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Buttons Padin in round tortoiseshell glasses and a white shirt, seated on a porch with trees behind

News · Author

Buttons Padin

UK Sailmakers Northeast

Edward “Buttons” Padin is a lifelong sailor and a member of the Larchmont Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club in New York. He has over 40 years of marketing communications experience, with a focus on the sailing community.

21 articles

Seven women of a winning crew pose with their trophy and a UK Sailmakers bag in a yacht club trophy room

RESULTS

Racing and Winning for a Cause

Most regatta competitors race for a trophy or for bragging rights. A few events aim higher. One of them is the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club’s annual Ms. Race, held August 15 on Sandy Hook…

August 28, 2026

Eagles Wings' crew hikes out under a dark mainsail at the Mackinac start

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Eagles Wings Soars at Race to Mackinac

The Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac is the oldest freshwater distance race in the world, first raced in 1898. Starting off the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse just off Navy Pier, it heads…

July 24, 2026

Condor and Sirocco crews pose with their 2026 Queen's Cup PHRF Div 7 burgee

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Condor and Sirocco win Lake Michigan’s Queen’s Cup

The sailors of the US’s Midwest didn’t let the Newport Bermuda Race’s post-race news and scoring controversy suck the air out of their sailing. Starting on Friday, June 26, the South Shore…

July 3, 2026

Crew aboard Blue Skies trims sail on open water under a clear sky

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Bill Gunther’s Blue Skies Tops ORC Fleet in 2026 Wetherill Race

UK Sailmakers Northeast customer William Gunther raced his 50’ Alden Skye ketch Blue Skies to first place in ORC Division 1 and took ORC Overall in this year’s running of Essex (CT) Yacht…

June 24, 2026

Classic yacht Winsome sailing under tan sails with a dark blue hull

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Harry Heijst and Classic Winsome Take the Win at the Guingand Bowl Race

The Guingand Bowl Race , a Royal Ocean Racing Club offshore classic, started off Cowes on May 30 and sent the fleet around marks across the Solent and into the English Channel. It's a…

June 24, 2026

Two Flying Scots reach downwind under spinnaker toward an orange mark

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David Ames and Ryan Minth Crowned Flying Scot National Champions

After winning the 2026 Flying Scot Midwinters in dramatic fashion last March, David Ames (Miami, FL) continues to dominate the Flying Scot class by winning this year’s National Championship…

June 19, 2026

Crew trims Kenai's red gennaker at dusk beside her UK Sailmakers boom cover

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Follow the 2026 Newport to Bermuda Race

The 636-mile biennial Newport Bermuda Race starts today, June 19, at 1300 ET. 150 boats will be taking off from Newport, RI, with their next stop Bermuda. Established in 1906, this is the…

June 19, 2026

Christopher Dragon's crew hikes out beside its green dragon hull graphic

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UK Sailmakers Customers Win 79th Annual Block Island Race

Christopher Dragon XII, Blitzen, and Thin Man Take Overall Honors STAMFORD, CONN . — The Storm Trysail Club’s 79th Annual Block Island Race delivered a classic offshore challenge this…

May 28, 2026

USA 74434 heeled hard past a rocky coastline with spray flying

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History of the Beaufort Scale

YYou hear it referred to all the time. Author John Rousmaniere even used it in the title of his book on the 1979 Fastnet Race, Fastnet, Force 10 . It’s the Beaufort Scale —technically the…

May 1, 2026

Flying Scot #4538 leading the fleet around the top mark

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Ames & Buhler Take 2026 Flying Scot Midwinter Title

David Ames and PJ Buhler lead the way at the 2026 Flying Scot Midwinters. Photo © Jennifer Joy Walker Photography. Sarasota (FL) Sailing Squadron hosted the Flying Scot class’s 2026…

March 20, 2026

Young sailor in a life jacket beside an Optimist dinghy on the dock at sunset

COMPANY

Small Boats, Smaller Sails — and a Big Boost in Confidence

Learning to sail is a rewarding challenge that takes time, especially when you’re young and lightweight. Many beginners start their sailing career in the Optimist dinghy, which has a stable…

October 24, 2025

Black-and-white photo of the Oyster 575 Lisanne heeled under an X-Drive® mainsail and genoa

TECHNIQUE

Tips for Photographing Sailboats

Everyone loves a great photo of a sailboat—especially if it’s theirs. At the same time, we’ve all seen our share of shots that end up as nothing more than tiny white triangles on the…

August 22, 2025

Tripp 40 RAMPAGE (HKG 1822) racing under tri-radial sails off the Hong Kong skyline

COMPANY

Hail and Farewell

On a ship in the Navy, Hail and Farewell parties blend the arrival of a new member of the wardroom with a send-off for a departing shipmate. In the Racing Rules of Sailng 2025-2028, an…

April 25, 2025

Colin Fitzpatrick and Andrew Weiss hold their Bitter Ender trophy on a yacht club porch.

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BITTER ENDER, SWEET VICTORY FOR WEISS AND FITZPATRICK

Two of three podium positions for this double hander were powered by UK Sailmakers. The Bitter Ender Race, co-hosted by Larchmont Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail on Saturday, October 19,…

October 31, 2024

Black-sailed sloop USA 2277 sailing calm water near a tree-lined shore

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IT’S NOT OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER

I used to tell my mother about the great starts I would have racing various sailboats. She would respond, “That’s nice, but were you at the finish?” Not hurtful as much as thought…

September 18, 2024

Racing yacht sail number 2277 heeled under dark sails with a boat in the distance

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LOCHER, WEISS AND AVEN WIN THE 69th EDLU RACE

Three long-time customers of UK Sailmakers Northeast took home the overall trophies at the 2024 edition of Larchmont Yacht Club’s annual Edlu Race. Kurt and Anne Locher’s J/42 ATALANTA was…

May 20, 2024

J/35 OSPREY reaching with crew on the rail in red life jackets

RESULTS

THREE KEYPORT YACHT CLUB CHAMPIONS

It’s a combination of who you know and what you know. From grand-prix racing all the way down to Opti sailors, you need to know your way around a race course to win a season championship.…

March 27, 2024

Group photo of UK Sailmakers loft managers and staff at the 2023 meeting dinner

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A FLY ON THE WALL AT THE 2023 UK MANAGERS MEETING

UK Sailmakers Loft Managers and their families enjoy a wrap-up dinner at Larchmont Yacht Club in New York with special guest, Butch Ulmer. In 2010, I started working with UK Sailmakers on a…

November 17, 2023

CHRISTOPHER DRAGON sailing upwind under black UK Sailmakers Titanium sails, crew hiking out

RESULTS

LOCHER AND WEISS WIN MAJOR OCEAN RACING AWARDS

Christopher Dragon sailing upwind with a suit of black UK Sailmakers Titanium sails. The Long Island Sound’s traditional end-of-the-year distance race is Stamford Yacht Club’s Vineyard Race…

September 22, 2023

Boat heels hard under black sails during Leg 1 of the 2023 Bermuda 1-2

PODCAST

LESSONS LEARNED: LEG 1 OF THE 2023 BERMUDA 1-2

Buttons Padin interviewed singlehanded racer Nathalie Criou (@nathaliecriouracing) after her second-place finish in Class 1 on leg 1 of the 2023 Bermuda 1-2. Having sailed the 635 miles…

June 13, 2023

King 40 Checkmate runs downwind under a blue asymmetric spinnaker

COMPANY

KING 40 CHECKMATE MOVES TO SYDNEY

That’s a wrap! They say the second happiest day for boat owners is when they buy a boat. The happiest, conversely, is when they sell it. While this saying points to the work, time, and…

May 9, 2023