MEDIA CONTACTS:
Cynthia Goss (203-453-2731)
Susan Daly (401-848-5777, ext 220)
2008 Spring-Summer Events:
International Yacht Restoration School and the Museum of Yachting
March 11, 2008: IYRS Lecture
Queene Hooper Foster/Early Ocean Racing: Transatlantic Racing for Fame and Fortune in the 19th Century
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport / 7:30 pm
Queene Hooper Foster explores a bygone era in yacht racing—when big schooners like Dauntless and Coronet chased oceanic records; when wealthy owners competed for prizes and accusations of sabotage appeared in the press for months; and when a winner could be assured a fortune in prize money, the favor of the royal courts of Europe, and lifelong celebrity at home. Hooper Foster pulls from logs and newspaper archives to bring the offshore yacht racing of a past era to life in a captivating presentation. Part of the five-part IYRS Spring Lecture Series on "The Great Races."
For more information: www.iyrs.org / 401-848-5777
March 25, 2008: IYRS Lecture
Sheila McCurdy / The Newport Bermuda Race: The 635-Mile (Exhilarating, Frustrating and Addictive) Offshore Race with the Lure of Bermuda at the Finish
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport / 7:30 pm
Sheila McCurdy comes to IYRS to look at a great race that has drawn over 46,000 men and women over its 102-year history: the Newport Bermuda Race. Every two years, the race departs in mid-June from Newport. The 635-mile course to Bermuda runs through the strong currents of the Gulf Stream, and the event has lured sailors who return again and again for an offshore challenge that McCurdy calls exhilarating, frustrating—and addictive. A veteran of the race herself, McCurdy is Vice Commodore of the Cruising Club of America and a member of the organizing committee for the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race. Part of the five-part IYRS Spring Lecture Series on "The Great Races."
For more information: www.iyrs.org / 401-848-5777
April 8, 2008: IYRS Lecture
Gary Jobson / Sailing: Speed and Passion
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport / 7:30 pm
Gary Jobson comes to IYRS with a fascinating overview of sailing: from great races that are trans-oceanic and round-the-world contests, to the Olympics and the America's Cup, to inshore events that draw both classics and cutting-edge designs. Jobson will treat lecture-goers to footage of these events accompanied by his live narration. He will also cover adventure cruising, to places such as the Arctic and Cape Horn, and his own story as a world-class sailor and journalist. Part of the five-part IYRS Spring Lecture Series on "The Great Races."
For more information: www.iyrs.org / 401-848-5777
April 22, 2008: IYRS Lecture
Brian Hancock / An Explosion in Short-Handed Offshore Sailing
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport / 7:30 pm
Sailor, adventurer, and author Brian Hancock comes to IYRS to explore one aspect of sailing that has exploded in popularity: short-handed offshore sailing. Hancock—who has sailed over 250,000 nautical miles and competed in three Whitbread-Round-the-World Races—comes to IYRS to talk about the upcoming Vendee Globe, a grueling solo, non-stop, round-the-world contest; about round the world records; and about the new Portimao Global Ocean Race, which he co-founded. Lecture-goers will be treated to what Hancock describes as a look at "madmen and madwomen and their flying machines" from a sailor who has chased after plenty of adventures himself. Part of the five-part IYRS Spring Lecture Series on "The Great Races."
For more information: www.iyrs.org / 401-848-5777
May 6, 2008: IYRS Lecture
Daniel Forster / Far and Away: Images from the World's Top Offshore Races
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport / 7:30 pm
Through the lens of his camera, Daniel Forster has witnessed many dramatic moments in sailing, and his work has graced the pages of major sailing magazines published throughout the world. He comes to IYRS on May 6 to give lecture-goers a bird's-eye view of the great races he has covered in a career that began in his native Switzerland in the mid-70s. The Rolex Fastnet, the Volvo Ocean Race, and the Rolex Sydney Hobart are just some of the offshore contests he has documented. Forster will also show a selection of his America's Cup images. Part of the five-part IYRS Spring Lecture Series on "The Great Races."
For more information: www.iyrs.org / 401-848-5777
May 31 – October 31, 2008: Summer Exhibits at MoY and IYRS
Museum of Yachting / Fort Adams State Park, Newport
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport
The International Yacht Restoration School and The Museum of Yachting will coordinate exhibits with restoration projects in summer '08, so visitors to Newport can see restorations underway and learn about the history of these watercraft and the individuals who designed them and sailed onboard in displays of historic photos, artifacts, and film footage. The summer '08 exhibits focus on Sparkman & Stephens and the people behind the famous one-designs and ocean racers that put this design firm on the map, coupled with the building of a replica of the S&S-designed 6-Meter Cherokee. At IYRS, shipwrights will be working on the restoration of the 133-foot 1885 schooner yacht Coronet while the museum hosts an exhibit on the voyages of Arthur Curtiss James (1867–1941), who owned and cruised worldwide onboard Coronet and his series of Aloha yachts. Also on view will be an exhibit on the America's Cup during the Newport years from 1930–1983, when Cup syndicates competed in J/Class and 12-Meter yachts.
For more information: www.museumofyachting.org / www.iyrs.org / 401-847-1018
May 31, 2008: Graduation and Launch Day
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport / time tba
The school's traditional Launch Day ceremony, which also marks graduation day, takes place at IYRS on Saturday, May 31. IYRS students will launch and sail the boats they restored in a ceremony that has become a unique waterfront event for the Newport community. Graduation ceremonies begin inside Restoration Hall, and the crowd migrates to the school docks for the launch ceremony. This year, students are restoring a fleet of 12-foot Beetle Cats, 6-Meter hull #12 Madcap, and an 11-foot Bulldog whose design dates to 1935. Students are also building a replica of a 15-foot Whitehall tender, originally designed in 1870.
For more information: www.iyrs.org / 401-848-5777
July 5-6, 2008: Third Annual Robert H. Tiedemann Regatta
Museum of Yachting / Fort Adams State Park, Newport
On Fourth of July weekend in Newport, The Museum of Yachting will host a celebration of classic yachting with the Third Annual Robert H. Tiedemann Regatta. The weekend event includes racing for a fleet of classics—with vessels such as the Herreshoff-designed schooner Eleonora, S&S designs, and 12-Meters expected—and a Sunday parade of the fleet, complemented by evening social activities. The regatta honors the late Bob Tiedemann, whose passion for classic yachts lead him to rescue a substantial number of historic vessels, among them the majestic 12-Meter Gleam.
For more information: www.museumofyachting.org / 401-847-1018
July 12, 2008: Eleventh Annual IYRS Summer Gala, sponsored by Lexus
IYRS Newport Campus / 449 Thames Street, Newport / 6:00pm - Midnight
IYRS will hold its Eleventh Annual Summer Gala, sponsored by Lexus, on Saturday evening, July 12. Restoration Hall, where students restore historic watercraft, will be converted for this elegant event that crowns an entire weekend of festivity. The theme of the 2008 Gala—the school's largest fundraiser of the year, which is paired with a live and silent auction—is "A New Launch," and the summertime fete will celebrate the convergence of IYRS and the Museum of Yachting.
For more information: www.iyrs.org / 401-848-5777
August 29-31, 2008: The 29th Annual Classic Yacht Regatta
Museum of Yachting / Fort Adams State Park, Newport
The 29th Annual Classic Yacht Regatta hosted by The Museum of Yachting will again turn the waters off Newport into a panorama of graceful classic yachts. The event includes two days of racing and the Regatta's traditional Classic Yacht Parade, balanced by evening festivities. The regatta will draw a fleet that ranges from modern classics, to vintage yachts, to smaller one-designs with design pedigrees by Herreshoff, Hunt, Fife, and Sparkman & Stephens.
For more information: www.museumofyachting.org / 401-847-1018