Weather and wind cooperated as the 7th Annual Clagett took place in Newport, RI, August 23-27, 2009. Spectacular conditions and the #1 yachting capital of the world as a backdrop helps making this event a “must attend” for years to come. Team Paradise participated with boats in the Skud 18 and Sonar Class and a team sailing in the Blind Nationals, which was incorporated in to the event.
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker sailed in our #004 Skud 18 together with Shan McAdoo. Maureen, who has used both of our Skuds for her program in Pierce Park for the summer, will now switch to the Sonar class and become a regular crew member with Ricky Doerr as she tries to win another gold at the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Ricky Doerr and his team of Hugh Freund and Josh Saltmarsh actually sailed in Sonar #674, while The Team Paradise boat was left in Connecticut for their use later in the Fall. Ricky and his team are shipping #674 to the Sail For Gold Regatta in England, which takes place next month.
The Blind Nationals were sailed in J-22, provided by Sail Newport. Our team consisted of J.P. Creignou and Jan Bartleson, sailing with their significant others, Diane Fowler and David Bannister. Team Paradise is pleased to have been able to support them with airline tickets and the entry fee for the event.
The regatta had some serious drama during the second day which also had the most breeze. J.P. was hit on his face by the boom during a gybe in first race of the day. It was a brutal blow; one which if it was baseball surely would have produced a homerun. But this wasn’t baseball, it was blind sailing and it really spotlights how things can go very wrong very quickly if your vision is compromised. The amazing thing is that not only did they finish the race; they completed all the races scheduled and finished second in the final race of the day. Once ashore, J.P. was rushed to the emergency room where he received proper care and much needed stitching.
We arrived on the race course just in time for the Skud 18 weather mark rounding. "Timing is everything", I told my assistant Andrew Ross. Maureen and Shan's Skud had to duck a starboard tacker on the port lay line, but no, no, no, let’s save the t-bone for dinner. Our boat came to a complete stop as we could hear a crunching sound on the race course. Unaware of the gaping hole in the bow. the sailors attempted to continue the race. Good thing that we were there to stop them. We escorted them back to port. Luckily, the hole was just above the waterline and the water was pretty flat, it had only leaked a couple of buckets worth by the time we reached the floating dock.
Gene Hinkle followed us in and he was able to make a very speedy repair. Maureen and Shan were on they way back out in less than 30 minutes after the incident but the drama was not over. Now they lost the mainsheet inside the boom. The waves were much bigger towards the staring area and this was no easy fix. We found a safe haven behind Goat Island and were able to remove the boom and re-lead the sheet.
Would this be it? No, during the heat of the battle I had inadvertently looped the sheet wrong and was forced back on their boat to fix it. This had to it, the excitement is over, but no. Their jib sheet shackle had unscrewed itself and the jib was flapping in the breeze. With a lot of effort we managed to hold the jib steady enough to fit the shackle back over the clew-board, which was tighter than tight.
Fueled by adrenaline and vengeance, Maureen and Shan bounced back to win the next three races. How awesome was that? Most teams would probably have had enough after the first punch, but we embraced adversity and got the job done. How cool is that?
Blind sailing was the most exciting to watch, for sure. It is sort of like college football with a lot of wild stuff happening. The big challenge is to have the crew not over compensate on maneuvers and sail trim. Three teams were tied after the first day of racing, but the Sengil Inkiala , Nancy Jodoin, Ken Legler and Naomi Shwom proved too strong, winning four of the final five races to claim the championship.
Team Doerr made it look easy, winning every race in the series. Instead, the excitement in the Sonar class came from second and third place finishers, Dennis Moran, Jonathan Evans and Michael Coxan in #671 and Charlie Croteau, Jim Donahue and Pauly Atkins in #493. Two points separated these teams after 10 races. Must have been fun.
Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett continued their supremacy in the Skud 18 class. They ended the regatta with a 1-1 on the final day for the over all win in front of runner ups Maureen and Shan in the Team Paradise boat and Sarah Everhart Skeels and Bob Jones in Nick’s Karma.
The 2.4 class was won by Julio Reguero (PUR) in front of Charles Rosenfeld and Timothy Ripley. Tamara Vermette, who suffered a stroke about six years ago improved as the regatta progressed. She finished the regatta with a 3-3. Tamara was in Miami in July of this year and trained with Team Paradise .
The awards ceremony was very nice. The coolest thing was that Mary-Kate Scandone had flown in from LA to hand out the “Nick Scandone Spirit Award” which was won by Sarah Everhart Skeels. It was an emotional affair, and everyone was moved by the remembrance of Nick.
Thank you all for allowing us to be a part of this great event. We are all looking forward to next year, because we will be back.