta. Not sure why that is, but if our impression of regattas in the Med is right, then it sounds good. Downtown Manhattan is a happening place, and Mt. Gay is hosting a cocktail party each evening. Fortunately, the start isn't until noon each day which should allow adequate recovery time for the crews that decide to take advantage of the fact that bars in NY are open until 4 AM.

If you're in the NY area, stop by and say hello. If you have your deck shoes with you, you just might get recruited. If we don't see you, we'll let you know how it goes.

Arrrghhh! A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR US! ON NANTUCKET ISLAND

2007-08-22T16:30:00.000-04:00

Thursday August 16 2007

On a sunny warm day on Nantucket Island I ventured to the ferry docks where I met my lovely friends Betsy and Kateeee. Being a Nantucket native it was my job to educate these young ladies on the ways of life on my island. Upon their arrival I showed them to our humble sleeping quarters at the Languedoc Guest House on Hussy Street, a rather fitting and convenient street for those of you who know Kate, seeing as it is located in the center of town. Once we had settled in, it was time to get to work! We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, making new friends, and reacquainting ourselves with old ones (Susan and Lance), using this time to promote our favorite sailing gear. We gave out promotional items while informing many people of our products which were being sold for Nantucket Race Week at the Haul Over. Of course we did not forget to tell them about the exciting and always fun game night that would be held on Friday at the Ropewalk restaurant and bar.
Fortunately for us we were able to take a nice lunch break at this particular venue Thursday afternoon in order to refuel ourselves so we could continue to vigorously promote Atlantis. While we were dining with Bill Mann and his lovely wife, we were able to acquaint ourselves with the location that we would be using the following evening. We were excited about this particular location because it is on Straight Wharf which overlooks onto the harbor, a perfect location to catch the attention of fellow sailors.
After lunch, we strolled around Nantucket town for a few more hours before returning to our quiet and comfortable sleeping quarters but not before making a quick pit stop at Murray’s Package Store on Main Street because after all, we are sailors. After relaxing for a while and attempting to prepare ourselves for our visitors that would be arriving the next day, we decided it was time to eat dinner. We enjoyed a fine meal with tasty drinks at the Rose and Crown Restaurant on Water Street. After our wonderful meal, we met up with some friends and let loose before another enjoyable day of promotions, which would turn into quite the pirate’s adventure.

ARRGHHH!
Brittany Burnham
Atlantis WeatherGirl

Friday August 17 2007

Recipe for Friday Night’s Bar Event:

- Take 3 excited Atlantis WeatherGirls.
- Add 1 ginormous lightning storm.
- Mix in 2 large metal pieces of the Atlantis prize wheel of free stuff and a high chance of getting struck by lightning.
- Stir in samples of Atlantis’ awesome jackets and vests

Mix all ingredients together in the RopeWalk bar and restaurant and you’ve got yourself one heck of a fun night on Nantucket Island!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We’ll start at the beginning. We began the day foraging for food on the island. We ended up at Something Natural chowing down on delicious sandwiches and Nantucket Nectar juices. After lounging about on the grass and taking some pictures on the famous boat in the front, we headed to the docks to pass out more free gear.
Once again, many many friends were made with the passing out of free stuff. Walking around town, all of the swag we had was gone in no time to new Atlantis fans. Everyone was even more enthusiastic about seeing the awesome line we had at the Haul Over.
We headed back to 3 Hussey Street to rest up and get dressed for the event at the Rope Walk. After a quick spruce up, we began the short walk to the bar and made it JUST IN TIME before the rain came crashing down. Not even millions of small droplets of water and lightning bolts could ruin our fun. Folks came from far and wide to challenge each other in knot tying and sailing trivia to win a spin on the infamous wheel of free Atlantis swag.
The rest of the night followed as usual. We made lots of friends, gave away a lot of free stuff, learned a few new knots, and had a blast. Atlantis Weathergear definitely made a lastly impression on Nantucket!

ONE MORE TO GO!!
HAPPY SAILING!!!
AWGIRLS!

Hey You! You Want Some Water?!?! (Marblehead Race Week)

2007-08-13T15:28:00.000-04:00

When Betsy, Kate, and Office Boy leave the shore
The Atlantis Crew is sure to not be a bore.
Leaving Marblehead with a 150 water bottles in tote
To pass out water on a Rib Craft boat

Kate and Bets had a lot of water bottles to fill
And office boy had the job of keeping them chill
So we load up the coolers enough to quench a sailor thirst
And secretly hoped that none of our logo’ed bottles would burst

Ice in hand and water everywhere
We hit the ocean without a care
Our mission was simply to get the water in hand
Of every single Noods sailor that had ventured off land

So on our small journey we set forth
And head to every line and course
To refresh all the sailors we could find
With beautiful water bottles we had designed

“Oh Hey! You want some water?!” we would say
To every boat we saw that day
And their smiles reflected on the sea
Because they were really, really, really thirsty

I don’t know if you have ever seen Betsy throw
But it is truly quite a ridiculous show
So Office Boy had to take over the job
To prevent any injuries and maybe even some sobs

So after Betsy’s wild throws were band
We turned around and headed towards the land
And even though our day was coming to an end
We didn’t worry because there is always another nautical adventure around the bend

A Marriage Made In Heaven

2007-07-30T11:44:00.000-04:00

US Etchells Class Announces Atlantis WeatherGear As Official Apparel Partner

July 30, 2007 (MARBLEHEAD, Mass.) – Atlantis WeatherGear has been named today as the official apparel provider to the US Etchells Class. As such, Atlantis will provide embroidered logo jackets to the winners of key sanctioned US events. In addition, Atlantis will make logo sailing gear available to class members and will contribute 10% of all proceeds to the class for use in fleet development initiatives.

“I’ve been involved with the class since nearly its inception,” offers Bill Lynn, Atlantis CMO. “My parents sailed Etchells when I was growing up, and I followed in their footsteps. To me, this Class represents the best in one-design sailing, and I’m thrilled that the US has selected Atlantis as a partner. It’s a marriage of two great brands.”

The Atlantis design team collaborated with some of the world’s most accomplished sailors to build a coastal sailing product-line that blends the latest fabric technology with construction techniques integrated around Atlantis WeatherGear’s Advanced Layering System. The result is innovative, high-quality performance apparel that will keep sailors dry and comfortable in any weather - with profiles and colors that add an element of style.

New 2007 products include the Aegis, a coastal jacket made with Atlantis’ waterproof/breathable 3-layer Typhoon Fabric with a clear “watch window” on the wrist and high visibility stow-away hood. The Microburst Collection is a series of lightweight waterproof jackets in both men’s and women’s styles - perfect for when you want to avoid carrying a lot of extra weight. The Grand Prix Collection is an incredibly versatile, mid/outer layer series of jackets and vests made from Atlantis’ Rampage Soft Shell Fabric, combining breathe-ability and protection from wind and spray. Atlantis also offers a range of waterproof/breathable salopettes and spray tops.

“We’re looking forward to working with Atlantis to deliver great gear and great prizes to Etchells sailors in the US,” says Greg Hefler, US Etchells Class Co-Chairman, of the new partnership. “We were looking for a US-based brand that would offer our members great-looking gear that they can wear both on the boat and on shore. Atlantis delivers across the board, and we think our members will love the new gear.”

The Atlantis WeatherGirls Nautical Adventure on Martha’s Vineyard

2007-07-20T15:34:00.000-04:00

The EYC Regatta July 12th -14th
Day 1 - Thursday

We started the first day off right with a little Espresso Love, a tourist and locals alike, beloved café. It is tucked behind the bustling Edgartown Main Street. We were caffeinated and ready to start the day. We began our infiltration by hanging up our wanted, found and lost flyers on telephone poles throughout Edgartown. We had heard of the ghosts and haunted houses of Edgartown; old widows still awaiting their husbands arrival from sea, men murdered in desperate times during the harsh winters. We enjoyed the stories with little thought and no accreditations until this day. If ever we have had a run in with a ghost is was on Main Street in Edgartown in broad daylight when after stapling about 8 flyers up, and having them vanish. We had entered a bank for a quick deposit and within the mere 2 and a half minutes it took all 8 signs between about 3 blocks had disappeared with no culprit in sight. We wearily continued to posts the flyers.
The heat was unbearable and after a stop for a soda and conversation with some vacationers about Atlantis we were geared up to go down to the harbor and meet some sailors.
The docks were full of beautiful boats from all over the eastern seaboard. People were very friendly and really enjoyed our enthusiasm for Atlantis. They received our gifts with glee and seemed to especially enjoy the koozies. After moseying the docks we spotted a gleaming bronzed back of a sailor. Capt. Kate was quick to assess the situation stating his desperate need of a shirt in the sun’s strong rays; lucky we had a whole bag full of Atlantis t-shirts. The man was extremely thankful after being given a t-shirt and the rest of the crew on the MadHatter was so jealous of his beautiful Atlantis shirt they all asked for a one of their own.
The first day of the regatta was over and the sailors had to prepare for the two remaining days, us likewise, headed back to Captain Kate’s family home to refuel and then off to the beach to bathe, we mean swim.

Day 2 - Friday

Waking up in the beautiful bedroom with white walls, white bedding, and white shutters made us a feel like we were in heaven. The bright sunlight streaming in the room made it easy to rise. We first headed to our favorite café, Espresso Love. We talked of our anticipation of the day and the night to follow which was the much hyped EYC Regatta Ball. Day two of the regatta begins.
We made a few stops into shops along Edgartown Main Street, following up on previous inquiries of advancing their Atlantis product line. We also talked to two other stores that sold various clothing and were happy to see great interest in incorporating Atlantis gear into their collections. It was a common occurrence that the store managers had received requests from customers asking, “Where can I find foul weather gear that is affordable and practical?” We can be your heroes baby.
We continued to walk around and hand out more swag. We found the young boys were especially fond of the bottle openers; they looked twenty-one we swear. We met a variety of people, some were dedicated sailors who already were Atlantis shoppers while others had never been on a boat other than the Martha’s Vineyard ferry. Coaches, sailors, tourist all alike definitely enjoyed the “free stuff” in addition to our pretty faces.
En route back to our base camp, and when we say base camp we mean a beautiful vineyard home, we stopped and picked up some necessary accessories for the evening’s, Regatta Ball. We ordered out from Lattanzi’s Gourmet Pizza and then headed over to the EYC. Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish played as we danced the night away with the help of a few planter’s punches, an island favorite. The night came to a close; we headed home and dreamt of nautical adventures.

Day 3 -Saturday

Bar Promotion Day! This is one of our favorite parts of all of the Atlantis Weather Gear regatta trips that we go on. It gives us the opportunity to really show off all the gear that we’ve talked so much about during the week, answer any questions people may have, tie a few bowlines, and see all of the new friends we’ve made on the island. We definitely had people geared up to come to The Wharf in Edgartown to see the AWG display with our “Wheel of Free Stuff” and compete with their friends in some knot tying and sailing trivia. Here’s how it all went down:

Dawn came quickly…and by “dawn” we mean 11 am. What a grueling early morning wake-up. Very tough. We procured some delicious bagels and cream cheese and ate a quick breakfast.

The rest of the day consisted of us stalking the docks down by the Edgartown Yacht Club. We were approached by a few sailors who were upset that they hadn’t gotten any of the free Atlantis swag they’d seen others get during the week. We quickly pacified them with a few koozies, croakies, and bottle openers, and they promised to come to The Wharf later that night with all of their buddies. Its funny how giving away free things makes a LOT of friends.

Kate then came up with the ingenious idea of going on a Nautical Adventure, deciding that it would be pretty cool to take the boat out for a little while with some of the coveted AWG swag and see if we could find some friends out on the water. Sure enough, we found them. Lots of them. And they were all more than happy to keep their beers and other beverages nice and cool and stock their boats with a koozie or two…..or five.

We then headed back to the Bunker (a.k.a. Kate’s house) and geared up for the night. We counted t-shirts, hats, and all of the swag and then loaded everything into the car. Her Royal Highness Kate (that’s her new favorite title for the week) really cracked the whip and we completed the task of getting everything ready in time to go grab a bite to eat. We brought our food back to the house, ate, then hopped in the car and headed to the Wharf.

Aided by a particularly enthusiastic and helpful Atlantis fan, we found a unique way of displaying the jackets on a rope tied on to and woven around various objects on the bar’s wall/ceiling. Immediately, everyone inside began asking about all of the jackets. “Whoa, are those for sale?” “I want one now.” “No, seriously, how much do you want for it?” “That’s one is awesome- I want it too!” After wrestling a couple people away from the jacket samples and sending them to the website to get their own, we talked to the others and told them to bring back a friend to challenge in a knot tying contest.

The contests were a huge success. All ages (well…21 and up, anyway) got into the mood and raced to win a spin on the AWG Wheel. Everyone who came out learned a few new knots and one at least one item in the AWG swag arsenal. What everyone was really going for was a shot at either the super popular Atlantis Regatta Tour T-Shirt or the Grand Prix Softshell Vest. The night at The Wharf flew by, and although the mix of music being played by the DJ in the bar was quite baffling at times, everyone had a ton of fun getting “knotty” and discovering Atlantis Weather Gear- the gear that everyone on Martha’s Vineyard (and especially patrons of The Wharf) know is the very best.

This is the Atlantis WeatherGirls, signing off. We’ll see you during Marblehead Race Week.

Happy Sailing!

The Atlantis WeatherGirls Do Block Island

2007-07-05T22:20:00.000-04:00

Day 1 - Monday

After packing up the car in the wee hours of the morning, we headed for the coast to catch the Ferry. After many stops for coffee, we arrived at the Block Island Ferry on Point Judith.

On the forty-five minute ferry ride, we mingled with all sorts of people and exchanged some great sailing stories. After quickly learning about Claire’s (a member of the Northeastern University sailing team) excitement about arriving on Block for the first time, we were thrilled to know we weren’t the only newcomers to the island. Of course, being the opportunists we are, we took the trip as our first opportunity to hand out some swag and talk up Atlantis.

Once ashore, we made our way to our hotel, The New Shoreham Inn, to drop our bags, explore the island and, perhaps most importantly, find something to eat. After downing some sandwiches from Rebecca’s Take-out, we donned our Atlantis gear and hit the streets, or in the case of Block Island, the street.

In search of Nick’s Bar, a popular spot on the island, Captain Kate (she makes us call her that, the power has really gone to her head) got some directions from a man who seemed like a credible native. Thirty minutes later, with no bar in sight and a clearer understanding of the difference between a credible native and a drunk native, we turned around and finally found Nick’s.

After a brief meeting we head down to the beach to meet some people and grab a beer. But it wasn’t til we arrived at Captain Nick’s that we really met some characters. Who knew Koozies are the best way to make new friends?

Day 2 - Tuesday

Today was our first full day on the island so, deciding to carpe diem, we woke up at the crack of eleven and began our day. We hopped in Betsy’s car and began our adventure by exploring the rest of the island. We made our way to the Salt Pond where the day’s racing would come to an end to scope out the area and plan the most efficient way of accosting, umm, approaching, unsuspecting sailors. Once we had mapped out the best plan of attack…er, approach… it was time to reward ourselves with breakfast (Czar Kate finally gave us permission to eat…and yeah, she changed her title to Czar for the day). After bagels at Ye Old Post Office (we have no idea why it’s called that either), we drove past New Harbor and around the rest of the island. Around every corner there was one spectacular view after another and, being as obnoxious as possible, we stopped about every quarter mile to take pictures and piss off the people behind us.

About fifteen minutes later (apparently, the island is really small), we were back where we started and decided to hit up a local restaurant to watch the boats and mingle. Our first big find was running into two women we met earlier telling us they had been to the website and loved all the stuff (Whoo! Go us!). Then we went over to one of the many bars that line the waterfront for a quick drink and to meet some fellow beer lovers. At the bar, Sarah, the bartender and one of the nicest people we have met so far, which says a lot because everyone here seems to be taking happy pills, informed us that not only was she going to join us on Thursday night at the Yellow Kittens, but she was going to bring the entire staff.

Day 3 - Wednesday

Wednesday morning arrived quickly. Today was our first Bundle Launch and the suspense was almost killing us.

We woke up, showered, got our Atlantis gear on and headed for the door. OH NO!!!!! IT’S POURING RAIN!!!!!!! We regrouped inside to figure out how we were going to hide all the T-shirts without getting them soaking wet. After a solid hour of deliberation, we traveled out into the monsoon (or so it felt like at the time). We stealthily hid 25 bundles around town that morning, scrounging for any bit of the island that hadn’t been soaked by rain. Trying to find a place that was dry yet relatively easy to find seemed oxymoronic.

After our morning escapades we traveled down to the docks for a little afternoon hiding. We stashed another 30 bundles around the docks. We even got the chance to speak with some of the sailors while we were down there. Sporting our Atlantis gear, we got to make a lot of new friends and show off our gear all at the same time. Even against the odds of Mother Nature, Atlantis was able to get out in the pouring rain and show its capabilities as THE foul weather brand.

Day 4 – Thursday

The Big Day had finally arrived and we were amped. After 3 days of getting the word out about the Atlantis brand of superior Weather Gear, we were excited to see how many people would show up at McGovern’s Yellow Kittens Tavern (or “The Kittens,” as the cool locals would say). After eating at our go-to, Rebecca’s Take-Out, for the millionth time that week, we loaded up our car, “the Beast,” with tons of bundles to hide around the island.

The day had cleared up nicely from the rainy and windy Wednesday, and the island looked just as gorgeous as ever as we made the quick drive from Old to New Harbor. As we walked to the dock, our presence did not go unnoticed - we were mercilessly followed by our faithful Atlantis Weather Gear fans and others looking for the famous hidden AWG bundles. Our new friends really put on the pressure and were not at all shy about getting their AWG belts, hats, and T’s… and, sure enough, just as soon as they were hidden, our “loot” was found by eager bystanders/stalkers.

When all the bundles were hidden, we headed to our favorite New Harbor watering hole and eatery, the Oar, where we handed out plenty more koozies, croakies, and key chains.

Oh, we also went to the beach for a grand total of 2.5 seconds before we made a hasty exit as a result of the near-fatal mix of heavy winds and dry sand.

We then returned to our room to take the usual power nap and get ready for the huge AWG night at “The Kittens.” Loading up the Beast once again with everything we could possibly need for the night, we headed to the bar to get set up. Finished, we went across the street for dinner at Sharkey’s where we had a wonderful meal, a few beverages, and made funny faces at the 3 children sitting at the table next to us. We also made our server and everyone else in the restaurant promise to come to Kittens and check out the Atlantis Gear we had set up.

Before we knew it, 9 PM was upon us, and we had no sooner set everything up when the place was packed with all of our new Block Island friends and everyone who had heard about the force that is Atlantis Weather Gear. The rest of the night flew by. Everyone in the bar made a visit to the AWG table to check out the gear and challenge their friends to a bowline-tying contest or sailing trivia to win a spin on the “Wheel of Cool Gear”. A few hot-shots showed us some cool knots they knew, and as the reggae beat pumped through the bar people got really competitive!

Everyone was excited to see the reemergence of Atlantis, their favorite weather gear company or to discover it for the first time. Overall, it was a grand night that we are sure will go down in the annals of Block Island history.

Smackdown on the River

2007-07-02T08:57:00.000-04:00

The Charles River Open is a team racing regatta of epic proportions. For the past 10 years, Sailing Master Fran Charles and an army of MIT waterfront folks and volunteers have run this event at the MIT Sailing Pavilion on the Charles River, and every year it gets bigger. With 42 teams this year, it's now the biggest team racing event on the planet.

20 years ago, I had the good fortune to sail in the Wilson Plate, an invitational team racing regatta in West Kirby, UK. At that time, it was a totally unique event - 32 3-boat teams sailing matched sets of Fireflys: 3 red boats with red sails, 3 green boats with green sails, 3 blue boats... well, you get the idea. Easy to figure out who's who and what's what. The West Kirby Sailing Club folks would run something like 250 races over two days with the crews jumping in and out of boats and high-tailing it to the start line as if their lives depended on it (which they did - if you were late getting out there, they weren't going to wait for you).

Back in those days, team racing was very popular in the UK, but it hadn't really caught on yet in the US. Now the US is the team racing capital of the world, and when kids graduate from college, they don't want to chase one-design world championships or Olympic medals - they want to go team racing. And it's pretty easy to do. You don't really need to own a boat - they're provided at quite a few of the events. All you really need to do is round up three skippers and three crews, join the USTRA, and start showing up at events like the Charles River Open.

The 42 teams in this year's event sailed FJs and 420s provided by MIT, Boston University and Community Boating. Could have been more teams, but a few had entered but not paid, so Franny capped it at 42. Sailors ranged in age from late teens to early 50s, and the racing was fast and tight. No umpires at this event - top-flight team racers can generally be counted on to self-police, and there was "three-minute justice" on the dock for those who felt compelled to seek a ruling. Wouldn't have been room for umpire boats on the river anyway - it was pretty much wall-to-wall with 54 dinghies on a "digital N" course.

After two days and 490 races (seriously, they ran 490 races in two days!), one team won and 41 other teams had an incredible time trying. I sailed as part of an "over the hill Tufts Jumbos" squad with some other really good sailors (we got our asses kicked, so they may not want to be identified), and if you looked around, you could see what gives this version of the sport the potential to be really magic: in addition to the 4-5 outstanding world-class teams such as WHishbone and Silver Panda, there was a team of college coaches sailing together (and doing pretty well), a couple of high-school teams with kids doing their first major team racing event, and family team (the Storcks from Long Island - mom and dad must have been pretty proud to see that) and a river-load more teams made up of just plain really good sailors.

In many ways, the surge in team racing popularity is breathing new life into a sport that seemed to be in decline. In the heyday of olympic sailing in this country, we were winning medals right and left, but there was a problem with the foundation of the sport: kids coming out of college were looking around and not seeing anything that they really wanted to jump into. Classes were either really expensive or just not that compelling, and younger sailors were sitting on the sidelines. Team racing seems to be changing that.

The downside is that you're not seeing the US on the podium as much at one-design world championships, and the US medal count has become something of a joke - particularly when compared to the 1984 and 1988 hauls. But at this year's Wilson Plate, the final was between two American teams (WHishbone and Silver Panda), and you could make the case that the US could probably field 5 of the top 10 teams in the world.

So when you read the results for the upcoming Combined World Championship in Cascais, Portugal, don't be discouraged. Team racing is where it's at, and right now, the US is the best in the world at it. And if you don't buy that, come down to the river next June and see for yourself.

Yin & Yang

2007-06-11T14:05:00.000-04:00

One thing that continues to amaze me is the number of ways that people interpret and participate in the sport of sailing. There's an aspect of this sport for everyone, and for every strange niche in it, there seem to be plenty of sailors that want to do that. Cape Cod Frosties come to mind: a 6'4" dinghy made from 2 4'x8' sheets of 1/4" plywood with a closet dowel for a mast. 1,000 of them in existence. Amazing.

Over the past three days, we had the enormous good fortune to be involved with two really cool regattas that highlight two completely different ends of the sailing spectrum - and in a really nice way. On Friday, we did the Around the Island Race in Newport, part of the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, on George David's new 90' Reichel-Pugh "Rambler". Biggest boat we've ever been on, driven by Kenny Read with a crew that includes some of the best sailors on the planet - a veritable United Nations of Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup veterans.

It was a pretty quick trip - just over 2 hours start to finish. Sailed a good chunk of it in pretty thick fog, much to navigator Tony Bessinger's chagrin. Tony admitted to me Saturday morning that he was a bit nervous about bricking up the boat and blowing the Transatlantic Race for the team, but when the fog rolled in 10 minutes before our start, he really didn't look well. He did a great job in a pressure situation, though, and we got around the track without hitting anything.

They did the starts in reverse order, so we started last. Because of this, we spent the first half of the race sailing through all of the classes that started ahead of us - a pretty terrifying prospect with the fog, both for us and for the boats that we would happen upon at fairly close quarters. There were a couple of encounters that required some significant evasive action, but we all emerged unscathed. There was a gut-wrenching moment when we sailed under the Jamestown Bridge - we had to hit it dead-center and it looked like we were going to leave the masthead wand in the eastbound breakdown lane.

Despite the fact that we lost the race to a well-sailed Blue Yankee, George seems to really like his new boat, and he's looking forward to campaigning it in Europe this summer. After the race, we spent an hour catching up with old friends on the terrace at Harbour Court before returning to reality in the form of a 2 hour drive back to Marblehead.

On Saturday, Eastern Yacht Club hosted the Marblehead Spring 505 Regatta, sponsored in part by Atlantis WeatherGear. The 505 is one of the coolest dinghies we've ever sailed, and the 505 class is a terrific group of people. They like to travel, they're always willing to support new events and fleets, and they're a very low-maintenance bunch. They don't mind sleeping on floors, they don't care whether there are trophies - as long as the beer's cold and the racing's good, they're very happy. They're even low-maintenance from a race management perspective: the class uses "rabbit starts" where the boat that finished 2nd in the previous race starts the next race by rounding the leeward mark on port and sailing upwind for one minute (or more depending on fleet size) while all the other boats dip the rabbit's transom one by one. After a minute, the rabbit is released and is free to tack or keep sailing. No one's ever over early, there are never any general recalls and the starts are generally dead-even.

15 boats showed up for the event including class veterans Tom Kivney and Macy Nelson. Two father-son teams were there: Macy and his son Nick (sailing different boats - according to Nick, he's the "A" boat now) and Doug and Ian McKeige (sailing together with dad on the wire). The regatta was won by Ramsey Key and Drew Buttner, and prizes included some Atlantis gear as well as a random selection of trophies left over from other regattas and tennis matches (we finished 3rd in the event last year, and we got a trophy that says "PHRF Class B" on it).

Two really cool sailing events - two really cool boats - two very different versions of the sport. One one hand, the very civilized world of maxi-boat racing with a world-class crew of professional sailors. One the other, the grassroots world of inshore dinghy racing with an incredibly enthusiastic group of amateur sailors. Not a lot of crossover between the two (although interestingly, Chris Nicholson, Volvo Ocean Race watch captain extraordinaire, is a 3-time 505 world champion sailing with his brother Darren), so what's the common thread?

Besides Atlantis' involvement, not a hell of alot aside from a bunch of committed sailors doing what they love to do and doing it well. And that's where we want our brand to live.

We Love May

2007-05-10T12:19:00.000-04:00

The shrink wrap’s coming off. The guys in the boatyard that houses Atlantis World HQ are running flat out to catch up and get boats in. The Red Sox are hot and the Yankees are stumbling. Just another Spring in beautiful Marblehead.

And it is beautiful. The past week has been one spectacular day after another, and the marine industry is loving life. Here at Atlantis, we’ve had some pretty good days too. Last Thursday evening, we had an in-store launch of the AWG 2007 product line at Team One Newport, arguably THE authority on and source for technical sailing gear. The event was well-attended, both by customers and by the Newport maritime cognoscenti who never pay for their own gear. Mick Harvey and the IYAC folks provided some drink tickets, and the launch party moved across the street to continue the sailing stories that were already in progress.

Team One owner Martha Parker is a bundle of wired energy who accomplishes more in a day than three normal humans. She’s also a gear expert, and her vote of confidence was very important to us. Full disclosure: Martha and I have known each other for 20+ years and we’ve sailed a lot of miles together. That said, though, the bet she’s making on us goes far beyond the call of duty, and we truly appreciate that.

Our main idea behind our product strategy has been clear from the day we first purchased the AWG brand: great gear doesn’t have to look like crap. We’ve set out to design sailing gear that works better than anything else on the water, but also looks good enough to keep wearing once you’re ashore (if you don’t want to look like the Gloucester Fisherman). The idea that a performance sailing gear brand can make the leap from the micro-market of performance sailors to appeal to a broader audience is not new, but to-date, no one’s been able to do it right.

Enter Puma.

I’ve spent the past few months working with Ken Read to put together the Puma Racing entry in the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race. On Friday, we held a press conference at the Boston Harbor Hotel to introduce the boat (something to see – see Sailing Anarchy for some great pics), and announce Boston as the sole US stopover for the race. We also spend a couple of hours ripping around the harbor in one of the coolest boats I’ve been on.

The VO70 is pure function – a tool built for getting around the planet as fast as possible – and it is something to behold up close. According to Jerry Kirby, veteran of a couple of these races, it is a level well beyond the kind of offshore racing most of us are used to. Every time the boat tacks, the crew spends 15 minutes shifting everything that’s not screwed down to the high side, and between that and a steady stream of sail changes, it’s possible to miss a couple of off-watches and end up staying awake for 20+ hours. The guys that do this are not sailors, they are highly-conditioned and trained professional athletes, and they earn everything they make.

What I find gratifying about Puma’s entry into the VOR is that someone besides us believes there’s a lifestyle opportunity here. Puma’s corporate strategy is to build the brand at the intersection of sport and lifestyle (they call it “sportlifestyle”), and they see enough of an opportunity in sailing, a sport with which they’ve never been involved in the past, to make it their main global marketing initiative for the next 2+ years. The Puma brand speaks to a younger audience than we do, but the fact that someone else believes that sailing gear can be cool is music to our ears here at AWG.

Finally, congratulations to fellow Marblehead sailor Jud Smith for winning his 6^th Etchells North American Championship (and 4^th in a row). Given the depth of talent in that class, this kind of domination is unprecedented, and to us, it couldn’t be wrought upon the class by a nicer, more genuinely down-to-earth guy. Way to go, Jud!

Happy Spring?

2007-05-10T12:15:00.000-04:00

As I look out the window of our offices at the Marblehead Trading Company boatyard, it looks like a classic spring day in Marblehead: blowing 40+ with waves breaking over the causeway and a hint of sleet in the air. Granted, it’s not always like this, but spring here is typically non-existent – we go straight from winter to summer – which seems to be part of what makes Marblehead sailors a different breed. Not only do you need to deal with a broad range of conditions on the water, but if you want to get your boat in before July, you better buck up and figure out how to start working on your pre-launch checklist in the snow (it was sleeting three days ago). It’s still ski season, but down on Long Island Sound, they’re gearing up for the first regatta of the season, and the water is probably already at a temperature where it won’t rise to until June here (if we’re lucky). It can be 80 degrees here, but as soon as you get a hint of a seabreeze, you can watch the temperature plummet before your eyes. It’s the only place I’ve ever lived where there’s a wind-chill factor in May.

This is the crucible from which our new line of performance sailing gear is formed, and it’s where we make sure it works. We designed and built the gear we think New England sailors need: rugged and versatile gear built out of high-tech fabrics that keep you comfortable and let you function at a high-level no matter what Mother Nature’s cooking up for you. At the moment, it’s not a broad line, but we don’t think you’ll find many gaps in it. If you do, tell us where you think they are, and we’ll take that into consideration in our product development process. We want to design our gear in partnership with our customers. Isn’t that the best way to make sure we’re selling a product that people want? We expect this blog to be one of the ways we keep in touch with our customers (you, we hope), and give you a way to keep in touch with us. We’ll use it to tell you what we’re up to, what we care about and what we’re thinking about. What we think is cool and what we think is stupid. Who’s done something really good and who’s done something not so good (see below). But we don’t want it to be a one-way conversation, so we invite you to use it the same way. Give it to us straight up – we can take it.

So here goes:

This picture popped up on Sailing Anarchy the other day. It’s a shot of one of the umpire boats at the Jackson Cup at Boston Yacht Club after it ejected its driver and went on an unauthorized, unguided high-speed ramble, ending up on the beach after a brief visit to the Eastern Yacht Club pier.The reason this is particularly relevant to us is that the boat belongs to Bill Mann, our Creative Director, who loaned it to the event. Needless to say, both the boat and its owner were somewhat deflated, and the umpire driving the boat, fairly sheepish. He’s a good guy, and shit happens, but there’s definitely a lesson to be learned here. Imagine if this had been one of the Pleon sailing coaches instead and had happened in July when the harbor is wall-to-wall boats with a gaggle of Optis nearby? The best possible outcome is significant boat damage. The worst possible outcome is unthinkable. Do I clip the kill switch lanyard onto myself every time I step on a power boat by myself? No. Should I? Probably. Should we do what we can to ensure that coaches and sailing instructors do? Absolutely. As our umpire friend demonstrated, it’s pretty easy to fall out of these things, and as the number of coach boats on the racetrack continues to grow, the more important it becomes to have their drivers attached to them.