ASA RAISES OVER $40,000 TO BOOST LITERACY

The American Sailing Association (ASA), America’s premier sail-education authority, announced last week that it raised $41,379 this fall to benefit Hands Across the Sea. Since ASA selected Hands Across the Sea as its exclusive fall sweepstakes charity partner seven years ago, it has helped to raise approximately $180,000 for the non-profit organization committed to raising literacy levels of children in the Eastern Caribbean.

Throughout September and October 2018, people who watched a one-minute video about Hands Across the Sea on ASA’s website and made an optional donation to the charity, were entered into the sweepstakes for a chance to win a week-long Caribbean sailing charter and other donated prizes.

To date, Hands Across the Sea has raised funds to provide over 464,000 books to more than 400 schools and libraries in the Eastern Caribbean. Over 100,000 students have benefitted from the support of generous sailors and other donors. Since its founding 11 years ago, the charity has expanded its services to also providing teacher professional development and student librarian training to Eastern Caribbean schools.

“The Caribbean and its people are extremely important to us at the American Sailing Association,” said Lenny Shabes, ASA’s founder. “The majority of our members express an interest in sailing the waters that surround the islands that benefit from the work of Hands Across the Sea. Thus, it is our responsibility to help.”

FREE CANADIAN SUBSCRIPTION TO GOOD OLD BOAT

In the September issue of Good Old Boat magazine, we published a letter from a Canadian subscriber who wrote that he loved the magazine, but would not renew in protest; he is upset about the U.S. trade disputes with Canada. We replied that we were saddened. We don’t understand why we are a target for retaliation.

When that issue hit the streets, U.S. subscriber William W. Stiles (who sails a 1976 Pearson) sent us a check to pay for one Canadian’s one-year subscription to Good Old Boat, to “someone in Canada who appreciates a great sailing magazine.”

So, contact me if you’re someone in Canada who appreciates a great sailing magazine and you meet the following guidelines I made up:

  • You are not a Good Old Boat subscriber.
  • You’re familiar with Good Old Boat and would like to be a subscriber.
  • You’re Canadian with a Canada mailing address.
  • Preferably, you own a boat and maintain it yourself.
  • Preferably, you’re willing to send me a brief note about yourself that I can reference in a future issue.

As always, I’m at Michael_r@goodoldboat.com

Hurry! And good luck!

 

A HOME FOR HISTORY?

“From 1980 to the early 1990s, my wife and I built a Corbin 39 from a bare hull, with the attendant purchase of all the necessary equipment. Our odyssey was written up in Good Old Boat (“A Corbin 39 From a Bare Hull,” May 2011) and we subsequently sold the boat and her new owners sailed her from Toronto to Brisbane, Australia.

“Now I’m looking for a good home for my large collection of historic marine catalogs, some trade versions, dating from 1980 to the early 1990s, that describe equipment likely to be found aboard readers’ good old boats.

“We were regular attendees at the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis for many years, as well as the winter boat show at Atlantic City, later in Philadelphia. We visited the London Boat Show, as well as shows in Paris, Stockholm, and Southampton. We shopped at BoatUS stores (later acquired by West Marine), at Marine Equipment Supplies in New Castle, Delaware (long since gone), North East Rigging Supplies, Defender, Buck Algonquin, and more. I am attaching a photo of a few, random catalogs. Some of the better-known names are Garhauer, Gibb, Lewmar, Marinco, Morse, Navtec, Perko, Plastimo, and Simpson Lawrence.

“All my catalogs are free, for pick-up, in Bath, Ontario. They weigh a considerable amount (at least 65 pounds) and occupy more than 24 inches of shelf space! If anyone has any interest in this historic collection, please contact me, David Salter, at eds.bath@gmail.com.”

THE ILCA AIN’T HAPPY

The World Sailing Board has recommended to the World Sailing Council that new equipment be selected to replace the Laser and Laser Radial Classes for the one-person dinghy events in the 2024 Olympic Games. The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) is protesting.

“Because the Laser and Laser Radial Classes represent the majority of countries participating in Olympic sailing, ILCA believes that replacing them would create a devastating and unnecessary disruption for the sport and could very well jeopardize sailing remaining in the Olympic games.

“Universality, or the number of countries participating in an Olympic sport, is one of the key metrics used by the International Olympic Committee to evaluate each Olympic sport. It has taken over 40 years to grow the reach of the Laser Classes . . . It is unclear how another class could duplicate in four years what ILCA and the Laser builders worldwide have built over 40 years.

“Considering the other pending changes to Olympic equipment on the World Sailing agenda, if the Laser and Laser Radial Classes are replaced, the obvious question is: Can our sport survive this level of upheaval and remain in the Olympics?”

For more information: laserinternational.org/