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National Sailing Hall of Fame Coming<br />
to <strong>Annapolis</strong><br />
Gary Jobson<br />
The list of celebrated sailor stories is long. Here<br />
are a few examples of heroics on the water<br />
worthy of honor.<br />
In 1972, Buddy Melges started the Soling Olympic<br />
Trials with a broken mast. He went on to win in<br />
very heavy winds. And then, there was a surprise at the<br />
Olympics in Kiel, Germany when the expected heavy air<br />
disappeared. Melges shifted gears and went on to earn<br />
a gold medal.<br />
How about the disappointing loss in race seven of<br />
the 1983 America’s Cup? Skipper Dennis Conner rewrote<br />
history 40 months later by reclaiming the Cup. It<br />
was one of the biggest moments in sailing over the past<br />
50 years.<br />
More recently, Anna Tunnicliffe was in ninth place<br />
in the medal race at the Beijing Games on the third of<br />
four legs out of 10 boats. Somehow, she found some private<br />
wind on that leg to pass six boats and win a gold<br />
medal.<br />
These are just a few of many great stories by American<br />
sailors. Now, for the first time, a National Sailing<br />
Hall of Fame (NSHOF) is planning to honor these sailors<br />
and many more.<br />
There have been many lists of great sailing feats<br />
recounted in year books, on plaques, on trophies, on<br />
websites, and in magazines. But sailing has never had<br />
its own Hall of Fame. About 10 years ago, I came up<br />
with the idea to find a place to honor America’s sailing<br />
heroes. There are many lists including Olympic medalists,<br />
US Sailing’s Rolex <strong>Yacht</strong>sman/<strong>Yacht</strong>swomen of the<br />
Year, Sailing World’s own Hall of Fame list, and dozens<br />
of other lists of champions. The goal was to find a home<br />
that trumpets sailing achievements and inspires future<br />
generations to both excel on the water and serve the<br />
sport of sailing.<br />
There are many cities that would be a worthy home of<br />
such a site. After six years of working on the concept, the<br />
NSHOF Board received good news from former Maryland<br />
Governor Robert Ehrlich who offered to provide a<br />
waterfront location on historic <strong>Annapolis</strong>’s City Dock.<br />
The property is located next to the U.S. Naval Academy,<br />
and adjacent to the site of the annual U.S. Sailboat Show.<br />
Over the past 40 years, the property has been used by the<br />
Department of Natural Resources. The police are relocating<br />
from the City Dock site and are moving to a new<br />
location near the Bay Bridge on the Chesapeake Bay.<br />
14 AYC BEACON VOLUME 1, NO. 2
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