Aboard a Two-Time America’s Cup Winner

One of the highlights of my recent Newport, Rhode Island vacation was an afternoon spent sailing on Narragansett Bay with the crew of 12 US 22 Intrepid (https://americascupcharters.com/intrepid/). Intrepid is a two-time winner of the America’s Cup and just missed being a three-time winner. She is a part of sailing history. If you are in Newport during the sailing season, I highly recommend getting out on the water and I can say that my own experience with America’s Cup Charters was a fantastic one.

As with my time spent abroad USS Constitution in Boston Harbor on the Fourth of July 2022 (https://www.apirateontheprairie.com/post/underway-aboard-old-ironsides), it was a thrilling experience to be under sail aboard such a historically significant vessel. Admittedly, the sensation of speed that came with being on smaller racing yacht made for a much different experience than that of taking part in a relatively leisurely outing in Boston Harbor under sail, but being helped along by a tugboat. I certainly don’t recall the USS Constitution heeling over as dramatically as we did on Intrepid making our way back to Newport.

The romantic in me really loves the idea of sailing and harnessing what nature gives you to journey on the water. I really need to take a sailing class in the not-too-distant future. While I lived at the coast for much of my life, I never really had much opportunity to learn to sail. My one attempt to get into a sailing class at Boy Scout camp was quashed by the fact that the classes were already at capacity. I spent much of my leisure time swimming and bodyboarding in the ocean and I have went boating, fishing, and clamming, so it isn’t as though I squandered opportunities for recreational pursuits unique to my coastal home. But I would like to learn to sail if I live long enough to do so.

One school that interests me is Steve and Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School (https://www.offshoresailing.com/). Hopefully the owners, staff, fleet, and facilities weathered Hurricane Helene with little-to-no damage or injury. Another school that interests me is the Blockade Runner Sailing Center (https://sailbr.com/) in beautiful Wrightsville Beach, which is in the Wilmington, North Carolina area where I used to live and is affiliated with the American Sailing Association (ASA) (https://asa.com/find-sailing-school/). Frankly, any of the ASA-affiliated sailing schools are an option and there are even some ASA-affiliated schools here in the Midwest.

Perhaps someday I will find myself at the wheel or tiller of a sailboat. And if I later buy a sailboat, I may end up christening it “Lucky Pirate.” I already have a burgee that I created during my visit to The Sailing Museum & National Sailing Hall of Fame (https://thesailingmuseum.org/) in Newport. I can also recommend a visit there if you are in the area.

I wish you calm seas and a wind to fill your sails. ⛵️😎