SV First Light

07/14/2026

Sailboat racing was once a thriving weekend tradition for middle-class families across America — so what happened? This article takes an honest, unflinching look at why participation has cratered since the sport's 1970s and 80s heyday, from sky-high boat and marina costs to an aging fleet of sailors with no young people stepping up to replace them, plus a racing culture that can feel downright unwelcoming to newcomers. But it doesn't stop at the problem — it digs into what it might actually take to save the sport before it disappears entirely. Click the link in the comments to find out if sailboat racing can be rescued — and what you can do about it!

07/06/2026

An eight-mile paddle from Walnut Street Dock to Fort Mifflin on July 11 will highlight the Schuylkill River's Revolutionary War history.

🔗 Read more: https://www.phillyvoice.com/america250-philly-phlotilla-schuykill/

07/05/2026

Solutions" ... sounds pretty apolitical... Unless someone is saying that equality, livable climate, and clean water are opposed by some political party...

06/29/2026

Today's Day Sail brought to you by a really nice group of folks and a stereotypically incorrect forecast.

If you're considering going sailing with me , understand that I'm a very careful sailor. I dislike bad conditions more than my guests. But I've spent decades reading the weather.... Looking at what happens every day and how it relates to the forecast... Watching the sky as systems roll through.

Anyway, These late June early July days will give us lots of puffy and building and even threatening clouds, but I can almost promise these clouds give you the same visual magic you imagined, as much as any bright blue day would.

06/29/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaEewGLs_uy/?igsh=MTdzZW1hb3h4N3IyOQ==

06/20/2026

The Ben Franklin Bridge is lit green & red tonight in honor of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the US. It is a reminder of the necessity for continued commitment to equity, equality, & justice to build a better future.

06/15/2026

Flag Day through Juneteenth.
American flag on the stern. Juneteenth flag on the port spreader. Progress Pride flag on the starboard spreader. 8647 on the signal halyard. Let's talk about them.
Juneteenth ... June 19, 1865, when General Granger landed in Galveston and read the order that the enslaved in Texas were free. Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, two months after Lee surrendered at Appomattox, six months before the 13th Amendment made slavery illegal in the Constitution, and three years before the 14th made the formerly enslaved citizens.

The Progress Pride flag ... none of us are free until we are all free.

The signal flags spell 86 47, because I think the 47th president should be removed from office, and I'll fly that in code or say it in plain English to anyone who cares to hear.

The United States is an amazing place, and it belongs to all of us. We need better from everyone. Failing to recognize someone's humanity because of immutable characteristics should disqualify a person from holding office.

That's the promise of this country.

I'm Sailing First Light, and making a future that includes everyone.

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

The film they're shooting on the Battleship New Jersey landed a helicopter on the aft deck. Pretty impressive.