Speed Build: New Winches, Faster Bottom
February 18, 2021
This winter’s feature projects are a more perfect bottom and a complete new Harken winch package to give Dorade an edge on the racecourse.
What Dorade Does in a Dry Spell
September 2, 2020
Despite never being launched, Dorade spent the summer staying wet, inside two tents.
May 21, 2020
Mike Fletcher’s varnish and paint crew spent another vigorous spring keeping Dorade beautiful.
March 16, 2020
This comparison first appeared in the October, 1935 edition of The Rudder magazine.
Team Dorade Sets Sights on 2020
February 20, 2020
The team has planned a busy schedule of racing in Southern New England this summer.
Tie-Breaker at the Newport Classic Yacht Regatta
September 9, 2019
Light winds challenged the fleet in Newport, where Dorade traded firsts with the Herreshoff-designed Spartan.
First Again at the Herreshoff Classic
August 26, 2019
A breezy race on upper Narragansett Bay tested Team Dorade’s sailhandling skills and ultimately led to victory.
Dorade First Among Vintage Classics at Nantucket
August 19, 2019
The classic fleet moved offshore to compete in the two-day Nantucket Regatta and the wooden-boat classic, the Opera House Cup.
175th Anniversary Regatta, Day Five: Dorade Earns Second-Place
July 22, 2019
On the last day of a hard-fought week of racing in lighter and stronger winds, the series went to a worthy rival, the S&S 55 Santana.
175th Anniversary Regatta, Day Four: When Tonnage Takes Over
July 20, 2019
A close call at the start of the second race added intensity to a day of already-close competition with Santana.
175th Anniversary Regatta, Day Three: Rainy Day at Dorade Café
July 18, 2019
A wet day of northeasterlies set the stage for more tussling with Santana, this time amidst 12-Metre traffic. Coffee played a role, too.
175th Anniversary Regatta, Day Two: On the Right Side
July 17, 2019
Working the right side of the two upwind legs was a key to success on the regatta’s second day.
175th Regatta, Day One: A Sweet Sea Breeze
July 15, 2019
The website editor goes sailing with Team Dorade during the New York Yacht Club’s 175th Anniversary Regatta.
May 16, 2019
The elk hide block covers were worn out and it was time for new leather. A closer look at what’s involved.
Brooks Appointed to Board of Pilot Commissioners
December 20, 2018
Dorade’s owner, Matt Brooks, has been appointed to California’s Board of Pilot Commissioners, following in his father’s footsteps.
NYYC Cruise: Dorade Wins Astor Cup
August 14, 2018
On a rainy sunday, the Dorade team had one race, sailed well, and won the Astor Cup with NYYC Rear Commodore Chris Culver at the helm.
Women Skippers Set the Pace at Onion Patch
July 2, 2018
Swift and Dorade won the two divisions of the Onion Patch Series, skippered by Paige Krumweide and Pam Rorke Levy, respectively.
Dorade Wins Navigator Division of 2018 Onion Patch Series and Overall at Anniversary Regatta
June 25, 2018
The Onion Patch features the Newport Bermuda Race, New York YC 164th Annual Regatta and Royal Bermuda YC Anniversary Regatta.
Newport Bermuda Race: Evolving Fleet Competes for the Dorade Trophy
June 24, 2018
Named for the deck vent designed by the Stephens brothers, the Dorade Trophy features a beautifully aged vent mounted on teak decking.
Dorade Finishes the Newport Bermuda Race!
June 20, 2018
The 666nm Newport to Bermuda race may have been one of the lighter wind years but the competition was still fierce.
Dorade at the 164th NYYC Annual Regatta
June 13, 2018
The team took the class win for Friday’s Around the Island Race and fifth in class in Saturday and Sunday’s racing (both in ORR-Navigator Class).
For Dorade’s restoration and bluewater campaigns, Pam and Matt were honored by the National Maritime Historical Society.
DORADE: S&S Design No. 7, 1929 – Minneford Yacht Yard, City Island, N.Y.
MISSION: Dorade was born to race in the open ocean. The goal for our current restoration and future sailing is to prepare Dorade to once again perform as a highly competitive ocean racer. To this end, I think it is essential that we work and consult with S&S, while continuing to rely on the advice, input and involvement of the current Dorade Team. By fostering active collaboration between Dorade’s original designer’s and her current keepers we will ensure that her history is honored and her lineage protected. We all acknowledge that Dorade is a very special craft, and all of us are committed to her preservation.
GALLERY
“The scenario must be as old as sport. Competition builds along certain lines which suit the participants and thus a norm is established. From year to year marginal advances are the rule. Then along comes someone, something of an outsider and more single-minded in his efforts to win, who seizes an opportunity that is obvious to him though unrecognized by the routine participants. The new player exploits a new way that offers a winning margin. I have wondered whether this is good for the sport, yet I recognize it as part of the game. It keeps competitors on their toes. In 1929 I sensed the opening.”
-Olin Stephens
RECENT CAMPAIGNS
Nine times in nine events. Team Dorade was on the podium every time during the summer of ’16. She competed throughout New England and earned first-place silverware at the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta and the Marblehead Corinthian Classic Yacht Regatta.
Sailing in the southern seas for the first time, Dorade competed in Australia in the second half of 2017. She sailed seven races off the south and east coasts, including the formidable Rolex Sydney Hobart Race in which she finished second in her division.
This classic series starts and ends with inshore regattas, sandwiching the Newport Bermuda Race. Dorade entered the Navigator’s Division and on the strength of solid scores in the first two events finished as low-point boat for the series when she won the finale in Bermuda.
Return to Blue Water 2013-2015
Following Dorade‘s restoration, the goal was to repeat all of the major ocean races the yacht had won in the 1930s, matching or bettering her original performance in the Transatlantic, Newport-Bermuda, Fastnet and TransPacific ocean races. The results were extraordinary.
First day of competition in many long months; here’s Dorade tuning up for #nyycregattas #leukemiacupregatta, video by Chuck Allen
Now in her 10th decade, Dorade is ready for a new sailing season, beginning Saturday #leukemiacup
The @officialrolexsydneyhobart fleet is headed for Hobart’s unforgettable Organ Pipes. We haven’t forgotten 2017! 📷Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi #tbt #offshoresailing #classicyachts @sparkman_and_stephens
Remembering 2017 and our racing campaign Down Under with appreciation. 📷Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi @officialrolexsydneyhobart #offshoresailing #sparkmanandstephens #woodenboats #classicyachts
Recognition came in October to Pam and Matt in the form of the National Maritime Historical Society 2019 Distinguished Award for restoring and campaigning Dorade. Photos from the NMHS annual awards event at New York YC. #classicboat #boatrestoration #sailing
Newport’s #classicyachtregatta knows how to do trophies! Last weekend Dorade owners Matt and Pam received the Sappho Schooner Trophy for Best combined corrected time in the two Vintage division races. #classicyachts #newportri #sailing @classicyachtoa