On Saturday, July 9, American sailor Halsey Herreshoff will share his knowledge of the seas and insight on America’s Cup races in the keynote address to Mitchell College alumni, faculty, staff and friends at Reunion Weekend 2011.

This is the first year that the college’s alumni weekend will occur during Sailfest, a waterfront and street festival that New London, Conn., hosts each year.

Herreshoff’s presentation, “Technology, Yachts & People,” will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. in the college’s Weller Center and is open to the public. A wine-and-cheese reception will follow. The college is offering admission by donation; visitors are asked to give what they can. The proceeds will support the college’s students and programs.

In addition to learning from Herreshoff’s sailing experience, guests will explore how the 160-year-old race has helped catapult technology within the sport and will have the rare opportunity to view early films of the America’s Cup that Thomas Edison made in the late 19th century.

A naval architect and a veteran of four America’s Cup matches and many open ocean races, Herreshoff adds to his family’s history in sailing. He edited “The Sailor's Handbook” and is on the board of the Herreshoff Marine Museum and the America's Cup Hall of Fame in Bristol, R.I.