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<title>A Conversation with SailGP’s Taylor Canfield</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/a-conversation-with-sailgps-taylor-canfield/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 18:56:45 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[ American sailor Taylor Canfield, 35, grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has been competing as a professional match racer and fleet racer since graduation from Boston College in 2011. Currently the driver for the SailGP U.S. team, Canfield is part of a new and eclectic team of investors led by ... 
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/a-conversation-with-sailgps-taylor-canfield/">A Conversation with SailGP’s Taylor Canfield</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<figure> <img decoding="async" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/a-conversation-with-sailgps-taylor-canfield.jpg" height="800" width="1143"><figcaption>Taylor Canfield, driver of USA SailGP Team, speaks to the media after racing in the Mixed Zone on Race Day 2 of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March.
Photo by Ricardo Pinto for SailGP
</figcaption></figure>
American sailor Taylor Canfield, 35, grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has been competing as a professional match racer and fleet racer since graduation from Boston College in 2011. 
Currently the driver for the SailGP U.S. team, Canfield is part of a new and eclectic team of investors led by founding Uber engineer Ryan McKillen; his partner and J/70 champion skipper Margaret McKillen; and two-time world champion sailor Michael Buckley. On April 30, the team announced that skier and Olympic Gold medalist Lindsey Vonn would also join the board of US SailGP. Vonn also serves as an athlete advisor for US SailGP investor Avenue Sports Fund.
 Canfield and the team are focusing on the upcoming Grand Prix circuit at events in Bermuda (May 4-5) followed by Halifax, Nova Scotia (June 1-2), and New York City (June 22-23). 
SAIL Magazine caught up with Taylor Canfield this week from his home in Newport, Rhode Island. 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/a-conversation-with-sailgps-taylor-canfield-1.jpg" height="797" width="1200"><figcaption>The F50 sailing fast upwind, helmed by Taylor Canfield during a practice session ahead of racing on Race Day 1 of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney, Australia, in February.
Photo by Felix Diemer for SailGP
</figcaption></figure>
SAIL: In college, you won the ICSA Match Racing National Championship in 2010 and 2011 and became the 2013 World Champion in match racing as well as being a five-time Congressional Cup winner. What is it that drew you to match racing? How did you carve a path to professional sailing?
TC: It started with my all-time goal of getting to the America’s Cup because—at the time—match racing events were a feeder into the America’s Cup. I certainly can credit match racing for my success, but I think persistence is the key to making sure you are the best. If you want to excel at the sport, it’s important to be able to sail as much as possible. I would say sail as often as you can, and you will get better. 
SAIL: Would you agree that college sailing was important to your development as a competitor?
TC: I have to credit college sailing for so much. In part because of the team racing aspect, because you develop an awareness of boat-on-boat interactions, you become comfortable around other boats at slower speeds, it gives you spatial awareness and prepares you for those chaotic moments. Additionally, sailing every day of the week and almost every weekend is incredible training.
Further, the co-ed teams in college teach all of us competing that, in the end, the best sailors get put forward. I am happy to see the co-ed movement growing into professional sailing and the growth of women’s involvement in every level of the sport.
SAIL: Currently, the SailGP US team, which is co-ed, is made up primarily of American sailors. Would you say this is a golden opportunity for younger American men and women?
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/a-conversation-with-sailgps-taylor-canfield-2.jpg" height="800" width="743"><figcaption>Taylor Canfield, driver of USA SailGP Team, runs across the F50 as Mike Buckley, team CEO and strategist, takes control of the wheel on Race Day 2 of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney, Australia, in February.
Photo by Ricardo Pinto for SailGP
</figcaption></figure>
TC: Building and recruiting an all-American team has been a goal of ours. We want to see American sailors of my generation and younger get this opportunity. I worked toward sailing at this level throughout my match racing career. But the F50s are far different and technically far more advanced than what most American sailors compete on. We are looking towards the younger generation coming up. In fact, during our North American stopovers in Bermuda, New York, and San Francisco we put out the word that we want to have youth volunteering, and the response has been amazing. They are so keen to get a closer look at this kind of racing.
 SAIL: Tech investor and founding Uber engineer Ryan McKillen and his wife Margaret McKillen are competitive sailors who are some of the primary investors of SailGP US. Is this a unique opportunity in our sport, that many of the key investors are also competitive sailors?
TC: I think whatever avenue you choose in the sport; we create our own opportunities. I have been on a long journey, trying to climb up the rankings and prove myself at each level. It is a long road, and you’re going to be told “no” a bunch of times. However, the networking opportunities in competitive sailing are huge. In fact, I met Ryan McKillen sailing J70s and developed a friendship then. We have a lot of respect for each other. We are also teammates on the M32s. It is a super unique sport because there is so much mixing of professionals and amateurs.
SAIL: Now that you are the driver of the U.S. team, how well do you know the competition? 
TC: There are at least four guys that came out of match racing that we will compete against next week in Bermuda and throughout the North American portion of Season 4. People like Phil Robertson of SailGP Canada and Nicolai Sehested of SailGP Denmark are both our long-time competitors on the match racing circuit. We know their tendencies and what they do. I am glad I have had so much experience in the M32, which is kind of a slowed-down version of the F50s. When it comes to the F50s, all kinds of scenarios come up. I do like to go out and win every race I can. And it is true these boats are another level of complex, and there is a lot more risk involved sailing on an F50. I would say they are one of the hardest boats in the world to sail.
For more on Taylor Canfield and the American SailGP team, keep an eye on SAIL’s social media. Managing editor Lydia Mullan will be joining the team in Bermuda this weekend for a firsthand look at sailing’s most cutting-edge race circuit. 
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May 2024
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/a-conversation-with-sailgps-taylor-canfield/">A Conversation with SailGP’s Taylor Canfield</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171976</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Seawind 1170</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/seawind-1170/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 11:37:27 +0000</pubDate>
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<description><![CDATA[ For more multihull reviews and stories, subscribe for free to Multihull Power & Sail When I showed up for the sea trial of the Seawind 1170 right after the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis last fall, I was in for three surprises. One, they already had a passel of potential buyers onboard—a ... 
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/seawind-1170/">Seawind 1170</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
For more multihull reviews and stories, <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailmagazine.com/multihull">subscribe for free to Multihull Power & Sail</a>
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/seawind-1170.jpg" height="800" width="1199"><figcaption>At 39 feet, the 1170 is on the smaller end of Seawind’s offerings, and the boat has been optimally geared and thought through for newer ocean multihull sailors and for doublehanded crews.
Photo&colon; Seawind Catamarans
</figcaption></figure>
When I showed up for the sea trial of the Seawind 1170 right after the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis last fall, I was in for three surprises. One, they already had a passel of potential buyers onboard—a passel meaning 18 other humans in this case—which is hardly a typical sea trial arrangement. I wasn’t at all sure how the catamaran would respond with all the extra ballast. 
But my worry led to surprise number two: No worries! The heavy load turned out to be a rounding error, and this 39-footer performed remarkably well in the flat water of the South River, slipping along at 6.8 knots in just 10-12 knots of true breeze on a beam reach with a full-hoist mainsail and the screecher on a continuous furler. 
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xjkFZSgK9x0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Surprise number three came when we turned and headed upwind, rolling out the self-tacking jib. I pinched up to 38 degrees apparent wind angle (AWA), and not only did we continue to move nicely, we tacked through the wind easily. Cruising cats aren’t known for their pointing ability, so this was impressive, especially for a boat with only mini keels rather than daggerboards. Our upwind sailing that day became memorable and stayed with me even months after the sea trial. 
So, if you haven’t seen or sailed a Seawind lately, you’re in for a treat. Much of this handy performance is due to a hull redesign; the Australia-based catamaran builder has brought a contemporary flair to their line, upping their game with modern aesthetics and more pleasing topsides. The latest model to receive this treatment is the 1170, designed by Seawind CEO Richard Ward and on the smaller end of their offering, which makes it easily manageable by a couple, but also built fully ocean-worthy as a CE Category A multihull.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/seawind-1170-1.jpg" height="800" width="1199"><figcaption>With the clever trifold door snugged up to the hardtop, the cockpit and salon become shared space..
Photo&colon; Seawind Catamarans
</figcaption></figure>
Sharp reverse bows clear the waterline at rest. They give the design a fine entry and better upwind capability, while the hard chine above creates greater interior volume, especially aft. Headroom throughout has also been enhanced by this redesign. 
All the tooling is new, done at the company’s Vietnam facility where they have been building Seawinds for 13 years (although the 1170’s tooling has since been moved to the company’s new 56,000-square-foot factory in Izmir, Turkey, for all future production of this model).
The vacuum-infused construction is a mix of vinylester resin with carbon fiber reinforcement in key structural areas. These strong but lightweight composites are the work of New-Zealand based Gurit, which is also responsible for other models in the Seawind line. 
The decks are clear with only gradual level changes, and there are three deep lockers on the foredeck for fenders, lines, and other garage gear. The cabinhouse is low, which keeps the center of gravity close to the waterline. It also means that a single step and an optimally placed handhold make short work of accessing the cabintop, where the boom is low enough for even vertically challenged sailors to get full access to the mainsail. 
The windows are more stylish, giving the small boat an aggressive profile, like she means business. All lines are led aft to the cockpit so you never have to leave its shelter no matter what’s happening on the outside. 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/seawind-1170-2.jpg" height="800" width="1199"><figcaption>The spacious galley is amidships in the starboard hull, with cabins forward and aft. 
Photo&colon; Seawind Catamarans
</figcaption></figure>
There are a few pluses and minuses to the cockpit layout. The helms are fully protected and have direct drive with cable steering for a good feel on the wheel, although our test boat felt stiff to me. The hardtop has fixed hatches above each helm for clear views of the mainsail, or you can poke your head out to the side and see the headsail as well. The helm seats are wide enough for two, and the backrests swing forward to create aft-facing seating when it’s time to relax. 
The aft bulkhead windows directly in front of the helms are removable and slide into a dedicated storage slot nearby; once they’re removed, the driver can reach in and interact with the navigation display, which is mounted inside on a swing arm on the port side. This has an added benefit: When the boat is locked up, nobody can reach the screen, so it’s more secure. The wheels are mounted on the aft bulkheads but they’re still close to the transom so it’s easy to see back when docking in reverse. The helms are also close to the salon for direct communication with the relief watch if needed.
Visibility forward is a mixed bag. The cabinhouse has plenty of windows, but there are wide expanses of fiberglass between them that can create blind spots. A trifold cockpit door compacts into one pane that’s winched up on a line to the hardtop where it’s out of the way and secured with a safety latch. The bad news is that the system is manual and needs cranking; the good news is that the system is manual and isn’t likely to break or get stuck mid-way like electric versions of this concept found on other catamaran brands.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/seawind-1170-3.jpg" height="800" width="1186"><figcaption>The owner’s cabin occupies the port hull. 
Photo&colon; Seawind Catamarans
</figcaption></figure>
With the door snugged up under the hardtop, the salon becomes a part of the cockpit and vice versa. Inside on the main deck is a narrow outboard-facing nav station to port and a large central dinette that can also be made into a bed. Storage is plentiful under and behind the banquettes and outboard near the windows.
The layout features three cabins and two heads. On port is the master stateroom forward with a raised athwartship bed and loads of stowage cubbies and lockers. A large head is aft with a separate shower stall that also provides access to one of the engine rooms. 
Two guest cabins are on starboard separated by the galley, which occupies the middle of the hull. A double stateroom with a wet head is forward, and a wide single cabin is aft. This boat is compact, which results in two issues. First, the beds in the two forward cabins are actually over the bridgedeck rather out in the separated hulls so there’s only a thin bulkhead wall between them and not much privacy. Second, the master head will have to be shared with both the occupants of the aft starboard cabin as well as day guests if you don’t want people filing through the guest accommodations forward to reach the starboard hull’s head. Interior headroom has been increased throughout, with 6 feet 5 inches in the cabins and another 2 inches in the salon.
The galley-down arrangement is polarizing. You either love it because it takes the galley out of the living area, which opens up the main salon space, or you hate it because the chef is removed from the party. Regardless of your point of view, there’s no arguing that it’s a practical solution that keeps the cook low in the boat and secure with lots of bracing points. 
The sailplan includes a self-tacking jib and a screecher on a continuous furler. You can add an asymmetrical spinnaker attached at the carbon fiber sprit that extends from a robust longeron. The mast measures 61 feet 7 inches, so it’s ICW-friendly. The mainsail traveler is on the hardtop with a handy winch integrated into the arch so the cockpit is kept clear. 
Our test boat had 900 watts of solar panels integrated into the hardtop, which will keep the batteries topped up even with most systems working. Outfitting options include air conditioning, a watermaker, a washing machine, and oversized alternators combined with a lithium battery bank to eliminate the need for a generator. 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/seawind-1170-4.jpg" height="800" width="1193"><figcaption>The portside helm with the window removed. Note the chartplotter, which can be turned and brought out for full access in this configuration.
Photo&colon; Wendy Mitman Clarke
</figcaption></figure>
Base batteries are gel, but Mike Rees, Seawind’s international sales and marketing manager, says anyone who’s planning on sailing more than coastally is opting for a lithium package, which the boat is set up to accept easily. “When we do the lithium bank, we bolt on an additional high output alternator which is 120 amps that goes through the regulator and to the house lithium. So you have two times 120 amps coming out, which is huge,” he says. “You don’t need a generator.” 
The Seawind 1170 is powered by twin 29-hp Yanmar diesels with saildrives. The engines did a fine job on flat water, but because the bridgedeck clearance is only 26 inches, it’s hard to say how these motors would perform pushing 20,000 pounds of displacement into sloppy head seas. At wide open throttle and 2,900 rpm, we motored at 8.9 knots, but we found a more economical cruising speed at 2,400 rpm and 6.5 knots. 
The base price of the Seawind 1170 is $510,000 and as tested, it was closer to $630,000. That’s a bargain for such a good-looking, beachable, and slippery multihull cruiser. Rees says that while many people who are just getting into multihull sailing think they need larger boat to cover ocean miles, the 1170 is a smaller cat that’s built to ocean-crossing standards but makes more sense in terms of cost, maintenance, and handling. 
“This is a great boat for a couple to take on. It’s manageable financially, its manageable in terms of the size,” Rees says. “Why do you need 45 feet? It’s nice, but if you haven’t got the skills and are just getting into it, this is what we are saying you should be starting with.” 
Most of the solutions aboard are immensely practical, so couples looking for a compact but agile offshore cat should put this model on their shortlist. And, with eyes more firmly on the U.S. and European markets, Seawind’s new location on the Aegean Sea creates a customer service base out of Europe, so that owners can pick up their boats and immediately be in terrific cruising grounds with access to a variety of marina facilities. 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/seawind-1170-5.jpg" height="800" width="1126"><figcaption>
Seawind Catamarans
</figcaption></figure>
LOA 39’3”
Beam 21’4”
Draft 3’9”
Air draft 61’7”
Displacement 20,200 lbs (light)
Upwind sail area 941 sq ft
Power 2 x 29-hp Yanmar
Designer Richard Ward
Builder Seawind Catamarans, <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://seawindcats.com">seawindcats.com</a>
Base price $510,000
For more multihull reviews and stories, <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailmagazine.com/multihull">subscribe for free to Multihull Power & Sail</a>
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/seawind-1170-6.jpg" height="666" width="1200"> </figure>
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April 2024
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/seawind-1170/">Seawind 1170</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171972</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Regatta Series Brings The Big Fleets to Annapolis</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 21:13:19 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis</guid>
<description><![CDATA[
It's a new season in Annapolis, and the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series is about to kick it off in a big way.
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com/regatta-series/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis/">Regatta Series Brings The Big Fleets to Annapolis</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com">Sailing World</a>.
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]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<section class="hydra-container">
<div class="hydra-canvas"> <img loading="lazy" fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis.jpg" class="hydra-image disable-lazyload" alt="Regatta Series Annapolis" sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis.jpg 1024w, https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-2.jpg 300w, https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-3.jpg 768w, https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-4.jpg 1536w, https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-5.jpg 50w, https://www.sailingworld.com/uploads/2023/08/230506_SWRS_Annapolis-0374.jpg 2000w" /> </div><figcaption class="caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption"> </figcaption></section>
There’s a bizarre, but now seemingly sacred tradition in Annapolis these days where, come the spring equinox, boaters of all ilk gather round at the <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://amaritime.org/events/">Maritime Museum</a> and toss their token stinkers into the flames at the annual Sock Burning Festival. And not long after the embers die, boatyards are chucking boats into the Chesapeake at a harried pace. Annapolis YC’s Wednesday-night racing series kickoff comes next and then there’s the big season-opener: the <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com/regatta-series-annapolis/">Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series</a>. With more than 200 boats—224 to be exact on the eve of the regatta—and all area yacht club hands are on deck and this year’s edition is expected to be a spicy one. And we’re not talking Old Bay.
In taking a look at this year’s gathering, let’s first take a dive into the scratch sheet and the three new classes bringing some new blood to the regatta’s traditional lineup. The Albacore Dinghy fleet, which will be racing its North American Championship, has pulled in an impressive 19 boats, with nearly half of the doublehanded teams hailing from Canada, a hotbed of Albacore racing.
“There are 80 or so of them up there,” says Albacore stalwart Barney Harris, of Alexandria, Virginia, who has been racing the doublehanded dinghies since 1983 and has built most of the modern boats. “[In Toronto] they get somewhere between 30 and 40 boats on a regular night, and most of them very good.”
Harris has been building Albacores at his home since 2007 and is responsible for 17 new hulls, with No. 18 on the way, and he has raced every Albacore US National Championship since 1983. A diehard indeed, he’s also the reigning US National and North American champion and has an appreciation for the boat’s simplicity. “It’s not overpowered, but not heavy either [at 240 pounds],” he says, “simple but sophisticated enough to maintain my interest for a long time.”
While there are not that many Albacores local to Annapolis proper itself, the opposite is true for the regatta’s other hot class,which will be launching from Annapolis YC’s dry sail lot this weekend—the cruisy but competitive Harbor 20s. As a steadily growing fleet at AYC, this group has sat out the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in years past as they prefer a more low-profile weekend experience for owners, but after a bit of cajoling from organizers, 19 of them are joining the fun for Saturday and Sunday only, on a racecourse set closer to shore where they prefer to play.
The Harbor 20, built by WD Schock in California, is best-suited for either two or three crew, and the class has strong pockets in the US, especially venues with protected harbors. With a deep and protected cockpit, a self-tacking jib and no spinnakers to fuss with, the Harbor 20 is as user-friendly as a one-design keelboat can be, and that’s the appeal for Annapolis’ Fleet 5 wrangler Bell Carty, who says, “We make sure that everything we are running is fun.”
Speaking of fun, there will be heaps of it for the sailors of the foiling Waszp one-design fleet, which is bringing out a big youth contingent with a couple of adults mixed in, including Annapolis YC’s own junior sailing coach who will be racing a few of his own charges for the first time. The regatta will also be his first time racing the Waszp that he bought a few months ago. The demands of high-school sailing coaching have kept him off the foil, so he has no lofty aspirations, but is happy to see juniors having fun.
“A lot of my kids are doing high-performance events around the Bay, so I figured I’d get into it too so I can see for myself what it’s about,” says Mitchell Powell. “As this will be my first one, we’ll see how it goes.”
What’s unique to the Annapolis stop of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series is the strength of its established one-design classes, especially the J/105, J/80s and Viper 640s, that each have drawn in 25 teams per class. The J/70 fleet only beats that number by two. Each fleet has something on the line: for the Viper 640s, it’s the Atlantic Coast Championship title, for the J/70s it’s the coveted world championship qualification berths, and for the J/80s and J/105s, it’s simply local bragging rights, which locals know is a big deal in these ultra-competitive amateur fleets. Six of the J/80 teams are sailing for their own interclass bragging rights as participants in the American Sailing Association’s Performance Race Week + Regatta Experience, which includes two days of onboard coaching clinics before the racing starts.
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<div class="hydra-canvas"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-1.jpg" class="hydra-image" alt="2023 Regatta Series Annapolis" sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" srcset="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-1.jpg 1024w, https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-6.jpg 300w, https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-7.jpg 768w, https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis-8.jpg 1536w, https://www.sailingworld.com/uploads/2023/05/2023-SWRS_Annapolis-11.jpg 2000w" /> </div><figcaption class="caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption"> </figcaption></section>
There will be plenty of other Regatta Series regulars as well, including the classic Alberg 30s and Cal 25s, the J/22s and J/24s, and Etchells classes, each of which have their returning champions back to defend. The J/30s, however, have lost their defending champion, Bruce Irvin, who was selected as the regatta’s overall winner in 2023 and earned a berth at the Caribbean Championship in the BVIs in October. Irvin, has traded in his J/30 for a custom 40-footer that he intends to race in Newport Bermuda Race someday.
As he and his crew are only now coming to grips with the boat, the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta’s two days of ORC racing will give Irvin and his young crew a chance to better learn the ropes and the choreography of their new-to-them yacht. Annapolis YC’s opening Wednesday night race in late April was their first official outing after a winter’s worth of boatwork.
“Mechanically it all went well,” Irvin says. “We’re just getting aware of all the lines, but to be honest, the boat is easier to sail than the J/30. Our goal this weekend is to hoist the ORC trophy, but first we’ll focus on getting it around the racecourse OK and getting some hours under our belts.”
The ORC fleet will race only Saturday and Sunday alongside the regatta’s other distance racers in the Beneteau First 24 division, and while all area clubs will be hosting fleets on the water, evening socials will be hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club, with packed schedule of food, parties, games and a special, live Speaker Series evening with Ocean Race winning skipper and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, Charlie Enright, on Thursday evening at the club.

The post <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com/regatta-series/regatta-series-brings-the-big-fleets-to-annapolis/">Regatta Series Brings The Big Fleets to Annapolis</a> appeared first on <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com">Sailing World</a>.
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171974</post-id> </item>
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<title>Sailing with Robin Lee Graham</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 12:26:50 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ I am sailing with Robin Lee Graham, but there is no wind. It’s a hot day in July and Montana’s Flathead Lake is glass. The mountains around us are blurred by haze. A wildfire burns to our east. Robin’s blue eyes light up—he’s spotted catspaws ahead. The little puff fills our sails just briefly and ... 
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham/">Sailing with Robin Lee Graham</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></description>
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<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham.jpg" height="800" width="1192"><figcaption>A smiling Robin Lee Graham sails on Flathead Lake.
Photo courtesy&colon; Robin Lee Graham and Emma Garschagen
</figcaption></figure>
 <iframe loading="lazy" height="200" width="100%" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=AIMED5165530486" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"/></iframe>
I am sailing with Robin Lee Graham, but there is no wind. It’s a hot day in July and Montana’s Flathead Lake is glass. The mountains around us are blurred by haze. A wildfire burns to our east. Robin’s blue eyes light up—he’s spotted catspaws ahead. The little puff fills our sails just briefly and we glide on the momentum. We are sailing Magnolia, a 20-foot mahogany knockabout that Robin meticulously restored.
Robin is used to sailing alone. We know him from National Geographic covers in the ’70s, or The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone on childhood bookshelves, or Dove, the memoir and the movie. In 1965, when he was 16 years old, Robin Lee Graham left southern California to sail around the world alone. On that voyage, which took five years, two boats, and three masts, he met Patti. They married in South Africa, halfway through the circumnavigation. They have now been married for 55 years.
We haven’t traveled far from the dock, where Patti and their daughter Quimby still stand. Robin’s grandchildren, Isaiah and Annika, are aboard with us. Unfazed, they watch their grandfather bounce around us to adjust a halyard, a sheet, the tiller. I am blinking harder and more often than usual to make sure I’m awake. I am sailing with Robin Lee Graham. He asks if I want to take the tiller, adding bashfully, “I know this is no transatlantic.”
I grew up with stories of ocean crossings. My mother sailed across the Atlantic with her family in 1978, when she was 13. On the shelf by her bunk was The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone, with a photo of a young Robin Lee Graham across the cover. She flipped through it on their 26-day passage from Maine to Ireland, amazed that a kid could do this by themselves. That book sat on my shelf on our family’s Chris-Craft, the motorboat we lived on during the summers of my adolescence. Parked at a hot August dock on the Hudson River, I read about Robin’s adventures: sailing a wild vast ocean, meeting the love of his life, surviving angry storms, and twice dismasting. It was all incredibly romantic to a kid at the dawn of her adulthood.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham-1.jpg" height="800" width="950"><figcaption>Patti trims Robin’s hair during a circumnavigation stop.
Photo courtesy&colon; Robin Lee Graham and Emma Garschagen
</figcaption></figure>
Now a sailor myself, I guest host 59° North Sailing’s podcast called “On the Wind.” I had been interviewing my sailing inspirations, like Tracy Edwards and Liz Clark, and thought of what a dream it would be to interview Robin Lee Graham. I typed his name into Google, hoping he was still around, trying to do the math on how old he would be that year, in 2022.
Interviews with Robin are rare. National Geographic covered his voyage around the world, and there was a flood of media when Robin returned from the trip in 1971. Over the decades, it petered out. In the age of the internet, only a few people have talked to Robin. Forums on sailing sites mention him often, with discussions of how inspiring his story has been for sailors young and old, and speculations about his life now.
Now, floating on Flathead Lake, our circumnavigator is considering our course. 
“Usually I cut between those islands, but I think the lake is too low,” Robin says. “It’s historically low right now.” 
Flathead Lake is one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the western United States and has a healthy sailing scene. The Thistle Nationals were held on the lake last summer, welcoming 87 teams, one of which included Robin’s son, Ben. Robin took his knockabout out that day to watch the race and take photos of Ben. He said he found himself out in over 20 knots and gusting higher. 
“I don’t think I managed to take any photos,” he told me with a grin, “it got a little exciting!” 
Patti and Robin make you feel like you’re an old friend. The first time I met them, for the podcast, it was February. Walking down the driveway towards their house on the lake, I noticed anchor-shaped cutouts in the fence. I was shivering—excited, nervous, and chilled by the breeze off Flathead Lake. Knocking on the door, I spotted a stained-glass window of a familiar boat with blue-and-white-striped sails. Inside I saw the nautical theme through this house that Robin built. There are paintings of Dove, portraits of Robin by his brother, and family photos on mountaintops and tropical beaches. Patti took me on a tour, excited to show me the boat-shaped bed in an upstairs room. Midmorning sunlight streamed through the tall windows.
The lake glistened, and Robin commented that the ice was late this year. Dramatic clouds sped west over the distant blue mountains. Driving in around midnight the night before, I had gotten a glimpse of the snow-capped peaks and glimmering lake reflecting the full moon. In the morning, as I stepped out into the cold, a massive golden eagle soared from the trees over my head down to the water. It immediately had a salmon-colored fish in its talons and elevated onto a treetop with one pump of its wings. “Are you kidding me?” I whispered to myself. No wonder our legendary circumnavigator escaped to these shores.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham-2.jpg" height="800" width="1150"><figcaption>Dinner at the Graham’s, the author reads the logbook with Robin and Patti’s son Ben and his wife, Maggie.
Photo courtesy&colon; Robin Lee Graham and Emma Garschagen
</figcaption></figure>
Patti made us tea while I set up my microphones. She was warm and endlessly hospitable. Robin curled his white mustache up on the ends with wax and had the twinkle in his eye that I imagined. Patti slipped away when I started recording. Both nervous, we started by talking about something in our shared comfort zone: boats. Robin told me about fixing up Magnolia and about the Hobie Cat he used to have on the lake. “My son and I would wait for a storm to come in and then we’d go sailing.” Robin is soft-spoken and shy, but as we talked, he opened up about his depression, their Christian faith, and the power of forgiveness.
After the podcast interview, I sat down for dinner with Robin, Patti, their son Ben, his wife Maggie, and their two kids. Sitting there, part of their family for the evening, I felt a swell of emotion. This man who I was enamored with as a young teenager, whose story opened worlds of possibility for me and countless others, was sitting beside me at dinner, splitting the garlic bread and passing it along, listening intently to his grandkids talk about their days and indulging me in more tales from their times at sea.
We opened the cloth-bound logbook from his circumnavigation. I ran my finger across the yellowed pages, and we laughed at the deep pencil marks where he’d scratched “NO WIND FOR 9 DAYS!!!” in capital letters, and “Solo sailing is for the birds, but I guess my name is Robin!” He precisely drew the ports he stopped in over the five-year voyage around the world.
Robin’s adventurous spirit has not dimmed a bit since his famed circumnavigation. Before meeting the Grahams, I believed the sailors’ gossip that Robin had given up sailing. I didn’t picture the decades of adventures they’ve enjoyed. Each time I talk with him and Patti, I hear another tale about him flying small planes and gliders in Montana or the time they spent bareboating in the South Pacific with Quimby and Ben.
Robin has told me he rarely feels fear. On his voyage around the world, he was only afraid at sea once. He hit a storm near Madagascar with waves taller than 30 feet, breaking at the tops, “like they do on the beach,” he told me. He had a handkerchief of jib out and was towing warps behind the boat. One of his portlights had gotten knocked in, bringing a wave in with it, and the companionway door had split. Robin did what he could, reinstalled the portlight, and then prayed to whoever was listening, anyone. Then he fell asleep. When he woke, the raging wind had died to a 10-knot breeze and the seas had fallen to 4-foot swells. It felt like a miracle.
Robin’s arrival in Los Angeles in 1970 came with sponsorships and book deals and tons of pressure. Robin was incredibly unhappy, overwhelmed by the barrage of media attention. They had a new daughter, Quimby, and the three of them were living aboard Return of the Dove at the dock in Los Angeles. He was completely uncomfortable and felt out of control. Just 22 years old, a new husband and father, and suddenly surrounded by fans after five years of traveling, he was in a new storm. One evening, Patti found Robin sitting on the dock with a gun in his hand, ready to end his life. She knocked it into the water, and they wept together in despair. They needed to make a change.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham-3.jpg" height="782" width="1200"><figcaption>Robin was just 16 when he set off in Dove, a 24-foot Bill Lapworth design.
Photo courtesy&colon; Robin Lee Graham and Emma Garschagen
</figcaption></figure>
Robin and Patti bought a van with the money from selling Return of the Dove, the boat on which Robin completed his circumnavigation. They thought they might move to Colorado, but they kept hearing about the mountains and woods of Montana. They drove with Quimby toward Flathead Lake to start a new life, away from the city and the media. In his book Home is the Sailor, Robin wrote candidly about this transition, as they tried building a home and living off the land through harsh winters.
At the same time, Robin and Patti were starting a new relationship with God. His cousin had brought them to a church before they left Los Angeles, which got them interested in reading the Bible. His aunt prayed for him while he sailed around the world. Robin said that by the time they drove over the mountains in Montana, they were born again Christians.
To be transparent, I am an atheist. I find reverence in nature, in moments with strangers, and in love. Perhaps because I do not believe in God, I am fascinated by those who do and sometimes even envious. Talking to Robin and Patti, it is clear that their faith saved Robin’s life and their marriage. When Robin was scared in that storm off Madagascar, he prayed and awoke to calm seas. When they returned from their round-the-world adventure and found hardship, God brought them hope. Patti said that has been the important thing in their tough times—hope.
At the center of the story Dove is Robin and Patti’s love. You can still feel it when you are talking with them. They make each other laugh, weave stories together, and bicker with a sweet familiarity. Robin and Patti grew up within 20 miles of each other in California. They met when they were young, independent, and on an adventure.
Patti was 22 when she met Robin. She had hitchhiked to Fiji from California via Panama, the Galápagos, and Tahiti. Sick of the men she was meeting in California, she imagined better prospects in Australia, so that’s where she would go. Patti wanted to get married when she was 30, have a family, and stay married. Her parents had divorced, and her brother had special needs. She was unanchored, “footloose and fancy free,” she told me, so she hitchhiked to Panama to find a ride across the Pacific.
Patti found her ride across the Pacific on a 65-foot Swedish schooner. She described the passage as “strange,” but it sounded scary to me. The crew were supplied with meager provisions, while the captain and his girlfriend hoarded their own food stores in the aft cabin. “We had a tin of corned beef per day between the six of us,” Patti told me, “and these peas that you had to cook for hours to even get soft.” The cook developed a bad infection in his thumb from a cut, but the captain refused to give the man penicillin. He insisted that “if you don’t cook, you don’t eat,” banning the other crew members from feeding their injured shipmate.
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<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham-4.jpg" height="800" width="1046"><figcaption>
Robin’s son Ben learns celestial in Baja last year. 
Photo courtesy&colon; Robin Lee Graham and Emma Garschagen
</figcaption></figure>
<div> View the 7 images of this gallery on the <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham">original article</a> </div>
</section>
After that voyage, she found herself in Suva, Fiji, and got a job on a small cruise boat. Robin was moored across the island, in Lautoka. Patti was walking down the road there when a bus rolled by with her friend, Richard, hanging out the window, flagging her down. He told her about Robin, his friend who had sailed to Fiji from California, alone. “You have to come meet this guy!”
They were drawn to each other immediately, became friends, and soon fell in love. Patti described Robin scampering up a palm tree to pluck her a coconut: “This is crazy, I thought.” As Robin continued to sail around the world, alone, Patti traveled west too, meeting him in ports along the way. Their relationship created friction with Robin’s father and National Geographic. Robin’s dad and the magazine were the main sources of pressure and funding behind his circumnavigation and weren’t happy seeing Robin distracted by love. Robin and Patti only grew closer, got married, and honeymooned on the South African coast on a motorbike named Elsa. Patti wrote a 12-page letter to Robin’s parents about that trip.
“Without Patti, I don’t know if I would have made it,” Robin said of his circumnavigation. “She was an encourager.”
Adventure is a core value of the Graham family, braided in with their faith and their love for each other.
“Robin has no fear, whatsoever” Patti once told me. “He’s a wild man,” she laughed. Patti does not share Robin’s fearlessness, but not for lack of trying. On the phone with me, they laughed about a time when Robin capsized their Hobie Cat on Flathead Lake, throwing Patti down onto the sail. When their kids were small, they would squeeze a queen-size mattress into the back of Robin’s carpentry work van, stowing their camping supplies below the bed, and drive down to Baja with a Thistle in tow.
“We’d come to an isolated beach and with everybody’s help we could push the trailer down the beach and launch the Thistle, and when we were done sailing, maybe a couple days later, we’d haul it back up together, drive somewhere else and camp and do the same thing,” Robin told me. He described sailing with the kids out of Puerto Escondido between breaching whales and in rough seas, taking water over the bow. “The kids weren’t too excited about that idea.”
Sailing took Robin, Patti, and their two kids all the way to French Polynesia. They did bareboat charters with a group of boats, once in Tonga and once in the Society Islands, when their kids were still preteens. More recently, in the spring of 2023, Robin and his son Ben went sailing on a friend’s boat in Baja, where Robin saw AIS for the first time. He described the boatowner using it on the chart plotter; “He could see other boats around, and he’d click on the boat and tell you, ‘Well, this is a sloop, it’s 38 feet long.’ It was amazing! You could see where all your friends were.”
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham-5.jpg" height="800" width="1061"><figcaption>Patti and Robin are still together and adventuring after 55 years.
Photo courtesy&colon; Robin Lee Graham and Emma Garschagen
</figcaption></figure>
While he got a kick out of seeing the AIS, Robin’s still a fan of the old way; of going without a huge battery bank and fancy electronics. He pulled out a sextant on this recent trip to Baja and showed his son how to take a sun sight. At dinner with them last winter, he and I discussed celestial navigation, which I’ve been learning as I sail offshore.
I asked Robin if he ever wanted to do another major sailing voyage, or another circumnavigation. “I used to think that’s what I’d like to do,” he told me. “But, you know, making long passages is a lot of time doing nothing, and I don’t know where I’d put my wood shop on a boat.”
“When Robin had a little airplane,” Patti chimed in, “just flying around the valley would drive him crazy. He liked having a goal, like flying to Tennessee or California, and he loves to work.”
His plane was a Taylor Craft two-seater from 1947. To start the engine, he had to get out of the cockpit and spin the propeller by hand. “Hopefully you didn’t give it too much gas, or else the plane would run you over!” he told me gleefully. “You know, you’re trying to get in, hanging off the wing and the plane’s going around in a circle, driving you. It was pretty fun.”
“He’s edgy,” Patti commented. “That’s what I love about him, but it can be terrifying, too”.
On a hill overlooking Flathead Lake, Robin’s garage is neatly organized and packed with projects. They live on this property for most of the summer, while their larger lakeside house is rented. They have two Shasta campers, each decorated with their own color scheme, and both restored by Robin. He’s rebuilding a larger camper that he bought for a dollar from a farmer. They call their house “The Big Tiny,” because Robin set out to build a tiny house, but it’s a little bigger than that. There’s an RV parked by a shed, set away from The Big Tiny, where Quimby and Annika are staying.
“I love it out here,” Quimby told me, as we looked out at the view of the lake and mountains. Annika was busy repacking a tent. “We’re going backpacking in the park next week,” she said, grinning. Glacier National Park is just north of Flathead Lake. Just a week before, Robin and Patti took Lucy (the lemon-yellow Shasta camper) to the park and spent a few days there, fishing and walking, while their daughter and grandchildren set off on a multiday hike. 
Quimby, her husband Doug, and their family live out in Oregon, but the pull back to Montana is strong. Isaiah recently moved to the Flathead Lake region on his own. He’s staying in the basement apartment of one of their rental homes, working at a local restaurant, and is seriously involved in his church group. Quimby’s oldest son, Luke, recently returned from a three-month mission trip in Cambodia and is now training to be in the Air Force. He wants to buy a sailboat and live aboard. His grandfather has been consulting him on that idea.
Back on the lake, I’m sculling Magnolia towards the little marina. As we approach the docks, I ask Robin if he wants to take the tiller. I’d rather not crash Robin Lee Graham’s boat into a piling. 
“You can bring her in,” he says. Robin steps over Annika and Isaiah, who have been ready to go swimming for a while now, and strikes our sails. We float into the slip, where Patti and Quimby are ready with our docklines. Robin grins at me and then turns to his family. 
“Is it time to go home for some lemonade?”
Emma Garschagen is the founder and captain at Sail Seabird, offering coastal sailing education voyages out of Portland, Maine. sailseabird.com
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sailing-with-robin-lee-graham-6.jpg" height="735" width="1200"> </figure>
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171967</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Meet the First Woman to Foil Across the Atlantic</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:33:41 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic</guid>
<description><![CDATA[
Caroline Boule foiled across the Atlantic alone in her 21-footer—a first for singlehanded sailing’s pinnacle proving ground.
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic/">Meet the First Woman to Foil Across the Atlantic</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com">Sailing World</a>.
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<section class="hydra-container">
<div class="hydra-canvas"> <img loading="lazy" fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic.jpg" class="hydra-image disable-lazyload" alt="Caroline Boule" sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic.jpg 1024w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-3.jpg 300w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-4.jpg 768w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-5.jpg 1536w, https://www.sailingworld.com/uploads/2024/04/MLG_9402_edit.jpg 2000w" /> </div><figcaption class="caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption"> Caroline Boule helms her Sam Manuard-designed Mini 6.50 Nicomatic. Competing in the 2023 Mini Transat Race in the Proto Class allowed Boule and her partner, Benoit Marie, to develop a seaworthy foil package that, given the right conditions, allowed her to soar across the Atlantic at 20 knots. Manon Le Guen </figcaption></section>
As the sun dips below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Caribbean waters, I can’t believe my eyes. The island of La Désirade looms on the horizon, a beacon of achievement after 4,050 grueling miles across the Atlantic alone. For 12 days of relentless sailing, my boat and my world—the 21-foot Classe Mini, Nicomatic—has soared over waves and chased schools of silver flying fish. The windward foil has unmercifully sent cascades of water over me, leaving my skin blistered and scarred.
The distant sound of an engine pierces the air, growing louder as a tiny object on the horizon speeds toward me. Excited shouts and screams reach my ears, and soon, familiar faces emerge. Friends and family wave a poster that reads: “Welcome our northern star.” Emotions surge through me as I grasp my accomplishment. I am the first woman to cross the Atlantic on a fully foiling boat, and the first person to do so on a fully foiling monohull. This triumph is the culmination of two years of effort from a dedicated team.
My journey to the finish of La Boulangere Mini Transat 2023 began in October 2020 in Paris, after completing my master’s in Nuclear and Materials Science Engineering. Despite enrolling in a Physics doctorate program at Ecole Polytechnique, my passion for sailing led me to the challenging world of foiling boats. I invested all of my savings and half of my monthly salary into acquiring an International Moth and diving headfirst into the competitive realm of this prestigious foiling and development class.
Fueled by motivation, I took my commitment to the extreme. I rented out my flat for three months and lived in my car in my university’s parking lot, scraping together every penny to afford the fuel needed to transport my boat to various racing events. However, harsh reality set in, and I soon realized that maintaining this lifestyle was financially unsustainable. Undeterred, I began seeking sponsorship opportunities to keep my dream afloat. This pivotal moment led me to the Nicomatic Group, and my journey took a remarkable turn.
Nicomatic, an international technology company, sponsored my Moth sailing until the 2021 Moth Worlds in Malcesine, Italy. Together, we conceived the Mini Nicomatic, an innovative 6.5-meter boat designed by naval architect Sam Manuard and foiling specialist Benoit Marie (Mini Transat winner in 2013), who also became my coach and co-skipper, as well as life partner.
<section class="hydra-container">
<div class="hydra-canvas"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-1.jpg" class="hydra-image" alt="demo sail" sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" srcset="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-1.jpg 1024w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-6.jpg 300w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-7.jpg 768w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-8.jpg 1536w, https://www.sailingworld.com/uploads/2024/04/MLG_9648_edit.jpg 2000w" /> </div><figcaption class="caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption"> On a demo sail with team members and guests. Manon Le Guen </figcaption></section>
In less than five months, the boat took shape under the dedication of a team led by Kilian Goldbach and Malric Leborgne. Goldbach, a key figure in the team, worked tirelessly, dedicating 100 hours a week for several months to ensure that Nicomatic would hit the water on time. During the build, I realized the need to build experience in offshore sailing because I had sailed only dinghies before and was a complete offshore-sailing novice when I took up this challenge. I set out on a trans-Atlantic crossing in a Volvo 65, and it was on this boat, off the Canary Islands, with winds gusting well over 30 knots and water splashing all over the deck, that I spent my first night at sea.
We launched Nicomatic in May 2022, and within a week, I embarked on my first solo race, marking the beginning of a transformative journey. Ten minutes into the sail, I realized that I had never jibed a spinnaker solo before, so I had to make it all up as I went. The focus of this first year was qualification for the Mini Transat, involving 1,500 nautical miles of racing and a 1,000-nautical-mile qualifying course—which was a resounding success. At the end of the season, more than 100 people from Nicomatic joined me for a week of sailing to discover the amazing boat they had sponsored.
In December 2022, we installed and tested the foils, achieving notable success. The boat smoothly lifted off in 8 knots of wind on our first try. In the second year of my campaign (2023), our primary goal was to address potential issues with the boat before stepping off for the trans-Atlantic race in September. Despite many challenges, we not only secured victories in several races, but we also witnessed the boat’s incredible potential—up to 100 percent faster than our competitors. The focus then shifted to making Nicomatic more reliable, a crucial aspect for the impending journey. Personally, I needed to overcome my fear of the speed and brutality of the boat, and that transformation occurred only a month before the Mini Transat when I clinched victory in the first leg of a solo race from Port Bourgenay, France, to Getxo, Spain.
A major challenge I faced throughout the project, however, was securing additional sponsors. Despite Benoit’s efforts in bringing in those who funded his sailing career, I struggled to meet the budget requirements. This led me to borrow substantial amounts of money just to make it to the starting line.
The journey to the start was intense, marked by tireless efforts and the invaluable support of volunteers, especially a schoolboy named Elvis, who dedicated his entire summer holiday, working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., for free, driven by a passion to learn and contribute to the boat’s preparation. Seeking assistance on Instagram yielded an overwhelming response, with numerous individuals, some unfamiliar to me, extending help in various capacities. However, multiple unexpected challenges emerged, such as the Classe Mini’s last-minute rule change regarding foils. A monumental effort from the team altered the foils in time for the race to make Nicomatic compliant.
On September 26, 2023, I set sail on the Mini Transat—solo, unassisted and without communication— toward the Canary Islands, where the first leg finished, and then in the direction of Guadeloupe. The initial stretch proved far more mentally challenging than I anticipated. My batteries struggled to charge, leaving me with insufficient energy on board. Consequently, I had to navigate the boat continuously for 10 days without respite, leading to exhaustion and minimal sleep. Sleep deprivation took its toll, causing disorientation, hallucinations, and numerous mistakes. Light winds, contrary to the forecast, added to the nerve-wracking conditions. Despite these difficulties, there were remarkable moments, such as a whale leaping in front of me and encountering dolphins and orcas. It was thrilling and unnerving.
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<div class="hydra-canvas"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-2.jpg" class="hydra-image" alt="Caroline Boule on her Mini 6.50" sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" srcset="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-2.jpg 1024w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-9.jpg 300w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-10.jpg 768w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic-11.jpg 1536w, https://www.sailingworld.com/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3090_edit.jpg 2000w" /> </div><figcaption class="caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption"> Caroline Boule proved that the concept of transoceanic foiling in the Mini Transat was possible, as well as exhilarating. Caroline Boule </figcaption></section>
The second leg presented a fresh set of challenges. Soon after the start, my autopilot stopped working, and despite my attempt to fix it, I had to make an unscheduled stop in El Hierro, the last island before the open Atlantic. There, I encountered amazing individuals who provided me with food, assistance and great company. After a 12-hour stopover, fueled by the music my newfound friends played on their instruments, I resumed the journey and embarked on a remarkable comeback, foiling my way to ninth position. I faced new technical hurdles, however, such as a broken spinnaker halyard that hampered me when the wind dropped for two days. Numerous electronic malfunctions added to the challenges, regretfully affecting what turned out to be the least-prepared part of my boat. The autopilot’s unreliable performance forced me to drive the boat a minimum of 12 hours a day. The remaining hours were spent studying the weather, making repairs, eating and sleeping.
The challenging reality of the crossing was the tough conditions. I dealt with issues in two sealing systems—one for the foils and one for the keel—which resulted in perpetual dampness for 12 days. The toll on my body was visible, evidenced by scars and partial skin loss. Maintaining my well-being became a daily struggle, managing with damp food, floating storage bins, and the constant task of draining 200 liters of water every two hours. Five days before the finish, I ran out of water and relied on the last sips of Coca-Cola for survival. It was an uncomfortable experience, enduring days of hardship with limited hydration.
The misery was soon forgotten as I sailed into Port Saint Francois in Guadeloupe, with my family and friends. Their support made this achievement possible. They were my driving force over every mile and every hour. I will be forever thankful for them. It was 8 p.m. when we coasted into the marina to cheers, to “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics, and the clapping from packed restaurants, which marked the end of one adventure and the beginning of the next.
The post <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic/">Meet the First Woman to Foil Across the Atlantic</a> appeared first on <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com">Sailing World</a>.
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/meet-the-first-woman-to-foil-across-the-atlantic/">Meet the First Woman to Foil Across the Atlantic</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171963</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Sailing Is Cool Right Now</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/sailing-is-cool-right-now/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:06:14 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/sailing-is-cool-right-now</guid>
<description><![CDATA[
It's a big year with the Olympics and America's Cup back-to-back, but even down at the roots, there's plenty of excitement.
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/sailing-is-cool-right-now/">Sailing Is Cool Right Now</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com">Sailing World</a>.
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/sailing-is-cool-right-now/">Sailing Is Cool Right Now</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<section class="hydra-container">
<div class="hydra-canvas"> <img loading="lazy" fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now.jpg" class="hydra-image disable-lazyload" alt="The Ocean Race 2022-23 - 29 June 2023." sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now.jpg 1024w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-2.jpg 300w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-3.jpg 768w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-4.jpg 1536w, https://www.sailingworld.com/uploads/2024/04/14_07_230629_TOR_CAA_1170.jpg 2000w" /> </div><figcaption class="caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption"> “We didn’t start out the way we wanted to,” Charlie Enright said. “But we knew we wanted to be the best team at the end, not at the beginning.” Lexi Pline/US Sailing </figcaption></section>
Charlie Enright concluded one year by accepting World Sailing’s most important award: Team of the Year. It was indeed the entirety of the 11th Hour Racing effort that won The Ocean Race in spectacular fashion, on the water and ashore. As a sailing team, they pushed hard and they got faster. They broke their boat and got stronger. And as a collective team, they are ambassadors true to their social causes, and have fully earned the respect of their competitors. Paul Elvstrøm would be proud.
And Charlie Enright began this year by accepting the coveted Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award. The men’s shortlist featured a stacked and worthy group of champions with long lists of accolades, but there was one skipper whose résumé occupied only one line. “Ocean Race Winner,” it read. As a member of the selection committee, when I first saw the shortlist, I thought to myself: Why bother with the voting? I mean, what he did to win that race was incredible. He already had my vote, because Charlie Enright led the first American team to the pinnacle of offshore racing and won, and did so with grace and tenacity. Hooray for the USA. We’re back on top.
It wasn’t long ago when pundits were down on American yacht-racing prowess, but I believe that a shift is happening. Enright and 11th Hour Racing’s success is but one rose in the bouquet of American sailing today. There is much to celebrate about our sport domestically and the progress that’s been made on so many fronts. Trust me, I’ve been accused of being naive from where I sit in the wonderland of Newport, Rhode Island, and maybe I am guilty of seeing rainbows through my rose-tinted glasses, and be that as it may, whenever someone asks me my opinion of the “state of the sport,” I’m always quick to reply: “Awesome. It’s all happening.”
What’s happening is that sailing is cool again, and it will be especially so this year, with both the Olympic Regatta in France and the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona. Talk about an epic European summer.
The Olympics come first, of course, and I for one can’t wait to see the amazing and talented Daniela Moroz kite and smile her way onto the front of my Wheaties box. And after following the trials battle of Ian Barrows and Hans Henken, our 49er hopefuls, I’m looking forward to these two guys having the regatta of their life. They’re right there at the top, poised and determined because they know that this is most likely their one and only shot. And they will give it their best. High-speed racing on double-trap skiffs is as cool as Olympic sailing gets.
While the remainder of our Paris-bound (or technically, Marseille) athletes are yet to be finalized, I’m confident that Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea, in the 49erFX, will get their berth and wow us. Same for Stuart McNay and Lara Dallman-Weiss, a strong new team with the right stuff.
And then we’re on to Barcelona. As I write, it’s early February, which puts us officially into the year of the America’s Cup. It is hard to believe that only three years ago, the AC75s of Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli were squaring off in Auckland. New Zealand was an excellent arena for Cup racing, and while I’m sure it’s a bummer for citizen Kiwis to not have the action on their harbor again, the Cup’s controversial move to the Mediterranean will elevate this ancient regatta to next-level status. Louis Vuitton, Prada, L’Oréal, Red Bull and so many other big commercial partners will no doubt get this old city humming from June through October. It will be a spectacle onshore, but on the beautiful blue Med, the sailing will be fast, close and high-stakes, as always. Entertaining us on the side stages will be the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup regattas in the AC40s, as well as superyachts, foilers and water toys of all sorts. There will be a lot of eyeballs on Barcelona this year, and what they’ll see is that sailing is cool.
<section class="hydra-container">
<div class="hydra-canvas"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-1.jpg" class="hydra-image" alt="America’s Cup Recon. Tuesday the 30th of January 2024." sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" srcset="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-1.jpg 1024w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-5.jpg 300w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-6.jpg 768w, https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sailing-is-cool-right-now-7.jpg 1536w, https://www.sailingworld.com/uploads/2024/04/240130_INEOS_AC40_D27_272.jpg 2000w" /> </div><figcaption class="caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption"> The Women’s and Youth America’s Cup sailors of INEOS Britannia make the jump from simulator to AC40s in January.
 Paul Todd/ America’s Cup </figcaption></section>
Front and center will be the New York YC’s American Magic Challenge, and if Enright is going to lay claim to the offshore throne, then Terry Hutchinson dang well better win the America’s Cup. There are no excuses this time: They have the world’s best helmsman in Tom Slingsby driving their bus, and in the opposite cockpit will be Paul Goodison, who is also stellar, as is every one of the sailors and cyclors who makes this team a favorite on its second attempt. They have an excellent base location in Barcelona: out on the peninsula, close to the beach viewing area, and next to the hospitality and fan zones. They’re next door to the Italians, so they should never be wanting for espresso and Red Bull.
Hutchinson and the team have always kept a low profile. That’s his MO. So, thankfully, we’ve had the America’s Cup Recon teams keeping us up to date and in the loop. From afar, I get the impression that this campaign is all going according to plan; those in the know tell me that they’re doing things right, and they will be fast and sharp. We’ll be there when the Cup action starts in August, bearing witness to the coolest sailing regatta of all time.
And while on the topic of cool, and cool kids, it’s now worth bringing into the conversation Taylor Canfield and Mike Buckley, who are finally getting a crack at sailing stardom. It’s been fun to watch them get swallowed up in the circus and hype of SailGP as the new All-American squad that’s already proving to be a menace to the fleet (in a good way) while giving some of the old guard notice. The team’s CEO and co-owner, Mike Buckley, has somehow hooked in Hollywood celebrities, pro-sport athletes and big-time tech investors, and these backers come with followers. Followers are eyeballs, and those new eyeballs will see some wild and crazy foiling catamarans over the next year. They might not know the first thing from a tack to a jibe or ever take to the sport, but you know what they’ll think? Man, this sailing thing is cool.
While it’s easy to see coolness in the glitz and glamour of the top of the sport, I would argue that sailing at the grassroots level is cool right now as well. Are we back to the glory days of sailing? Not yet, but right now, there are giant fleets enjoying midwinter regattas in Florida and unknown pockets of vibrant local dinghy and handicap races happening every weekend across the country. Wingfoiling is exploding in so many ways, windsurfing is enjoying a resurgence, and one offshore sailing event after another is breaking attendance numbers. And there are American teams and sailors winning them. We have far more women on the water today, and they are stockpiling trophies, hearts and followers everywhere. If you don’t believe me, find Cole Brauer Ocean Racing on Instagram and admire her 350,000 followers (and growing by the day).
Finally, we’re about to embark on our next season of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series with an amazing and diverse fleet of classes at the St. Petersburg YC in Florida. This annual winter gathering of more than 200 boats has blossomed into a panorama of our sport today, from the ubiquitous J/70s to Melges 15s; the old-school Lightnings, Contenders, Flying Dutchman, Windmills, J/24s, S27.9s and Hobie 33s; the multihulls of the Weta trimarans; and the booming A Class cats. There’s a formidable ORC fleet and a bumper crop of PHRF teams lined up to do two days of long-course racing with family and friends on Tampa Bay. It’s going to be cool, and a great start to the series, which also returns to Detroit after a decade. I expect a great year ahead for American sailing, so thank you to Charlie Enright for kicking it off right.
The post <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/sailing-is-cool-right-now/">Sailing Is Cool Right Now</a> appeared first on <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailingworld.com">Sailing World</a>.
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/sailing-is-cool-right-now/">Sailing Is Cool Right Now</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171965</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Know-how: Adding Windvane Steering and a Hydrogenerator</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 15:49:37 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ When we decided to add windvane steering coupled with a hydrogenerator to our sailboat, our focus was on the practical aspects: conserving battery power, adding rudder redundancy, and enhancing our off-grid capabilities. It wasn’t until we sailed with the vane overnight for the first time that we ... 
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator/">Know-how: Adding Windvane Steering and a Hydrogenerator</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator.jpg" height="800" width="1112"><figcaption>The new windvane at work
Photo by Christopher Birch
</figcaption></figure>
When we decided to add windvane steering coupled with a hydrogenerator to our sailboat, our focus was on the practical aspects: conserving battery power, adding rudder redundancy, and enhancing our off-grid capabilities. It wasn’t until we sailed with the vane overnight for the first time that we came to appreciate the transcendent thrill the devices also deliver. When the wind is both powering and steering the boat, a satisfying synergy of motion is achieved.
Steering in the before times had always been a fight where constant correction was required to maintain course, and the electric autopilot was always on the back foot trying to catch up. The windvane, in contrast, is a peacemaker that provides equilibrium using pure physics, freeing the boat to go where we need her to go as if she knows the way on her own. I never considered steering a fight, until all of a sudden it wasn’t. The vane represents a transformational change, and we fly the red vane sail as a badge of honor marking our sailboat’s arrival into a higher state of being.
Attaining balance with the sea is cool. But banking amp-hours is cool too. Shutting off the electric autopilot and steering by vane saves power while at the same time, the attached hydrogenerator creates power. Not only are these two pieces of equipment mounted together, they also work together to balance the onboard energy budget. 
My wife, Alex, and I are out cruising full time aboard our 36-foot Morris Justine. One of our goals is to keep the engine out of our battery charging equation and instead rely exclusively on solar and hydropower. The 2022-23 Golden Globe Race is proof positive that this is achievable. Most of the boats in the race, including Kirsten Neuschäfer’s winning boat, Minnehaha, were equipped with the exact vane/hydrogenerator setup we chose for our boat. In fact, the success of that equipment on the racecourse around the world is what helped us trust it enough to install it on our boat.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator-1.jpg" height="800" width="1043"><figcaption> Recommended in-water installation of the Hydrovane required some clever modifications to the usual boat yoga.  
Photo by Christopher Birch
</figcaption></figure>
Several brands of vane steering systems are available in the marketplace, and many sailors have built their own. The systems come in two varieties: One type of vane controls the ship’s rudder to steer the boat. The other locks the ship’s rudder and uses its own ancillary rudder to steer the boat. On the latter systems, the additional rudder also serves as an independent spare should the main steering system fail. The new breed of rudder-eating orcas off the coast of Spain is one of many threats to a boat’s crucial steering system, so it’s smart to have a backup (“Whale Watch,” January/February 2024).
We chose the ancillary rudder system built by Hydrovane. Their customer support is excellent, and they talked us through a number of challenges during the installation. Sailboat transoms come in all shapes and sizes, and Hydrovane has a variety of mounting solutions to accommodate almost all shapes. In theory, installation is simple; just six bolts hold the vane to the boat. It’s getting those six bolt holes drilled in precisely the right spots that proved tricky. 
In-water installation is encouraged so that measurements to the waterline and to vertical can be more easily and accurately assessed. Our traditional transom angle made this project challenging, as everything was overhead. Lying on a paddleboard under the back of the boat put me in the right position to work. I rigged a tarp in the water under the back of the boat to catch anything I might drop. I also added lanyards on all parts for belt-and-suspender security. A few things did indeed go for a swim, but the safety nets worked, and nothing went to the bottom.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator-2.jpg" height="789" width="1200"><figcaption>The Watt & Sea easily lifts up and out of the water when not in use; the author had ample email and phone support from Hydrovane on the install process.
Photos by Christopher Birch
</figcaption></figure>
Installing the Watt & Sea hydrogenerator was much easier. Hydrovane sells the Watt & Sea machine and they have also designed a mount for installing it to the frame of the steering vane, saving additional holes in the transom. If this setup was good enough for Kirsten Neuschäfer, it’s good enough for me. 
The total installation was mostly a one-person job and I did it on my own; I estimate it was about 70 hours of labor to install plus another 20 hours to plan and measure before ordering parts. It wasn’t an easy project, but the instructions were excellent, as were the phone and email support. Drilling those six holes was worrisome, but the people at Hydrovane have installed a lot of these and have developed a system for measuring. They explain it well, and it worked flawlessly. Maybe the best judge of project efficiency is retrospection; if I were to do this one over, I wouldn’t change much of anything.
The hydrogenerator tilts down for use and then tilts up out of the water when charging is complete. Control lines make this easy to manage from the pushpit rail above. A cable runs from the drive in the water to a small and colorful Watt & Sea-provided controller mounted in a dry and out of the way spot down below in the cockpit locker. A pair of wires then deliver power from the controller to the house battery bank. 
A Bluetooth-connected app on my phone lets us track production. Power output is directly correlated with boatspeed. If we could sail our boat at 12 knots, the Watt & Sea 600 would produce 600 watts of power. At our more typical speed of 6 knots, the generator produces about 200 watts of power. Surfing down a wave at over 8 knots, I’ve seen it touch 400 watts. The generator keeps producing day and night, whereas our solar array only works during daylight and only puts out top power for a few hours around peak sun.
As with most major new gear, there have been some learning curves and challenges with the equipment, some anticipated and some not.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator-3.jpg" height="800" width="1005"><figcaption>The new system in place on the back of the boat.
Photo by Christopher Birch
</figcaption></figure>
The Watt & Sea hydrogenerator must be tilted up once the batteries are fully charged. If we fail to lift it out of the water at full charge, the company warns us that we will destroy the generator. The drive makes a faint noise when it’s time to pull it out, but we haven’t always heard it, and the human error factor here has me nervous. I wish it would shift to a “float” status on its own like every other charging device I’ve worked with and continue to spin without harm should we forget to lift it out when a full charge status is reached.
The vane rudder chatters when motoring. It works like a magician when we’re sailing, but when we’re motoring or docking, we wish it would disappear.
Removing the vane rudder from deck and reinstalling it is difficult. Dropping the rudder can be managed with the help of a boathook, but reinstalling it requires a trip to the back of the boat in a dinghy—at least on our boat that’s the only way to do it. With other shaped transoms, you might be able to accomplish this from a kneeling position on a swim platform, but even then, the boat would have to be stopped, and it wouldn’t be easy. 
The truth is we want to remove and reinstall the vane rudder frequently. It’s great for steering the boat when offshore, but we don’t want it down when piloting near-coastal from buoy to buoy, handling the boat in close quarters near the dock, when motoring, or if we were to see an orca coming for a visit (highly unlikely where we sail, at least for now, but still). It’s also good to remove the rudder when at rest to prevent marine growth. Some sort of rudder pivot similar to the pivot the Watt & Sea outdrive uses would be a great improvement for this vane.
Both the vane and the hydro drive are prone to catching seaweed and plastic in the water. This is easy enough to clear and is mainly just a nuisance. But I can also imagine that a snag on a lobster trap or other fishing gear could cause significant damage. This equipment isn’t intended for inshore use where fishing gear tends to live.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator-4.jpg" height="800" width="1062"><figcaption>A screen shot of the app that lets you keep track of the Watt & Sea’s power generation and the system in place.
Photo by Christopher Birch
</figcaption></figure>
The vane structure can be a sharp hazard to a dinghy tied astern when at anchor in light and/or rolly conditions. A friend’s dinghy was destroyed by his own vane when a wake came by and sent the vane with the rudder removed down into the inflatable like a spike. Our hard dinghy has a few new vane attack scars—nothing too serious, and she lives on to fight another day. We’ve learned from these mishaps and have developed healthier dinghy tie habits. If there’s plenty of wind to keep the dinghy back, we can still safely leave her tied astern when at anchor. But if there is any concern, we revert to either a side-tie or hauling her out. It’s good practice to haul a dinghy out of the water when not in use anyway to protect against theft, marine growth, and wear and tear. The vane adds one more reason to pull her up and out.
One other consideration: The gear isn’t inexpensive, even without installation costs, making this a serious investment. I ordered both directly from Hydrovane. The Watt & Sea cost $6,290, while the Hydrovane was $7,715 (this includes shipping and almost all installation and wiring supplies). 
As the Eagles sing, “Every form of refuge has its price.” Tradeoffs are plentiful here. The vane may not be great for coastal cruising, but it’s awesome offshore. All things considered, we’re delighted to have our new vane and hydrogenerator bolted on out back, and the practical benefits are enhanced by the intangibles. While other equipment often adds complexity and detracts from the alone-with-the-wind-and-sea experience most of us seek, vane steering goes in the opposite direction. The vane adds purity to sailing. Electricity is neither needed nor consumed, steering is no longer a fight, and the boat floats on in a silent, effortless groove.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator-5.jpg" height="800" width="1191"><figcaption>The author’s boat at anchor.
Photo by Christopher Birch
</figcaption></figure>
It does take a little getting used to. There is no NMEA2000 cable connecting it to a chartplotter. We can’t set it to steer to a waypoint, and it won’t maintain a compass course. Instead, it simply maintains a constant wind angle. When the wind shifts, so does our course. This steering technique lets us leave the sheets untouched while the vane maintains optimal sail trim through oscillating shifts. When course changes are needed, a closed loop of line running back alongside the lifelines to the cockpit allows us to easily adjust course to the new desired wind angle.
A devoted cult of sailors has been evolving vane self-steering technology since the 1950s. Once you try it, your mind opens, and the newfound balance becomes addicting. The vane works tirelessly all day and night without pay or complaint. It’s a piece of boat kit that can put your head into a new gear. A Bernard Moitessier sort of gear. A Kirsten Neuschäfer sort of gear. A headspace that can make you want to keep sailing and never stop. 
SAIL Contributing Editor Christopher Birch is the founder of Birch Marine Inc. in Boston. He and his wife, Alex, are now cruising full-time aboard their 36-foot Morris Justine. Follow their voyage at <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://EagleSevenSailing.com">EagleSevenSailing.com</a>
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/know-how-adding-windvane-steering-and-a-hydrogenerator-6.jpg" height="735" width="1200"> </figure>
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May 2024
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]]></content:encoded>
<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171957</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>From the Editor: Sail On, Patience</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 11:29:09 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ When I was growing up with SAIL magazine, Patience Wales was the editor. I was maybe 18 when I pitched my first story to her. She politely declined and encouraged me to keep trying. When I was asked, many moons later, to become editor of SAIL, the irony wasn’t lost on me. Nor was the sense of ... 
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]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience.jpg" height="800" width="1159"> </figure>
When I was growing up with SAIL magazine, Patience Wales was the editor. I was maybe 18 when I pitched my first story to her. She politely declined and encouraged me to keep trying. When I was asked, many moons later, to become editor of SAIL, the irony wasn’t lost on me. Nor was the sense of responsibility and legacy. Patience had retired in 2001, but her shoes were still the ones that, in my mind, I was attempting to fill as an editor, as a sailor, and as a woman in a male-dominated sport and career. I didn’t fool myself for a minute that I actually could.
We all stand on the shoulders of giants, and that’s how I have always felt about Patience Wales. When she died in February at age 89, something deep and abiding as an oceanic current shifted. <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/eight-bells-patience-wales">Her obituary</a> describes her life, loves, and accomplishments, including two circumnavigations. But I wanted to bring her even more into focus here, on the editor’s page she helmed for so long. So, I asked some people who knew and worked with her to offer their stories. A few characteristics quickly stood out. Forcefulness. Energy. Mentorship.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience-1.jpg" height="768" width="1200"> </figure>
“Patience was a gentle but powerful force of nature that belied her size,” said Scott Coe, an assistant editor. “When she walked, she leaned forward, seemingly on a mission, and I suppose she was. It was how she leaned into life in general.”
“She was like the Energizer rabbit. She never stopped,” said Gail Anderson, an assistant editor and then associate editor. “Patience had a great sense of humor…emphatic, ironic, and always funny. But she is probably best known for her incredibly high energy and ‘just do it’ attitude. She was in the South Pacific on her second circumnavigation when she interviewed for the position of editor. She jumped on a plane and many exhausting hours later arrived in Boston. She got the job and jumped on another plane and returned to the Pacific.”
Her self-assurance, Gail said, inspired others. “She encouraged women to get into sailing and supported the female staff members. During my 20 years on the SAIL editorial staff, I probably would not have been as confident going out there and doing things such as racing to Cuba and chartering in Greece.”
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience-2.jpg" height="800" width="1099"> </figure>
Anne Gram, who worked at SAIL from 1977 to 1984 as assistant art director and then art director, said Patience’s counsel at a pivotal moment, when she had a chance to work for the Olympic Committee, was invaluable. “I was in flux on whether to resign or stay. Patience gave me the best advice: ‘Professionally you should stay, personally you should go.’ I took her personal advice…I’ve always thanked her for that. There are a group of women from SAIL who realize what a mentor she was to all of us, truly one of a kind.”
Michael Tamulaites, who became racing editor, said all it took was one meeting with Patience to decide to take a job at SAIL out of college rather than race in an Olympic Star campaign. “I moved to Boston and with her as my guide enjoyed many years of creating a tremendous magazine with a magical group of people.” 
He recalls a day when Patience invited everyone to go sailing on Boston Light, “the Skye 51 she, her boat partners, and her future husband, Knowles Pittman, had sailed around the world. She was so at home onboard, so utterly happy with her great broad smile ever present as we beat out Buzzard’s Bay into a perfect, blustery sea breeze toward Cuttyhunk Island…we learned a lot about each other that day and formed bonds that remain carbon strong.”
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience-3.jpg" height="794" width="1200"> </figure>
“To this day,” said Scott Coe, “when I hear ‘If I Had a Boat’ by Lyle Lovett, I think of returning from Bermuda on Boston Light, my first legitimate offshore passage, that set in me a deep-rooted love for not only the sea, but for what lies beyond the horizon. And anchored Patience and Knowles into my life as people who lived life all in.”
As a boss, he said, she was, “Encouraging. Instructive. Collaborative. With the grace to accommodate the inevitable guardrails her young charges always seemed to bump into at the magazine. She set a bar I spent most of my career trying to achieve for myself.” 
Bernadette Bernon, who became editor at Cruising World, said Patience was “a real force–highly competitive and intellectually energetic. She intimidated me, to be honest.” As rival editors, they were not particularly friends. But Bernadette was good friends with Patience’s stepson, Freeman Pittman, who was diagnosed with ALS. At a boat show, when he was in a motorized wheelchair, they met up and “rolled around, laughing at our old inside jokes, just enjoying the day. We rounded a corner in one of the tents, ran into a stern-looking Patience, and stopped, feeling like we’d been caught with our hands in the cookie jar. She rushed over and hugged me. A few months later, at Freeman’s funeral, she said she’d had no idea he and I were friends, and that she’d loved seeing someone still treating him like a normal person.”
After that, she and Patience got to know each other better, “and I grew to care about her in a whole new way. Oh, I never let my back down, though; she remained a force!”
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience-4.jpg" height="800" width="1015"> </figure>
“I loved working with Patience, she knew exactly what she wanted, and the results spoke for themselves,” said Onne van der Wal. “She played a pivotal role in my early days as a professional marine photographer, and I am very grateful for her guidance.” Photographer Neil Rabinowitz shot freelance and also wrote stories for SAIL. “She understood that sailing was often a journey of self discovery for every kind of sailor, not just voyagers, and pushed me to capture that magic in my photos and my words. I recall Patience losing patience with me numerous times as she encouraged me to be better at my craft. Thank you, Patience.”
“Patience was one of those delights who seized life, and she was great fun on charters—as ready to crank a winch as to uncork a bottle of local plonk,” said writer Chris Caswell, who worked with Knowles Pittman. “I don’t think there was a harbor in the Caribbean she couldn’t sail into without someone yelling, ‘Hiya, Patience!’ 
“I’m sure that’s going to be the case when she gets to Heaven, where she’ll join sailing friends from around the world.” 
Keep on sailing, Wendy <a href="mailto:wclarke@aimmedia.com">wclarke@aimmedia.com</a>
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/from-the-editor-sail-on-patience-5.jpg" height="735" width="1200"> </figure>
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171940</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Charter: Med Moor Madness</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/charter-med-moor-madness/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 11:43:42 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/charter-med-moor-madness</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ As the Croatian fuel dock attendant flung the dockline back at our boat, I let out a memorable string of salty language. The bow thruster they kept wanting me to use was in a box, uninstalled on our Dufour sailboat that still had that new yacht smell. It was chaos trying to refuel on the last day ... 
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/charter-med-moor-madness/">Charter: Med Moor Madness</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/charter-med-moor-madness.jpg" height="800" width="1020"><figcaption>Sometimes, the Med moor rules are made up as you go along, as evidenced by the layering method shown above while on charter in Greece.
Photo&colon; Zuzana Prochazka
</figcaption></figure>
As the Croatian fuel dock attendant flung the dockline back at our boat, I let out a memorable string of salty language. The bow thruster they kept wanting me to use was in a box, uninstalled on our Dufour sailboat that still had that new yacht smell. It was chaos trying to refuel on the last day of charter with everyone else, worse than any racing start line. And yet, here we were, going around again for another high visibility try. 
In the U.S., we’re generally blissfully ignorant about Mediterranean mooring. As the name implies, this is primarily a European phenomenon, but it becomes our problem when we charter in the Med and sometimes in the Caribbean. The basics are straightforward. You line up two to three boatlengths ahead of your targeted landing spot on a quay or wall, drop anchor, and back up. Then simply step off the stern and tie up with two docklines and snug up with the anchor chain. 
That’s the theory. In practice, it’s rarely elegant enough to pull off and not spill your Aperol. Periodically, I’ve executed beautiful Med moors worthy of dockside audiences. The rest have started with enough planning for a lunar landing and incorporated Russian gymnast acrobatics, the lassoing skills of a cowboy, and sometimes, profuse apologies. Europeans don’t take things so seriously, and I’ve learned from these masters. Following are 15 tips, some of which are truly useful (others maybe just tart observations over the years):
1. There’s no such thing as not enough space on the dock for your beam. If there’s daylight between two boats, it’s a fair target and if you don’t take it, the next guy will. 
2. Fenders, shmenders. If you rip off a couple of your neighbors’ while backing in or blasting out, they probably won’t miss them. 
3. Back down as fast as possible. It confuses those already in place and doesn’t give them time to put up resistance. 
4. If two boats are snuggled up on the wall and you’re in Greece, consider that an invitation to tie your stern to their bows and then walk across their decks all night. It’s a conversation starter. 
5. If you lay your anchor chain across all the ones already down, you can leave first. 
6. If you forget to tell your bowman when to drop the anchor as you’re backing, roll with it and hope you’re wedged in hard enough to not move.
7. Strategic use of the bow thruster could push your neighbor far enough to create more space for yourself. Try to moor next to smaller boats. It’s a game of tonnage.
8. Hand gestures vary by country but most are fairly easily understood, especially if they’re from your potential neighbors. Stay firm! Don’t be easily put off.
9. Smile no matter how the Med moor is going. Looking confident and friendly is half the battle. Don’t make eye contact.
10. When backing into a pre-set Med moor with a fixed bow line, make sure to come in at a weird angle and keep the prop engaged as much as possible to maximize your chance of wrapping the underwater line. It’ll hold you good and tight. (Kidding here. Really.)
11. Find a ridiculously long dock line to use as a stern tie. Helpful hands on the dock receiving 50 feet of jumbled rope will appreciate it.
12. At least five non-line-handling observers at the stern always make things go smoother.
13. Ending up horizontally across multiple bows is considered bad form by nearly all nations except Slovenians who invented this form of “side tie.” 
14. When you’re already moored, be sure to stand on the bow, elbows out in the “bitch wing” formation to dissuade anyone else from coming next to you (this is also useful for anchoring situations in tight harbors).
15. If in doubt, come in as cocky as Captain Ron. Half the time you’ll get lucky, and the yacht club will talk about you the rest of the summer. The other half of the time, you won’t hear them talk or you won’t understand them anyway. 
Take wind, current, and holding ground, then toss in a sketchy bow thruster and multiple nationalities, and Med mooring has the potential to really entertain. And remember, once you’re tucked in, you too can watch others’ efforts with a cocktail and superior attitude. It’s the mooring circle of life. 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://ec2-34-238-74-204.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/charter-med-moor-madness-1.jpg" height="666" width="1200"> </figure>
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April 2024
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]]></content:encoded>
<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">171933</post-id> </item>
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<title>Boats and Their People: Daniel Hays and Sparrow</title>
<link>https://krakensailing.com/boats-and-their-people-daniel-hays-and-sparrow/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kraken Sailing]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 12:55:07 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kraken]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://krakensailing.com/boats-and-their-people-daniel-hays-and-sparrow</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Daniel Hays, at age 63, is now almost 10 years older than his father David was when they sailed around Cape Horn together in a tiny 25-foot cutter named Sparrow. That was back in the mid-1980s. They co-wrote a book about their adventure and spent seven years pitching it. When finally it was ... 
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]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[ 
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/boats-and-their-people-daniel-hays-and-sparrow.jpg" height="800" width="1200"><figcaption>Daniel with Sparrow in her shed.
Photo by Charles J&period; Doane
</figcaption></figure>
Daniel Hays, at age 63, is now almost 10 years older than his father David was when they sailed around Cape Horn together in a tiny 25-foot cutter named Sparrow. That was back in the mid-1980s. They co-wrote a book about their adventure and spent seven years pitching it. When finally it was published in 1995 as My Old Man and the Sea, it became an instant bestseller. A fine photograph of Daniel sailing Sparrow singlehanded graced the cover of the November 1995 issue of this very magazine. Inside, then-editor Patience Wales hailed the book as being “about relationships—between father and son, between people and their boat, between sailors and the sea.”
Sparrow, the compact nexus of those relationships, is a Laurent Giles-designed Vertue, the fifth hull built in fiberglass, sister to nearly 200 wooden predecessors dating back to 1936. Her form is very traditional, with a stout transom-hung rudder behind a long full keel. Unlike most of her sisters, she carries no engine. Daniel and his dad acquired her as a bare hull in Portsmouth, England, had her shipped to Connecticut, and then—with the explicit intent of prepping her to sail around Cape Horn—spent two years finishing her build.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/boats-and-their-people-daniel-hays-and-sparrow-1.jpg" height="800" width="1180"><figcaption>The pair “back in the day” landing on the cover of SAIL magazine, with a photo by Benjamin Mendlowitz.</figcaption></figure>
They did an outstanding job. Daniel and his dad were both experienced sailors and handy with tools, having previously built a house together when Daniel was age 16. Sparrow is, to this day, a paragon of careful craftsmanship—“as big a boat as we could afford to perfect,” was how dad David described her at the time. Much of the metal aboard is custom-cast bronze, and her interior is all fine wood joinery without an inch of fiberglass showing. Every drawer, locker, cabinet, and floorboard is cleverly organized and so carefully secured, Daniel still likes to boast, you can turn the boat upside down and nothing more than a pencil will come loose.
And he should know. Daniel sailed this boat with a friend from Connecticut down to Jamaica, then from Jamaica through Panama and around the Horn to Uruguay with his dad, then finally all the way home from Brazil to Connecticut on his own. The moment of truth came when he and his dad were about 50 miles southwest of the Horn, hand-steering through a Force 9 gale. Dan was on deck alone when Sparrow was knocked flat to starboard surfing off a wave.
“What I’d been standing on was above my shoulder level,” he wrote. “I was in the ocean! The foaming waves I’d been looking at were at my chin. My tether was yanked tight as Sparrow came up level, surfed again, and fell over to port, the starboard deck and rail shooting up over my head. I kicked my legs and paddled for a moment in free water, then Sparrow righted and I was scooped on deck.”
Later that night, after the gale had eased, Dan was again on watch alone when he spotted the Horn, “a featureless lump.” He described it to his dad as the “one wave that didn’t go down.”
Much more than the drama of such moments, the book Dan and David wrote is about how their relationship evolved during their voyage. Their alternating parallel narratives tug at each other—teasing, cajoling, admiring, admonishing, laughing at, and celebrating each other. It is the magic of this tension that readily draws in readers who are not sailors. For ultimately, this is the story of how the son became skipper and the dad became crew. Dan’s resentment that his father, once his hero, has been diminished, becomes palpable, as does David’s pride and joy as he finds his son has become his hero.
I spent a long afternoon with Daniel last summer and immediately recognized the character from the book. He is at once mischievous and kind, with a brilliant, erratic wit, a quirky, sometimes manic demeanor, intensely creative, with more than a few flashes of wisdom showing through. Our conversation touched on many topics, often careening wildly off course, but its putative focal point was his boat, Sparrow, which he still owns.
He took me to meet her, stored in a shed not far from his home in Brooklin, Maine. 
It’s been decades since she was in the water. Daniel always supposed he would one day sail her solo nonstop around the world, but a lifetime has intervened. His career as a wilderness guide and therapeutic supervisor, as a teacher and mentor to troubled kids, and now as a caregiver to patients suffering from dementia, has always been focused on helping others. He’s been married and divorced and has raised two kids.
And now, like his dad before him, Daniel is diminished, a bit too old, he believes, to indulge another dream of extreme sailing. So Sparrow is up for sale. Her topsides and deck are flawless, the product of a fresh paint job that cost much more than expected. Her interior meanwhile is untouched, a time capsule of memories Daniel and I spent some time exploring, all of it still filled with the kit that took him and his dad around the world.
Daniel can envision Sparrow’s next owner: someone to keep her alive, to sail her hard and build a relationship with her. “That’s who I want to have buy this boat,” he told me in a grim voice… and then he smiled.
<figure> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://krakensailing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/boats-and-their-people-daniel-hays-and-sparrow-2.jpg" height="735" width="1200"> </figure>
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May 2024
The post <a href="https://krakensailing.com/boats-and-their-people-daniel-hays-and-sparrow/">Boats and Their People: Daniel Hays and Sparrow</a> appeared first on <a href="https://krakensailing.com">Kraken Sailing</a>.
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