No Grim Galley, Brooklyn Boatworks

Ahoy! Welcome to I’dRatherBeSailing, the sailing newsletter serving up the tastiest sailing news of the week.

In today’s letter we have:

• Brooklyn Boatworks: Summer fun on the East River.

• No Grim Galley: Sailing for Foodies.

• Sailing Snippets: A cruising couples’ finances, Saudi Arabia lures sailors.

Brooklyn Boatworks

Young People Build Boats, Build Confidence

In a Brooklyn classroom, a group of middle school students are hard at work. But they are not studying readin’ and ‘rithmetic, but they are learning a valuable skill that will stay with them for the rest of their lives: boat building.

The students are participating in a program called Brooklyn Boatworks, a non-profit organization that inspires young people through boat building. The program provides students with the opportunity to learn the skills and confidence necessary to build their own Optimist pram, a small, single-handed sailboat.

"It's really rewarding to see the students learn and grow," said one of the program's instructors. "They start out as shy and unsure of themselves, but by the time they've finished building their boat, they're full of confidence and pride."

In addition to teaching students the skills of boat building, Brooklyn Boatworks also helps to develop their STEM skills, problem-solving skills, and teamwork skills. The program also provides students with the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of the maritime world.

"Brooklyn Boatworks is more than just a boat building program," said the instructor. "It's a program that helps to build young people's confidence and give them the skills they need to succeed in life."

The program has had a positive impact on the lives of many young people. One student, who had previously struggled in school, said that the program helped her to "find her passion." Another student said that the program helped him to "build confidence and learn how to work with others."

You can check out the organization here. Now, why the heck didn’t we get anything this cool in school?

Race Updates

Transpac Yacht Race: 5 boats have dropped out, but the rest of the racers are on their way from LA to Hawaii in the biennial race. You can follow their progress and entertaining updates (Racer Wayne Zittel: “Where are the trade winds? Did they form a union? Are they on strike?) on the official site here.

The Ocean Race: 11th Hour Racing wins by 3 points, concluding a very eventful race with speed records, breakages, injuries, and a collision, making them the first USA team to win the race since it began 50 years ago. Read the recap of all the legs here. (Leg 7 was the collision, in case you were wondering).

No Grim Galley

The Foodie Sailor’s Paradise

Let’s admit, provisioning in parts of the Caribbean can be…grim. If the gastronomic gallows of Virgin Island cruising has got you down, fear not, your savoury savior is here. There are Caribbean islands of such epicurean delights that you’re sure to face the rude problem of where, exactly, to store all those fresh baguettes and pastries you just bought.

We’re talking, of course, about Guadeloupe, in the French Caribbean. If that sounds foreign to you, well, that’s probably why it’s so damn great. Americans don’t seem to know about it yet.

So, what makes this place so special? A perfect storm of culture, and agriculture. French culture means French food; wine, cheese, charcuterie, all flown in from Europe, and crammed into every isle of every grocery store. The prices are cheap, too. None of the usual Caribbean-markups. Then you have the agriculture. Guadeloupe has an active volcano on it, and a massive jungle.

To use very scientific terminology, awesome stuff grows in volcano jungles.

Like, for instance, Vanilla beans. You can get a whole fist full of the best vanilla beans in the world for only 20 euro. The spice markets alone will knock your stinky sailor socks off. Every grocery store, every market, every vendor is a foodie’s delight just waiting to grace your galley with fresh fruits, veggies, and exotic spices, all locally grown.

So, if you want to upgrade your Galley on your next cruise, you know where to go.

Sailing Snippets

Is this the new freedom formula? How this couple in their 20’s afford to live off grid on a catamaran. (Spoiler: A shopify business + Youtube Ad revenue). Read their interview here.

Saudi Arabia lures sailors: Well, they’re trying. The king wants sailors, and sailors want nothing to do with it, although they are trying to reel in Youtube sailors. Sailing in the area is described as “a nightmare”, with strict anchoring and clearance regulations, not to mention the booze rules. Mostly though, Saudi Arabia just wants mega-yachts. Read the story here.

Maserati Multi-70: RobbReport got to race on it, and can confirm that it is wicked fast, even without some of their foils and sails which got confiscated by customs in Mexico. Check out the article and as they prepped for the Hawaii Transpac here.

Slick Zhik: The brand you see all the racers wearing in the pro events just raised a funding round, led by former Olympian sailor Mat Belcher. Get more on the brand’s history and story here.

OnlySailors: Ashley Marti, the divisive stew from Below Deck Sailing Yacht has quit the show to pursue making her own, ahem, pay-to-view content. Read the story here. No, it’s not that link.

That’s it for today, we’ll Ketch ya’ next week!