September 22 is the fall equinox and time to mark your calendar:
If you’re an organizer for your club, association or fleet make sure the weekend of June 18, 2011 is on the calendar to recruit your crew to join the Summer Sailstice global sailing celebration. It will be the 11th annual celebration of sailing held on the weekend closest to the solstice. Connect your fleet race, cruise and summer sailing kick-off by sharing a solstice sail with sailors around the world.
2010 Winners Announced:
2010 winners from across the US and around the world have collected hundreds of prizes awarded by Summer Sailstice supporters. The free one-week BVI charter from the Moorings was won by P.C. sailing a Hunter 14.6 on Lake Michigan. Hunter binocular winners included a Moody 46 owner in Annapolis, a Hallberg-Rassy owner in Indiana and a Seaward 25 owner in Florida. A Hobie kayak was awarded to a Beneteau 36.7 owner racing in Traverse City, MI. Have a look at the full list of prizes offered for the 2010 Sailstice on the prize page. In the months ahead, we’ll be updating it with additional items for Sailstice 2011.
2010 Tales of Summer Sailstice from Lake Mead, NV to Scotland:
The stories keep coming from all over the globe. Well over a hundred sailors and 30 boats were rail down on a blustery Lake Mead for their Summer Sailstice celebration. Initiated by the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, hundreds of sailors gathered around the four sailing clubs on Milwaukee Bay. Across the globe in the far North of Scotland, Adam Lansdown and family took a 10 metre Westerly over for a quiet anchorage by the Isle of Arran. In 2010, Summer Sailstice connected more sailors in more places than ever expanding participation from 21 countries to 47! Sailors have been expanding and connecting the known world for thousands of years with Summer Sailstice now connecting them all in a global, simultaneous sail.
The world flips September 22:
The passing of the fall equinox means Northern sailors are ‘passing the torch’ to the Southern Hemisphere, who will be celebrating their spring Equinox and they’ll be just 3 months from their Summer Sailstice celebration on December 21. Below the equator, there’s a lot less land and a lot more water so plenty of room to sail. A fortunate few Northerners will follow the sun South while sailors in South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand and Australia will welcome the coming summer sailing season. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, sign up here for your Summer Sailstice and if you’re in the North, do your best to find some warm breezes and sailing time this winter.
Keep sailing and make plans for a great day of sailing on the longest day of the year!