Even as Sailing Season Winds Down, the Memories Keep Going: Personalized Sailboat Ornaments

The air is getting crisper. The boats are coming out of the water, the shrink wrap is going on, and the yacht club docks are quieter every weekend. Sailing season may be coming to an end, but anyone who has spent a summer on the water knows the season never really leaves you.

That's the idea behind my collection of personalized sailboat ornaments. Each one is laser cut from wood in my workshop in Guilford, CT, and engraved right on the sail with your yacht club name and the year. Hang it on the tree this winter and the whole summer comes back.

I grew up sailing on Long Island Sound, and I've been on it ever since. I started in an Optimist, raced FJs and 420s in college, and now sail Sonars on the Sound. I've even gotten to sail a Sonar in Marblehead at the Sonar Worlds, which is a week I'll never forget. These days I'm watching my own kids learn the same things, starting back in Optimists and now moving up to Fevas.

So this collection is personal for me. Here's the full fleet, and the kind of sailor each boat belongs to. If you want to see them all in one place, browse the whole Sailboat Ornaments collection.

Where Every Sailor Starts

Personalized Optimist Sailboat Ornament

For a huge number of sailors, the story begins in an Optimist. The little pram dinghy is where kids learn to read the wind, tack for the first time, and discover that capsizing is mostly just part of the fun. If you have a young sailor who just finished their first summer of junior sailing, or their first regatta, this is the one. It also makes a great end-of-season gift from instructors and program directors. It's the boat I started in, and it's the one my kids started in too, so this one has a special spot on my own tree.

Personalized Sunfish Sailboat Ornament

The Sunfish is the sailboat of beach clubs, lake houses, and summer families everywhere. It's simple, it's iconic, and it's the boat that gets handed down from the kids to the parents to the grandparents. This ornament is for the recreational sailor who loves a lazy afternoon on the water as much as a friendly race to the mooring.

Learning to Race

Personalized RS Feva Sailboat Ornament

Fast, fun, and built for two, the RS Feva is a favorite for young crews who are moving up from their first boat and getting serious about racing together. It's a great gift for a skipper and crew who spent the summer figuring out how to work as a team. My kids are in Fevas now, and watching them sort out who steers and who trims is half the fun.

Personalized 420 Sailboat Ornament

The 420 is a staple of youth racing programs, and it's where a lot of junior sailors really find their competitive side. Two sailors, a trapeze, and a lot of hiking out. I raced 420s in college, and I can still remember how it felt to get a boat up on a plane in a good breeze. If you have a junior racer or a coach who deserves a thank you at the end of the season, this one fits.

Personalized Club FJ Sailboat Ornament

The Club FJ is a cornerstone of high school and college sailing in the US. For the interscholastic and collegiate crowd, this ornament is a keepsake of long weekends at regattas, early morning boat rigging, and the teammates who made it fun. I raced FJs in college, so I know how much those weekends stick with you. It's a natural for team gifts and senior send-offs.

Sailing at the Highest Level

Personalized Laser / ILCA Sailboat Ornament

The Laser, now officially the ILCA, is the gold standard of single-handed racing. It's an Olympic class, and it's also the boat that a lot of sailors keep racing for decades. If you know someone who is happiest alone on the water with one sail and a lot to prove, this is their ornament.

Personalized Sonar Sailboat Ornament

The Sonar is a keelboat loved by adult racing fleets at yacht clubs across the country, and it's also recognized as a Paralympic class. For the crew that races together every Wednesday night and celebrates together afterward, this one makes a great end-of-season gift for the whole boat. It's the boat I sail today on Long Island Sound, and a week, too many years ago to say, at the Sonar Worlds in Marblehead is a memory I'd happily keep on a wooden ornament.

Made to Be Personal

Every ornament is about 3.5 inches across, comes with a twine loop for hanging, and is engraved with your yacht club name and year. They're lightweight, easy to wrap, and easy to mail. They're $11.99 each, which makes it simple to give one to every sailor on the boat.

A few ways people use them:

• Junior sailing awards: a keepsake for every sailor at the end-of-season party.
• Coach and instructor thank-yous: a small way to say thanks after a long summer.
• Yacht club holiday parties: a favor for every guest.
• Family gifts: one per boat that's been in the family, hung together on the tree.

Planning something for a whole program, team, or club? Message me about bulk orders and I'll work out custom pricing.

Keep a Little Summer on the Tree

The boats may be on stands for the winter, but the sailing season doesn't have to be over. Find your boat in the collection at wetnosewoodworks.com, add your club and year, and I'll take it from there.