Here at the 2011 Strictly Sail show in Chicago, IL, the pavilion on Navy Pier is packed with boat builders and nautical vendors of all sorts. Though traffic was down significantly in 2010, we've seen a bit of a rise in numbers this year.
SAIL's Executive Editor Charles Mason introduces the 40th issue of SAIL magazine. As a founding member of SAIL and the only person who can claim to have worked on every single issue of the publication, Charles lends an interesting perspective to the magazine and the industry as a whole.
SAIL Publisher Josh Adams introduces the products displayed at our 2011 Innovation Station. The dozen items in the Station are winners of our K. Pittman Innovation Awards, ranging from cruising to safety to navigation gear. For more on the products, click here.
At the Harken booth, the grinding station has become a show favorite. Here, show-goers try their hand at grinding on a Harken winch while a digital counter keeps score. Behind the grind platform, Harken keeps track of the day's winners.
Members of the University of Michigan Sailing Team chat with reps at the North Sails booth. For Midwestern college sailors, Strictly Sail Chicago doubles as "Mid-winters", the annual conference at which the Midwest College Sailing Association chooses its new board, holds seminars and brings teams together.
Like all boat shows, Strictly Sail Chicago is a great place to get one-on-one advice from the people who are actually developing the products you'll use on your boat.
It's also a great place to tour new boats. Here at the Hunter booth, brand representatives welcome show-goers to step aboard their newest models.
At the Selden booth, Scott Alexander helps a show-goer decide on some new rigging.
SAIL Publisher Josh Adams displays the double cover of the 40th Anniversary issue, on which we reprinted the magazine's original cover. In 1970, the image showed a bowman in jeans climbing an aluminum sprit with minimal safety gear.
In 2011, the cover showed a bowman decked out in high-tech gear, harnessed in with advanced equipment and maneuvering a massive lightweight asymmetrical spinnaker. Throughout the issue, we touched on other juxtapositions that have occurred over the past 40 years in sailing, including trends in chartering, cruising, racing and boat design.
