This past Labor Day, Maddy Ploch joined the team of Patriot to race in the Annapolis J/105 Women's Regatta. They won the regatta with a bullet and two seconds. We took the opportunity to catch up with Maddie about her experience. Bell 42: Congratulations on your victory
When you try to imagine the life of a professional sailor, what do you picture? Long stretches of time riding an ocean swell? Moments of fast action crossing a super-maxi at the start of the Sydney-Hobart? While the job differs depending on the boat and program, we took a peek
American Yacht Club's Friday Night Sunset Series is a cherished event for sailing and non-sailing members alike. Held weekly on Friday nights during the summer sailing season, this year’s Series once again combined competitive racing, fun with family and friends, and the picturesque beauty of sunsets on
In the wake of her being named Seahorse Magazine's August sailor of the month, we took the opportunity to catch up with AYC member Michelle Lahrkamp. Michelle is wrapping up an incredible stretch of sailing at Stamford University. Among her many accomplishments, she helped (with sister Vanessa!) Stamford
This year's Bermuda Short-Handed Return race saw AYC/NYYC members Peter Becker and Will McKeige winning their respective classes (results). Peter raced Young American, a J/105, with his daughter Carena Becker, and Will was on Groupe 5, a Figaro 2, with Zach Doerr. Along the way, they
American Yacht Club was strongly represented in this year's Newport-Bermuda race, with Cougar, Inisharon, Scylla, Young American, and ZIG ZAG all in the running. It was a challenging race right from the get-go, with competitive starts into a failing wind and then a building southerly. One boat, Alliance,
It might feel odd to read about Frostbiting in the middle of summer, but given that our season runs almost half of the year, we actually sail some warm, sunny days too. Still, “frostbiting” sounds so dramatic, doesn’t it? Before we know it, we’ll be in a new
The 15th Annual Robie Pierce Regatta ran from May 30th to June 2nd. 17 boats hit the starting line for the open regatta and 4 boats raced in Thursday's women’s regatta. Skipper Eric Rose, along with crew Dalina Delfing and Richard Jaffe, won the open regatta (results)
A decade ago, Patrick and Melissa Schoonveld set their sights on a truly YOLO project: to live on a boat for a year. Being planners at heart, they started saving and steadily chipping away at making their dream a reality. In 2019, they bought their boat Oestara, a 2005 Sweden
The 2024 American Yacht Club Spring Regatta wrapped up 3 solid days of sailing on May 3-5, with the Friday coastal race leading into the weekend's mix of windward-leeward and coastal courses. (see all photos) On Friday May 3rd, 5 classes of boats (ORC, PHRF 1-3, and PHRF
As we reported a few weeks ago, Jean-Yves Fillion won the 2024 ILCA Masters Midwinters East across all ILCA 6 divisions and came in second overall at the Palm Beach Florida Master. We caught up with him to discuss the events. Bell 42: Tell us about the two events JYF:
AYC member Austen Freda recently wrapped up a stint as assistant sailing coach at Tufts and work brought him back to the local area. He has been generous enough to take over leadership of AYC’s team racing effort. Bell 42 caught up with him to learn a bit about