Block Island Race: Nice memories and preview by Sail-World's David Schmidt

QUOTE-UNQUOTE: "...to sell the Block Island Race as just a feeder for longer distance races would be to short-sell one of the best Memorial Day adventures in the sailing world....These war stories all illustrate the fact that this 186-mile course can throw a lot of curve balls at crews and navigators, and while the duration (ballpark 24-48 hours, vessel-depending; much less if you sail on the go-fast maxi yachts) makes it a bit hard for your body to get into the rhythm of round-the-clock sailing, I’ve always loved this race. (Editor’s Note: In the interest of full editorial disclosure, my family are longtime Stamford Yacht Club members, so the length of delivery – roughly one to two nautical miles from our mooring ball to the starting line – is just about perfect.) Since I now live in Seattle and haven’t had the chance to sail the Block Island Race since 2008, I caught up with Ray Redniss, who has served as the PRO for the Block Island Race and the Vineyard Race (September 1, 2017) for the past twenty-plus years, via email to learn more about the state of this classic, early season New England event." –David Schmidt, Sail-World's USA editor, in a very nice photo essay cum interview just out on Sail-World.com.

Photo of a class start at the Storm Trysail Club's annual Block Island Race courtesy of the STC via Sail-World.