A Morning with Dave Perry

There are sailing seminars you attend because you should, and there are sailing seminars you attend because you can't imagine missing them. Spending the morning of May 17th with Dave Perry at Raritan Yacht Club was firmly in the second category, and it more than lived up to every expectation a competitive sailor and sailing instructor could bring to the room.

For anyone who races sailboats in the United States, Dave Perry needs little introduction. But the introduction we got was a fitting one. Ann Myer, former Commodore of Raritan Yacht Club and a deeply accomplished sailor in her own right, walked the audience through Dave's record before handing him the floor. Ann is a sailing celebrity in this region by any honest measure, and watching her introduce Dave — whom she clearly considers a dear friend and a peer — set the tone for the entire morning. This wasn't a hired-gun expert flying in to deliver canned content. This was someone in his community, among friends, teaching what he loves.

Who Dave Perry Is to American Sailboat Racing

A five-time US Match Racing National Champion, two-time Congressional Cup winner, and 2020 inductee into the National Sailing Hall of Fame, Dave has worked with US Sailing since 1977 — running well over a thousand clinics, chairing the US Sailing Appeals Committee, serving as Rules Advisor for the US Sailing Team at the 2024 Olympic Games, and rewriting Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing every four years for an entire generation of American racers.

The Presentation: Systematic, Practical, and Genuinely Fun

Two and a half hours on the racing rules could be a death march. In Dave's hands, it felt closer to a really good conversation with a friend who happens to know everything. He teaches through scenarios rather than theory, builds the fine print on top of a clean framework, and uses humor and audience participation to manage cognitive load across the long stretch. The 2025–2028 rule changes — the tightened Mark-Room definition, the Rule 17 proper-course adjustments, the Rule 18 mark-rounding updates, and the revised Part 5 protest and redress procedures — landed cleanly because of how he sequenced the build.

The Books — and a Signing

After the seminar, Dave was generous enough to sign copies of his three current US Sailing publications: Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2028, Dave Perry's 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes, and Winning in One-Designs. Together they're the closest thing to a complete self-study curriculum for any serious racer working through this rule cycle.

Raritan Yacht Club: The Right Venue, the Right Crowd

A word on the host. Raritan Yacht Club proved to be an excellent venue — the facilities were comfortable and well set up for a long-form seminar, and the members were warm and welcoming from the moment I walked in. There's a particular feel to a yacht club that takes hosting seriously, and RYC has it. If they put another event like this on the calendar, go.

Spending a morning learning from someone who has shaped how this sport is taught in America for nearly five decades is the kind of investment that compounds. Grateful to Dave, to Ann, and to Raritan Yacht Club for the opportunity. The rules just got a little clearer — and the racing should follow.

Reporting for LYC,

Carlos Henriquez