Profiles

Hotseat Interview: Roy Disney

by David Schmidt, Posted October 12, 2009

Anyone who follows high-end sailing will be familiar with Roy Disney’s long line of Pyewacket’s, boats that have defined state-of-the-art sailing for more than a decade. But few people know the true extent of Disney’s love affair with the Transpac Race, an event that he has been active in for the past four decades. In fact, Disney has held the Transpac record twice, first with his Santa Cruz 70,

Pier head jumper

by Tom Cunliffe, Posted April 6, 2009

I don’t know about you, but although I much prefer to go to sea with tried and tested buddies, there are times when I end up shipping out with total strangers. You’ve met the type. They might be those credible people you run into in a waterfront bar with a tale to tell. “There I was, and the waves were 40 feet high…” And so on. Then there’s the friend of a friend, which often turns out to be the

Case closed

by Sail Staff, Posted April 2, 2009

On June 6, 2008, the Cynthia Woods, a Cape Fear 38 owned by Texas A&M University-Galveston, was racing to Veracruz, Mexico, when her keel fell off and she capsized. Tragically, Roger Stone, the team’s safety officer, drowned after helping two students to safety.In late December, the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit (MSU) in Galveston, Texas, with guidance from the U.S. Coast

Speed machine

by Sail Staff, Posted April 2, 2009

Over the past two years an intense battle has been waged between Thomas Coville aboard his 120-foot G-class trimaran, Sodeb’O, and Francis Joyon aboard his equally massive tri, IDEC 2. While the two Frenchmen likely share laughs ashore, when they’re racing offshore they are at each other’s throats, with one skipper battling to best the other in setting unbelievably fast

Hats off to Mr. Wilson

by David Schmidt, Posted March 13, 2009

Rich Wilson, 58, of Marblehead, Massachusetts, became the second American to have completed the Vende Globe, an unassisted, non-stop, around the world race that’s fought out in wildly powerful IMOCA 60 monohulls — when he crossed the finishing line in ninth place aboard his trusty stead, Great American III on March 9, 2009. While Wilson finished weeks behind the overall winner, Michel

Chess master

by David Schmidt, Posted March 12, 2009

In Grand Prix circles, few jobs titles exert more pressure on their bearers than that of tactician. In 2007, Terry Hutchinson, then-tactician for Team New Zealand, felt just how heavy of a burden that title can be when his team lost a final America's Cup battle to Alinghi by a mere 1 second.Flash forward to 2008 and Mr. Hutchinson was back in force, first winning Key West Race Week about

A Girl Against the Odds

by Meredith Laitos, Posted January 29, 2009

The Mount Everest of Sailing. The most grueling race a sailor can enter. An outrageous challenge and an epic adventure. The Vendee Globe race is all of these. Saying it’s a tough race to win is hyperbole; it’s a tough race to merely compete in. Every year, world-class sailors in state-of-the-art boats are forced to abandon the race for a variety of reasons. In 1992, British sailor Nigel

Ashby becomes six-time A-Cat World Champ

by Meredith Laitos, Posted January 13, 2009

Glenn Ashby, 31, didn't even need the ninth -- and final -- race to seal his title as the six-time A-Cat World Champion in Belmont, Australia. With six first-place finishes, the Australian secured his victory on Lake Macquarie before any other boats could threaten him. Ashby sailed against 85 boats and, save for an uncharacteristic third-place finish in Race 1, remained consistently at the top of

2008 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Winners Announced

by Meredith Laitos, Posted January 8, 2009

Every early winter, as boats sit nestled in the cradles and snow drums down on their tarps, attention turns to US Sailing's coveted Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards, an award that focuses both on peak performances in a given year, as well as career-achievement recognition. This year, 26-year-old Anne Tunnicliffe and 40-year-old Terry Hutchinson were named as 2008's winners on

Nick Scandone Dies

by Kimball Livingston, Posted January 2, 2009

There's a saying in aviation, a code of honor:Fly it all the way to the scene of the crash. Nick Scandone was no pilot, but surely no one ever lived out such a creed more fully.Nick died in the early hours Friday, an event entirely foreseen and unavoidable. He had ALS, which cripples and then kills. What Nick did with his ALS, however, was set an example of how to live.