2010 Clagett Memorial Regatta Sets Sail

The eighth annual C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Regatta, a premier event for sailors with disabilities, got off to a good start Wednesday, after a summer Nor'easter slightly rearranged the competition schedule this week at Sail Newport.

Monday's clinic took place as planned, however, a north-northeasterly breeze that was gusting to 29 knots kept three of the four competing fleets (2.4 Metre, SKUD-18, Sonar and J/22) from putting the chalk-talk lessons into practice. Only the SKUD-18s headed on the water to sail with their coach, Betsy Alison (US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Paralympic Coach), while the remaining fleets continued working on shore with coaches Craig Guthrie, Amanda Callahan and Meg Gaillard. 

On Wednesday, the race committee kept competitors ashore in the morning while they waited for the tide to ebb and the northerly breeze to diminish and allow for a calmer sea state. By early afternoon, conditions had improved enough to send the sailors out to the race course between Rose and Goat Islands, south of the Newport Pell Bridge.

In the five-boat Sonar fleet, 2008 SKUD-18 Paralympic Gold Medalist Maureen McKinnon Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) and Gerry Tiernan (Falmouth, Maine) crewed for John Porter (East Troy, Wisc.) to win all five races and the lead position in that fleet on five points. Standing second overall with 10 points is the team of Paul Callahan (Newport, R.I./Cape Coral, Fla.), Brad Johnson (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Tom Brown (Castine, Maine) who placed second in all five races. All three have represented the U.S.A. in Paralympic Sailing, with Brown bringing home a bronze medal from the 2000 Games in the 2.4 Metre class.

Eric Roberts (Reno, Nevada), Jim Thweatt (Sacramento, Calif.) and Dennis Moran (Framingham, Mass.) are third overall with 17 points and hold a slim two-point lead over Ted King (Brentwood, N.H.) sailing with Dan Rugg (Centreville, Md.) and Dirk Johnson (Middletown, R.I.). Charlie Croteau (Framingham, Mass.) and Jody Hill (Seabrook, Texas) with Kitty Mears (Brighton, Mass.) hold fifth place with 24 points. After winning the opening race in the SKUD-18, Sarah Everhart-Skeels and husband Brian Skeels (both Tiverton, R.I.), find themselves just one point off the lead after Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (West Chester, Penn.) won the second and final races of the day. Whitman and Dorsett are the top-ranked SKUD-18 team in the U.S.A. and in July won the silver medal at the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship in The Netherlands. Mark Lewis (Hingham, Mass.) and Barbara Wilson are third overall.

After winning the opening race in the SKUD-18, Sarah Everhart-Skeels and husband Brian Skeels (both Tiverton, R.I.), find themselves just one point off the lead after Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (West Chester, Penn.) won the second and final races of the day. Whitman and Dorsett are the top-ranked SKUD-18 team in the U.S.A. and in July won the silver medal at the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship in The Netherlands. Mark Lewis (Hingham, Mass.) and Barbara Wilson are third overall.

With the largest turnout of any class in the regatta's history, the 12-strong 2.4 Metre fleet sailed three races with Britt Hall (Darien, Conn.) taking the standings lead on four points after winning the first and last races of the day. Peter Wood (Ottawa, Canada) is second with eight points, followed by Scott Lutes (Montreal, Canada) with 14 points. After not finishing the first race when his jib shackle came undone, Charles Rosenfield (Woodstock, Conn.) made some adjustments to his boat and rebounded with good starts to add finishes of 1-2 to stand fourth overall with 16 points. Christine Lavallee (Gatineau, Canada) rounds out the top-five with 18 points.

"A lot of people thought it would be windy, windy, windy," said coach Craig Guthrie (Halifax, Nova Scotia) explaining that the 2.4 Metre sailors were sitting around "building nerves" during the postponement period. "Finally we got out there and it was fine. Conditions were great once we got on the water. It was 15-18 knots the first race, but not even for the full race, and then it became a bit shifty and tactical. Although not a sunny day, it was beautiful Newport sailing."

There are seven teams racing J/22s in the quest to win the 2010 Blind Sailing National Championship title, with each four-person team comprised of two sighted guides who assist the two sailors with visual impairments. After four races, 2006 IFDS Blind Sailing World Champions JP Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Jan Bartleson with 2000 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Magnus Liljedahl and David Bannister (all Miami, Fla.) are leading the standings with five points. Three points back and hoping for a third consecutive title are Sengil Inkiala (Waltham), Nancy Jodoin (Newton) and Ken Legler (Reading) with Harry Berman (Hull). While another experienced all-Massachusetts team – Matt Chao (Newton) and Ryck Lent (Waltham) with Lisa O'Connor Dalton (Hull) and Bill Rapp (Rockport) – stands third overall with 13 points.

Event organizers have expanded the scope this year by incorporating able-bodied sailors to compete in two of the four classes raced in the event: the single person 2.4 Metre and the Sonar, whose three-person crew must include at least one sailor with disabilities.

This addition to the event was put into motion to get more sailors and boats competing, and improve the level of competition in these fleets. The clinic and regatta is open to both U.S. and foreign competitors.

The clinic, a signature event for the Clagett Regatta, featured former world class sailors sharing their expertise with competitors on everything from the racing rules to match racing techniques.

Since the inception of the Clagett Regatta, the event has grown from offering racing in just the Sonar (2003-2004), to include the 2.4 Metre (2005), and the two-person SKUD-18 (2006), which are all classes selected for the 2012 Paralympic Games.

In 2008, event organizers added a blind sailor division, which races in Sail Newport's fleet of J/22s. These teams of four consist of two visually-impaired sailors, racing with two sighted guides. The 2010 Blind Sailing National Championship will also be decided this week.

The core mission of the event is to provide sailors with disabilities an arena in which to improve and test their competitive skills.

Current U.S. Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members competing in this year's event are Paul Callahan (Sonar), Charlie Rosenfield (2.4 Metre), Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett (SKUD-18), and Sarah Everhart Skeels (SKUD-18).

The event honors the late Tom Clagett (1916-2001), who, as a youngster, suffered temporary paralysis as the result of a bout of meningitis.

In August 2002, a small group of people gathered to discuss how to take sailors with disabilities to an elite level of sailing in order to increase the talent pool of U.S. sailors vying for paralympic competition. This discussion led to the formation of the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Regatta, first held in August 2003, with the help and support of Tom Clagett's daughter and granddaughter, Judy and Stephanie McLennan.

The event is sanctioned by U.S. Sailing, which is based in Portsmouth, and the organizing authority is Sail Newport. It will conclude today, Thursday, Aug. 26.

"This is one way of exposing more sailors to The Clagett," said event founder Judy McLennan. "Our mission is to help people reach their individual goals and this new initiative is in direct response to requests from competitors who want to race in more competitive fleets."

For more information, please visit the event Web site.