We've Gone South for the Winter

Just kidding. It's snowing here in CT and it is c-o-l-d.


Thank you to those of you who have reached out since my last post. It's nice to hear from you and I appreciate all the positive feedback. 


Since I last posted, we've actually been quite busy working, catching up on life, working on our 1832 house and making sure the dogs get lots of long walks. And, the boat projects are in the mix, too!


We'll be back around the first of March which is when we'll begin updating the global calendar of dates and events for classic yachting. Planning is already underway for another exciting year on the water.
Til then, I hope this lovely image of IHYC keeps you warm and inspired.

INDIAN HARBOR YACHT CLUB CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA - Results

BLACK WATCH wins the Frank Bowne Jones ‘FOUNDER’S CUP’. WIZARD, ALLEGRO and RASCAL win their classes in the second Indian Harbor Yacht Club Classic Yacht Regatta

- Graciously sponsored by Atlantis WeatherGear, Ella Vickers, Horseneck Fine Wine, Indian Harbor Sailing Foundation and New England Ropes -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Greenwich (CT) September 18, 2011:  The Classic Yacht Regatta kicked off on Friday afternoon with the arrival of 31 classics to the docks and mooring field of Indian Harbor Yacht Club. A festive waterfront cocktail party for skippers and their crews was held on the lawn, while the race committee held their initial meeting onboard the 92-foot 1939 classic Trumpy motor yacht INNISFAIL, courtesy of McMillen Yachts.        

The race was the 6th of the well-known eastern seaboard ‘WoodenBoat Regatta Series’, beginning with Larchmont Race Week which hosted a classic division in July and ending with the Mayor’s Cup in New York Harbor in October. Other ports of call include Marblehead’s Corinthian Yacht Club Classic Yacht Regatta and the Heritage Cup Regatta in Hempstead Harbor.

The fleet of 31 boats ranged in size from the 72ft TICONDEROGA, owned by Scott Frantz, to the 15ft Buzzard’s Bay NORTH RIVER 2. The 1903 Herreshoff designed NELLIE, with a crew dressed in vintage attire of bow ties and fur was the oldest boat in the fleet. The skippers traveled from as far away as Maine, Newport and Houston to celebrate the importance of wooden boat preservation.

An unexpected blustery 14 – 19 knots of wind greeted the fleet on Saturday morning despite a forecast of 3 knots. The fleet was comprised of five competitive classes racing on two distance courses: 14 miles for the larger boats and 7 miles for the smaller boats. In addition, Shields Fleets #1 (Larchmont YC) and #2 (Indian Harbor) raced two spinnaker races inside Captain Harbor in preparation for the Shields Nationals to be hosted by Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.  The long-course boats raced across the Sound to the North Shore of Long Island in rough water and shifty winds which held until the 3^rd leg of the course. As all three fleets reached their racing mid-point, the strong breeze gave way and brought the fleets to a near-stall. While most of the boats finished their races, everyone agreed that it was a challenging day for all.


Class A was won by the 1938 Sparkman and Stephen’s BLACK WATCH (Lars Forsberg- Greenwich).  Class B was won by the gaff-rigged WIZARD, a Buzzard’s Bay 25 (Scott Clark-Larchmont), followed by the fast, well-driven WINNIE OF BOURNE and the black hulled GOLDEN-EYE (Mike Emmert-Hempstead Harbor). Class C was hotly contested among the seven 1920’s built S-Boats with ALLEGRO (Bill Simmons-Larchmont) triumphing over DILEMMA (Sean Park – NY) and DANAE (Bill Riley). In the highly competitive Shields fleet, RASCAL, CHECKMATE and HOOKE earned silver for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd.

The success of the day was cheerfully celebrated. The awards ceremony, including the presentation of the FOUNDER’S CUP to BLACK WATCH was followed by a festive dinner held under the stars and attended by 150 sailors and their guests. Detailed results, information and photos will soon be posted to: www.indianharboryc.com.     

An Earthquake and a Hurricane in one week: is this really New England?

Today's weather is picture perfect summer: sunny, breezy and 80 degrees. That won't be the case in 48 hours, which is when Hurricane Irene touches down on the CT shore based on current projections.

On Monday afternoon, the building I work in started to undulate. The 5.8 Virginia based earthquake sent vibrations all the way to Boston and beyond. This does not happen in New England.

On Wednesday, we finally had our sailmaker onboard to check our rig tune and to see the new jib in action. It was blowing 24 apparent and was one of the best sails of the year. Alas, when we dropped our sails and turned on the engine, the sound of the breeze was so loud that it took the smell of burning to realize the starter was stuck on the 5 yr old Yanmar. The starter was fried. 'Murphy's Law'.

This morning we were lucky to get the repairman out to put in a new starter so that we could move Nor'easter behind the breakwater at Stamford and onto Nellie's 2,500 lb mooring (thank you, Jeff).

Here are a few shots of lines and bridles that will hopefully keep her safe:


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Two chock lines to the 12inch bronze cleat on deck. 

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Two lines, more slack than the bow lines, to the mast, plus a tie down for the dogged hatch.

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Mast lines. Those cute coils will be the first to go!

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N'E's L. Francis Herreshoff's bronze strutted T-Boom lashed  down.

We have more to do tomorrow. The newly replaced auto-bilge pump is working perfectly and will have a big job to do. Three points of worry: another boat breaking free, waves so high that we swamp, and the ancient trees at home failing on our brand new cedar roof. And as of 5 minutes ago, our 8-yr old Lab WIZARD started panting heavily. The radar is clear. Can a dog sense a storm 24 hours away?


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p.s. Dom - your Praxilla is set. You owe Jeff a case of Veuve.

I'll close with a great thanks to IHYC's staff. They have done a spectacular job getting our historic clubhouse ready to face the storm. With any luck, IRENE will turn at the last minute just as Hurricane Earl did last year. Hopefully, this is not a repeat of 1938.