Remember Jerome? Our speaker for the October meeting? He's the guy who spent 271 days circumnavigating the globe on a 32-foot boat built in 1975. Maximum adventure, maximum isolation. Now that many of us are self-isolating to keep from getting that nasty virus, Jerome figured he
As Commodore Rob Gibbs has reported, AYC has shut down racing for March, canceled some meetings and moved others to conference calls. In fact, both Tempe Town Lake and Lake Pleasant have shut down activities through the month of March that involve more than a
In light of the CDC recommendations, as well as restrictions handed down to us by local government authorities, your Board and your Fleet Captains have made the following changes to our schedule: All Racing Activities in March are cancelled. A decision on April and beyond
There was enough 8-knot wind to combine with a splash of sunshine and 70+ degree weather to make it a memorable weekend on the water (3/14-15) and a nice escape from the harsh reality of the week's news. It was fun to watch the clash of
Do you shop at Amazon? The huge online merchant will give .5% (one-half percent) of the money from each of your purchases to our Arizona Sailing Foundation. As of mid-March 2020, the "Amazon Smile" program has donated $395 to ASF. Your purchases cost the same. Amazon
Cruising Captain Heather McClain has organized an event for AYC members to race on two famous America's Cup boats in San Diego Harbor, Stars and Stripes and Il Moro. It's a trip Dave and Amy Henning took last year (that's them grinding above) and Dave
By Stacee Danner On Sunday (2/23), the wind didn’t disappoint, starting strong from the west for each fleet. What’s more? The first gun actually went off on time, unlike the previous two weeks when wind was light to non-existent. The junior fleet raced five solid races,
The lake looked like glass at the 2pm start time. A flicker of breeze wafted from the west at 2:15. PRO George Tingom, screamed "Start 'em!" Okay, he probably didn't, but the day needed some action. Most of the Tempe Town Lake race group this Sunday
By Bob Naylor, Regatta Organizer And what a weekend it was! The Birthday Regatta and Leukemia Cup was Arizona winter sailing at its finest. Blue skies, sunny warm days, and light to moderate winds made for lots of great racing. Hundreds of sailors and supporters enjoyed
Shroud tension. Check. Mast bend. Check. Keel faired. Check. Optimize backstay, traveler, outhaul, Cunningham. Check, check, check, check. Tune body. Body? At the March monthly meeting, Keith Kocher will show us how to tune that critical bit of sailing gear, the human body. He'll offer a
How difficult do you suppose it was for a woman to start selling sailboats in the desert in the 1950s? Drop a stake in a vacant lot and call it a sailboat store. Gather a nucleus of sailors and turn it into something called the
By Deb Heisler, Rear Commodore With thousands of islands and places ranging from marine parks through old English inspired cities, the British Columbia Region is a water playland that has it all. Eagles swoop down for dinner, whales surface with curiosity and sea lions bask on
Recently we had higher winds at Lake Pleasant than on an average race day and two people landed in the water after a knockdown under spinnaker. The water temp was only about 60 degrees. The remaining crew members struggled to get the boat back under control
Grant Younger says he did it on a whim. At 11:55, five minutes before the entry deadline, he grabbed five pictures off the AYC Instagram account and submitted them for recognition in the whimsically-named Tempe Instagrammys. Then he got an email saying that one of
You can order Saturday night dinner here. Deadline for entry has passed, but you can still register to race with a late fee. The biggest AYC event of the year is days away, the three-day regatta and maximum party starts on Friday (2/7) with practice in
By Deb Heisler, Rear Commodore We are continuing our AYC-hosted Happy Hours each month at various locations around the valley. An evening of food, stories and a brew or two are a fun way to engage with fellow sailors and potential new members. Feel free to invite
Spring racing kicked off Sunday (1/12) at Tempe Town Lake and Saturday (1/18) at Lake Pleasant. Even though the season is underway, it's not too late to jump in: Sign up now and get the race documents on the racing page. Mark Trainor summed up the
One of the earliest and most colorful members of the Arizona Yacht Club, Don DeFreze, passed away November 26 and on January 25, some of his buddies from AYC came out to remember him and to tell stories about this entertaining character. In an interview we
By Deb Heisler, Rear Commodore It’s something we don’t often think about, but our very existence in Arizona relies on the mighty Colorado, Lake Powell, Lake Mead, and the reservoirs of Roosevelt Lake, the Salt and Verde rivers. Where does all this water come from? Where
How dld the first Tempe Town Lake race series go for the new Sunfish class? Quite well, thank you, and congratulate longtime Sunfish fan Gary Oberbeck for a fall series home run. Gary not only won the fleet, but he did it with a perfect