going out of business: APS 30% off sale

in a bit of sad news, Annapolis Performance Sailing has announced that they will be permanently closing and will be liquidating all of their in-stock inventory.

It is with much sadness that we are announcing the permanent closing of APS.  Unfortunately, we are unable to bear the burden of the losses caused by the COVID-19 crisis. We want to first and foremost thank you, our customers, for your continued support throughout our 29 years of business. We hope you will take advantage of our liquidation sale through the following weeks.

on the bright side, if you’re looking for any new sailing apparel, now would be a good time to get them on sale.

the downside, no way to try on any items and no returns…. but if you know your size(s), grab some sailing gear before it’s all gone.

[for the record, I have links all over my blog to items from APS… I’ll slowly try to get rid of these links, or update them to another sailing supply vendor]

25% off Ronstan sailing clothing

from now until the end of May, Ronstan is offering a 25% MSRP sale on all of their clothing, plus free shipping, and a free pair of sailing gloves for orders over $200.

now might be a good time to grab some neoprene gear to help keep you warm out on the water – they have shorts, shirts, pants, or a farmer-john style Skiffsuit.

 

greater Detroit 2020 Sunfish race schedule

the Greater Detroit Sunfish Club (GDSC) has released their 2020 Sunfish race schedule (you can maybe find additional information posted at their Yahoo Group but Yahoo Groups no longer function very well…. so who knows, really).  you can also check them out on their Facebook page.

• May 17th – Watkins Lake
• June 7th – Watkins Lake
• June 27th & 28th – camping weekend at Higgins Lake (South State Park)
• July 26th – U.P. Island Race (Les Cheneaux YC… details t.b.d.)
• early August(?) – Gull Lake Sunfish Open Regatta (details & NOR TBD)
• September 5th & 6th – camping weekend at Higgins Lake (South State Park)
• September 19th & 20th – Devils Lake Regatta (Bruce Goldsmith Memorial – details & NOR TBD)
• September 27th – Watkins Lake

all Sunday races start at 12:30pm [uno], with the camping/racing weekends starting earlier in the day to get extra races in over the weekend.

I said this last year (and the year before… and the year before… and the year before), and didn’t get a chance to sail with this group, but I’m again going to do my best to meet up with them for some sailing races this year.  with all the “stay at home” and corona virus issues going around though… maybe not.  it’s going to be a weird next couple of months.

sunfish class flags

in the recent “Windward Leg” – the official newsletter (now email only) of the Sunfish Class, they announced that Sunfish Class flags are now available to purchase online:

Over ten years ago the International Sunfish Class Association World Council voted to make the Official Sunfish Class Flag a white field rectangle with a red Sunfish logo on it.  If your club and/or fleet is using something else, it’s time to get up to date before your next race or regatta. 

The flags are 24″x36″, with a red Sunfish on both sides facing the flag hoist (i.e. towards the pole).  They are made of white Dacron sailcloth with red insignia cloth for the fish.  The hoist is webbing with two #3 brass grommets.  The price is $39.99 plus tax, shipped free to USA addresses.

you can purchase them from Windward Rail‘s etsy shop – Sunfish Class flag.

and if you haven’t joined the Sunfish Class, now is a great time to do so!

stay at home like a BOSS with Alex Thomson racing [video]

if you’re stuck at home right now like most of the US (and quite a bit of the world?) due to the corona virus pandemic, here’s another sailing related thing to watch and pass some of the time.

this is a roughly 45 minute documentary on Alex Thomson’s solo sailing journey during the 2016-2017 Vendee Globe sailing race.

sailboat names quiz

how many can you figure out?

and not a single 🌞🐠?!

quiz image was found via: Shoreham Sailing’s Twitter

Shoreham Sailing Club is:

is located just along the coast from Brighton and only an hour from London. We have an active racing programme from Easter to November and have the luxury of ‘Real Sea Sailing’ but with sheltered launching just inside the harbour entrance – perfect!

chasing bubbles [sailing documentary]

if you’re like most of us right now – stuck at home in some type of “stay in place” or “shelter in place” due to the corona virus pandemic, here’s a sailing documentary that you might check out:

the true story of “the worst sailor to ever sail around the world.”

for more information, you can check out the “Chasing Bubbles” website: http://www.chasingbubblesmovie.com/

if you just want to check out the preview first to see if it looks interesting, here is the official trailer:

I’ve not watched the full documentary yet, but will try to in the next couple days.