Whether you want to race or enjoy the summer sun, Sunfish and Sailfish boats provide entertainment for the whole family. One great advantage of these small crafts is their simplicity. Not only are they easy to transport, assemble, and store, but even children can master the basics of sailing these boats. This adaptable boat design lends itself to whatever you make of it: a private yacht, a floating retreat, or a swift racer. In this concise guide, Chaille and Larry Kelly share the delight of their Sunfish and Sailfish experiences and cover the fundamentals of sailing and racing these boats.
A charming memoir of midlife by the bestselling author of Mayflower and In the Hurricane's Eye, recounting his attempt to recapture a national sailing championship he'd won at twenty-two. “There had been something elemental and all consuming about a Sunfish. Nothing could compare to the exhilaration of a close race in a real blow—the wind howling and spray flying as my Sunfish and I punched through the waves to the finish.” In the spring of 1992, Nat Philbrick was in his late thirties, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for that thrill of victory he once felt after winning a national sailing championship in his youth. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist-turned-stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again. With the bemused approval of his wife and children, Philbrick used the off-season on the island as his solitary training ground, sailing his tiny Sunfish to its remotest corners, experiencing the haunting beauty of its tidal creeks, inlets, and wave-battered sandbars. On ponds, bays, rivers, and finally at the championship on a lake in the heartland of America, he sailed through storms and memories, racing for the prize, but finding something unexpected about himself instead.
A charming memoir of midlife by the bestselling author of Mayflower and In the Hurricane's Eye, recounting his attempt to recapture a national sailing championship he'd won at twenty-two. “There had been something elemental and all consuming about a Sunfish. Nothing could compare to the exhilaration of a close race in a real blow—the wind howling and spray flying as my Sunfish and I punched through the waves to the finish.” In the spring of 1992, Nat Philbrick was in his late thirties, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for that thrill of victory he once felt after winning a national sailing championship in his youth. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist-turned-stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again. With the bemused approval of his wife and children, Philbrick used the off-season on the island as his solitary training ground, sailing his tiny Sunfish to its remotest corners, experiencing the haunting beauty of its tidal creeks, inlets, and wave-battered sandbars. On ponds, bays, rivers, and finally at the championship on a lake in the heartland of America, he sailed through storms and memories, racing for the prize, but finding something unexpected about himself instead.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Nathaniel Philbrick is a masterly storyteller. Here he seeks to elevate the naval battles between the French and British to a central place in the history of the American Revolution. He succeeds, marvelously."--The New York Times Book Review The thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War from the New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower. In the concluding volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick tells the thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1780, after five frustrating years of war, George Washington had come to realize that the only way to defeat the British Empire was with the help of the French navy. But coordinating his army's movements with those of a fleet of warships based thousands of miles away was next to impossible. And then, on September 5, 1781, the impossible happened. Recognized today as one of the most important naval engagements in the history of the world, the Battle of the Chesapeake—fought without a single American ship—made the subsequent victory of the Americans at Yorktown a virtual inevitability. A riveting and wide-ranging story, full of dramatic, unexpected turns, In the Hurricane's Eye reveals that the fate of the American Revolution depended, in the end, on Washington and the sea.
The Sunfish Owner's Manual is a one stop resource for the world's most popular sailboat. Inside there are chapters on the History of the Sunfish, and illustrated chapters on how to Buy, Rig, Sail, Maintain, Restore, Store, Transport and Sell the Sunfish. The Restore Chapter includes Do It Yourself pictures and step by step details on how to conduct common repairs, including foam replacements and rudder conversions. The Manual has an extensive Illustrated Glossary of Sunfish and sailing terms, with 230 photos by the author, taken in the course of numerous Sunfish restorations, for both wooden and fiberglass Sunfish as well as Sailfish. Included are weblinks to top Sunfish information sites, part suppliers and social network sites. There are also links to extended web content located on the author's youtube channel and over 1300 Picasa Web images.The Manual is not only a one stop reference for any Sunfish owner, it would be of interest to owners of other small sailboats as well.
On the first day of April, 1977, James Lee Meadows embarked on one of the wildest, totally outrageous adventures of a lifetime when he sailed out from Miami Beach on a tiny Sunfish sailboat, with an unlikely destination of Boston. As a literary road-kid hippie musician, James spent 110 days cruising along the east coast - stopping for days at a time partying with the coastline locals. In Atlantic City he was joined by his longtime road-tripping friend/ photographer, Jeremy, and their voyage to Boston was a comedy that Cheech and Chong - and every surviving member of the Woodstock Generation - would truly appreciate. After 35 years, here is his insane oceanic story! James Lee Meadows was born and raised in the historic town of Concord, Massachusetts. A gifted musician from childhood, he played lead guitar in a rock band throughout his high school years, and during the 1967 hippie summer of love, his group moved to Boston and played professionally while he attended Shaw Prep. In 1970 he graduated from Bryant Jr. College with a commercial pilots license, although rather pursue a career in aviation, he returned to music and released a record album. It bombed. Somewhat discouraged, one year later he hit the road and became a self-described "road-kid writer-bum," and spent the following five years Kerouac-ing back and forth across America, writing manuscripts and playing music. In 1976 James ran for Selectman in Concord, and during this comical campaign he began organizing the adventure of his lifetime: sailing a little Sunfish sailboat from Miami to Boston the following year. The voyage was a success, and after writing a manuscript about this wild adventure, he and his photographer friend, Jeremy, spent five months in 1979 sailing from New Orleans to Maine on Phantom Sailboats. For the most part, this voyage was an anticlimactic disaster.
A high school graduation present becomes the source of fifty years of adventure, connections and friendship.A collection of memories, rivalries and romance on the water from family and friends who set sail on a Sunfish.
