Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club (BHYC) in mid-coast Maine has been celebrating yachting for over 100 years, welcoming boaters who want to experience the fabled Downeast cruising grounds and picturesque Boothbay Harbor. News Flash: BHYC is Hiring!!Our location on the water in West Boothbay Harbor offers a panoramic view of the harbor and the boats that utilize it. We have an extensive mooring field and offer full time tender service in the summer months. A large number of rental moorings are available to visiting yachtsmen and yachtswomen. We also offer a full service waterfront dining facility open for lunch and dinner with professional chef and staff.
BHYC is home to over 300 members and families and is the perfect destination for visiting sailors. With extensive guest moorings and a full-service clubhouse, BHYC hosts both individual yachts and affiliate clubs with ease.
Our myriad activities offer programs for all ages and interests – sailing lessons for juniors and adults, as well as junior and adult tennis. Our summer cruise schedule is an exciting way to explore the Coast of Maine, and sailboat racing, including several annual regattas and our racing series, builds great memories and skills. 
BHYC has a long and proud history of nautical tradition and sportsmanship dating back to 1870. The season in Maine may be short, but our calendar is full.
Our members enjoy a comprehensive social environment as well as the resources to develop boating, sailing and tennis skills. Instructional and recreational programs are offered for all levels of sailing, boating and tennis. Our location on the water offers a panoramic view of the harbor and the boats that utilize it. We offer full time tender service in the summer months to boats in our waterfront with an extensive mooring field. Rental moorings are also available to visiting yachtsmen. We offer a full service waterfront dining facility with professional chef and staff.
The club has an active Junior Program designed to introduce children to sailing, tennis and golf from age 4 (tennis), 5 (golf) or 8 (sailing) up through 17. The opportunity to develop either recreational or competitive skills while having fun has been a mainstay of the Junior Program since its beginning.News Flash: BHYC is Hiring!!
Hydration is a key element to performing at your greatest level. When you are dehydrated you lose focus and your body begins to shut down. When you are working out or sailing you need even more water before, during, and after to make sure you stay well hydrated. The standard amount of water you should be drinking is half of your body weight in ounces. So for someone who weighs 140 pounds they should be drinking on average 70 ounces a day. However, as I stated before if you are performing exercise like sailing you should be increasing your water consumption before, during, and after that activity. Something else to mention is about sports drinks. You should try and stay away from these since they contain so much sugar and can actually work against you. If you want to use a sports drink my suggestion is to water it down. Also a great product is Electro Mix, it can be added to your water. It gives your body the electrolytes you need without all the added sugar. To help you get all the hydration you need carry a refillable water bottle with you so you remember to drink throughout the day.
So often we read about the stars in our sport, and with good reason. Instructive also is the opportunity to learn more about the true foundation of sailing; unsung heroes, amateurs and self-taught sailors who simply love the sport for itself, and not as a means to an end. We are pleased to present this article by Airwaves writer Joe Cooper. Enjoy.
The curriculum introduces seamanship and the fundamentals of sailing for beginners, US Sailing instructional format is used. Students are encouraged to help each other with rigging, launching, retrieval and maintenance of boats and equipment. The instructors are U.S. Sailing Association certified and a volunteer member of the school is often present.
This year, Lawrence Crispin, sailing with his son Luka and long-time crew Hector Cisnaros, won both the EFG Winter Cup and Bacardi Miami Sailing Week regattas earning them the title of EFG Viper Pan-American Champions. This is the second year Crispin and crew have sailed a Viper in Miami having also competed in the 53-boat Viper North Americans last October where he finished seventh. “This is a big win for us,” noted the senior Crispin, who hails from the Stone Sailing Club in the UK and is a former Laser World Champion. “We’ve just purchased a Viper for us to sail when we get back to the UK and will then be shipping it to Bermuda for the 2015 Viper International Championship next November.”
Until this year, the Joseph Duplin Trophy at Tufts was the only event for women’s team racing. On NEISA’s opening weekend in early March, Yale ran the NEISA women’s Team Race. Though only five teams could make it, all the entrants were pretty good and the conditions were spectacular, at least in the afternoons. Let’s start with the five teams at Yale, then look at other NEISA teams participating in the Duplin, and consider other women’s teams around the nation that could have excellent all-women’s team racing squads.
Under the leadership of senior skipper Marly Isler, Yale won at home with some consistent speed and a few good moves. They were not invincible, losing two races to Bowdoin and close wins over Tufts but they might have been had their fastest skipper, Casey Klinger, been there instead team racing elsewhere that weekend with the Yale coed B team.
Tufts struggled with the team racing plays the first day but rallied to go 5-1 on day two taking two close ones from Bowdoin although one of those was in the early morning crapshoot Northerly. Tufts did do two things well throughout; their team race starts were excellent and they too had good team speed.
Team Racing can be frustrating at first, particularly when you are focusing on fleet racing. Once you get over a certain hump on the learning curve, such as when your teammates thank you for advancing them in a play on the course, team racing becomes very rewarding. Top women’s skippers and crews are so fast that their coed teams often ask them to practice team racing against them. The Duplin Trophy at the end of March now gives motivation for these women’s sailors to express their team work in the form of team racing. Spring break in March is where much of this team racing training is happening. With the Yale Team Race kicking off the season, a few women’s teams now have a measure of their starting point. This has led to more accurate goals and expectations. There are no umpires at the Duplin. There are however, really cool team racing boats, great camaraderie and mutual respect among the various teams competing.
C420 Advanced Racing Clinic