Local Shields Fleet 9 and the Ida Lewis Yacht Club hosted the 58th Shields National Championship just a few weeks ago on Sept. 7-10.
The 30-foot Shields design sloop may be 60-year-old technology, but it has become the hottest keelboat fleet on Narragansett Bay.
Wellington Yacht’s Managing Director, Ted Hood, and a few of his college sailing buddies have been racing together in the Newport Shields class for almost 20 years. They managed to finish second at this years Shield Nationals – just one point out of first. “It was a very competitive 34 boat fleet sprinkled with several pro sailors affording little margin for error. It was great to be sailing outside the bay in some larger waves”.
