Steve Benjamin has been involved with the sport of sailing since he was a little boy. An Olympic Silver Medalist (1984, in the 470), and salesman with North Sails, Benjamin is known fondly throughout the sailing community as “Benj.”

Benj is regularly in the sailing press for his racing accomplishments. His Olympic success and his multiple world championships (Fireball, 505 and 470) are well known, but his career started a bit more modestly. “Originally, I became interested in sailing because my dad Park Benjamin ran a boatyard, the Oyster Bay Yacht Service, now called the Oyster Bay Marine Center in Oyster Bay, NY,” Benj reminisced. “Then my brothers started racing the family’s one-design, a Seabird, at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club and they would take me along under protest at the instruction of my mom, Trixie. They would send me up forward under the deck to keep me out of the way, but I wanted to be involved with the racing. My mom and dad really encouraged me to continue sailing and helped tremendously to make it all possible.”

Fifty-four teams representing 16 yacht clubs competed in the Black Rock Yacht Club Pixel-Blue Jay 2010 Regatta, hosted by Black Rock Yacht Club in Bridgeport, CT on August 2 & 3. The club hosted a dinner dance for all participants on Monday evening with an emphasis on good food and dancing by all attendees. Awards were presented by Regatta Chairman and BRYC Past Commodore Cliff Crowley and event PRO Rob Stephan, also a BRYC Past Commodore.

For the second time in four years, Bobby Boger from Southold, NY won the annual “World's Longest Sunfish Race, Around Shelter Island, NY” on Saturday, August 7. This was the 40th Anniversary of this nautical marathon, which began as a promotional stunt for the host Southold Yacht Club and turned into a challenging event combining the best and worst of both dinghy and big boat sailing.

Thirty-seven boats crossed the starting line off Founders’ Landing Beach in Southold Bay at 11:30am and Boger, representing the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, crossed the finish line four hours, 56 minutes and 58 seconds later.

As usual, the race had a little of something for everyone. The day was spectacular with sunny skies, low humidity and temperatures in the eighties. A light southeast breeze caused the Race Committee to choose a clockwise direction and helped the fleet sail toward Greenport on a close reach after the start. Before boats arrived at Hay Beach Point and the turn into Gardiner’s Bay, however, the wind died and changed direction three or four times so that the fleet was being propelled forward more by the outgoing tide than the wind.

Sunny skies and a brisk 12-14 knot southeasterly made for spectacular sailing at the 2010 Stone Horse Rendezvous and Builder’s Cup in Padanaram,MA on August 15. Five Stone Horses competed, manned by 14 hardy men and women.

Claiming first place was Bill Hulsman’s Footloose (Boston, MA), crewed by Adam Clay and Ted Barker. Bob Sachetti’s Young America (Aucoot Cove,MA) finished second with crew Bill McBrine and John Sachetti. Vern Tisdale’s Butterfly (Mattapoisett, MA) was third with crew Ship Orr. Tom Kenney’s Windfall (Padanaram,MA) was fourth, with EllieWhelan and Bob Jackson crewing. Blue Jay (Westport,MA), sailed by PhilMcGlave, Eileen Bernstein and PavalMcGlave, rounded out the top five.

Ida Lewis is a regatta [the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship for the Ida Lewis Trophy] named after America’s most celebrated female lighthouse keeper. Ida Lewis was the daughter of a former lighthouse keeper, who eventually took over his lighthouse and went on to save the lives of 18 people in the waters off Newport, RI. This annual regatta, sailed in Club 420s, is dedicated to her bravery and stands to encourage teenage female sailors from all over the country to continue on with their sailing adventures.

Every one of the 80 girls who attended the regatta was hosted in Hingham, MA by a warmly welcoming family for the duration of the event including a clinic that preceded the regatta. On Friday, June 25, all the girls dropped their over-packed suitcases at the Hingham Yacht Club and headed to the public beach to unload and unpack boats. Many teams came from the West Coast and had to charter boats. That night, everyone moved into their respective host houses; girls were always roomed with their skipper or crew.

If you are an Optimist or Laser sailor, the Dinghy Shop Fall Series in Amityville, NY is an excellent opportunity to extend your season, and Registration is now open. The Opti Series is six consecutive Sundays, starting September 19, with a harbor start at 1pm (the South Bay Sailing Center opens at noon). You can register per day, or if you register for the full series you can leave your boat at the Center for the duration of the series (your boat must have a cover and a dolly). This is the 13th year the Dinghy Shop has hosted the Fall Series, which is the largest of its kind in the nation.

Every year, the Dinghy Shop brings in guest speakers and coaches to work with the sailors to help enhance their racing knowledge. Parents can take a kayak out for a nominal fee to watch the races or sit on the sandy beach or watch from under the shade of the tent. One of the Sundays is the Mum Regatta, where each sailor receives a potted flower as a prize, and another Sunday is the famous Great Pumpkin Regatta, where each receives a pumpkin. The Opti Series concludes with a party with an awards ceremony, mystery prizes, plenty of food and lots of fun.

The Newport Bermuda Race is considered one the top three amateur ocean races in the world, along with the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Each of these offshore races has a course of similar length (608 nautical miles on the rhumb line for the Fastnet, 628 for Sydney Hobart and 635 for Newport Bermuda), and each offers challenging, often thrilling sailing. Only one, however, brings sailors to what is arguably the most beautiful destination in ocean racing.

We’ve compiled the following recollections of the 47th Newport Bermuda Race in an attempt to convey a sense of what makes the “Thrash to the Onion Patch” special.

From Hiro Nakajima, whose Swan 43 Classic Hiro Maru (Stamford YC) finished 5th in Class 1 (under IRC): For me, this year’s Bermuda Race was the most pleasant of the past five races that I have been associated with...beautiful sunsets, good breeze and a reasonably calm Gulf Stream. My Swan 43 close reaching with a jib top and full or reefed main for almost two and a half days was just a beautiful sight. It makes up for all those previous races where we had nasty weather and Maytag washing machine Gulf Stream. Sign me up for 2012.