Beacon - Annapolis Yacht Club

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AYC Juniors on the International 420 Fast Track Jay Kehoe, Waterfront Director Remember the days of showing up at a regatta, no coach, an old boat, no support and trying to keep your lunch dry? I do! And I remember cutting my neighbor’s grass for the entire summer to get my hands on his circa 1975 Laser (I think it was hull number 11949). Like many of my sailing friends, my parents never sailed. But growing up on the Jersey shore gave me plenty of opportunities to go sailing on boats big and small. In fact, many folks I grew up sailing against are legendary names in sailing today. None of us had any formal training. We learned sailing by osmosis, as apprentices of our elders. Sail makers were the only “pros.” There were a few junior programs, but they were largely disconnected, only attending local events, and many of us showed up and raced—no coach or support. It was a great time for growing up and learning from each other. Fast forward 15 years; in the early 90s, I was head coach at St. Petersburg Yacht Club in Florida. We were a powerhouse of junior sailing. We had three coaches, whalers, and a fully club-supported junior program. We regularly earned medals at the U.S. Youth Championships, and sent kids to the Youth or Opti Worlds Photo courtesy of Fletcher Sims every year during my tenure. We were bringing up great younger kids, too. It was a bad year when we only sent a handful of sailors to the Opti Worlds or Europeans. I was one of a handful of full-time, year-round junior sailing directors. My colleagues were running programs at San Diego Yacht Club, St. Francis Yacht Club, Coral Reef Yacht Club (Miami), and Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans). By the early 90s, it had become the norm for our summer sailing instructors to take US SAILING’s instructor certification to learn how to better teach sailing. The overall level of instruction and regional organization of junior sailing was rising. This phenomenon came late to sailing; it had already happened to soccer and baseball, with the proliferation of travel teams. By the mid-90s, we saw a few sailors from Annapolis and New Jersey at the big, southern-dominated Opti Regattas. By 1998, Opti Sailing took off, with teams from Annapolis, New England, New York, and even Chicago! Within a few years, those kids who had travelled so extensively as Opti sailors expected the same of their Laser and 420 years, developing a real youth circuit that supported regional championships and US SAIL- ING’s new circuit of Junior Olympic regattas. Fast forward another 15 years and I’ve landed at the Annapolis Yacht Club, with amazing infrastructure and potential to become a powerhouse beyond the Bay. Gone are the days of sailing around two crab buoys with a friend. We now have sailors going out with a structured program of drills and lessons. All practices have a plan—from having fun and messing around in boats (with a purpose) to tacking and gibing on the whistle. This summer, during practice, the average junior sailor may go through 500 starts and 1000 tacks and gibes. At AYC, we do this with technical boats and top-notch coaches facilitated by maneuverable support craft. AYC’s junior program has use of a state-of-the-art classroom capable of whiteboard lectures, online and on-demand computer simulations, and video editing for in-depth 18 AYC BEACON VOLUME 1, NO. 2
debriefs. AYC is keeping up with those year-round warm-weather programs and setting the standard for junior sailing support nationwide. Coaching, the foundation of the programs, comes in all forms, from older junior sailors to college sailors on summer break. It’s the norm today for juniors to be exposed to Olympic coaches and sailors. Lessons and practices are organized and follow a curriculum and lesson plans. This structure is overseen by a sailing professional. Most larger programs have at least one full-time, year round person. At Annapolis, we have one full-time coach and a Waterfront Director, who steer the program in the right direction for the more than 300 sailors participating in our program each year. With all major programs aiming at the national level, the only place left to go is overseas. Ten years ago, there were only three, but now there are numerous opportunities to travel internationally as an Opti sailor. The Club 420 and Laser/Radial provide a great foundation, but many top programs in the U.S. are embracing the International 420 and Laser for their sailors. Generally, sailors are flocking to the boats that are teaching and challenging them day in and day out. The “fun factor” is a high priority and must be there for the program to succeed. Like the CBYRA schedule, the national youth regatta circuit has become an institution with the same events coinciding with the same weekends and holidays, Opti Mid-winters in the fall, the Orange Bowl in Miami over Christmas break with Optis, Lasers and 420s, Martin Luther King Day in Florida or California for Youth World Qualifier, President’s Day weekend in February on both coasts of Florida (Opti’s in St. Pete, 420s and Lasers in Stuart). These days, it is not uncommon to see a bunch of juniors in Miami for the Olympic classes’ regatta. In 30 years, junior sailing has come a long way! junior sailing essay What Sailing Means to Me Harrison Hawk Junior sailor Harrison Hawk is a 13 year-old eighth grader at the Key School in Annapolis. In 2008, Harrison had a breakthrough sailing year when he qualified for the U.S. National Optimist Team at the USODA Team Trials hosted by AYC. From there, Harrison went on to represent the U.S. in his first international regatta in Wales in August 2008, finishing in the top 20. Sailing again at the USODA Midwinter Championships in New Orleans, Harrison earned a spot on the U.S. Team competing in the 24th International Easter Regatta in Braassemermeer, Netherlands. Harrison has competed successfully throughout the summer of 2009 on the Chesapeake and, as a result, earned the opportunity to represent CBYRA and AYC at the Middle Atlantic Midget Championships held on Long Island Sound out of Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Conn. Harrison won the single handed division (Optimist) class and brought home the perpetual trophy to AYC. Harrison is the son of Wynee Hawk (AYC member) of Eastport and Andrew Wigglesworth of Philadelphia. I play many different sports, but sailing is my favorite. It isn’t one of those sports where you just throw a ball around (of which I play several); sailing actually has meaning and gives me a feeling that I don’t have in other sports. When I thought about “What Sailing Means to Me,” I realized it is an escape. I don’t need to worry about homework or my social life, just where the wind is, and keeping my boat flat. If ever I am angry or upset, being on the water in my boat helps me to forget my troubles and just have a good time. Harrison racing in no wind. Photo courtesy of Wynee Hawk On the other hand, there is the social aspect of this great sport. When sailing, I have strengthened bonds with old friends and made new ones. I have been privileged to be a part of the United States National Optimist Team. Through this opportunity, I have met and made so many new friends. That’s not even including the friends I’ve made overseas on two international sailing trips. Another aspect is how what you learn from sailing sticks with you and grows with you your whole life. My first regatta was the 2005 Halloween Howl at AYC. There were 11 boats in green fleet. Since then, I’ve sailed in a fleet of 462 boats, with 100 boats on the line at the start, as it was at the 2007 New England Championships. There are many lessons to be learned from sailing. It is helping me to become self-sufficient and independent. What is so great, to me at least, is that how you sail is all in your own hands. You don’t need to rely on any person (in single-handed boats)—you just pray that it blows. If you mess up, you can’t blame it on anyone but yourself. You just need to learn from your mistakes and move on. My sailing career has just started and I know that as I grow older, I’ll keep sailing and I’ll keep learning. VOLUME 1, NO. 2 AYC BEACON 19
Page 1 and 2: THE ANNAPOLIS YACHT CLUB BEACON VOL
Page 3 and 4: contents RACING CRUISING juniors 11
Page 5 and 6: Celebrating Annapolis Yacht Club Te
Page 7 and 8: Photos from AYC Archives The Annapo
Page 9 and 10: the reinvigorated Wednesday Night R
Page 11 and 12: Wednesday Night Madness Bobby Frey,
Page 13 and 14: Photo courtesy of Dan Phelps / Spin
Page 15 and 16: Rendition courtesy of National Sail
Page 17: Chesapeake Destinations Solomons Is
Page 21 and 22: Gary Jobson Interviews AYC’s Past
Page 23 and 24: Smith: I guess it was late 60s, ear

Beacon - Annapolis Yacht Club

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