Local News

Nat and Jim Taylor, winners of the Cressy Trophy at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week, set at the weather mark. PAUL TODD/OUTSIDEIMAGES The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week, it’s been said, is a regatta of mental endurance. With four days of races and no discards, every race and every point counts. There can be no quit until the final leg is sailed, especially in the waters off Marblehead Harbor, where the local sailors know that the wind and weather conditions are never the same from one day to the next. And no lead is ever safe. “It can be a marathon, and when you finish four days you do feel like you’ve done a lot,” said Jim Taylor of Marblehead. With his son Nat on the helm of their Rhodes 19 Jabberwock, ...

The six Democrats vying for their party’s nomination in the 8th Essex District primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 6 disagreed little at a recent public forum hosted by the Marblehead League of Women Voters. The event, staged before a modest crowd of voters in the Marblehead High School library and recorded by MHTV, was moderated by former Marblehead Reporter editor Chris Stevens. With no Republican on the September ballot, the primary election’s Democratic victor is almost certain (barring a successful blitz write-in campaign) to be the successor to former state rep. Lori Ehrlich and will represent a district composed of Marblehead, Swampscott and a sliver of Lynn. Ehrlich, of Marblehead, held the post for 14 years until she joined the Biden Administration as the Federal Emergenc...

Swim lessons at the JCC's KinderCamp It’s a steamy morning at the JCC outdoor pool, and dozens of campers are swimming, dancing to "Uptown Funk," playing games and painting. They occasionally run through a giant sprinkler to keep cool. Five-year-old Micah Kraft is relaxing on his towel after his swim lesson. “My favorite part of camp is the pool,” he says. “I like to swim with an orange noodle.” “I’m learning the backstroke,” said Patrick Coughlin, who is 9. “I like to player soccer, too, and make friendship bracelets.” The JCC camps, for toddlers through teens, are packed this summer. “We have higher enrollment than we did pre-COVID,” said Heather Greenberg, who has been running KinderCamp since 2010. “We are full throttle. It’s like Disney on the North Shore.” “Fam...

It’s late July in Marblehead, and the deep-harbor mooring field is packed from shore to shore with boats and teams preparing for the biggest regatta of the summer: the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week. The IOD fleet in Marblehead produces close racing year after year, and with nine boats set to race at the upcoming Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta at Marblehead Race Week, the bullseye is squarely on the sail of 2021 overall winner — Bill Widnall’s Javelin.Paul Todd/Outside Images This annual Race Week, established in 1889, has a long-held tradition of stiff competition among local sailors, and many of these rivalries will continue this weekend when nearly 150 teams take to the waters east of Marblehead Neck. “This regatta is the centerpiece of o...