Sailing On The Bay | Port Townsend Sailing Association

America’s Cup Live Broadcasts This Weekend

If you have the time and interest you can tune in to the live broadcasts of the America's Cup series races from Venice this weekend. Quite a treat to hear the familiar "Guys, we got a cluster f**k here" spoken by a highly paid athlete in an Australian accent.

It's an amazing sight with the Cup catamarans racing in the narrow confines of the bay in front of lovely and historic Venice.

You can find the races at http://www.youtube.com/AmericasCup.

Satch’s Rock Still Awaits the Unwary

May 16th Barcott race as the fleet heads to the first mark. Another great photo by Wendy Feltham from SILENT WAY

Piper Dunlap pointed out that on the Wednesday race starts, Satch’s Rock still awaits starters who venture a little too close to the Indian Point shore as they are heading for the [...]

Shipwrights’ Race Is In a Week!

The 21st annual Shipwrights’ Race is coming right up on Saturday, February 25th. Round up your hibernating crew or pick up some fresh crew here on this site or at the skippers’ meeting and get ready for a fun race with wacky trophies and valuables prizes.

You’ll have the choice of three fleets — [...]

Dialing in Step’nAnnie for Heavy Weather

So with last Sunday’s race canceled, we took a vote and decided to get a practice session in with some real wind, we stayed out for a couple of hours, and got the boat and crew pretty comfortable. Boat speeds up into the 8 kt range a few times, lots of 7 kt speeds. [...]

Mike Berman Shoots the 2011 CMR

From the deck of MARTHA, Mike Berman shares his pictures of the 2011 Classic Mariners Regatta. Check his web site for more great pictures, Michael Berman Photography.

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Watch out 505′s: The Swift Solo is Coming to P.T.

2011 Swift Solo North American Championships in Port Townsend

On July 8, 9, 10 the Northwest Maritime Center will be hosting a series of races for the Swift Solo Class. The Swift Solo is a high performance three sail single-handed skiff designed in 2000 by Bram Dally. The boats are mostly owner-built out of cedar. The class was formed in 2003 and has a championship each year. Last year was in the Columbia Gorge. This year the event is in Port Townsend. The boats will sail off the Maritime Center pier beginning at noon on Friday, July 8 and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The boat is S-glass/carbon Kevlar construction with a cedar core (instead of foam) for durability and a long competitive life. It has a self-tacking jib and a mainsheet that controls the trim of the jib with the main. The sail plan is roughly similar to a 49er with an asymmetrical spinnaker that is self-dousing. Here’s what Julian Bethwaite had to say about the boat:

continue reading » Watch out 505′s: The Swift Solo is Coming to P.T.