Block Island Race Week Dock

I headed up to Block Island Wednesday on the Farr 40 Ramrod to beautiful Block Island. We had a bit of a windy and rough delivery, but all went went well and we arrived early Friday morning. The island is gorgeous and definitely worthy of exploring. Saturday and Sunday, we had very intense practice sessions which went well. Ramrod is ready to go and looking forward to a great week. Today is supposed to be the Around the Island Race, so I’ll have a great view of the whole island. The forecast is for a very windy day, with a steady 20 knots and gusts to 30 knots. Hopefully we’ll be able to get off the dock!

For those of you that loved the movie or wanted to see it but it never came to your area, here it is. I pre-ordered mine and it showed up today. Order yours today by clicking on the link below for DVD or Blue Ray Disk.

Check out our new Sail22 Amazon Store for recommendations about some of Sail22’s favorite products. We’ll be adding a Sail22 Store soon as well with other products, such as our custom Melges 24 parts, geared to our clients. Let us know if there is anything you think we should add or you would like to know more about!

I just wanted to give everyone an update on what we are planning with our Sail22/Melges 24 Worlds Tuning Regatta.  The idea for this event came during the 2008 Melges 24 NA’s in Annapolis when we were talking with some of the guys from Team Barbarians.  Our goal is to work with top teams to get them prepared to win the 2009 Worlds.  The way we plan to do this makes it also work for anyone with a Melges 24 that wants to improve.  We will be teaming up with current Sail22 sponsors to make this a great event.  We are also drawing in top Melges 24 sailors like Dave Ullman, Scott Nixon, Nigel Young and others to help make the event great.  Alec Stewart and Tony Arends from Velocitek will be on hand to download information from the Velocitek units on boats.  If you don’t have a Velocitek they will loan you one for the event.  If you wish to purchase one before, during or after the event, we will have special pricing for event competitors. We are also working with T2P in order to get top rate video for debriefs and a DVD to be reviewed before the Worlds.  Here is the schedule for the event:

Thursday Evening – Crew work demonstration and coaching.  On land.

Friday afternoon – Starts, starts and more starts.  Plus weather mark roundings and tuning to get everyone ready for the regatta and Worlds.

Friday Evening – Tactical discussions and local Annapolis knowledge

Saturday – Racing on the waters of the Cheasepeake Bay where we will be racing in the Worlds.

Saturday evening -  Velocitek/GPS and video debrief and local weather talk.

Sunday – Racing on the waters of the Cheasepeake Bay where we will be racing in the Worlds.

Sunday after races – Velocitek/GPS and video debrief and awards.

Check back here for more information on the event.  Feel free to contact us at info@sail22.com with any questions or suggestions.  We will work with all teams to make this a valuable event for everyone heading to the Worlds.

Follow the lead of Team Barbarians and register for the event here – Yachtscoring.com or click on the Tuning Regatta tab.

Neil Sullivan's MFatic Racing Downwind at the 2008 NA's

Sail22 is happy to announce plans have been finalized for the Sail22 Melges 24 Worlds Tuning Regatta to be held  October 8-11, 2009 in Annapolis, MD.

Click here for the NOR and entry form

Yesterday was a great day for Melges 24 sailing! The breeze built steadily throughout the day and we were able to get in 3 races. The final race was a 5 leg race and the puffs were in the low 20’s. Upwind was a little tough and shifty, but the downwind ride was well worth it! Michael definitely appreciated the downwind and according to Ed had a big smile on his face. I know our team did as well on the downwind legs! Becky’s team had a new sailor on board and even though we had to pull her out of the water after the first start (she held on to the lifeline though!), she says she’s coming back to sail with Cujo again today.

Alan Field and his WTF team are leading the Melges 24 fleet and had a great day yesterday with a 1,2, 1!!! John Podmajersky and USA 511 is in second and there is a close race for third with Paul Hulsey with 37 points and Charlie Hess in fourth place with 38 points. Mike Dow is in fifth and John Koten who is racing his brand new Melges 24, Planet Claire (USA 774) is having a great regatta too tied for sixth with Richard Reid’s Zingara. Hopefully we get some more racing in today. The breeze is definitely lighter than yesterday and looks like it could be a bit shifty.

Melges 24 Jib Block Cover

We were able to get in 3 races in light air yesterday at the Detroit NOOD. Michael’s team started off the regatta strong with a 6th in the first race. They are currently in 12th. Becky’s team struggled yesterday and was 160 pounds light, which made things tough. The team will have more weight today, since we are taking out an additional person who wants to learn to sail. Today looks like moderate air 8-15 and flat water which should be good.

Sail22’s Custom Melges 24 parts are very popular with the boats they are on! Check out our carbon Jib Block Guard and our Lifeline guards along with our traveler brackets and backstay ferrule here. Please contact us for more information or to order.

We’re in Detroit for the NOOD regatta this weekend. Both Ed & Becky will be sailing on Melges 24’s for the event. Michael Gavin, who Ed sails Etchells with has chartered a Melges 24 to try it out. Ed’s cousin, Bill Becker is also sailing with them, as is Michael’s good friend, Chris Johannessen. Hopefully there will be enough breeze so that he gets a good feel for how much fun the Melges can be! Becky will be sailing with Greg McCliment on Cujo. The forecast is for the breeze to be 8-15, so it should be a great weekend.

We headed to Annapolis to support the Santa Maria Cup with their Pro-Am regatta that was supposed to take place on Tuesday in J22’s. The event was to allow the girls to practice prior to the match racing began by racing against supporting businesses. Unfortunately, due to too much breeze, the race committee called off the event. We had a good time catching up with the teams we knew and meeting some other teams. Click here for details on the Santa Maria Cup racing this week.