Snow and ice, ice and snow, and no thaw in sight. Nothing more disheartening than looking at your boat covered in shrinkwrap and knowing it's going to be two months before you can get to work.

Take heart, friends! We have just the thing to warm your spirits! On February 24, we're bringing together a group of marine industry experts, just for you. All those questions you have about how to rewire your panel, that funny noise the engine made at the end of the season, that varnish project you've been putting off for two seasons... the answers will be here.

Ben Hall, co-founder of Hall Spars, will be on hand to talk spars and rigging; Paul Dow, the manager of the mechanical/electrical department at New England Boatworks is ready to make suggestions; Dennis Klodner, founder of DePaul Diesel in Portsmouth will address all those tricky engine questions. Brian Gustafson of New England Tech will share boat painting tips, our friends at IMTRA can offer ideas about lighting, and a North Sails expert will have the latest and greatest recommendations.

Brought to you by Points East, this evening offers an informal setting with those in the know, so you can find out everything you need to plan your spring projects. Cisco Brewers will provide complimentary refreshments!

Admission is $5 for the general public, free for Museum members. We're tremendously excited about this evening; hope you'll be there.

-Sara

Gearing up for 2011

Happy new year, Museum friends! It's an exciting time here, now that we've dug out from the latest snow storm. When you return to the Museum later this year, you'll find new exhibits, freshly painted walls, and a renewed focus on our mission of education and inspiration. Richard Feeny, our sailing master, is offering seamanship and navigation classes this winter (you can sign up for them here), and is putting together a great group of instructors for this summer's sailing program. We will be offering shorter term programs for those who can't commit to an entire summer, and look forward to expanding KESTREL's role even further.

We're happy to have a new partner in Points East Magazine, who will be presenting our winter lecture series. By February, most sailors are tired of snow, sick of being in their homes, and want to talk about boats! We'll give you just the place to do that. Details are still being finalized for some of the presentations, but author and sailor John Rousmaniere will be offering his illustrated show "The Golden Pastime: Icons of Classic Yachting" here at the Museum on March 24. As always, admission is free for Museum members and only $5 for nonmembers. And did we mention that Points East has brought Nantucket's own Cisco Brewers to the party? Cisco will be pouring and refreshments will be courtesy of Points East. So plan to get out of the house and join us, and stay tuned for information on February and April events as well.

Can't wait to see everyone soon... until then, stay warm and stay in touch.

-Sara

Herreshoff boating program utilizes 1929 sailboat

Herreshoff boating program utilizes 1929 sailboat

Beautiful pictures and video footage of KESTREL from EastBayRI.com
The video features students from the Herreshoff Institute Seamanship program last summer.
Check it out!

Holiday Open House... great night!

Thanks so much to everyone who attended our holiday open house last night. Seems like lots of people got some shopping done and plenty of food and drink were consumed - we hope everyone enjoyed themselves! Now we're on our last push through the end of the season - the Museum and store close on the 23rd until next spring. However, we're busily working behind the scenes to plan this winter's lecture series, so we'll stay in touch... we're thinking about movie nights, lining up speakers, and working with some potential partners to make it more fun for everyone. We'll keep you entertained, informed, and thinking about sailing all winter long!

happy holidays, everyone....

-Sara

{HOLIDAY CHEER}

The lights are up and the tree is lit! It is starting to look very festive here at HMM - just in time for our holiday party next Thursday. This will be my first holiday at the museum and I am quite excited. We all had a fun time chatting and snacking after the Carlton Pinheiro lecture in October and we are due for another gathering. All are welcome to attend the party and I especially hope all of our volunteers can make it. It will be a great time to honor them for all of the work they do.

We will have special discounts in the store for the event. We have lovely prints which are newly framed, featuring the work of A.D. Blake, Scott Kennedy and John Mecray. I am also partial to our new 12 ½ clocks, made locally by Screencraft Tileworks (oh how I love that boat!) and the prism ornaments which are sweet and surprisingly affordable.

Local author Richard Simpson will be stopping by to sign books and the new America’s Cup calendar. Richard has written a number of books about Herreshoff and also about Bristol. Try to stump him on some local trivia. I challenge you! Louie Howland is also setting up shop to feature some beautiful books. Mariette and the Herreshoff Schooners by Jacques Taglang sells for $295. The book is stunning! We have one here in our museum library which I looked through last week. The photographs are absolutely beautiful and there are also plans and drawings. It will be great to have them here at the party for our visitors to ogle.

The Museum has been open this winter on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. We will continue to be open three days a week from 10 – 5 until the end of December. We have had a good number of visitors stop in to shop and tour. The weekend after Thanksgiving was busy with families and I’ve seen a number of locals coming by with out of town visitors. The Hall of Boats can be quite chilly on some days but it doesn’t stop the Herreshoff crowd. If you give folks a chance to board a Fisher’s Island 31, they’ll take it.

Hope to see everyone next Thursday, December 9^th from 5:30 to 8!

-Maggie

Dyer Jones has joined the Museum

For those of you who haven't read it in the news, we're excited to announce that Dyer Jones has come aboard the Museum as our new CEO. Dyer, a former New York Yacht Club Commodore, has served a variety of roles within the America's Cup community - as regatta director, chief executive for the challengers, and many race committee positions.

We're thrilled to have him here!

Still space available: official VIP Hospitality in Valencia

There is still space on the official VIP program, including the Foredeck Club and official VIP hospitality boat. Racing starts Monday 8Feb'10 at 10:00 AM Valencia time.

To book:
j.griffin@herreshoff.org