On the Wind

2024 October 1 - 12:00 am

The passion for multihulls isn’t waning, it’s just changing

No one is more passionate about their version of sailing than a multihull sailor. It is as if they know something that the rest of us are missing. One avid friend has introduced hundreds of guests to

On the Wind

2024 July 1 - 12:00 am

Is sailing risky? Not if you believe the data over the actuaries

By Nick Hayes

If you consider the rising costs and barriers to insuring a sailboat, you might think the actuaries see dangers that we sailors can’t see. But is there any reason to be concerned? One state�

On the Wind

2024 April 1 - 12:00 am

The sea change that’s happening might not be the big shift escapists think it is

By Nick Hayes

Escapism is built into the human psyche, has genetic and evolutionary roots, and persists in story across the millennia. So the trend to sell everything and sail isn’t new, despite the mob of tan, n

On the Wind

2024 January 1 - 12:00 am

Trust the sailboat matchmaker to find the one you love

By Nick Hayes

I’ve developed a reputation among friends as a sailboat matchmaker. It often begins with an irrational text message: “I found an amazing boat. Almost free. Needs work. I should get it, right?”

On the Wind

2023 October 1 - 12:00 am

Know your competition, on the course and in the community

By Nick Hayes

Our team—sailing on our midsized boat—has experienced both sides of the looming wind-shadow debate. This is when a big boat in Division 1 is about to overtake a smaller boat in Division 3, and the

On the Wind

2023 July 1 - 12:00 am

Rules for thee but not for me doesn’t work on the water

By Nick Hayes

Five adult sailing students were making their way back to the dock after a couple of hours of drills on a J/24 and two instructors and I were following in a tiny chase boat. We were heading into the �

On the Wind

2023 April 1 - 12:00 am

Some sailing myths need to be busted

By Nick Hayes

Since sailors are now flying, sail trimmers are now biking and cloud computers are now navigating, it seems appropriate to separate today’s sailing myths from reality. Surprise, everything I’ve li

On the Wind

2023 January 1 - 12:00 am

Let’s call it learning to learn to sail instead

By Nick Hayes

Interest in sailing saw a remarkable uptick starting in about May of 2020 that hasn’t let up. Google searches for the phrase “How to sail” had been increasing steadily since 2004, but doubled du

On the Wind

2022 October 1 - 12:00 am

Survival suits, torrents and other climate consequences

By Nick Hayes

Golf course greens turning tan. Ski jumping off of artificial turf towers. Scuba diving on monochromatic reefs where rainbow coral once grew. Mountaineering to peer into one last crevasse. Climate cha

On the Wind

2022 July 1 - 12:00 am

Sailing crews look a lot different these days. You can thank diversity.

By Nick Hayes

Every spring we assemble our crew lists for the season and pack key sailing events into our best friend’s calendars. We draw a Venn diagram of teams to race on weeknights and weekends (since not eve

On the Wind

2022 April 1 - 12:00 am

Hosting boats from high-tech to discarded relics, boatyards are both playground and graveyard

By Nick Hayes

Vesper’s giant carbon fiber rig towered over the rest of the boats in the yard like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar visiting a kindergarten classroom at nap time. The TP52 glistened in perfect glossy shades of

On the Wind

2022 January 1 - 12:00 am

Much-maligned runners have their advantages

By Nick Hayes

Our local fleet champ recently declared that he’s done with sailing. “This is it,” he said. “When this sailboat sells I’m not buying another. Runabouts don’t have runners.” He’s a ter

On the Wind

2021 October 1 - 12:00 am

The weather you get, not the weather you want

By Nick Hayes

Whenever a newcomer comes to town I usher him or her to our priceless waterfront and we talk sailing. If I see even a flicker of curiosity, I suggest sailing lessons. Our town benefits greatly from on

On the Wind

2021 July 1 - 12:00 am

Sailors keep an even keel, crisis be damned

By Nick Hayes

If you’re a child of the 1960s or before, you may recall the first oil embargo when prices spiked and shortages had drivers wasting weekends in line at the gas pump, like we saw in May 2021 on the E

Technique

2021 June 1 - 12:00 am

Understanding sail trim

Proper trimming goes beyond getting the telltales to fly and sheeting until it stops luffing

By Nick Hayes

If music is how we feel math, then sailing is how we live physics. And sail trim, like playing an instrument, is our touchpoint with the medium. In fact, apart from steering a sailboat, which is one o

On the Wind

2021 March 31 - 12:00 am

Hey racers: The cruisers are coming, tone it down

By Nick Hayes

Sailing can seem bicameral—like a 50/50 Senate—split between racers whose passion is intense competition, strategy and speed, and cruisers seeking fun-in-the-sun and vacations to exotic locales.

On the Wind

2021 January 1 - 12:00 am

Let’s hope a newfound kind of sailing sticks around

By Nick Hayes

Before Covid-19, sailing seemed stuck in place: it was the same boats moored in the same marina sailing to the same destination or starting on the same line and racing the same course against the sa

On the Wind

2020 October 1 - 12:00 am

How to convince your teenagers to sail with you

By Nick Hayes

The question I’m asked about most often is about family sailing. The scenario differs only slightly: Usually a parent of teenagers aspires to sail in a family group, but can’t convince the kids to

On the Wind

2020 July 1 - 12:00 am

The time to sail is coming

By Nick Hayes

Memories of post-race parties run together, but one stands out, not just for the fun being had (fun was definitely had) but for the shocking dockside news that awaited the unknowing fleet. After thre

On the Wind

2020 May 1 - 12:00 am

On this we can agree: On a boat we’re all friends

By Nick Hayes

Sailing boasts unmatched power to make quick comrades from nemeses. For example, when climate change provocateur Greta Thunberg chose to sail across the Atlantic Ocean instead of flying, sailing soci

Proper trimming goes beyond getting the telltales to fly and sheeting until it stops luffing

Perry on Design

Carrying on the tradition of Nautor Swan, this cruiser takes a modern twist

This cruiser has plenty of options for comfortable family cruising

A svelte cruising cat that has performance front and center

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