Of Gales and Storm Trysails

The birth of The Storm Trysail Club dates to the 1936 Newport-Bermuda Race, the gale that battered fleet and the winter that followed.

Iron Men in Wooden Ships

The first generations of American ocean racers believed the best test of a boat was whether she could blast her way safely across the Gulf Stream bound for Bermuda and then house her crew once she got there.

The Block Island Race (1946)

With the end of World War II, a great many letters were written to round up the scattered membership and the Club was slowly reassembled.

Block Island Race Week (1965)

In 1964, Commodore Jakob Isbrandtsen and NY Herald Tribune yachting reporter Everett B. Morris were jointly instrumental in urging The Storm Trysail Club to establish Block Island Race Week.

Roots throughout the Country

By the end of the 1960s, the time had come for the Storm Trysails Club to expand beyond its roots in New England.

Nautical Quarterly

An article by John Rousmaniere from a 1985 issue of The Nautical Quarterly.

The Club in the 21st Century

All this suggests that The Storm Trysail Club’s growth has become more national, and its influence in ocean racing is expanding further in this country.