November 15, 2008

Classic Yacht Magazine


A gorgeous resource with photos and stories about classic sail and motor yachts as well as smaller classics. Browse the current issue and archives here.

Classic Yacht is a free online magazine dedicated to beautiful, capable yachts and their colorful owners. Lovers of great boats, power, sail, old or new, fiberglass or not, large and small, will discover stories to fuel their dreams and enrich your time time on the water, and lift your spirits during those necessary interludes ashore until you can get back on the water.

Classic Yachts is available either in PDF format or using zegapi which dynamically displays high quality print-like materials online. Using a sophisticated and natural page flipping web interface, zegapi is changing the way people interact with digital publications.

November 01, 2008

New URL for NOAA charts online

I was looking for charts online and there is a new URL for online access to up-to-date coastal charts. Check it out.
http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/OnLineViewer.html

October 12, 2008

Newport RI WebCAMs

Longing for a peak at Narragansett bay? Check out these webcams. Still images update about every 5 seconds. Results will be best during daylight, there's not much visibility at night.

Webcam #1 looking North West toward Rose Island and the Newport Pell Bridge. http://www.riyachting.com/webcam-hyatt-cam-one-large.html


Sample image: The blurred light in the foreground is the high speed ferry headed north toward the Pell Bridge.

Webcam #2 looking South West toward the entrance of Narragansett Bay with Fort Adams shown on the left. http://www.riyachting.com/webcam-hyatt-cam-two-large.html The Hyatt is the sponsor of webcams 1 & 2, which are are on the roof of the Hyatt in Newport.



Webcam #3 points East North East toward the Lower Thames Street area of Newport and the inner harbor. http://www.riyachting.com/webcam-museum-cam-three-large.html The Museum of Yachting is the sponsor of this webcam.

October 01, 2008

re-packing a traditional stuffing box

This link is a great resource on traditional stuffing boxes.

September 15, 2008

Long White Cloud

Friday night, Stephen and Paula Pepperill of New Zealand spent the evening at the Barrington Yacht club, presenting the story of their six year voyage on the 45 foot Herreshoff Mobjack ketch, Long White Cloud which they built on their front lawn. The journey brought them many adventures and so far, halfway round the world. They are preparing to sail for home via the Panama Canal after hurricane season. Check out their sailing blog for fabulous photos and compelling stories. God speed on your journey home.

April 20, 2008

Bull & Bear Sailing team at IYRS Newport, summer 2007

I photographed the pair of sandbaggers Bull & Bear at the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport during one of my visits there in August 2007. The pair of 28 foot sandbaggers are replicas of working boats used on the New York harbor in the 1860's. They were built by John Brady in 1996 and 1997, based out of the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, PA. Bull and Bear are are serious boats and a serious operation, helping youth organizations learn to sail, get experience on the water, learn leadership and just enjoy themselves. The Bull & Bear Sailing team also donates time and effort to race for charities.

April 12, 2008

Black Knight undergoing rebuild

There is an article in the April issue of Points East describing a major restoration project being undertaken by Buzzards Bay Yacht Services on the 83 foot motor yacht Black Knight, which served as the 1983 America's Cup committee boat. I photographed Black Knight last summer at the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport. Black Knight is an 83 foot Eldridge McGinnis design, built in 1968 by Goudy and Stevens of East Boothbay, Maine, who also built the replica of the original schooner yacht America.


I was overwhelmed by Black Knight's beauty, craftsmanship, elegant details, and finish during my up-close encounter last summer. What a gorgeous yacht. At first, I had a hard time believing that such a restoration was necessary, but my own experience with maintaining older boats should have made me realize my impression was unrealistic. The photos of the restoration available from Buzzards Bay Yacht Services show the effects of 40 years of ocean exposure despite obvious considerable maintenance effort.