Winners take home the silverware at the 17 Clagett Regatta
NEWPORT, R.I. (June 23, 2019) – Newport dialed up a chamber of commerce day for the final day of racing at the 17th C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta. The day started out with the predicted North West breeze which was steady at around 10 knots until it dropped out causing the race committee to abandon the very last race.
Sailors from across North America, afar a field as St. Paul, Alberta, Canada, to Fresno, California, USA, have enjoyed two days of coaching clinic and three days of racing during the week.
Going in to the last day of racing, class leaders knew that it was theirs to lose, so it was a case of watching where the competition was and defending their position for the last three races of the series for each of the 2.4mR, Martin 16 and Sonar classes.
Carwile LeRoy (Fresno, Cali.), representing the BAADS (Bay Area Assoc. of Disabled Sailing) program from San Francisco, has dominated the five boat Martin 16 class, leading from start to finish over the three days of racing. For the nine races that were conducted LeRoy won six, after a eight year hiatus from racing on the Martin 16’s. “This is a really great regatta, incredibly well run. I would definitely love to come back to race again in the future,” commented LeRoy.
Sonar sailors enjoyed some healthy competition between the four teams racing, with a 10 race series determining the winning team of Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Dawn Hart (Tampa, Fla.) and Charles McClure (Brookline, Mass.). Doerr, who last raced with Hart at the 2018 Clagett, will line up against her as a fellow skipper at the Sonar National Championships in Chicago. “This is an outstanding group of sailors and sportspeople. We play hard on the water and at the end of the day we share notes and are friends. Every year we come back with new skills and on the water we are just sailors.” He continued when talking about his crew,” My crew are accelarating upwards, this time last year Dawn was a novice and now she can run the boat as boat captain. Charles has a new role on the boat and today he nailed it.”
For the eight Canadian sailors and three US sailors racing in the 2.4mR class this week, it was very close racing for the 10 race series. Eventual class winner, Peter Eager (Toronto, Ont. CAN), has been to five Clagett Regattas in the 2.4mR class and remarked after racing wrapped up, “This is an incredible regatta, today was outstanding racing. We had a bit of everything with the weather here in Newport. I started sailing as a nine year old in a Sabot and have sailed in Sharks, Martin 16s and started sailing the 2.4mR in 2014. This is my first win at The Clagett and I think it’s a case of perseverance pays off.” Eager was also awarded the overall Clagett Trophy and commented after receiving the award, “I can’t thank everyone enough, it is such a pleasure to be here. This regatta is the highlight of my year.”
“We are so thrilled that we have had another successful Clagett Regatta, the 17th, with sailors from across the US and Canada joining us in here in Newport. We have the support of an amazing group of volunteers, sponsors, supporters, coaches and race officials who come back year after year to put this clinic and regatta on for the sailors. I want to thank everyone who gives so much time and energy. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in 2020 and will be announcing the dates for the 18th Clagett Regatta very soon,” remarked Clagett President and Co-Founder Judy Clagett McLennan (Portsmouth, R.I).
Overall top three in each class
2.4mR 1 Peter Eager
2 Ted Green
3 Siobhan MacDonald
Martin 16 1 Carwile LeRoy
2 Pauline Dowell and Cindy Walker
3 Allen Fiske
Sonar 1 Rick Doerr, Dawn Hart, Charles McClure
2 Gary Pierce, Patrick LoDuca, Jeff Long
3 Spencer Raggio, Sarah Everhart Skeels, Dan Kennedy
Clagett trophies awarded to:
C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Trophy – Peter Eager
Susan B Johnson - Sportsmanship Award – Pauline Dowell and Cindy Walker
Larry Gadsby - Most Improved Award - Martin 16 – Allan Fiske
2.4mR – Siobhan MacDonald
Sonar – Duane Smith/Donoray Bickham/Guy Siegel
Nick Scandone - Spirit Award – Peter Wood
Robie Pierce and Gene Hinkle - Seamanship Award – Pauline Dowell and Cindy Walker
Traveled the furthrest to attend – Delani Hulme-Lawrence
Pos, Sail #, Skipper, Yacht Club, Results, Total Points 1. USA21, E Carwile LeRoy, BAADS, 3-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-[4]- ; 11 2. 135 USA Pauline Dowell, Cindy Walker Community Boating Inc. Boston, 4-2-[6/DNS]-2-1-2-2-2-2- ; 17 3. 51 Allen Fiske, Shake-A-Leg Miami, 1-3-2/TLE-3-3-3-3-[6/RET]-1- ; 19 4. 24 William Leatherbee, Sail to Prevail, 2-5-[6/RET]-4-4-4-5-6/RET-3- ; 33 5. 48 JR Hardenburgh, Evan Gould Y-Knot Sailing center, 5-4-[6/RET]-5-6/DNF-6/DNF-4-6/RET-5- ; 41
For more information about The Clagett visit: www.clagettregatta.org or follow the Clagett on Instagram @clagett_regatta or on Facebook @ClagettRegatta.
About the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta: Founded in 2003, the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta honors the late Tom Clagett (1916-2001), a U.S. Navy World War II veteran who learned to sail on Chesapeake Bay. As a youngster he suffered temporary paralysis as the result of a bout of meningitis; an experience that left him with a deep respect for the accomplishments of people with disabilities. The Clagett’s stated mission is "to develop a program that will enable sailors with adaptive needs to reach their personal levels of achievement.". Tom Clagett's motto was "Reach for Success", which resonates with every Clagett participant. Clagett competitors have seen medal success at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. Competitors often comment that, The Clagett, has improved their quality of life as they apply what is achieved on the water to everyday situations.
C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta 2019 sponsors and supporters: The Clagett organization would like to thank the following - Fiduciary Trust International at the Platinum level; Newman's Own Foundation at the Gold level; American International Group, Inc. (AIG) at the Silver level; The Horance A. Kimball & S. Ella Kimball Foundation and Alice and Bruce Whelihan at the Bronze level.