Celebrating the summer’s start—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 24 May 2016 As Memorial Day weekend hoves into view, sailors across North America celebrate the unofficial start to the summer racing schedule with some classic distance races that offer adventure, camaraderie, and an opportunity to improve at the game that we all love best. After all, winter is always too long, and the start of summer can never come soon enough, so-for many sailors-Memorial Day weekend signals a return to the (metaphoric) light, as well as a time to reflect on the countless souls who sacrificed their lives so that the world could know and enjoy freedom.

On the East Coast, two classic events are set to unfurl this weekend. The first, the infamous (and 45th annual) Figawi Race Weekend kicks off in Hyannis, Massachusetts on Friday, May 27th with a party at the Hyannis Yacht Club, before the starting guns start sounding on Saturday morning at 1000 hours. Over 240 boats and 3,000 sailors are expected to participate in this fun, pursuit-style race.

While the race from Cape Cod to Nantucket Island can be as serious or as relaxed as a crew chooses to make their experience, the point of the event is to celebrate sailing, New England’s historic waters, and the start of a great summer. A party awaits participants on Nantucket, who are then free to enjoy a (hopefully) carefree day on Nantucket before the awards ceremony (Sunday) and the eventual delivery back to reality.

Just down the coast from Cape Cod is Long Island Sound, a body of water that often gets a bad rap for its hot and humid summer conditions. The Storm Trysail Club’s annual Block Island Race kicks off on Friday afternoon (May 27) off of the Stamford Yacht Club (SYC), in Stamford, Connecticut, and takes the fleet out through the eastern end of Long Island Sound and around Block Island before (ballpark) retracing the rumbline back to the finishing line, which is also off of the SYC.

While Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start to summer racing, May is still officially spring in New England, and I have personally seen winds in excess of 40 knots on this racecourse, as well as glorious all-night kite rides and not-so-glorious rain squalls. If this sounds like a mixed bag, you’re right, but this race has long helped to prepare crews for bigger and far more committing adventures such as the Newport to Bermuda Race (June 17, 2016) or the Marblehead to Halifax Race (Summer of 2017).

Meanwhile, out here in the Pacific Northwest, sailors from both sides of the U.S./Canadian border are gearing up for the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, which starts on Saturday, May 28. This area classic has long featured multiple racecourses, allowing vessels of all sizes and sophistication levels to enjoy a great weekend of racing.

The Swiftsure Race starts in the beautiful coastal city of Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, and charges westbound down the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Given that the strait is an east-west body of water with big mountains on either side, the breeze tends to funnel from these same compass directions, ideally creating a situation of upwind work one way and downwind joy the other way. That said, I have personally experienced this race when the spinnakers were never hoisted, thanks to a front that delivered “uphill” conditions both ways.

As the Swiftsure Race International Yacht Race website proudly proclaims, “Always A Challenge”!

While these well-known events-not to mention countless local races and regattas-all take place in different corners of North America over Memorial Day Weekend, all participants are advised to pack plenty of warm clothes as well as a sunhat, as these races can deliver shorts-and-t-shirts weather, as well as serious wind and waves, should Mother Nature get angry.

Moreover, sailors are also advised to pack along some appreciation for the sacrifice of others that allow us to enjoy these fine beginnings to our summer traditions.

So, if your winter was a long and interminable one, do your best to be on the starting line of one of these great events this weekend. Irrespective of what weather is in the offing, there’s absolutely no question that racing sailboats across bodies of water with friends and family plainly beats landlubber traditions of playing golf, mowing lawns, painting houses, or struggling through awkward block-party barbecues.

May the four winds blow you safely home,