We were the “Gate Boat” at the 2026 Sailing World Regatta, positioned near the finish pin recording downwind finishes as a check for the Signal Boat. The J/105 class was finishing under spinnakers when one of the boats hooked the tetrahedron finish mark and started pulling it downwind.

We immediately hoisted an M flag and finished the rest of the fleet, but then noticed the tetrahedron was no longer attached to the J/105 … it was simply gone, sank to the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay in 35-feet of water.

When we arrived back at shore, we notified the Annapolis Yacht Club Equipment Director of the lost tetrahedron, anchor, two chains, 100-foot rode, and a high-tech sailing instrument attached to the mark.

He mentioned that he had a grappling hook in case we want to go back out there and search for the gear. We thought about it for a few hours and then texted our crew, “Come early tomorrow – we’re going to look for that mark.” Our team enjoys a great adventure!

The grappling hook was small, about 12 inches in diameter, made of aluminum. Right away we changed out the line for a heavy, long towing line and began our search. Our skipper had pinged the location of the Signal Boat the day before and knew the distance and angle to the finish mark.

However, conditions were bad with 20 knots of wind and big seas, and the grappling hook was too light to sink to the bottom. We added a six-foot heavy chain, but it still didn’t seem to be dragging the bottom so we attached a mushroom anchor right above the hook.

We located the area and began trawling back and forth in an East and West trajectory, every once in a while yelling that we were close to the right spot. The grappling hook seemed way too small to be effective and the turns were always a worry with two engines. After about 45 minutes, we changed to a North to South route and bingo … we found that needle in a haystack!

With considerable effort we pulled up the whole thing. The mark was deflated and filled with water so a knife was deployed to empty it before dragging it onboard. We retrieved everything … the mark, anchor, rode, towing line, three chains, mushroom, grappling hook, and the high-tech sailing instrument which had a green light still shining.

Submitted by AYC Race Committee Paul Parks, Kathy Parks, and Chip Devine from Sundog, an Axopar 37.

The study comes at a critical time, with shorelines across the Caribbean and beyond continuing to be swamped by sargassum seaweed, highlighting the urgent need to better understand ocean biodiversity and the spread of invasive species.

The data collected during the Race could prove invaluable in assessing how these phenomena are being driven by climate change and human activity, and identifying the risks hiding in Europe’s seas. The preliminary results were released on World Ocean Day (June 8), a global event that aims to raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in sustaining life on Earth. - Full report

It’s been rum for me ever since.

Rum is native to the Caribbean, made from West Indian sugar cane or molasses, a distillate of sugar cane — so rum tastes Caribbean. West Indian rum is available clear or in shades ranging from gold to amber to black. Mix the amber with pineapple and orange juice, add a splash of grenadine, and the drink takes on all the colors of a West Indian sunset.

Back in the ’80s, when you could buy a 750 ml bottle of Mount Gay on St. Barts, duty free, for $2, the universal choice was Mount Gay and OJ. In more recent times, Cruzan Dark has supplied my daily ration — a reasonably priced amber rum distilled on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.

My daily ration starts with a 24-ounce insulated Yeti coffee mug — it keeps the morning coffee hot and the evening rum chilled, both for hours. Drop in four cubes of ice, four ounces of rum, and top it off with 18 ounces of tonic water — a squeeze of lime is optional and a dash of nutmeg is nice. – Full report

He started his record attempt on June 3 for the 1,890nm trip from Newfoundland, Canada, to Falmouth, England, but a call for assistance, while 75 miles offshore in his 1.2m sailboat, was sent on June 5. Later that day he was rescued and boat abandoned.

The current Guinness Book of Records holder for the smallest boat to cross the Atlantic is Hugo Vihlen. In 1993, the American sailor crossed from Newfoundland to Falmouth in 106 days aboard 1.62m sailboat. – Full report

The regatta for 2-boat yacht club teams, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda since 1978, returned this year after a 14-year hiatus. The 2026 edition took place in Porto Cervo on June 2-7, with the next edition scheduled for June 4-11, 2028, alternating with the Admiral’s Cup, which the Royal Ocean Racing Club organizes in the UK in odd-numbered years.

“We’ve had a fantastic week, making the most of a format that rewards teamwork, just like the Admiral’s Cup," noted James Neville, owner of Ino Veritas. "That’s the most important aspect of the Sardinia Cup: the result counts at team level, not for individual boats, and success comes from collaboration and mutual support between teammates." - Full report

The 10-race series was completed by all fleets, even the Super Legends which had three participants in the 85 years and over division. The Notice of Race notifies competitors to carry sufficient health insurance. Father Time is undefeated… just not yet

The event had a wide range of conditions, from light and tactical races to stronger sea-breeze days. The largest fleet was the Great Grand Masters for sailors 65–74 years of age, with Canadian Allan Clark missing the title by one point.

The next largest fleet with 47 competitors was the Grand Masters (55–64 years) which was won by American Rob Hallawell with compatriots William Symes and Bill Pagels taking the top two positions in the Legends Division (75–84 years).

Details: https://ilcasailing.org/2026-ilca-6-masters-worlds-final-results/

I’m also a history buff so the chance to visit Grenada’s River Antoine Estate and Distillery is a no-brainer: sample some history, sample some rum.

What’s not to like?

Think voluptuous emerald hills, fields of sugar cane swaying in a samba in time with omnipresent easterlies, the sweet aroma of fermented cane juice and the campfire smell of burning wood wafted by those selfsame breezes.

Then add the historical significance of this place and a rum-making process unique in the Caribbean, and a visit to River Antoine Estate and Distillery, snugged down in the northeast corner of the gorgeous island of Grenada, is a must-do. – Full report

It’s a really powerful moment in the sport right now. I understand the argument of mandatory quotas versus the “best people for the job”. But I think there is no meritocracy if you don’t create the same opportunity at the starting point.

So I think it is actually very important to support women breaking through to the top sailing positions, and I cannot wait to see more and more women on board!

Looking at the experience of the AC40, where there is a 50-50 team between women and young people, I can say that mixed teams are much more enriching, because you have different points of view and so you can get the whole picture, which in strategic terms can be more performing.

Compared to the last edition of the Americas’ Cup – where women had a separate competition – this time it is just so exciting to compete all together, I think it’s more interesting for everyone.

The topic of gender equality in sailing has been bubbling away for some time. I’ll be honest, there’s a part of me that, as a female, a sailor and a sailing magazine editor, thinks this topic shouldn’t be given a platform as a subject. Why? Simply because putting a topic on the table as an issue makes it an issue – and it shouldn’t be one. Women should go sailing, men should go sailing; we should be picked for teams on our own individual merits, not excluded on baseless, pre-conceived stereotypes. We shouldn’t need to separate by gender.

In a way, even the idea of female exclusive teams and events makes me cringe. Don’t get me wrong, I have participated in plenty such myself, accepted ‘first female’ accolades on more than one occasion; I have reported on them too, and met many outstanding female sailors as a result. But I have always wondered, should women-only events/teams even be a thing? Should we highlight and applaud women’s achievements under the label of ‘women’? The question seems especially pertinent in a sport where one of our most laudable and unique selling points is (or should be) that men and women can compete on equal terms together. – Full report

Her first ice boat was named Holy Smoke. Pegel’s C Scow was named Calamity Jane and her legendary E Scow was named Frozen Asset, a phrase every sailor can appreciate. Pegel started sailing early in life and was the descendant of a line of sailors.

She was named US Sailing’s Yachtswoman of the Year three times (1964, 1971, 1972), twice won the Adams Cup, the North American Women’s Championship (1957, 1964), and has won championships in the X Class, C Scow, M Scow and DN iceboat classes. - Full report

At the end of Part 2, racing certificates had begun to rule everything.

IOR had given offshore racing a golden age. It had produced the Admiral’s Cup at its height, Ton Cup battles that felt like design warfare, and a generation of naval architects who had to think harder than almost anyone before them. Carter, Peterson, Holland, Farr, Frers, Dubois, Jones, Humphreys and others had learned to draw in two languages at once. One language belonged to the sea. The other belonged to the rule.

The problem was that, by the end, the rule was speaking too loudly.

Part 3 begins when that single argument starts to break apart. – Full report

With the start on June 19, who are the major players, and which boats are the ones to watch?

Boats are divided into divisions, each governed by specific rules regarding participants and equipment. These divisions are further subdivided into classes based on handicap ratings. All boats are assigned a handicap under the Offshore Rating Rule (ORR), which uses a boat’s measurements in a formula designed to level the playing field.

On race morning, boats’ data are run through a program that factors in ratings and weather forecasts to predict optimal finish times. Crews then compete against that projected time to determine their standings. In simple terms, each boat knows how much time it needs to beat its competitors. - Full report

Still, the boat’s previous owner made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He said I could have it for free. He said he’d give it to me with the trailer. He said he’d fix the wiring on the trailer so that it was street legal. He said he’d drive two hours to drop it off.

How could I say no?

Like every new boat owner, I had starry-eyed ambition about the adventures the Laser and I would go on—and the abs I’d have after a summer of hiking. And like many new boat owners, I bit off more than I could chew. – Full report

“One of my dreams is to build an expedition boat," says Soudée. "I spent a bit of time in Lorient with Mike Horn on his boat and he really made me dream, even though it’s too big for me. But it’s a real 4WD of the seas with zero limits, allowing you to do whatever you want."

Pangaea is a 32m aluminum one-off ketch, designed by Luc Bouvet and built in Brazil in 2007. Its missions have included taking young people on around the world adventures, and Pole2Pole, a two-year circumnavigation via the South and North Poles that saw Pangaea sail further north than any other sailing yacht. - Full report

This summer, the organization will celebrate 30 years since making its Olympic debut at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games and the beginning of a journey that has helped shape generations of sailors around the world.

From Atlanta 1996 to Paris 2024, the ILCA class has remained at the heart of Olympic sailing, providing a pathway for sailors from every corner of the world to compete on the sport’s biggest stage.

The celebrations will culminate on July 31, marking 30 years since the first Olympic medals were awarded in the Class and the crowning of the first Olympic champion.

If you have memories, images, or stories from Olympic ILCA sailing to share, send them to agustin@ilcasailing.org and include “ILCA 30 Years” in the subject line.

But these interdictions rarely exceeded a dozen people unlike a recent rescue involving an overloaded vessel taking on water, 15 miles south of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

On May 31, the US Coast Guard, US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, and the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force surface and air units interdicted a vessel carrying 240 aliens. - Full report

He dives into the story behind their women-led campaign, their journey into short-handed sailing, and their ambitious goal of competing in the Bermuda One-Two aboard a Mini 650.

Emma and Marianna discuss the barriers that still exist for women in sailing, why access and representation matter, and how they’re creating a performance pathway to help more sailors progress from local club racing to offshore competition.

According to reports from the court proceedings, Ainslie alleged that senior INEOS Sport executives warned him that Ratcliffe would effectively “burn your house down” if he did not agree to INEOS’s position in their dispute over the British America’s Cup team and its assets.

Ainslie said the remark was conveyed during a meeting by executives including Jean-Claude Blanc and Rob Nevin, the chief executive and chairman of Ineos Sport.

The disagreement stems from the collapse of the partnership between Ratcliffe’s INEOS group and Ainslie’s sailing organization, now known as Athena Racing. After their split in 2025, both sides claimed ownership rights over key America’s Cup assets, especially the AC75 yacht that raced as INEOS Britannia in the 2024 America’s Cup.

INEOS argues that, having invested roughly £174–180 million in the project, it is entitled to ownership of the yacht and other assets under the parties’ agreements. Athena Racing argues that interpretation and maintains the assets belong to the team.

The case could have major consequences for Britain’s challenge in the 38th America’s Cup in Naples. Ainslie has warned that if INEOS succeeded in taking possession of the AC75 yacht, it could seriously disrupt or even jeopardize Britain’s campaign.

As the Challenger of Record, this is the boat Ainslie’s team needs to compete in 2027.

The reported threat is part of Ainslie’s account presented in court. INEOS’s legal position centers on ownership of the yacht and related assets rather than public allegations of personal intimidation. Court proceedings are ongoing, and the allegations remain contested.

In short, the case is one of the biggest off-the-water disputes in modern America’s Cup history: a fight between former partners over control of a British sailing team, a highly valuable racing yacht, and the future of Britain’s bid to win sailing’s oldest trophy.

Providing “insight” since 1997, the Curmudgeon’s Observation has been a hallmark of the Scuttlebutt Newsletter which delivers a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk…with a North American focus.

For newsletter information: https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/newsletter-read-or-subscribe/

It was on the Fourth of July 1996 when the Everett, Washington waterfront brewery and restaurant, Scuttlebutt Brewing Company, brewed its first beer. Almost 30 years later, the time has flown by, said the family business’s general manager Phil Bannan Jr.

Bannan’s parents, Phil and Cynthia “Scuttle” Bannan, started the restaurant after a homebrewing kit Phil Bannan Sr. got as a Father’s Day gift overtook the family kitchen, according to the Scuttlebutt website.

“My dad had a real love for beer,” said Phil Bannan Jr. “He was home brewing, and he wanted to start a business, and you know, make sure he’d never run out of beer.”

Scuttlebutt remains a family-owned establishment, with multiple generations of Bannans working at the restaurant, including Phil Bannan Jr.’s own son. – Full report

The U.S. Coast Guard is sending divers to the Bahamas to search new areas for a missing Michigan mother who vanished in early April while sailing with her husband.

U.S. investigators said in late May that they were planning to renew the search for 55-year-old Lynette, who was reported missing on April 5 by her husband of 25 years, Brian Hooker.

The couple was on an 8-foot motorboat when Brian said his wife apparently fell overboard in rough waters the night before, while they were traveling from Hope Town to Elbow Cay in the Abacos.

Lynette has been missing ever since. - Full report

The Race to Alaska doesn’t have a lot of rules. The big ones are: 1) No motors on the boat, period; not even for emergencies; 2) No support teams, but racers are free to forage in hardware stores, grocery stores, and burger joints in coastal towns along the way.

The prize list isn’t very long, either. First prize is a $10,000 wad of cash nailed to a log in Ketchikan. Second place is a set of steak knives.

The R2AK, which is its shorthand name, is about as far as you can get from the stuffy world of yacht clubs, blue blazers, and racing around brightly colored buoys. Think of it as a saltwater version of the Burning Man festival. Or the Iditarod, except you can drown. - Full report

Olympian, world‑class coach, and newly appointed Director of Olympic Sailing Molly Vandemoer joins the podcast for a deep and energizing conversation about grit, leadership, and the future of American sailing. From her early days on the water to representing the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics, Molly shares the moments that shaped her, the mentors who guided her, and the lessons she now brings to the national program.

The conversation explores youth development, accessibility, environmental stewardship, and what it means to build a culture that supports both elite performance and lifelong love of the sport. With the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles on the horizon, Molly offers a candid look at the opportunities ahead for Team USA — and the vision she hopes to bring to the next generation of sailors.

While the Pensacola Yacht Club has a long history of supporting the sport, the region was boosted when America’s Cup challenger American Magic chose Pensacola for its 2021 and 2024 campaigns. With government funding, the facilities built are now supporting the American Racing Challenger Team USA for the 38th America’s Cup as well as the SailGP league.

With its profile on the rise, local officials have unveiled a large, new mural to greet travelers arriving at the Pensacola International Airport.

“We talk about becoming one of the largest sailing destinations, if not the most prominent in the United States,” Reeves said. “Then we have to certainly be walking that walk and make sure that our visitors and our residents realize and gain that awareness.”

At the end of Part 1, offshore yacht design was still balanced between two old masters: the sea and the designer’s conscience. The boats were becoming faster, lighter, and more purposeful, but most of them still carried the memory of working craft, cruising yachts, and the older idea that seaworthiness was not an optional extra.

That would change.

From the mid-1960s onwards, the designer no longer had to answer only to the owner, the crew, and the sea. He had to answer to the measurer — more accurately, he had to outwit the measurer without appearing to have done so. The rating rule moved from the background into the middle of the design office, and the shape of offshore racing yachts began to reveal not just what made a boat fast, but what made a boat measure so it appeared to be slower than it actually was. In some ways, Olin Stephens had achieved this years earlier by designing a hull that extended its water line length when heeled, thereby increasing its theoretical displacement boat speed. Things were going to get much more interesting, however.

This was the age of the rule-beaters. – Full report

"All I’ve done my whole life, is work in the service of others on their boats," says skipper Gunnar Christensen.

Now in his late 50s, "I’ve realized I’ve never done any sailing in my own terms. It’s time I go on an adventure."

Find out how the 2026 Golden Globe Race is helping him reclaim his passion for sailing as he prepares to sail around the world solo, non-stop, and unassisted. - Full report

Providing “insight” since 1997, the Curmudgeon’s Observation has been a hallmark of the Scuttlebutt Newsletter which delivers a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk…with a North American focus.

For newsletter information: https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/newsletter-read-or-subscribe/

Click here to open the image, then put your cursor over it, right click to open the drop down menu and indicate you want to ‘Set as Desktop Background’.

As a bonus, Cory also created a smartphone version… click here.

If you want to win more races, improving your speed upwind is one of the best things you can do. By going just a little faster through the water and/or pointing slightly higher, you will have much more success in holding a lane of clear air after the start and arriving at the windward mark in better shape. Here are some basic principles you can always follow to improve your boat’s performance upwind.

• Copy what the fast boats are doing. Your competitors are a great source of go-fast ideas, so keep an eye on them. Pay particular attention to boats that are going faster than you, and don’t be afraid to copy their set-up. For example, how are they trimming their sails and positioning their weight? You can learn a lot just by watching them on the race course; many sailors will also be willing to share ideas if you talk with them ashore. – Full report

Doug Fritz captures something many of us on South Lake Michigan have known for decades: Chicago sailing has remained resilient because it was built on a deep, highly interconnected foundation.

The market’s strength did not happen by accident, nor was it sustained by a single yacht club, regatta, or class. It was cultivated over generations through fleets, mentorship, dealers, boatyards, and a culture that understood that sailing is ultimately a community sport.

What makes the South Lake Michigan market unique is that the seeds for today’s participation were sown in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s through strong, highly active one-design fleets that fostered continuity within the sport.

The Tartan 10 fleet was an early cornerstone. It was accessible and competitive, drawing a broad range of sailors. Around it grew a community that valued participation, skill development, and camaraderie. Then came the J/105s, Beneteau First 36.7s and 40.7s, and Farr 40s.

Each platform developed its own ecosystem of owners, crew, rivalries, and friendships. More importantly, these fleets created pathways. A young sailor might begin as rail meat on a Tartan 10 or a 36.7, move into a tactician role on a J/105, and eventually become an owner in a J/109, J/111, or later the J/70 fleet.

Healthy sailing communities are built when sailors can grow within the ecosystem rather than constantly starting over. South Lake Michigan benefited from exactly that continuity. These fleets exposed hundreds of sailors to racing culture, offshore sailing, boat handling, and teamwork. Crew became owners. Owners became mentors. Programs became institutions.

Behind many of these successful fleets stood a handful of dealers and industry leaders who understood they were not merely selling boats. They were building culture.

Richie Stearns was instrumental in that evolution. Through his years at Larsen Marine and later at his own dealership, he championed platforms such as the Tartan 10, the J/105, the J/109, and the J/111. More importantly, he supported the sailors behind them.

He knew how to build enthusiasm for the LS10s, the 105 fleet, and, later, the sprit boat evolution that modernized racing participation on the lake. His credibility as a competitor mattered. Sailors trusted him because he raced, won, and lived the sport authentically. - Read on