Join us for two great days of racing in Newport, R.I., August 14 and 15, hosted by the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, home base of Shields Fleet 9. This regatta is recommended for both newer and more seasoned crews in the Shields class as a chance to test your skills and develop your boatspeed over several [...]
A new sail number rose to the top of the podium for the Weds. Night Spring Series ahead of 33 and 156—181! We asked Dirk Johnson Jr., skipper of Helen, to provide a view into how it all came together over the six-week series. Our biggest take away from races early in the season was to [...]
Greetings to all Shields sailors of Fleet 9: We had a solid season in 2020, recapped it at our annual meeting in December and now most of us have been more or less locked down. Wherever you have fetched up this winter season, we hope you’re all staying healthy as we set our sails into the new year. In [...]
Shields Fleet 9 sailors and supporters: In case you missed it, I am reproducing the gist of my report delivered last week at our recent Annual Meeting. We’ve also published the 2020 Annual Meeting Minutes - 12-2-20 here, which include election of officers. Most of our 2020 group is staying on, joined by one new recruit, [...]
Happy to get the win this week, but in Shields racing in the Bay it’s never over till it’s over and we never felt comfortable until the S flag went up at Y. Conditions during the day had a moderate NW gradient dominating until the SW sea breeze took over in the harbor. On the [...]
We don't normally feature a blog from second place, but since it was from a very unexpected source (US!), I thought I would fill you in on what goes on in the head's of those typically in the back of the pack. "Well, nothing bad has happened yet...!" That became our quote of the night. We [...]
"It is great when the plan comes together. It's even better when it works to perfection" Our plan for this week started with getting to the boat on time. Although our "Reverse Vanderbilt Start" last week was exciting, we didn't think it warranted becoming part of our normal protocol. Change is not always for the better [...]
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (content deleted, copyright infringement claim)... Another gift of an evening on Narragansett Bay as the forecast very weak southerly surprised most everyone by strengthening enough to get a race in. The RC set up by special mark C, along the Jamestown shore almost in [...]
Wow! We don’t usually take flyers on 107 because in Newport it’s almost impossible to outsmart the Fleet 9's collective tactical brain, and more often than not a flyer is sheer folly. Today, however, I use that “f” word very deliberately to express our thanks to our friends on 143 for reaching down the starting line, [...]
By Holley Toppa (156) There’s no doubt that Wednesday night is an anticipated night of Shields races for all who attend, but the one race that goes unspoken is the race back into the harbor. With the course now being set north of the bridge and the loose rule set by the race committee to have [...]
