Saturday was the perfect day for our 10th Annual Sailing for Scholars Regatta! What was forecast to be a no-wind day ended up being a perfect 10-15 kts. We got in 4 races each for the J/24 and J/80 classes, and wrapped up the day with an awards ceremony with Oysters donated by Grey Lady and dinner from Peter Callahan Catering!From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who attended the gala, raced in the regatta, cheered from the pier, or donated to a team bid at the auction-- you rock! It was all hands on deck, and...

The dream of sailing a singlehanded boat across the China Sea started back in 2015. “Hualian”, as he is known, dreamed of sailing a J/80 sailboat specially equipped to handle the challenges of sailing offshore for 1,600 nm (about 3,000 km). No one has done it before and, in China, such challenges are seen in the same light as other famous Chinese climbers getting to the top of the world’s tallest mountain- Mount Everest at 29,029 feet tall.Hualian’s first two attempts in 2019 were not completed. In the first attempt, he exclaims, “I experienced 30 knots sustained winds and very...

(Lakewood, TX)- This coming weekend, the Lakewood Yacht Club south of Houston, TX will be hosting the annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta on Galveston Bay from October 25th to 27th. A record fleet of sixty-nine boats is participating from across the Deep South. There are big one-design fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, and J/105s and a J/ORC class.The 20-boat J/22 class features a number of leading teams from the region, including Casey Lambert’s BLACKBURN MARINE RACING, Jeff Jones’ GAS STATION SUSHI, Anne Lee’s HELMS A LEE, Farley Fontenot’s OLD TIMES, Dan Pletsch’s SKETCHY, Gary Theis’ STUDENT DRIVER and Kevin Orff’s TROUBLEMAKER.While...

Olaf Theodore Harken, 80, passed away October 21, 2019. Born May 6, 1939 in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia, Olaf died where he lived most of his adult life, in Pewaukee Wisconsin.Olaf and his older brother, Peter, created the hugely successful marine hardware business that bears their name, by working hard, delivering excellence, and having fun every day.Harken Inc. makes marine hardware, hydraulics and winch systems for racing and cruising sailboats of all types and sizes. Industrial hardware applications include the commercial marine, architectural, and rescue industries.The brothers took many chances over the years – and they still encourage their employees to...

(Qingdao, China)- The second annual Asian J/80 Championship took place in Qingdao, China, famous for its award-winning Tsingtao Beer first created by German immigrants in 1903. Hosting was the Qingdao International Sailing Centre in what were the fabulous facilities for the 2008 Summer Olympics.From October 11th to 13th, seventeen teams from across Asia (China, Russia, India, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia) all competed for the honor and title of being crowned 2019 Asian J/80 Champion; it serves as the “de facto” Asian keelboat championship as the J/80 is by far the largest one-design keelboat class in the region.After winning the...

(Coruna, Spain)- Twenty J/80 teams from across the Spanish peninsula were competing in their annual J/80 Copa de Espana this past weekend in Coruna, Spain. Hosting the event was the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña. In the end, the fleet was treated to two great days of sailing, with Alvaro Ruiz de Larramendi’s team on GARATU from Hondarribia taking the overall title in a come-from-behind victory. Here is how the regatta went down over the course of three days.Day 1- Late seabreezeOn the first day, the RNC La Coruna PRO managed to run three crisp races for the fleet,...