2011 ROBIE PIERCE ONE-DESIGN REGATTA
SARAH EVERHART-SKEELS AND CHRISTY PADIN WIN FIRST EVER ROBIE PIERCE WOMEN'S INVITATIONAL!
JONATHAN EVANS AND MAUREEN MCKINNON-TUCKER WIN 3RD ANNUAL ROBIE PIERCE ONE-DESIGN REGATTA!
FULL RESULTS ON THE PARTICIPANT INFORMATION PAGE
ROBIE PIERCE REGATTA HOSTS A WORLD’S FIRST
(RYE, NY MAY 23, 2011)
THROUGH THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF HOST CLUB AMERICAN YC (RYE,NY) PARTNERING WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS FROM LARCHMONT YC, THE WORLD’S FIRST ALL WOMEN’S DISABLED SAILING EVENT WAS HELD ON THE WATERS OF LONG ISLAND SOUND ON MAY 19TH. SAILING AS AN ADJUNCT TO THE THIRD ANNUAL ROBIE PIERCE ONE-DESIGN REGATTA, SEVEN TEAMS FROM THE US AND CANADA COMPETED.
“IT HAS BEEN A LONGTIME DREAM OF WOMEN TO HAVE OUR OWN EVENT TO HELP GET MORE WOMEN INTO ADAPTIVE SAILING,” SAID CANADIAN SAILING TEAM MEMBER BRENDA HOPKIN. “A GROUP OF US ASKED THE ORGANIZERS LAST YEAR IF THEY COULD PUT ONE ON IN 2013, AND THEY DID IT IN ONE YEAR. WE ALL HAD A BALL.”
SPONSOR BEIRN NOT ONLY UNDERWROTE THE COST OF THE ONE DAY REGATTA, THEY SENT THE WOMEN SHOPPING IN THE CLUBHOUSE AFTER RACING, LETTING EACH CONTESTANT PICK FROM AN ASSORTMENT OF BEAUTIFUL BEIRN HANDBAGS.
WITH FIVE WINS IN FIVE RACES, SARAH-EVERHARDT SKEELS AND CREW CHRISTY PADIN WON THE EVENT, CAPTURING THE NEWLY REDEDICATED LARCHMONT YC—AMERICAN YC CHALLENGE TROPHY. SAILING WITH THE WINNING TEAM WAS ABLE BODIED CREWMATE TERESA LOUGHLIN OF LARCHMONT YC.
THE THIRD ANNUAL ROBIE PIERCE ONE-DESIGN REGATTA FOLLOWED THE WOMEN’S EVENT, MAY 20-22 AT AMERICAN. 14 TEAMS FROM THE US AND CANADA COMPETED, EACH WITH AN ABLE BODIED CREW (AB) FOR BALLAST.
ELEVEN RACES WERE RUN OVER TWO DAYS AND THE WINNING TEAM WAS TEAM WAS JONATHAN EVANS, WITH CREW 2008 PARALYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST MAUREEN MCKINNON-TUCKER. THE AB DUTIES WERE SPLIT BETWEEN JONATHAN’S BROTHER GANSEN AND NEPHEW JAKE.
“ALTHOUGH A LIFELONG SAILOR, I HAVEN’T SAILED IN OVER TEN YEARS. I’VE JUST RECENTLY GOTTEN BACK INTO IT, SO WINNING THIS REGATTA WAS AN ADDED BENEFIT.”
SECOND PLACE WENT TO THE TEAM OF TIM FLYNN AND SARAH EVERHART-SKEELS. ONE POINT BACK IN THIRD WERE CARL OLSSON AND SUSAN KING. FOURTH WENT TO THE TEAM OF NICHOLE RYDER AND KERRY GRUSON. ROUNDING OUT THE TOP FIVE WAS THE TEAM OF GERARD TIERNAN AND DENNIS MORAN.
“FROM ITS INCEPTION THE MISSION OF THE ROBIE PIERCE REGATTA HAS BEEN TO GET MORE PEOPLE INTO ADAPTIVE SAILING, “SAID EVENT CHAIRPERSON SIOBHAN REILLY. “BETWEEN THE TWO EVENTS WE HAD 7 PEOPLE SAILING IN THEIR FIRST DISABLED REGATTA, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.”
