2015
February 22, 2016
From St. Francis Yacht Club: The 52ft Dorade is one of the most beautiful and storied yachts of the St. Francis Yacht Club fleet. Last week her owners Pam Rorke Levy and Matt Brooks put together an art exhibit in her honor, displaying trophies and historic memorabilia from her century-long past. Members and guests enjoyed […]
February 19, 2016
It may not be sailing season for Dorade yet, but the team is still hard at work getting the 52-foot yawl in tip-top condition for what is sure to be a competitive year. Jens Lange, who specializes in the restoration and maintenance of classic wooden yachts, weighs in on the updates Dorade is currently undergoing: […]
February 11, 2016
Are you in the Bay Area next week? On Wednesday (February 17) from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at the St. Francis Yacht Club, Dorade co-owners Matt Brooks and Pam Rorke Levy will be doing a presentation, which will highlight their incredible campaign to restore the iconic 1930 yawl to racing form. The event will include […]
February 11, 2016
This winter cold has us wishing it was summer again. Here are some pre-start Transatlantic Race photos from last June in Newport, R.I.
February 1, 2016
The 46th edition of the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race marked the bicentenary anniversary of the Royal Yacht Squadron, as well as 90 years since the Royal Ocean Racing Club was founded, following the Fastnet’s first edition, in 1925. Dorade was one of the 365 yachts that competed in the prestigious race from Cowes to the […]
December 8, 2015
After a very long, eventful, successful and strenuous season across the Atlantic, Dorade arrived home in Portsmouth, Rhode Island early on Monday. However, there was no time for sentimentality yesterday morning - shortly after sunrise we started unloading Dorade’s gear, sails, spare parts, food supplies, running rigging, PFDs and so much more. We knew what […]
November 24, 2015
We are thankful for a lot this holiday season, especially the legendary Olin Stephens who designed Dorade back in 1929. Read more about this yachting powerhouse in today’s issue of Investor’s Business Daily. For the full article, click here
November 17, 2015
Dorade's fan club has no age limits! Thank you to 7-year-old Alison for her lovely drawing, addressed to Skipper Matt Brooks.
November 5, 2015
Where did the last five months go? It feels like just yesterday that we were in Newport with a hundred things to do before the Transatlantic Race. Working with Nick Bellico, Joe Loughborough and Terry Halpin in the yard was great fun, and we got the old girl in tip-top shape. A few days of […]
November 3, 2015
S&S Fastnet Trophy: This trophy is awarded to the best performing S&S yacht in the Fastnet Race. On August 20, 2015 at 6:33 p.m. BST, Matt Brooks and his team aboard the 52-foot classic yacht Dorade finished the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race in Plymouth, winning the S&S Fastnet Trophy with an elapsed time of four days, […]
October 21, 2015
"As forecast, a strong low with accompanying severe weather has developed over the race track today. Winds of 35-45 knots and extremely rough seas are expected today, and are forecast to last thru Friday. While gut-wrenching, the decision to withdraw from the Race and seek safe shelter has proven to be the correct one, as […]
October 20, 2015
October 20, 2015 It is with great regret that Dorade must report retirement from the Rolex Middle Sea Race. The yacht is in good order, and all crew are well. We are faced with multiple forecasts from all sources describing a building gale over the race area, starting in the next 24 hours and potentially […]
October 19, 2015
We began the day in the Strait of Messina, having battled hard to catch the group of boats in front of us. The night was dark and the wind was not playing ball (we had every direction imaginable except for the forecasted one and had given up trying to guess what was coming next). We […]
October 18, 2015
It’s been very slow today, not only for us but also for the majority of the fleet. The wind has shifted nearly 200 degrees in the past 12 hours, going from two knots to a max of 11. However, the 11-knot breeze was short lived. We are now approaching the start of the Strait of […]