Races and locations featured in this edition include:
≈ Going for the mark, a collection of E Scows competes in Sarasota, FL during 2023 races marking the 100th anniversary of the one-design sailing dingy. A meeting of the Inland Lake Yachting Association in 1923 led to creation of the class. The original was designed by Arnold Meyer Sr.
≈ Tell the crew of a 49er sailing dingy to take a hike, and they will happily agree. The 4.99 meter (16 feet four inch) high performance skiff is managed by a crew of two, each attached to a trapeze that encourages hanging out on the wings. Teams from around the world race here on Florida’s Biscayne Bay, competing to earn points toward possible Olympic selection.
≈ Sailing for Olympic points in Miami, Fl, Nacra 17 catamarans offer wet and wild sailing competition. The boats use curved dagger boards that create vertical lift and, as the International Sailing Federation committee evaluating the design noted, present an “exciting challenge.”
≈ Sunfish are so pervasive that we might be forgiven for believing the design had sprung fullblown from the head of Poseidon. In fact, Al Bryan and Cort Heyniger crafted the original plywood version in 1951 by adding a “cockpit” to their successful Sailfish design. The 1959 transformation into fiberglass made the Sunfish so appealing to a vast audience of sailors that North American Championship racing began in 1963.
≈ Sailing in the classic division of the International 12-Metre World Association races in 2021 are four American boats. Built in 1958, Columbia, US 16, successfully defended the America’s Cup in a 4-0 win over Sceptre. Built in 1964, American Eagle, US 21, was outpaced in Cup trials by Constellation. Launched in 1928 Onowa, US 6, saw only a lackluster racing career. Also built in 1958, Weatherly, US 17, lost in the trials, was rebuilt, and defended the Cup successfully in 1962 against Gretel, four races to one.
≈ The New York Yacht Club hosts America’s most venerable regatta, first run on the Hudson River in 1845. As the outline of the Verrazano Bridge on the horizon suggests, today’s racers now hoist their sails off Newport, RI. The June regatta offers three days of racing for One-design, ORC and PHRF classes, as well as for classic yachts and multihulls. These ORC boats are sailing the West Passage of Narragansett Bay.
≈ Modern versus traditional, Kodiak and Marilee compete here for the Shipyard Cup in Boothbay, ME. Built Down Under to a design by Reichel/Pugh in California, 66-foot Kodiak (sailing as Blue Yankee) won first overall in the 2002 racing division of the Newport-Bermuda Race. NYYC 13, Marilee is one of only four Nathaniel Herreshoff NY40, One-designs still sailing. Launched in 1926, Marilee demonstrated her notable pedigree winning the cup in 2021.
≈ Directing traffic? No time! This is Thursday night racing at the Wayazata Yacht Club on Lake Minnetonka, MN. The WYC manages one of the largest sailboat racing programs in America. On a Thursday evening as many as 130 keel boats like these J22s may be racing on the lake. Through the course of a year, the WYC hosts some 65 events.
≈ Blasting along in choppy water off San Francisco, CA, these J/105s are running with spinnakers flying. Designed for speed and stability, J/105s sail in 15-to 20-knot winds without reefing. Popular across the country, there are 15 American fleets sailing some 650 copies of the J/105.
≈ The Laser may be a one-design dingy, but it is important to know that there are three Laser flavors. Sail size ILCA 7 is standard or Olympic, ILCA 6 is radial, and ILCA 4 is 4.7 meters. No matter your flavor, sailing a Laser is clearly an athletic event as those who have extended their torsos over the rail can confirm after even one tack here on Florida’s Sarasota Bay.
≈ These big Pac 52 boats are sailing in Rolex competition on San Francisco Bay. The 52 was established as a new class to compete in racing on the west coast and in the biennial Transpac Race between Los Angeles, CA and Honolulu, HI. The traditional approach to protecting sails from mold and sun damage was to soak canvas in tree bark tannins that dyed them red. Today’s high-tech solution is to use black carbon fiber.
≈ Heading for the first mark, these DN iceboats are sailing on Lake Christina, MN. Measuring 12 feet long and weighing only 120 pounds, no hull-speed limitations apply. The average DN equipped with an aluminum mast can sail three times the speed of the wind, while a boat equipped with a carbon fiber mast could sail four times the wind speed.
About JH Peterson
For more than three decades JH Peterson has covered most of the major sailing events in America, along with literally hundreds of smaller ones. Whether on an ocean or lake, great or small, if it involves sailboats racing, he has probably been there. His work shows a life-long fascination with the interplay of water, wind and light. As a widely-published photographer, his work has been featured in every U.S. sailing magazine, as well as dozens of international publications. His images have appeared on more than 300 magazine covers, and his prints are widely collected by both individuals and corporations. Based in the Midwest, Peterson travels widely to seek out the next great sailing shot. Yet, surrounded where he lives by lakes, it’s not surprising that one of his favorite locations is only minutes from his home.
About Andrew Sims
For more than 20 years, Andrew Sims has been covering world-class sailing events in the United States and shooting cruising along the coast of Maine. His work frequently appears on the covers and inside pages of American yachting magazines. Perhaps the warmest appreciation of Sims’ photography comes from the sailors themselves. He has sold prints to hundreds, if not thousands of both owners and crew members who enjoy some of the best photos of their yachts competing in action. Andrew’s approach to marine photography is unique in that he often drives his own photo boat while shooting, getting himself into the action to exactly where he needs to be to get that one shot that says sailing is powerful, exciting, and beautiful. Andrew is based in Freeport, Maine.
© 2024 Tide-mark Press
