One of the great East Coast sailing destinations is Dry Tortugas National Park, the only tropical islands on the East Coast.  Located 70 miles west of Key West off the coast of Florida, the Dry Tortugas are a cluster of seven islands which are composed of coral reefs and sand.  There’s a protected anchorage near Fort Jefferson, which is definitely worth a visit.  Bird and marine life live in abundance at the Dry Tortugas, and the water is teeming with fish and even tortoises.  Bring your own supplies since there are none available on the island. You can find out more at the Dry Tortugas National Park website.

Eighteen international tall ships can be seen in Charleston Harbor the weekend of July 26-28, marking the annual Harborfest event. The ships have come from as far away as France, Russia, Uruguay and the UK. Some of the ships will be offering deck tours. Other Charleston Harborfest activities include a waterfront air show, food and drink, pirate-themed waterfront activities and an evening concert. On Monday there will be a Parade of Sail as the tall ships leave the harbor.

Admission to Harborfest is $20 for adults and $10 for children under 17, with free admission for children under 5. Parking is free over the weekend. Find out more at the Charleston Harborfest website.

Charleston is a charming city in South Carolina. It’s the second largest city in the state and is located at the mid-point of South Carolina’s coastline. Charleston is a travel destination and offers a variety of accommodations as well as many restaurants and shopping opportunities. Some of the main attractions of Charleston are its beautiful historic homes and residential streets lined with giant live oaks draped with Spanish moss. The city of Charleston is a unique blend of the traditional American South and the cultural elements from France, England and West Africa.

Sailing Anarchy is a sailing website which truly captures the excitement of the sport. Aiming to be different from other sailing magazines and websites which it calls “less than insightful”, Sailing Anarchy was established as a forum for racing sailors, industry insiders and sailing enthusiasts looking for sailing news with a twist.

The Sailing Anarchy site includes news, features, photos, videos, and high traffic forums. There’s also a classified ads section where you can advertise your sailboat when you upgrade to a bigger boat.

The Edgartown Yacht Club is located on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Edgartown, Massachusetts. Edgartown is the oldest city on Martha’s Vineyard. Founded in 1905, the private club is located on Dock Street in downtown Edgartown. Since 1923, the Edgartown Yacht Club has sponsored a Junior Yacht Club, one of the first such clubs to be established. The Edgartown Yacht Club also sponsors a tennis program where teams complete against other yacht clubs, including the Nantucket Yacht Club.

The Edgartown Yacht Club 86th Annual Regatta will be held July 16-18, 2009. Several hundred boats are expected to participate in this annual event in Edgartown Harbor. For spectators, there are a vaiety of inns and hotels in Edgartown which provide accommodations for the weekend.

Star Island Yacht Club in Montauk Point, New York is the perfect destination for cruising and fishing. Seasonal sports fishing and charter boats are a big attraction, along with the club’s many tournaments. The best known tournament is the Annual Shark Tournament, which will be held June 18 -20, 2009. Last year’s tournament paid out over $760,000 in cash, custom trophies and other prizes. Find out more about the tournament here.

The East Coast of the U.S. isn’t the only East Coast in the boating world. East Coast Sailing Week is an annual week long sailing event which covers the east coast of Scotland and the north east coast of England. The event has been held annually since 1987 and will take place at the Royal Tay Yacht Club from July 6 – 10 in 2009.

Nautical knots are an integral part of boating, used for docking vessels, attaching a dinghy to a boat and for all type of sailing apparatus. Knots are also useful for other outdoor applications. Every boater should master some of the basic nautical knots. These basic knots including the bowline, two half hitches, the reef (or square) knot and the sheet bend.

Any Boy Scout should be able to teach you these knots, but if you don’t know a Boy Scout you can find a wealth of knot-tying information online. There are even websites with knot-tying instructional videos.

Once of the best knot books is The Ashley Book of Knots, first published in 1944 by Clifford Ashley. This knot encyclopedia contains more than 7000 illustrations of over 2000 different knots. Entries include knot usage, instructions and histories. It’s one of the most extensive and important knot references.

After nearly two years of litigation, a New York Supreme Court Justice upheld the decision to hold the 33rd running of the America’s Cup race in February of 2010. The rules of the America’s Cup state that the defending champion and the challenger of record decide the location and date of the next event.

The defending champion is Swiss-based Alinghi, which sails under the colors of Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG). Alinghi had requested the event to be held in May 2010 and had also identified the Spanish syndicate Desafio Espanol as the challenger of record. Oracle, from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, went to court to be recognized as the challenger of record. Oracle won and was also able to set the date for the event.

Hopefully Alinghi and Oracle can now being negotiations to decide other important details of the America’s Cup, such as the location of the race and standards for entries. The America’s Cup is one of the world’s oldest sporting competitions, originating at the New York Yacht Club in 1851.

 

The Capital Yacht Club (CYC) is in the U.S. capital city, Washington D.C.  The Club is located on the Washington Channel, 95 miles north on the Potomac River from Chesapeake Bay. Its location on the Potomac is one of the most beautiful in the United States.   The CYC was founded in 1892.  Find out more about the Club on the Capital Yacht Club website.

The Boston Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in New England.  It was founded in 1866 with 90 original members.  The Club grew through a series of mergers with other clubs and by 1910 was operating from six stations: Rowe’s Wharf in Boston, Hull, City Point in South Boston, Marblehead, Dorchester, and Five Islands in Sheepscot Bay, Maine. The Boston Yacht Club now operates from a single station in Marblehead, with membership at 400 yachts.

Since its beginning, the Boston Yacht Club has been associated with the America’s Cup race, the most prestigious regatta and match race in sailing.  Club members designed and built successful cup defenders dating back as far as 1885. Boston Yacht Club member Ted Hood was involved in 11 sucessful cup defenses from 1958-1977 in the various roles of sail maker, skipper and designer.  The original America schooner flew the Boston Yacht Club burgee for over 27 years, until being decommissioned in 1901.

The United States Power Squadron (USPS), a preeminent boating organization with more than 45,000 members, also traces its roots to the Boston Yacht Club.  USPS is a non-profit educational organization which teaches classes in seamanship and navigation.