Online Sailing Magazine

35 KNOTS is an online magazine, or e-zine, dedicated to coverage of performance sailing in all it's forms. ...     read more

Key West Race Week: Something for Everyone (Almost)

Key West 2010: Coming Soon! January 18 - 22

Carole S. Franklin

Key West 2010: Coming Soon! January 18 - 22

If you've never witnessed the spectacle that is Key West Race Week, get ready to enjoy the show. Better yet, take the week off and head down to tropical southern Florida to enjoy spectating in person – or better still, take part! Who wouldn't want to do just that, in January?

So what is Key West Race Week? What's all the fuss about? Never a dull moment, that's what! It's just a never-ending carnival of sailboat racing mayhem out there.

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Audi Medcup Circuit

Since its debut in 2005, the Audi MedCup has already established itself as a hot new event in yacht racing. The single design of entrants, the TP52 (originally known in the U.S. as the Transpac 52), ensures no need for handicapping. And it's an outstanding boat, fast on all points of sail. In 2009, a new class joined the TP52's, the TP42, and it's every bit as exciting as its sister.

Sailing Handicap Glossary

There's an awful lot of alphabet soup in sailboat racing: PHRF, IRC, RORC, TOT/TOD, UNCL, and so on... For those who don't want to admit they don't know in front of their yachting buddies (or for those who want to catch out some know-it-all on his high horse), here's a brief primer.

Key West Race Week 2010: Something for Everyone (Almost)

If you've never witnessed the spectacle that is Key West Race Week, get ready to enjoy the show. Better yet, take the week off and head down to tropical southern Florida to enjoy spectating in person – or better still, take part! Who wouldn't want to do just that, in January?

Laser Class Sailboats: Small But Mighty

When his prototype won its class in the 1970 race "America's Teacup" (for sailboats under $1000), Bruce Kirby launched a phenomenally successful one-design boat class: The Laser. Kirby sailed his prototype under the name The Weekender. Its design had been inspired by a discussion between Kirby and a friend, Ian Bruce, about a small sailing dinghy that would fit on the roof of a car...

Sunfish: Great Design, Affordable Fun

If you've spent any time at all near the water, you've seen these little boats zipping around – and chances are, you've sailed one yourself. But the Sunfish is not just a simple and affordable sailing option – although it is that – it's also an international one-design racing class.

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RECENT BLOG ENTRIES

Sailing Needs To Embrace The Main

Submitted by Nikolaus Drellow on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 06:41

Why Sailing Should Embrace the Mainstream Media

“The mainstream media?!” You may be asking yourself. “The same media that ruined every sport more exciting than croquet by drowning it in Mountain Dew and plastering it with variations on the word ‘extreme’? The same media that make Presidential elections look like horse races and celebrity slip-ups look like cataclysmic events?”

Yes, I say. Those media.

Laura Dekker: Let Her Go

Submitted by Lenny on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 08:15

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Laura Dekker's desire to try sailing around the world. Everybody seems to have some opinion on this matter, from the media to social services to the courts.

I believe that the people who are best suited to judge whether Laura is ready are Laura and her parents. It is simply wrong for anyone else to sit in judgment of her capabilities and stop her from reaching for her dreams.

Does anyone remember William F Buckley ripping into Jim Dickson for attempting to sail across the Atlantic?

Be Prepared

Submitted by Nikolaus Drellow on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 09:41

I had an experience recently that really made me think about preparedness, one of the most important aspects of sailing any kind of boat.

I’ll start the story at the end: we were three dripping wet people, all face-palming about losing those valuables around which so much of modern life is centered. Thankfully no one was hurt, but in the drink somewhere near somewhere near Sippican Harbor were a pair of new shoes, three pairs of sunglasses, three cell phones, a purse, two wallets, medicine, and a set of keys.

As The Cup Turns

Submitted by Lenny on Thu, 08/06/2009 - 17:30

The soap opera that is the Americas Cup takes a turn even more bizarre today, as Alinghi today announced the venue as Ras-Al-Khaimah in the UAE. In case you have never heard of this place before, check the map below:

What about the Cup?

Submitted by Lenny on Tue, 07/28/2009 - 20:07

I recently put up a poll on the homepage to see what readers thought of the current situation with the America's Cup. The results are I think telling, with 59% of readers saying that the America's Cup has become bad for the sport. Granted this is a small sample size, but 20 years ago I would be surprised if 10% of people felt this way.

Blind leading the sighted?

Submitted by Lenny on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:26

When I was a teenager, I spent a summer teaching sailing to the blind. This was 35 years ago, and at the time was a fairly revolutionary idea. Conventional wisdom says to steer anything, you need to be able to see. My experience that summer, and the experiences of countless others has proven that to be a very limited viewpoint.

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