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2020 ILCA (Laser) Atlantic Coast Championship Report & Results

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By guest writer Mariah Rule
Norfolk, VA – Ninety boats from the east coast and beyond competed at Norfolk Yacht and Country club for the ILCA Atlantic Coast Championship Regatta 19-20 September.  Once each participant cleaned the C-19 screening process, an INTENSE world class regatta was provided. The two day, six race regatta saw a consistent 19 knots with regular gusts to 30 knots.  When the thrills and spills settled, it was clear there was talent on the Lafayette River. In the 4.7 division, Spencer Dominguez of Key Biscayne Yacht Club took first.  Guthrie Braun of St. Petersburg Yacht Club won first overall in the Radial Division.  In the Full Division, Jack Baldwin, Chicago Yacht Club, took top honors.
Full results are available here.  https://theclubspot.com/regatta/St7RBmGp4k/results
Mother Nature’s challenges driven by the remnants of Hurricane Sally made for memorable moments of high tides, thrilling winds, and epic spills. It was a howler. This was a great group of competitors ranging from juniors to legends, each showing showing grit and determination.  The youngest racer was 13 and the oldest racer was Laser Legend (75+), David Hartman at 79.   Race PRO, Chip Till, remarked he thought everybody had a lot of fun going very, very fast.

Profiles in Amateur Sailing: Griffin Gigliotti

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By NEW Airwaves Writer Lucas Masiello
This summer, I was fortunate enough to coach the Stamford Yacht Club c420 team with renowned 29er sailor Griffin Gigliotti in Stamford, CT. A lifelong competitive sailor from Stamford, Griffin grew up racing Optimists in the Long Island Sound and beyond, placing second in both the 2017 and 2018 US Team Race Nationals and fourth at the Venice Team Race Cup in Italy. After Optimists, Griffin transitioned into the 29er fleet, where he won the 2020 29er Midwinters East in Miami, FL this February and is in pursuit of the United States slot in the World Sailing Youth Worlds 29er fleet. He started sailing 29ers as the only boat in Connecticut and built the Greenwich, CT fleet to become one of three competitive 29er fleets in the country. In addition to 29ers, Griffin also represents Greens Farms Academy in high school sailing and coaches junior sailing at the Stamford Yacht Club.

Coming into the 29er fleet after sailing Optimists for so long must have been a huge change, what was that transition like?

Changing boats wasn’t too hard, but the change in atmosphere was the hardest. The boat is a lot more responsive to movements and faster, which is easy to get used to over time and ultimately makes for better sailing. The atmosphere was hard because unlike Optis, the fleets were few and far apart so I had to create my own team. I had to spend a lot of time working on administrative aspects that could have been spent on the water so it makes you appreciate the behind the scenes a lot more. Also, the class culture is super healthy. In the 29er everybody just respects each other and makes an effort to get everyone on the water. If you break a part everyone is always helping out with their own spare parts to get people on the water.

You’ve said that you’re trying to qualify for the Youth Worlds, what does that process look like and how has it been impacted by the pandemic? 

I was doing the youth worlds campaign for last year and I was projected to get the nomination but due to the coronavirus, the qualifier events never happened and I’m trying for round two. Right now it’s just me versus the coronavirus, I don’t see too much standing in my way. Due to my crew going to boarding school, I had to start sailing with a new crew, Jack Welbourne from Welsley, MA as well, although the transition is going really well.

29ers often seem inaccessible to a lot of youth sailors looking for a boat to sail after Optis or Fevas due to how small and competitive the fleet is, how do you recommend people get into the class?

For myself, that was fairly difficult and was definitely one of the biggest challenges in 29ers. I had to found my own team so now there’s a team in Connecticut that I can sail against. A lot of times, people have to travel far to get to training and competition. There’s three fleets, Greenwich, CT, Miami, FL and California. You can found your own team if you get enough people together, which is what I did in Greenwich. Or, you can buy a boat, train on your own and sail at large events, which is a great way to learn when there isn’t a large competitive sailing scene where you live. Access to coaching is another tricky aspect but as time goes on and you make connections in the fleet, you’ll find that there’s an abundance of 29er coaches looking for work so coaching is often very affordable. A lot of times, major teams travel to areas where there’s smaller groups of sailors which is a great opportunity for those sailors to get on the water when the teams are with them so wherever the teams go they leave people eager to sail 29ers in their wake.

You’ve also had a successful high school sailing career placing at some high profile regional events, how do you balance sailing high school sailing and still staying competitive in the 29er?

In the northeast we only sail in the spring season because there are other fall sports going on so I’m only balancing one season of 29ers and high school sailing. The 29er sailing schedule is built around the spring high school season so there’s no 29er sailing in the spring. We train intensely in the fall and winter as well as over the summer in Europe.

While you’ve still got plenty of time in 29ers and high school sailing left, what sailing do you plan on doing after youth sailing?

I definitely see a potential in doing a 49er campaign. I’m also interested in the Nacra 17 and F18 catamaran fleets. I haven’t quite decided on what I want to do, right now I’m just focused on keeping my 29er team well and alive while getting good results for college sailing.

Town Class

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Town class sailboats are 16 1/2 ft long (5.0 m) lap strake one-design  dories, constructed in either wood or fiberglass.  The Town Class was designed as an affordable boat for the townspeople, hence its name.

The first Town Class sailboat was designed and built (in wood only) in 1932 by Marcus C. Lowell in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Marcus’ son, Percival  M. “Pert” Lowell, later took over the business and relocated to Newbury  Massachusetts. In 1936, the Town Class sailboat was adopted as a  one-design class boat, and quickly became a popular racing boat from  Maine to Florida.  In the late 1960s, fiberglass models became available.  Currently, more  than two thousand wood and fiberglass “Townies” have been built to date. The Pert Lowell Company, which is now operated by “Pert” Lowell’s  son-in-law, Ralph Johnson, continues to construct these boats today.

The National Town Class Association was formed in 1962, also marking the first year of the Town Class National Regatta (an annual two-day racing event) which took place in Nahant, Massachusetts. The Town Class  Nationals have also been held in Marblehead, Wakefield, Sharon, and  Newburyport, Massachusetts; as well as Touisett Point, Rhode Island and  Spofford Lake, New Hampshire

Airwaves Career Center Spotlight: Annapolis Rigging Company Seeks full-time Rigger!

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Annapolis Rigging, the premiere rigging shop in the nation’s sailing capital, seeks a full-time person to come aboard. For more information and to apply, please see the full job ad HERE

ABOUT ANNAPOLIS RIGGING
Annapolis Rigging specializes in Yacht Rigging services for cruising and racing sailboats. Right now many of our customers are sailing around the world. For 40 plus years, we have set up boats to do this and the boats have performed trouble free, all of them. Base in Annapolis heart of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and located in Jabins Yacht Yard the largest marina in the area.
75 years plus combined workforce experience in sailboat rigging. 90 years plus sailing experience.

How do we achieve this success?
Because we have been there, we have done the sailing and we know what boats will be put through.

Where do our customers come from?
Word of Mouth. Besides the boat show, Annapolis Rigging does not do any advertising. It has been this way since the start. Our competitors advertise several times a month. Some people might say that word of mouth advertising is the hardest, but we think it is the easiest. 

What can we do?
Annapolis Rigging is a complete mast and rigging shop. We can fabricate anything out of metal, wood or plastic. We build an average of 7 mast per year and repair or refurbish many more. The hardest systems to install, hydraulic and wind vane steering systems, Annapolis Rigging specializes in.
Our customers are our best advertisement. Chances are you have already talked to one of our customers. If not, please do not hesitate to contact us, so we can help you.

Please see our FULL TIME RIGGER job ad!

Introducing SAILRECRUIT, Your One-Stop Shopping for Youth Sailing & Recruiting!

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Sail1Design, after a long build process, is pleased to announce the launch of SAILRECRUIT, a targeted sailing resume submission system and educational tool for up-and-coming youth sailors who wish to share their experience, goals, and passion with professional and college sailing coaches. SAILRECRUIT, like our Airwaves Career Center, is the official youth sailor resume bank of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA), and we work hard to make sure all the best coaches around the world know about this platform. Inside our system is a wealth of articles, college sailing team profiles, and more, to help sailors learn as much as possible about competitive sailing and the realities of college sailing recruiting. Registration for players and coaches is FREE till the end of October, so don’t delay! Check it out HERE

  • YOUTH SAILORS Our primary goal is to provide a safe, secure place for youth sailors to create their own sailing webpage! This is a virtual resume, complete with experience, sailing results, personal details, academic profile, and more. Remember, all youth sailors must receive parental permission to sign up.
  • COACHES Coaches and institutions may purchase a subscription, and view resumes, using our custom-designed search engine to hone in on student athletes they seek. All coaches are required to sign up with a verifiable college / high school / yacht club / professional coaching email and contact information.

WHAT COACHES HAVE TO SAY

“SAILRECRUIT is a much needed and long overdue tool for both youth sailors and college sailing programs. I am excited that this resource is finally available, and plan to use SAILRECRUIT as my go-to source for learning about aspiring student-athletes. We are also instructing all of our official recruits for the class of 2025 who may not yet be on the site to sign up.”  –Rick Dominique, Director of Waterfront Varsity Programs, US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point

 “One of the best aspects of SailRecruit is all the articles about getting into college sailing are linked from one page. Anyone looking into colleges with college sailing can start here.”  –Ken Legler, Tufts University Sailing Coach

Brown University to Cut 11 Sports… But Elevates Sailing Team to Varsity…!

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News Flash: S1D Launches SAILRECRUIT, an online youth/performance sailing resume & education center for aspiring sailing student-athletes. Check it out!

Last week, Stanford U. shocked the athletic world when they announced they were cutting several sports teams, including sailing. Now, today, Brown University followed suit… and the sailing world, ironically, is ironically a beneficiary of this move, as sailing was a club sport at Brown. Now, against the current, sailing was actually elevated to Varsity status at the RI Ivy League School. Wow. Sailing at Brown, like so many Ivy league schools, is a popular and competitive sport. In fact, Brown Head Sailing Coach John Mollicone was just awarded with the S1D/Sailing Anarchy Coach of the Year, a prestigious award earned from his dedication and on-the-water success. “The women’s and coed sailing teams, which were previously club sports, were promoted to the varsity level, after considering Brown’s location in Providence, R.I., which has “one of the best sailing bays in the country.” (quote from insidehighered.com)

The plan completely reshapes Brown athletics, eliminating 11 varsity sports and promoting two others to varsity status. University officials said the move will increase its competitiveness in the Ivy League, but athletes whose programs were cut said they were completely blindsided by the decision. And some people in the collegiate sports community are questioning if the decision will diminish racial and socioeconomic diversity in the university’s athletic programs over all.

Brown had 38 varsity athletic programs, the third most in the nation, but earned the fewest number of championship titles in the Ivy League between 2008 and 2018, according to a press release announcing the decision. ​The high number of sports programs has “hindered our ability to fully achieve” one of the main goals of Brown athletics: to be successful in competition with Ivy League peers, President Christina Paxson said in an email to Brown students and staff members on May 28.

“While many of us have seen recent announcements about reductions in athletics programs at other universities in the wake of novel coronavirus, this initiative at Brown is not a measure to reduce budget or an effort to contend with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Paxson said. “Rather, it’s an opportunity to invest even further in advancing excellence in our full lineup of sports programs.”

After a university committee of Brown alumni reviewed the university’s athletic competitiveness and other factors, such as diversity and inclusion, roster sizes, and the quality of facilities, it concluded it was no longer viable for the university to support certain sports, the press release said. The cuts included men’s and women’s fencing, golf, and squash, women’s skiing, women’s equestrian and men’s track and field and cross-country, which is considered three separate programs for the purpose of counting equal athletic opportunities for men and women under Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded institutions. The women’s and coed sailing teams, which were previously club sports, were promoted to the varsity level, after considering Brown’s location in Providence, R.I., which has “one of the best sailing bays in the country,” Paxson said.

Brown will continue to recruit the same number of athletes, and the athletic department will see no budget reduction, the press release said. But cutting the number of varsity programs will allow operating expenses from the removed sports to be “allocated strategically” elsewhere in the athletic department, Brian Clark, assistant vice president for news and editorial development, said in an email. The primary purpose of the restructuring is to streamline athletics resources into the most promising programs.

“It’s a strategic opportunity to invest even further in advancing excellence in Brown’s full lineup of sports programs,” Clark said. “There will be no budget reduction or savings, and that’s intentional.”

A statement from the Ivy League, the intercollegiate athletic conference in which Brown’s teams compete, said the league “recognizes the various considerations that led to the difficult decisions” to restructure Brown’s athletic department.

“Brown continues to offer one of the most broad-based athletics programs in the country with 29 varsity teams and shares the league’s commitment to providing a world-class academic and athletic experience for student-athletes,” the statement said. (quoted from insidehighered.com)

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