Sailing the Northeast When the Force IS with You The Sea that Never Sleeps Destination: Watch Hill June 2018 • FREE www.windcheckmagazine.com Molded Composites IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GIVE UP SPEED FOR DURABILITY THEN DON’T. GO BEYOND EXPECTATIONS MILFORD, CT 203-877-7621 HUNTINGTON, NY 631-421-7245 northsails.com v MCMICHAEL YACHT BROKERS Experience counts. Mamaroneck, NY 10543 Newport, RI 02840 914-381-5900 401- 619 - 5813 The new J/121 is racing on LIS this summer and multiple boats headed for Bermuda. Call for your sea trial! The new MJM 43z outboard express The new Hanse 418 available for cruiser. Sea trials now available. mid-summer delivery. The new Amel 50 luxury passagemaker. Dehler 38 on display and available Contact us for sea trials. for late summer delivery. See our listings in the Brokerage Section www.mcmyacht.com Windcheck P4CB - June 2018.indd 1 5/14/2018 3:53:41 PM publisher's log Sailing the Northeast Issue 175 Don’t let Perfect be the enemy of Good (enough) Publisher Benjamin Cesare My father was an artisan. He loved craft and beauty. So much so that as a kid, [email protected] if I wanted to fashion a new Laser tiller in his shop, I had to be sure to cut and Associate Publisher drill the Montreal hockey stick and attach the PVC tube for a tiller extension Anne Hannan when he was not around. Otherwise, while he might appreciate my logic for [email protected] the weight-to-strength ratio of those laminated Montreal shafts, he would be Editor-at-Large far more concerned with why I had not chosen mahogany. And which plane Christopher Gill was I going to use to round the edges before sanding them? And wasn’t I going [email protected] to varnish it (four coats minimum, seven coats recommended)? And when did Senior Editor I need it by? And no, today was definitely not going to happen. Chris Szepessy [email protected] Over many birthdays and Christmas holidays, Dad accumulated enough big Contributing Editor fluorescent lamps to turn one very long section of his basement into a perfect Joe Cooper [email protected] varnish laboratory. Practically every piece of wood on the family Menemsha 24, except the toe rails, had been modified for easy end-of-season removal to Graphic Design Kerstin Fairbend be worked on during the winter. And not just the wooden blocks or the cock- [email protected] pit seats and locker covers or the hatch boards would come home. Rather, the entire cockpit coamings, the entire companionway hatch and its sides, and of Contributors Laurent Apollon, Rick Bannerot, Laura Beigel, course the forward hatch – everything went to the basement and onto custom- Leanne Bloom, Cate Brown, Clay Burkhalter, made stands for sanding and varnishing. Noah Chesnin, Stephen Cloutier, Peter J. Coleman, Brad Dellenbaugh, David Dellenbaugh, Ro Fernandez, Even still, getting Phoebe Snow in by July 4th weekend was always touch and Daniel Forster, Bob Fredericks, John K. Fulweiler, go. My mother, brother and I pitched in a lot. We would listen to Mom’s Ed Gifford, Susan Haigh, Allison Keck, Rebecca Kusa, Dexter Lake, Barby MacGowan, Kristen Marshall, beloved Mets (or the Yankees if the Mets weren’t playing) on the radio while Dan McFadden, Donovan McSorley, Larry Monteith, sanding the dreaded toe rails. The threat of having to do even more coats kept Buttons Padin, PhotoBoat.com, Vin Pica, us always going with the grain, wondering why that was necessary, and asking Captain Kevin Reed, USCG, Jim Reilly, in our heads, “Wouldn’t this go faster if we used 220 instead of 320?” It often Jesus Renedo, Will Ricketson, Carl Tjerandsen, seemed that the All-Star break might be a more likely date for the first sail. Onne van der Wal, Bill Wagner, Tim Wilkes For Dad’s part, I’m sure he internally debated the value of his labor force, but Ad Sales knew much better than to voice that out loud. Erica Pagnam [email protected] The best month of the year has to be June: part spring and part summer, and Distribution maximum daylight. It is the month to make every evening of the local racing Man in Motion, Rare Sales series. It is the month to go directly from the kid’s game to the boat and go out WindCheck is published ten times per year. Reproduction of for a dinner cruise. Heck, it’s the month to go for a breakfast cruise before the any part of this publication is strictly prohibited without prior consent of the members. WindCheck encourages kid’s game! I therefore vow to pick up my wife at the 6:34, with a change of reader feedback and welcomes editorial clothes, food and beverages, and drive straight to the boat at least once a week contributions in the form of stories, anecdotes, in June…and maybe even two or three times a week if the weather cooperates. photographs, and technical expertise. Copies are available for free at 1,000+ locations (yacht clubs, marinas, marine retailers, restaurants, sailing events & transportation centers) in the You know what is a really good month to get those last three coats of varnish Northeast. Businesses or organizations wishing to distribute on? WindCheck should contact us at (203) 332-7639. While Wind- Check is available free of charge, we will mail your copy each month for an annual mailing fee of $29. August. Mail payment to: WindCheck Magazine 870 Boston Post Road, Darien, CT 06820 See you on the water! Phone: (203) 332-7639 E-mail: [email protected] WindCheck is printed on recycled paper. Member of Find us on Facebook 4 June 2018 WindCheck Magazine windcheckmagazine.com WILLIS MARINE CENTER, Inc. Yacht Sales & Service Since 1975 Sales ~ Service ~ Slips ~ Moorings ~ Storage ~ Full Service Yard 38 - In Stock. Super Savings! 51.1 On Order 41.1 In Stock 48 2 Avail. From $379,000 2005 423 2 Available from $145,000 40 – 2 Available from $139,000 Boats are selling! Listings Wanted – Call about listing your boat for sale. www.willismarine.com 631-421-3400 windcheckmagazine.com WindCheck Magazine June 2018 5 contents Publisher’s Log 4 18 Destination: Watch Hill, Rhode Island Situated at The Ocean State’s southwestern corner, Watch Hill is one of the Letters 8 loveliest seaside villages in the Northeast. Grace M. Vincens, a Salve Regina Checking In 10 University student who recently completed an internship at Latitude Yacht Brokerage in Newport, says this summer is a great time to visit. First Fish & Chips Shack on Mars 20 24 Sound Environment: The Sea that Never Sleeps Captain of the Port 22 Amazingly, the waters of New York Harbor are cleaner than at any time in the Calendar of Events 26 last century. According to Noah Chesnin, Policy Program Manager with the New York Seascape Program, and Rebecca Kusa, Coordinator for Onsite Pro- Check Lists! 47 grams with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, ongoing Book Review: The Medal Maker 40 ocean planning is reaping long term benefits for humans and marine animals alike. Book Review: Swell 40 44 The Dinghy Race by Volvo Construction Equipment is July 12 & 13 The Boating Barrister 41 Modeled after “the other Volvo,” this one-of-a-kind event takes youth sailors Hinckley Supports Bermuda Bound 42 on a challenging 20-mile course around Fishers Island Sound…and the cheers Young Americans for teams crossing the finish line at Mystic Shipyard could well exceed those heard in Newport last month. Laura Beigel and Clay Burkhalter have the story Up to Speed & Smarts with Dells 45 and photos, respectively. Mudhead Benefit Cup 46 54 Coop’s Corner: When the Force IS with You Edgartown Yacht Club 47 Sometimes, says our intrepid Contributing Editor, who tackled a tricky Race Weekend wrong-side-up situation with an eager Padawan Learner duo while imparting a valuable lesson in seamanship, a bit of craftily applied leverage goes a long way Volvo Ocean Race Update 48 toward making things right. Sperry Charleston Race Week 50 66 On Watch: Heather & Nate Atwater Prepare to Win 52 Sailing brought Heather Hild and Nate Atwater together, and with a shared love of the ocean, adventure, discovery and simple living, this cruising couple Etchells Atlantic Coast 56 has one of the best jobs on the water. Championships Brokerage 58 On the cover: Classifieds 60 Aidan Darlington (helm) and Odey Hariri of North Kingstown, RI Advertisers Index 65 test an unorthodox 420 hiking technique at the Wickford Sailing On Watch: 66 Association. Operating out of Heather & Nate Atwater Wickford Yacht Club, WSA trains youth and adults in the art and skill of sailing. © Cate Brown/catebrownphoto.com find us on facebook facebook.com/windcheckmagazine Scan to visit our website. 6 June 2018 WindCheck Magazine windcheckmagazine.com windcheckmagazine.com WindCheck Magazine June 2018 7 and longest running chowder England Championship (any 2 JUNELetters competition in New England one-designSailing Association keelboat fleetof Long with Island Bay Sound. Day We - This had free a reunion community of Continued officially kicks off summer in sufficientJYRA sailors entries in 2009, can be and given we a haveevent, been hosted encouraged by The to WaterFront do an Where1 are the Tide Tables? Newport! 12 - 6pm; Newport start).encore Cedar performance. Point Yacht Over Club, 125 showedCenter up and in Friends’09. of the Bay Yachting Center, Newport, RI; Westport, CT; Halsey Bullen: to “celebrate and promote What47th Annualgood is WindCheck Lloyd’s without the tide tables? Just kidding – Another reunion is planned for Sept.