Dear Clagett Regatta Friends
It is with the deepest regret that I share the news that Bill Donohue passed away on December 29, 2010. Bill had sailed with Rick Doerr at Clagett and was a crew member of the Sonar team that represented the U.S. at the Paralympics in China. All of us at Clagett send The Donohue Family our deepest sympathies.
December 30, 2010 was the 1st Anniversary of the funeral of Clagett's wonderful friend, Larry Gadsby. Please keep Larry's family in your thoughts and prayers.
January 2, 2011 is the 2nd Anniversary of the passing of Clagett's good friend and Paralympic Gold Medal sailor, Nick Scandone. Please keep Mary Kate in your thoughts and prayers.
Let us all hope that 2011 will be a wonderful and healthy year for all the Clagett sailors, and hard working committee members.
All the very best
Judy Clagett McLennan
Clagett Regatta Chairman
Winning Day On the Water At The Clagett Regatta
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jan Harley Media Pro Int’l,
401-849-0220
NEWPORT, R.I. (August 26, 2010) – In each of the four classes (2.4 Metre, SKUD-18, Sonar and J/22) competing at the eighth annual C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta for sailors with disabilities, an unbroken winning streak on the second and final day of racing determined the championship winners. The storm that pulled out of the area overnight left behind a perfect day for racing on Narragansett Bay, starting with a 5-7 knot westerly breeze that built to a top speed of 12-14. The only hiccup for the day came in the form of a 40-degree wind shift that caused a 2.4 Metre race to be abandoned just as it started and also necessitated a weather mark change for the SKUD-18 class.
In the five-boat Sonar fleet, John Porter (East Troy, Wisc.) with crew 2008 SKUD-18 Paralympic Gold Medalist Maureen McKinnon Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) and Gerry Tiernan (Falmouth, Maine) continued the winning streak they had started on day one to end the regatta with 10 bullets for the class win. Second overall was Paul Callahan (Newport, R.I./Cape Coral, Fla.), Brad Johnson (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Tom Brown (Castine, Maine) with 18 points after the day’s five races. Eric Roberts (Reno, Nevada), Jim Thweatt (Sacramento, Calif.) and Dennis Moran (Framingham, Mass.) retained third overall with 29 points, followed four points back by 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.) finished fifth with 43 points.
The silver medalists in the SKUD-18 at the 2010 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship, Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (West Chester, Penn.), clinched their third consecutive class win at The Clagett after winning all four races sailed today for a low score of six points. Sarah Everhart-Skeels and husband Brian Skeels (both Tiverton, R.I.), were second overall with 11 points, and Mark Lewis (Hingham, Mass.) and Barbara Wilson were third overall with 17 points.
In the 12-strong 2.4 Metre fleet, Charles Rosenfield (Woodstock, Conn.) won all four races to leapfrog three places in the standings and take the class championship. Dropping a DNF/13 points from the opening race of the series, Rosenfield finished 1-2-1-1-1-1 for a low score of seven points to displace yesterday’s leader, Britt Hall (Darien, Conn.) who finished the series in second overall with 12 points. Peter Wood (Ottawa, Canada) was third with 16 points. Also moving up the standings with finishes of 2-3-4-5 for the day was Timothy Ripley (Randolph, N.J.), who moved from eighth overall to end the series fourth in the standings on 25 points. Scott Lutes (Montreal, Canada) was fifth overall with 31 points.
Craig Guthrie (Halifax, Nova Scotia) attributed Rosenfield’s winning performance to the work he has been doing in the boat which has seen him steadily moving up the ranks of the class.
“This is my fourth season in the 2.4 Metre,” said Rosenfield. “I did have a very good day today. I have been sailing in larger fleets, but generally have not done as well as I’ve done here. I learn a lot from every one of these regattas. I think it’s great they opened The Clagett up for able bodied sailors. The great thing about the class is that it does integrate disabled and able bodied (AB) sailors on as level a playing field as you’re going to get. The disabled 2.4 sailors get better because they sail with AB sailors and it’s a really good thing to do here because it makes the fleet bigger and better.”
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.) wrapped up the 2010 Sail Newport Blind National Sailing Championship title after winning all five of their races today in the seven-strong J/22 fleet. Creignou did not expect it to be easy as the team headed out to the racecourse: “It’s going to be very different from yesterday. We had a lot of weight on the rail with Magnus and it was to our advantage. Today is going to be light air so it’s going to be more tricky.” While Creignou has competed in The Clagett several times in other classes, this was his third try for the blind title. “This is a tradition for me to come here to such a great event and its fun to be driving, because this is the only time I’m the ‘front man’.” 
Second through fifth place went to teams from The Carroll Center for the Blind (Newton, Mass.) who participate in the center’s SailBlind program which is run out of the Courageous Sailing Center in Boston. Sengil Inkiala (Waltham) and Nancy Jodoin (Newton) with Ken Legler (Reading) and Harry Berman (Hull) were second overall on 15 points, followed by Duane Farrar (Watertown) and Nina Kagan (Boston) with Kay Van Valkenburgh (Marblehead) and Bob Costello (Medfield) with 27 points. Matt Chao (Newton) and Ryck Lent (Waltham) with Lisa O’Connor Dalton (Hull) and Bill Rapp (Rockport) were fourth with 30 points, while Jason Wallenstein (N. Billerica) and Bruce Howell (Needham, Mass.) with Mike Dinning (Natick) and Mary McKinnon (Quincy) finished the series with 41 points for fifth place overall.
Click Here to become a "Facebook Friend" of The C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Regatta or visit the event Race Results where full results will be posted as they become available.
(Download PDF of Day 3 Press Release)-end-
Competition Underway At The Clagett Regatta
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jan Harley Media Pro Int’l,
401-849-0220
NEWPORT, R.I. (August 25, 2010) – As a summer nor’easter reluctantly released its grip, sailing got underway on Narragansett Bay for the eighth annual C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta. The race committee kept competitors ashore this morning while they waited for the tide to ebb and the northerly breeze to diminish and allow for a calmer sea state, and 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.
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.
“We headed out to the race course with the main reefed and no jib,” said Ken Legler about the breeze, which he explained came back up to 18. The defending champions won the opening race and then posted finishes of 3-2-2. “I called the wrong gybe three out of the four races, and JP got us each time.”
Racing concludes Thursday, August 26. For more information, Click Here to become a "Facebook Friend" of The C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Regatta or visit the event Race Results where full results will be posted as they become available.
(Download PDF of Day 2 Press Release)-end-
Persistent Storm Delays Day One Races at The Clagett Regatta
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jan Harley Media Pro Int’l,
401-849-0220
NEWPORT, R.I. (August 24, 2010) – The arrival, on Monday (August 23), of a summer nor’easter has slightly rearranged the competition schedule at the eighth annual C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta being held from Sail Newport, Rhode Island’s public sailing center. The clinic that is the hallmark of this event took place Monday morning 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, while the remaining fleets continued working on shore with coaches Craig Guthrie, Amanda Callahan and Meg Gaillard. In the evening the Ferreira family returned for their second consecutive year to cook and serve a traditional clam boil which clearly had made a big impression the first time out as it was standing room only under the tent.
The NNE breeze continue unabated overnight as the persistent storm stalled over most of New England, and when the competitors returned to the venue in the morning for the first day of racing, they were greeted by an a-typical August day – drizzle and a high temperature forecasted to be 15 degrees below average. While under postponement the event organizers made plans to capitalize on the situation so that once the decision was made to cancel racing for the day Plan B went into effect starting with Betsy Alison demonstrating Rule 18, commonly known as “buoy room,” on the lawn outside the tent.
The demonstration was to show “not just where the tip of their boat would be entering the three-lane zone,” said Alison, “but also where it is from the helmsman’s perspective, so that they see in a 2.4 Metre it’s not just three lengths of the boat, but the additional 10’ back from where the helmsman is sitting. They get the perspective of what the distance looks like onshore and then they can apply it to that imaginary circle on the water. We also looked at how far the distance is for the J/22, SKUD-18 or Sonar and then from the perspective of the helmsman. When you look at the length of a Sonar (23’), multiply that by three and add in where the helmsman sits when the bow of the boat enters the zone, you’re close to 85’ or more away from the mark. All of them are calling the zone way too late; this exercise opens peoples eyes up that the zone is farther away than what we naturally perceive. For the blind sailors, the helmsman being able to walk that distance off and have some idea of how many seconds it takes for them to reach the mark was really helpful.”
Alison’s demonstration was followed by a mock protest staged by jury members Bob Conner, Noel Field, Chris Luppens and Mary Savage in which there was active participation from the audience, before the sailors resumed working with their respective coaches.
O Canada: Among the participants at the 2010 Clagett Regatta is a group of 2.4 Metre sailors who are affiliated with Nepean Sailing Club in Ottawa, Canada. The four sailors are being coached by Peter Wood who has a long association with the sport through the Canadian Yachting Association, first in the training division and later as Interim Executive Director ( 2008-2009). Wood is also competing in the 2.4 Metre class which is an open class for the first time for this edition of The Clagett. “You don’t coach skiing from a snow mobile,” said Wood, who went on to explain that all four sailors had previous experience with Martin 16s, and have moved to the 2.4 Metre because they want to improve their sailing skills and are looking for a higher level of competition. The goal of the group is the Canada Summer Games, the multi-sport games modeled after the Olympics where sailors with disabilities will make their debut in the 2.4 Metre when the games are next held in 2013.
“You have people like Ken Read doing the tactical stuff, and we have working with us Craig Guthrie who coached Paul Tingley to win the gold medal in this class at the 2008 Paralympic Games in China.” Wood explained that based on a recommendation from a Canadian sailor, the five traveled to The Clagett because it is one of the few 2.4 Metre events in the summer that offer this level of competition and “the coaching component at The Clagett is incredible.”
Racing is scheduled to get underway Wednesday, August 25, and conclude Thursday, August 26. For more information, Click Here to become a "Facebook Friend" of The C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Regatta or visit the event Race Results where full results will be posted as they become available.
(Download PDF of Day 1 Press Release)-end-
The Clagett Expands Again!
Able-Bodied Sailors Welcomed in 2.4 and Sonar Classes
NEWPORT, R.I. (June 7, 2010) – Responding to requests from competitors, the organizers of the C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta are once again expanding the scope of this well-known event for sailors with disabilities. For the eighth running, August 23-26, 2010, The Clagett will welcome 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 move should result in not only more boats on the starting line, but also a more challenging level of competition in these fleets.
This is not the first time the event’s organizers have made a move to be more inclusive. Since its inception, The Clagett, which is hosted by Sail Newport, Rhode Island’s Public Sailing Center, 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) – all classes selected for the Paralympic Games. In 2008, the inclusion of blind sailors racing Sail Newport’s fleet of J/22s added another dimension as those teams of four consist of two visually impaired sailors who race with two sighted guides.
“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.”
By keeping to its core mission of providing sailors with disabilities an arena in which to improve and test their competitive skills, The Clagett has become a premier event in North America and was instrumental in the medal success of competitors at the 2008 Paralympic Games in China. Find out the real benefits by watching: the video
The 2010 Clagett Regatta will kick off on August 23 with its traditional one-day clinic which will again find world champion sailors sharing their expertise on everything from the racing rules to match racing techniques. On the water, racing will take place August 24-26, with the blind sailors racing for the 2010 Blind Sailing National Championship title. The clinic and regatta is open to both U.S. and foreign competitors.
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 the Chesapeake Bay. As a youngster he suffered temporary paralysis as the result of a bout of meningitis; it was an experience that left him with a deep respect for the accomplishments of people with disabilities, especially athletes.
The NOR is now available online, as is information on past events and logistics.
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The Newport Daily News 2010 Community Service Award
Winner Believes in Giving Back!
By James J. Gillis
Newport Daily News Staff
When Juliette "Judy" McLennan attended boarding school as a teenager, a teacher told her she never would amount to anything. McLennan, who struggled with reading as a result of undiagnosed dyslexia, relayed the story to her parents and told them: "Just watch."
Since then, McLennan, 64, has raised 2 children, served as a United Nations ambassador, is an avid skier and sailor, established an annual regatta for sailors with disabilities and is one of three winners of the Newport Daily News 2010 Community Service Award.
In May, Judy McLennan was a recipient of the 2010 Newport Daily News Community Service Award, along with Nikki Vazquez and the late Donald Booth. The three were chosen from among 16 nominations submitted by local organizations to the Newport Daily News. A committee of local residents and previous winners reviewed the nominations and determined the winners, who were honored during a banquet in late April. During the festivities Judy was quoted as saying;
"I grew up taught that you get involved in your community."
Juliette "Judy" McLennan
McLennan, who lives in Portsmouth, grew up in Washington, D.C., but spent her childhood summers in Newport from the age of 6 months. "It was a big part of my life," she said. "I still have friends from my days as a girl on the beach."
McLennan, who served as managing director of Blair House, the official guest house of the President, became involved in politics in the 1970's, working on President Gerald Fords failed re-election bid. After Ronald Reagan defeated President Jimmy Carter in 1980, she returned to political life, staying on with George H. W. Bush as an administrator on the status of women. That post turned into an ambassadorship to the United Nations Commission on the status of women. "It gave me an opportunity to travel and meet some wonderful people" she said.
A self-described "John Chafee Republican" McLennan retired from the political life after Bill Clinton knocked off the first President Bush in the 1992 election.
In 2002, McLennan moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore, near where she grew up. But she realized she would be happier on Aquidneck Island, a big part of her childhood, where her family sailed and her mother helped establish a junior sailing program at the Ida Lewis Yacht Club.
She spends three seasons a year on the island and her winters north of Montreal, where she skis. Locally, she volunteers with the Redwood Library, the Potter League for Animals (she owns 2 yellow labs) and the Seaman's Church Institute.
"Before I even moved up here, I had a friend getting me involved in the Redwood" she said. "I grew up taught that you get involved in your community. You do what you can and you give back. My parents felt strongly about that."
Annette Bourbonniere of Newport is one of several people who nominated McLennan for the award. Bourbonniere, a 2003 winner of the Community Service Award, praised McLennan for starting the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Regatta in 2003. The event, named in honor of mcLennan's late father, will be held this year from Aug. 22 - 26.
The regatta provides sailors with disabilities an opportunity to compete at a very high level. "In organizing the event," Bourbonniere wrote "she sought out the best available coaches and the best race management available."
The event has grown to include three Paralympic classes of boats and the Sail Newport Blind National Sailing Championship.
"It's a little difficult to find an area in this community that has not benefited from her efforts," Bourbonniere wrote. "She is instrumental in bringing others together to support her causes, making her efforts go further."
Jack Grant, superintendent of Seamen's Church Institute, said McLennan has been a big part of the mission's fund raising efforts. "Her commitment to making a positive difference in the world, whether it is at the Seamen's or through the many other activities she is involved with, is truly inspirational and unpretentious," Grant wrote.
McLennan said it is important to help the people who work on the water front and waterways. "The Seamen's last year served 40,000 people in one fashion or another," she said.
"Judy quietly fights for the underdog," Christie M. Smith, executive director of the Potter League for Animals, wrote in support of McLennan's nomination, "whether that be athletes with disabilities, women or animals."
The daughter of a mining executive father and a mother who competed in sailing and was a regular volunteer, McLennan is divorced and has a son Travis, who lives in Mexico, and a daughter Stephanie who lives in Newport.
"There is nothing more important to me then my family and my friends," McLennan said. To be able to keep friends for many years is a rare experience these days."
McLennan said she plans to keep her full schedule of community projects. Volunteering made her feel comfortable as soon as she made Aquidneck Island her year-round home. "I Love Newport," she said. "This is a wonderful place to live."