Friday Night Lights Without Football.
No one heard the cork pop, but everyone on the floats witnessed the enthusiasm, rising like bubbles in a flute of freshly poured champagne. Sixty Rhode Island students from Rogers High School, Prout School, Middletown High School and Portsmouth High School gathered at Sail Newport for an evening of round-robin team and fleet racing, which they call Friday Night Lights.
Kate Wilson, the founder of this high school sailing program and the principal race officer, issues instructions from the deck of a RIB. “The substitution rule — the goal is to get as many kids racing, so coaches feel free to substitute as much as you like between races,” Wilson says. “The starting and finishing line is right here, right off the dock.”
FNL alternates between the Newport Yacht Club on Long Wharf, a short distance up the street from America’s Cup Avenue, and Sail Newport at Fort Adams. Weather often determines which venue is used, and on Day 1 of the 2017 series, the gods frown on Newport, issuing gray skies, a southerly wind and rain. Everyone is dressed in foul-weather gear fit for rounding Cape Horn.
“When a hard southerly comes in,” says Joe Cooper, sailing coach at Prout, “we have to use Sail Newport.”
Denne historien er fra August 2017-utgaven av Soundings.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 2017-utgaven av Soundings.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Will Biodiesel Ever Work For Boaters?
San Francisco powers its Red & White sightseeing fleet with biodiesel. Seattle’s King County Water Taxi uses biodiesel to move people across Puget Sound.
Jess Wurzbacher
Jess Wurzbacher holds a master’s degree in tropical coastal management from Newcastle University (U.K.) and a 200-ton Master license. She sailed all over the world as chief scientist and program manager for Seamester and is a PADI scuba instructor with more than 1,000 research and training dives to her credit.
3 Takes On Classic Maine Style
The looks may be classic, but many craftsmen in Maine are giving their Down East builds something extra nowadays, whether working in wood or fiberglass.
Lady Luck
An epic voyage immortalized Felicity Ann and her intrepid skipper. Now this pint-sized yacht is getting another lease on life.
Superlative St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida, is one of my favorite cruising destinations. (And I’ve been to quite a few.) It’s pretty, historic, has a timeless ambience and celebrates with festivals year-round. And it has beaches and golf.
The Great Ship WaverTree Returns
A ship saved by a city, a museum saved by a ship
Coronet Around Cape Horn, 1888
Cape Horn, looming in the background of this dramatic work by Russ Kramer, is one of the most dangerous places on Earth to sail. In 1888, without electronic navigation equipment or radio communications, it was even more so.
His Bark And His Bite Were Equally Friendly
What is the world coming to? Up is down. Wrong is right.
Doug Zurn
A native of the Great Lakes region, Doug Zurn grew up sailing and boating.
Go Anywhere, Do Everything
Today’s trawlers — and other seafaring boats with passagemaking qualities in their DNA — provide comfort, efficiency and seaworthiness
