Profiles

The Real Deal: The Truth About Racing Around the Planet

by Sail Staff, Posted November 21, 2007

It’s a rare coup when a world-class sailor also happens to possess great writing skills, as this is the winning ticket to capturing the true grit of offshore racing. When you start talking about premiere-level events such as the Whitbred/Volvo Ocean Race, or the Barcelona World Race (BWR), a double-handed, non-stop, around-the-world race, the number of people capable of participating is small,

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

Robin Lee Graham on the Latest Teen Circumnavs

by Michael Petrie, Posted July 22, 2010

In July 1965, at the age of 16, Robin Lee Graham set out on a 33,000-mile, five-year circumnavigation aboard his Bill Lapworth-designed 24ft sloop Dove. National Geographic magazine famously covered the voyage, which spawned two best-selling books—Dove and Home Is The Sailor—a children’s book and a 1974 Hollywood movie, The Dove.In recent years, another

Giving Thanks to a Sailing Mentor

by Mono D’Angelo, Posted February 14, 2013

My love for boats began in 1960 when I was a high school freshman. A friend’s father had a small powerboat and we water skied in wet suits as early as May.

2008 Eureka! Award

by David Schmidt, Posted January 28, 2008

A Q&A with Lou Varney, the brains behind Harken’s Pro-Trim Traveler and Rigtune Pro and winner of this year's SAIL FKP Eureka! AwardBy David SchmidtWhat is your professional background?I was originally a boatbuilder, and then I became a mast maker and a designer of high-end Grand Prix raceboat masts. What led you to think up the Pro Trim?I have

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

A Brand of Brothers

by Kimball Livingston, Posted September 21, 2010

I am pretty sure the Johnstone brothers never imagined creating anything so very successful as the J/Boats, Inc., that we know today. But imagining success on some level—that would come naturally to Rod, the designer and to Bob, the marketer. Long before J/Boats became the Johnstone family business, sailing was a family passion. Then came a case of left brain meeting right brain and—Don’t

The Master

by Sail Staff, Posted May 30, 2008

If you’ve ever been caught out Laser sailing in a serious squall, you have a taste of what it’s like to be completely self-sufficient in an over-canvassed boat, with the safety net of land feeling like an untrustworthy mirage. Now imagine that you’re alone in the middle of the North Atlantic, with land nothing more than a week-old memory, on a wildly powerful IMOCA Open 60.

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,

Save Sailing

by Adam Cort, Posted October 4, 2010

It’s been a year since Nicholas Hayes published Saving Sailing: The story of choices, families, time commitments and how we can create a better future. Since the book came out, Hayes has spoken with sailors across the country about his ideas. We recently caught up with him to find out what he’s learned during his travels.Have you found out anything new about sailing in the