(NECN: Hyannisport, Mass.) - It was a day at the shore designed to send a message. Ted Kennedy has no plans to slow down. Senator Kennedy and his wife, Vicki, went sailing Wednesday afternoon, just one day after it was announced that he has a brain tumor. On a picture perfect day for a sail, [...]

Laser sailors are good people. You can lend a Laser sailor your boat, your car, or even your wife, and expect to get them back in hardly any worse condition than they were before.

But even so... I wouldn't just leave all my Laser gear on my boat overnight at a regatta in plain view. Someone might decide that they just had to take my mast top section to replace the one they broke today. Someone might think that some of my lines needed to be transferred to a more deserving home. Someone might forget to bring their buoyancy aid the next day and assume that it would be OK to "borrow" mine for the day. Etc. Etc.

Of course Laser sailors are good people. But there's no point in putting temptation in their way.

So if I'm at a multi-day regatta I have two choices. Take everything off my boat every night and pack it away in my car or the hotel room; or put a top cover on the boat to cover all my goodies from prying eyes and hope that this will persuade those "good people" Laser sailors to look for easier pickings elsewhere.  read more »

Valencia Sailing asked Davide Tagliapietra and Doug Schickler of Schickler-Tagliapietra to give their insight into the fleet of VO70's gathered in Alicante. Valencia Sailing: What are your impressions of the boats and the rule development? Schickler-Tagliapietra: Everybody knows the rule has become a much tighter design space. The boats are limited in displacement range, and keel weight is controlled independently. In the small range, the boats will probably all try to be at the light end, of course with the heaviest bulb possible. Using higher modulus fibre in the masts, and the very impressive carbon rigging will make a nice step forward in performance. Safety and reliability concerns have driven other new rules, especially in the keel area. Not all of the changes are founded on sound engineering, but the stakes are high for Volvo and the resulting boats are undeniably awesome. Valencia Sailing: There have been a lot of interpretations to this more refined rule, comments? Schickler-Tagliapietra: This keel weight rule has unfortunately led to a near "attack" on the interpretation process concerning the keel of one team. Even more unfortunate, VOR found itself in a position where it felt the best way forward was to amend the NOR so a boat without a valid certificate could start the race. They have tried to disarm the situation, but the precedent is troubling. Valencia Sailing: Any other interpretations of interest? Schickler-Tagliapietra: One about the use of a rotary keel actuator instead of rams. It's use was denied, but it stirs the imagination. There is an interpretation concerning the use of spray rails for lift, thus declaring it an appendage. The spray rails will trickle down to other long distance race yachts - a good development from IMOCA's and these boats. Valencia Sailing: Can you give us a summary of the boats and teams, from a designer's point of view?  read more »

Tom Sharp happened to call me just as I was approaching Bellingham. I had mentioned to him that I would be heading to the San Juans for the weekend. We decided to meet in Washington Park in Anacortes and go paddling from there. We made the trip up as we went along, taking into account the currents and prepared to camp out, but not committing to anything until we saw how busy the campgrounds were. I suggested we paddle clockwise around Cypress Island. It didn't seem to matter to Tom where we went I think because he had paddled around all of the islands this summer already.Tom brought along a Mariner Coaster, borrowed from George Gronseth. Apparently George once had an entire fleet of Mariner Coasters that he would use for his classes, and this was the sole survivor.  read more »

When I was young, say, last year or so, I never had a use for mast rails. I could prance about the deck with nary a worry in the worst of the worst weather. I was, for all practical purposes, the mountain goat of deckdom. I'm sure you'll believe that.

My efforts since purchasing Pelican (nee Pelicano) have been to make her an ocean going vessel that I can single hand.

Towards that end, I decided that since I couldn't run all my sail control lines to the cockpit, that I'd keep them at the mast. These lines include the main and jib halyards and the main reefing lines. It doesn't make sense to have to run back and forth from the cockpit to manage sails, especially if you're trying to get it down quickly.

I know you'll say, "Hey, wait! Didn't you move all your lines aft to the cabin roof on Inertia? I mean, you went to such trouble!" You'd be correct - the difference was that Inertia had a clear route for all the lines that wouldn't result in me tripping every time I went forward. Pelican's layout is not the same and since I can't run that many lines, I won't - actually, the only three will be the staysail sheet, the boom vang, and the main sheet. Everything else is at the mast.  read more »

Posted by: jwawrzyn
Boat Loans By Excel Credit  read more »

There is a Pearson 424 owner's organization - Of course I belong to it - that has such a tremendous wealth of information and opinion from people who have sailed the 424 all over the world. All of us have had similarly different experiences (that's not double-speak - your right hand is like your left hand only different, if you get my drift) and have come up with some pretty spectacular solutions.  read more »

Hatteras Yachts is pleased to announce the newest member of its fleet, a 56 Motor Yacht that incorporates original design concepts, a spacious interior and intuitive features that make this an ideal boat for the owner-operator. Priced at under $2 million, the 56 Motor Yacht represents a new entry-level product for the thousands of boat owners who aspire to own a Hatteras.

Boaters the world over appreciate the advanced design and robust construction that sets Hatteras apart from the fleet. Like all Hatteras models, the 56 features a solid-fiberglass hull bottom that includes beefy support for key areas such as the tunnels, shaft log and strut locations. Divinycell coring is infused into the hull sides, decks and superstructure to add stiffness and reduce weight. And the hull benefits from an advanced variable-deadrise design that utilizes large propeller tunnels to reduce draft and increase efficiency.  read more »

There hasn't been an election like it. Not just two but three candidates battle it out for the world's most powerful position. They have been questioned on every subject from abortion to Zaire - but where do they stand on yachts and yachting?

Our roving reporter, Buff Staysail, has caught up with them and has this world exclusive!

In their own words, oldest first, its McCain, Clinton, and Obama!  read more »