Boston Harbor Auctions has announced an upcoming auction of important historical artifacts related to the history of the sport of yachting and the America’s Cup race. Items to be auction included a replica of the America’s Cup that was presented to Chandler Hovey, a long-time participant and winner of the race.

Other items of special interest include an assortment of museum-quality model boats representing participants in the America’s Cup. The auction includes a selection of original press photos from Americas Cup races dating back to the 1930s as well as marine paintings, globes, compasses and binoculars. There are also original photographs of JFK sailing with friends.

The auction will be held on October 16, 2011. Find out more about this fascinating auction by visiting the Boston Harbor Auctions website.

The Museum of Yachting (MoY) held the 32nd annual Classic Yacht Regatta on September 3-4 in Newport, Rhode Island, marking the final segment of the North American Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge. Narragansett Bay was the setting for the event, which features a fleet of classic and vintage 55 yachts. The overall winner of the regatta was Valiant, while the yawl Black Watch won the trophy for overall winner of the Classic Yacht Challenge.

On Sunday, the participating yachts took part in the regatta’s traditional Classic Yacht Parade, circling Newport’s inner harbor with yacht club pennants hoisted.

Read more about the Classic Yacht Challenge on the official Panerai website.

This month saw the launch of the 54.9m superyacht Harbour Island, constructed by Newcastle Shipyards of Palm Coast, Florida.  This is the largest yacht built by the shipyard and is the first hull of the Newcastle 5500 series. 

Harbour Island will debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October.  The six-stateroom yacht includes two master suites and a king VIP guest suite.   Amenities include an infinity pool on the sundeck and a raised veranda on the main aft deck.  The yacht will be available for sale and charter; the current asking price is $54.9 million.

Read more about Harbour Island at Superyachts.com and on the Newcastle Shipyards website.

This week the supermaxi yacht Ramber 100 lost her keel and capsized during the Fastnet Race off the South Coast of Cork, Ireland. The race, which is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, took off from the Isle of Wight on August 14 with 314 participating yachts. The race course runs 608 miles along the southern coast of the UK then across to Fastnet Rock of the Irish coast, with the finish in Plymouth.

All 21 members of the Rambler crew, including owner George David, were separated from the yacht and later rescued. The Irish Coast Guard reported that the seas were not very rough when the yacht capsized but the conditions were foggy.

Rambler100, the fastest supermaxi yacht in the world, recently won the Transatlantic Race 2011. Prior to capsizing, the yacht was expected to take the monohull record for the Fastnet race.

You can see images of the capsized yacht in this YouTube video.

Sunreef Yachts in a world leader in the design and construction of luxury catamarans. At the 2011 Cannes International Boat Show, which takes place September 6-11, three new charter catamarans will make their debut. The new catamarans include the Sunreef 58 In the Wind, the superyacht Sunreef 114 CHE and the 70 Sunreef Power DAMRAK II (which features solar power).

Sunreef is also known for luxury power catamarans. Read about the 70 Sunreef catamaran at the Danmar Powercats website.

The Patio - Phil Marino for the New York Times

Picture yourself at a waterfront table on a balmy summer evening, enjoying a glass of fine wine and a sophisticated seafood meal as you survey the view of glistening white yachts at anchor.  These are the pleasures of marina dining.  Summer is definitely the season for dining outdoors and if you have a taste for seafood and yachts, it’s hard to surpass the experience of dining at a yacht club or marina restaurant.

The Patio at the Freeport Inn and Marina in Freeport, Long Island, is a good example of a marina restaurant that provides gourmet cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere.  If Long Island is too far from your home but you’re lucky enough to live near water, explore your local marinas for unique dining experiences.  You may just find a restaurant that embodies the essence of summertime.

Morris Yachts, located in Bass Harbor, Maine, has established a reputation as a builder of sailing yachts that are known for their performance, craftsmanship and ease of handling. Established in 1972, Morris has used the designs of Chuck Paine and Sparkman & Stephens two establish two lines of yachts – the Ocean Series and the M-Series. While the Ocean Series targets the yacht owner who may have long-distance sailing in mind, the M-Series is engineered for owners who want to get sailing as quickly as possible. Push-button sail raising is one of the features that makes the M-Series perfect for local cruising.

All of the boats build by Morris Yachts can be customized and personalized to meet owner requirements. Find out more at the Morris Yachts website. You can also read a detailed M29 and M52 review in Yachting Magazine.

On Sunday, July 10, the yacht Rambler 100 was first to cross the finish line of the Transatlantic Race 2011.  The yacht set a new course record with an elapsed time of 6 days, 22 hours and 8 minutes for the 2975 nautical mile course which began in Newport, Rhode Island and finished at Lizard Point, South Cornwall, UK.

The final yacht to finish was the Sasha, which crossed the finish line on July 17 — 22 days after leaving Newport. The Sasha experienced the roughest weather of any participating yacht.

The Transatlantic Race was a collaboration between the Royal Yacht Squadron (founded in 1815), the New York Yacht Club (1844), the Royal Ocean Racing Club (1925) and the Storm Trysail Club (1938). It has been defined as “a defining race in ocean racing.”

Read more about the results of TR 2011 on the official race website.

The Hobie Cat is the best selling sailing catamaran in the world. The Hobie Cat Company began as a surfboard manufacturer in the late 1950s and added catamaran sailboats to its line of products in the late 1960s. Today, more than 100,000 Hobie Cats can be found sailing around the world. Many are members of Hobie fleets and participate in regattas. To find out more about Hobie Catamarans, visit the Hobie Cat Company website.

Chuck Paine, one of the most prolific yacht designers, has written a book that tells the story of 40 years in the yacht design field.  My Yacht Designs and Lessons They Taught Me is filled with stories about the yacht-building trade as well as stunning photos of Chuck Paine-designed yachts.

Paine’s specialty is high-end custom yachts, both power and sail.  To date, more than 1000 yachts have been build from Chuck Paine designs.   Since retiring as a yacht designer in 2008, Paine has spent time as a lecturer on the subject of design.  His website, chuckpaine.com, receives more than 1 million hits per year, making it one of the most popular design websites in the world.

Read more about Chuck Paine on the Cruising World Blogs website.  You can also visit Paine’s website to see some of his yacht designs and order his book.