Well the rain is finally clearing away, and the bright weather has us at Sail Salem all thinking about sailing. This is our third year bringing sailing to children and adults of the North Shore, and we think it is going to be our biggest yet.

To get the season started, we are having a work party this Saturday, April 10th at Winter Island. We will be getting the boats and office ready for the season. This will include some basic cleaning of the boats, going through the sails and equipment to get everything squared away.

We will be meeting at the Sail Salem office on Winter Island at 11:00 am and hope to wrap up by 3:00 pm.

Please email Jason Yarrington if you can help this weekend.

Thank you,
Jason Yarrington
Sail Salem – VP
jason@sailsalem.org
978-998-9412

We are having a Work Party out at Sail Salem on Winter Island to get ready for the quickly approaching classes!
When: Sunday June 7th
Time: 9am
List of things to be done at this work party:
1) Catalina = Check rigging and check for safety gear; pull engine mount and take numbers off of boat.
2) J/24 Shearwater – Needs a tiller (have one); step mast (probably dions); look at deck issues; pull engine mount; mount Sail Salem logo; safety check
3) J/24 Hippo = replace hatch; step mast (probably dion’s); replace floor boards – I have some; safety gear check; sail salem logo
4) Both Js – sail and parts inventory.
5) Float – Fix last mooring chain; bring gear to float; and instal dock boxes that Pat is building
6) Grace – Jeff’s working on
7) Little Boat – pick up launch, install life jactets under seat; install dock cleats
dock lines – jeff has the line

Our first adult class starts Saturday! Kids start Monday!

We are looking for people to bring light tools and expendables (5300, sand paper, etc)

Written by Chris Hufstader
Photography by Katie Hutchison

Peter Follansbee had the downwind jets to defeat a talented 18-boat Laser fleet in Salem today, winning the inaugural Sail Salem Spring Open Laser regatta. The 52-year old house builder from New Castle, N.H., overcame two upwind legs in the seven races that brought him to the first mark well back in the fleet, only to use his downwind speed and smart tactics in the shifty westerly wind to move back up.

“The first beats were tough, and I managed to butcher a couple of them,” Follansbee said back on shore after racing. “But I could always come back on the leeward leg, so that saved me.” Follansbee won four of the seven races.

Follansbee won by six points over top-ranked Laser racer Ben Richardson, 30, of Gloucester, Mass. Third was the current Laser world champion in the over-60 master fleet, Peter Seidenberg of Porstmouth, RI.

Sail Salem, a new community sailing organization in Salem, Mass., now in its second year of operations, runs a junior sailing program during the summer and has staged several events for Laser class sailboats in the last year out of Winter Island in Salem. “I’ve never sailed here before today, and sailing in Salem is great,” Follansbee said. “The facility here at Winter Island has a lot of potential.”

18 boats turned out to race, including 2 radials. Full results and photos are shown below. Prizes were awarded to 9 racers in total. The top 5 boats took home Atlantis Weather Gear, thanks to the generous support of the people at Atlantis, who are committed to continuing to grow the sport of sailing. Sixth and Seventh took home laser gear provided by Peter Seidenberg, and the first and second place radials took home chocolates from Ye Olde Pepper Company on Derby Street in Salem.

Sail Salem Spring Open Laser Regatta, Salem MA

18 Boats

1: Peter Follansbee, New Castle, NH (10)
2: Ben Richardson, Gloucester, MA (16)
3: Peter Seidenberg, Portsmouth, RI (18)
4: Stu Nickerson, Falmouth, ME (30)
5: Jason Yarrington, Salem, MA (35)

Peter Follansbee, sail number 168297, lines up on the starting line at the Sail Salem Spring Open Laser Regatta

Ben Richardson (left), at the windward mark near Chris Hufstader (center) of Salem and Bill Graves of Marblehead, Mass.

A tight mark rounding at the Sail Salem Spring Open Laser Regatta.

Results

More Photos

Stu Nickerson departs Salem Harbor humming themes to James Bond movies…”When you were young, and life was an open book, you used to say live and let live, you know you did, you know you did, you know you did. But know you say, live and let die (heavy metal guitar riff in background)”

Ross Nickerson in foreground (5146), Chris Hufstader in background (9805)

Tight Start of the first race. Peter Follensbee (8297), Jason Yarrington (7393), Kevin Orff (7421), Wayne Colohan (2032), Eric Cutting (17), Gary Orkney (0776).

Upwind beat.

You will never catch me Bond! I mean Ben.

Another classic tight weather mark rounding.

Peter Follensbee and Ben Richardson way out in front again. The fleet is probably duking it out for third on the left side of the course.

Sail Salem Co-Founder Jason Yarrington catches a break on the right side.

Tight mark rounding setup.

Sail Salem Laser Fleet founder and regatta host Chris Hufstader duking it out with Ben Richardson in a tight mark rounding.

Roger Howell leads Glen Bell around the weather mark.

Chris Hufstader, founder of the Sail Salem laser fleet and regatta co-host takes a break between races.

This group is now available to allow people that are interested in Sail Salem to share their opinions, thoughts, find carpools, learn about volunteer opportunities, etc.

sailsalem

Visit this group

Sign-ups for our Junior Program are this Saturday, April 25th.

April 25th
10:30 to 1:30
5 Broad Street
Salem, MA

Note, this is a change from last year. We will be doing sign ups at Broad Street instead of Winter Island. This location is a little more central and easier to get to for everyone.

Sign up forms are also available online and can be mailed in.

Gusty winds and cold temperatures made for tough racing today. But, thanks the the hard work of all involved, an exciting 5 race series was held off of Derby Wharf today. Special thanks to the race organizers, race committee volunteers, the staff at Winter Island, and our event sponsor Atlantis Weather Gear.

Pete Kane knew it was going to be a tough regatta to win when a sudden gust capsized his 14-foot Laser class sailboat at the start of the second race of the new Sail Salem Founders’ Cup regatta, held off Derby Wharf today in gusty winds and cold temperatures. “A sudden shift of wind flipped the boat over to windward, and when I was in the water I had the mainsheet wrapped around my feet so it was hard to recover,” the 27-year-old sailor from Boston said. But he got untangled, righted his boat, and battled back for a fourth in the 11-boat fleet, his worst race of the day. With a score line including two firsts and two seconds in the other four races, he won the event by four points over local sailor Chris Hufstader, 47, of Salem.

Hufstader got off to a steady start, scoring second-place finishes in the first three races, but fell to a fifth in Race 4. He stayed ahead of Phil King of Ipswich, the winner of two of the races, who finished in third, just five points back. The strong, gusty winds got the best of many of the sailors: some huge puffs turned over as many as three boats at the same moment, leaving sailors struggling to right their capsized boats and continue racing. One sailor, Jason Yarrington of Salem, had to retire after two races due to a broken mast. For the sailors who remained upright in the biggest gusts of the day, the downwind legs were fast and went by in a blur of spray as the high-performance Lasers planed down to the leeward mark, positioned just yards off Derby Wharf.

While the strong winds made the conditions look daunting, the race organizers were able to take advantage of the sheltered waters off of Derby wharf and get in a quality 5 race series. The racing right off of Derby Wharf provided a spectacle for Salem residents and tourists and a great place for family members to watch the races. What other venue has a coffee shop 200 yards from the starting line.

Jackets and vests were presented as awards to the top finishers in the full rig and radial rig classes thanks to the support of event sponsor Atlantis Weather Gear.

Final Results, top 6:

1. Pete Kane, Boston 10

2. Chris Hufstader, Salem 14

3 Phil King, Ipswich, 19

4. Wayne Colahan, Marbehead, 22

5. Nick Burke, Hamilton, 28

6. Bill Graves, Marblehead, 31

We have been having an amazing summer!!! The junior program is a huge success. Close to 100 children have already gone through our introduction to sailing program and they are having a great time. Those tiny little boats sailing around in front of the power plant and occasionally touring the harbor are our kids out there having a great time.

Sharon Slate and several other parents have been taking lots of great photos. You can see them on her web albums.

Also, Leighton O’Connor of Blueswirls.com has posted photos that are available to everyone. You will see these photos in some of our upcoming promotions. These are really high quality photos that are suitable for framing.

If you are a Flickr user and want to share your photos we have a Sail Salem Flickr group. Join the group to see all the photos and print what you like!

Thank you to everyone who came to our open house on March 27th at the Witch Museum to help us celebrate our first season. We had over 80 people in attendence, and it was great to get a chance to talk to everyone. Thanks to some generous contributions, we raised almost $10,000. This money will go towards purchasing safety boats and hiring instructors.

During the evening we unveiled the junior program, our plan for community sailing for adults and families, and how you can help as a volunteer. Some of the details of what we discussed last night are listed below, including our Learn to Sail program, adult sailing, and how you can help as a volunteer.

By Kristin D’Agostino/kdagosti@cnc.com
Wed Nov 21, 2007, 05:47 PM EST

Salem –  As birds fly south for the winter, some Salem seafarers are looking ahead to the warmer weather, when they plan to launch the city’s first community sailing program on Winter Island.

 Sail Salem Inc., the brainchild of local maritime attorney David Smith, would operate much like Community Boating Inc., its Boston relative, offering economical memberships for adults and providing children with weeklong sailing lessons for only $1.

The program is still in the early stages of development, having recently been approved by the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission and earned nonprofit status.

 A five-person board, headed by Smith, has worked to garner funds from local residents and businesses, and has raised $25,000 since September. Organizers are making the plans public now with the hope of attracting donations from the private sector. They are hoping to have $150,000 by spring, enough to purchase 20 boats and cover the cost of hiring sailing instructors.

 Sail Salem aspires to have 50 boats, a mixture of 12-foot Optis for children, and 19-foot crafts for adults. By the time the company gets running, it will ideally become self-sustaining with the $300 season-long adult memberships funding the children’s classes. The memberships will give sailors calling ahead to confirm availability first dibs on boats.

 Where on Winter Island will Sail Salem make their home? Winter Island is home to two historical buildings, once used by the Coast Guard and now standing empty, needing renovation. Could these be incorporated into Sail Salem’s facility? Smith says, yes, possibly, but in due time.

 “Renovating the [Coast Guard] hangar would take a lot of money,” Smith said, adding that a state-regulated sprinkler system would have to be added, among other upgrades. “It would be nice to grow into it five or 10 years from now.”

 Sail Salem, for now, will be stationed on the barracks side of Winter Island, with offices and classrooms housed inside a trailer. Boats will be attached to moorings during the warm weather and stored at a marina kept in the center of the harbor. During the winter, Smith said, he is hoping the boats can be stored on private property that several members of the community have already volunteered.

 Youth sailing will take place in protected enclosed areas where a string of children can safely follow their instructor, says Bob McCarthy, a member of Sail Salem’s advisory board and chairman of the city’s Open Space and Recreation Committee. Cat Cove is one example, and there are many other protected areas along Salem Sound. Here students can safely move from following the instructor to sailing on their own. The more advanced children will be able to sail out to “middle ground,” an area outside Salem Harbor where they won’t have to worry about competing with the city’s ferry.

 As the cold winds stir up the waves along Salem’s rocky coastline, Sail Salem’s board is working to gather funds and plan classes, which will begin the last week in June and are geared toward children age 8 to 12. They hope in the second year to have earned enough funds to open up lessons to older youths as well.

 “Because we’re limited by money we are starting with the youngest and building around them,” said Smith. “As they advance in age and ability we’ll adapt to their needs. If we raise enough money we’ll have enough boats to give older kids lessons.”

 Though smooth sailing is months away, excitement is already in the air.

 “We have eight miles of coastland and most people don’t get to go out on the water and see Salem Sound from a different perspective,” said McCarthy. “This is a great opportunity!”

To learn more about Sail Salem, or make donations, visit www.sailsalem.org.