IOD Celebrity Invitational - Nantucket Community Sailing

IOD Celebrity Invitational
Sponsored by
Program
5:45 PM
Registration/Check-In
6:00 PM
Cocktails and Hors D’oeuvres
on the Lawn
6:30 PM
Welcome
Martin Wayne, Commodore GHYC
Liz Ann Sonders, Windhaven
Investment Management
6:45 PM
Introduction of Celebrity
Tacticians
Tom Whidden, Honorary Chairman
NRW International One Design
Celebrity Invitational Regatta
7:15 PM
Assignments of Tacticians
Chris Gould, Zenas Hutcheson,
Peter Goulding
7:30 PM
Nantucket Community Sailing
and Buffet Dinner
Diana Brown & Martin McKerrow
Nantucket Community Sailing
Honorary Chairperson
Tom Whidden
Tom Whidden joined North
Sails in 1986 and became
President/CEO of North
Marine Group when it was
established ten years
later. A graduate of Colby
College in Waterville,
Maine, Whidden has earned many accolades
throughout his sailing career including the "Carl Nelson"
Award (for Athletic Achievement After College) from
Colby College in 1989, and the University Club "Man of
the Year" award in 1987.
Tom’s leadership in the design and manufacturing of
superb, technologically advanced sails at North Sails is
significant. Since he became president, the art and
science of sail making has advanced so completely that
every Volvo Ocean Race competitor in the upcoming
around-the-world race is currently using North sails and
eleven out of 12 America's Cup teams in 2006-07 raced
with North sails.
Tom began sailing at age ten at the Cedar Point Yacht
Club in Westport, Connecticut, and went on to become
one of the most experienced America's Cup sailors in
the world. "When I was 16, my dream was to become a
sail maker and race in the America's Cup," Tom says of
his years as a junior sailor on Long Island Sound.
He has sailed with Dennis Conner in a total of eight
America's Cup campaigns, beginning in 1979 as
Conner's trial horse skipper. He has raced as tactician
in five America's Cup series races and has won the
America's Cup three times (1980, 1987 and
1988). Along with Conner, he was given a key to New
York City from Mayor Ed Koch in 1987 after bringing the
America's Cup back to the United States from
Australia. Tom was inducted into the America's Cup
Hall of Fame in 2004.
We are honored to have Tom Whidden return to
Nantucket Race Week as honorary chairman of the IOD
Celebrity Regatta.
Principal Race Officer
Eric Robbins
Eric started sailing Widgeons at age 9 at
New Bedford Yacht Club, graduating to
Rhodes-19s and Junior Commodore.
He sailed for UPenn in the 70s, then
moved on to Lasers for which he
organized and ran regattas for clubs in
Atlanta, San Diego, and Connecticut.
He served as RC Chairman for four
years and Rear Commodore at Cedar Point YC while
racing his J-30 before moving to Tampa in 2007. There,
he races a J-105 when not serving as PRO, Judge or
Umpire at regional events. This year he became a
certified US Sailing Umpire. Eric has served as PRO
for the US Youth Championships, the Venezuelan
National Championships, and US Nationals for several
classes.
This is Eric's fourth summer as the Professional Race
Officer at the Nantucket Yacht Club. He has been a US
Sailing National Race Officer and Judge since 2007.
Eric has been racing Lasers for 31 years.
Celebrity Tactician Bios
Josh Adams
Josh was a standout college sailor and
a three-time ICSA All-American at Tufts
University, where he graduated from in
1994. He led the team to two ICSA
Team Racing National Championships.
He is also a Team Racing World
Champion. As an elite competitor and
member of the US Sailing Team in
1995-96, he finished second at the 1996 Olympic Trials
in the 470. Adams was a sailor and coach for New York
Yacht Club’s America’s Cup Challenge, Young
America, in 2000. He was the publisher of SAIL
magazine from 2006-2012. In 2012 he was named
Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing.
Jim Allsopp
Jim has been active in the
sailing community for 40 years.
He recently left North Sails after
35 years serving in several
management positions. Jim was
the last of Lowell’s original “Tigers” to leave North. “In
the early days of North Sails, if you won the Star
Worlds, you qualified to be a North “Tiger,” said Jim.
After winning the Star Worlds in 1977, he travelled to
Sweden and won the Star European Championships
the following year.
Soon after, a spot became available on Lowell’s 12
meter Enterprise. From then on there has been lots of
Americas Cup sailing. With Mike Toppa’s help we soon
were involved building spinnakers for almost all of the
Americas Cup groups. It kept our little loft “North Sails
Chesapeake” very busy.
Jim serves as tactician on several Super Yachts in
Europe and actively campaigns a Farr 30 and a J/70
with his sons James and Cole.
Peter Bromby
Peter has represented his island home
of Bermuda in four Olympic Games
(1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004) sailing in
the Star Class. His highest finish was a
4th place in the 2000 Sydney Games.
He is a 3 time Miami Bacardi Cup
Champion, 3 time Miami Rolex Star
Class Champion and 3 time IOD World Champion
(1989, 90 and 91).
Peter has won multiple National Match Race
championships and has twice been a semi finalist in the
Bermuda Gold Cup. His other wins include Kieler Week
in Germany and the Spa Regatta in Netherlands – both
in the Star Class and numerous Bermuda National
Championships in Etchells and IODs. He continues to
race Etchells regularly at home.
Robbie Doyle
Robbie is the president of Doyle
Sailmakers, a company he started
in 1982 in Marblehead, MA. He is
also the co-creator of the e33, a
33’ performance daysailor being
produced at Lyman Morse in
Maine.
He has been winning sailboat races since he was 7
years old, starting out in the Turnabout class in
Marblehead before graduating to the Finn class. As a
teenager, Robbie was a two time Sears Cup winner, a
member of the 1968 Olympic Team and two time winner
of the O’Day North American Single Handed Trophy. At
Harvard he was an All American as well as winner of
the collegiate single handed title. Robbie has spent
much of his life racing one design classes, including the
IOD and the Etchells.
As an offshore racer, Robbie has participated in most of
the major races around the globe. While working with
Ted Hood in the 70’s, Robbie was a member of Ted
Turner’s crew who won the 1977 America’s Cup aboard
Courageous. In 2011, he did a memorable Newport to
England race aboard Maltese Falcon, for which he has
been making sails since 2005. Most recently, Robbie
was the winning statistician aboard Shockwave, a RP
72, which won her division in the Bermuda Race for an
unprecedented second time in a row.
Robbie is happy to return to Nantucket for this year’s
IOD Pro Am Regatta in support of Nantucket
sailing. He is here with his wife, Janet.
Neal Fowler
Neal lives in Dennis, MA with his wife
Kathleen and two sons. He grew up
sailing on Long Island Sound and was
a three time All American at Tufts and
won the Dinghy Nationals. Neal is a
lifelong frostbite sailing addict and has
the won Interclub Dinghy Nationals
and Midwinters, Long Island Sound &
Marblehead Frostbite Championships.
He was a member of US Sailing teams as crew in the
470, and helm in Flying Dutchman. He has extensive
one design experience as a member 1980 US Olympic
Team in 470 and has US, North American, & mid-winter
titles in 470. He has over 20 years of 505 sailing with 4
East Coast Champions, midwinter and Canadian
National titles.
Neal has participated in the Lightning Southern Circuit
and is a winner as both helm & crew. He has extensive
Etchells experience along the Atlantic Coast and Long
Island Sound—including winning the Verve Cup and
placing 3rd at Worlds, mostly as forward crew. In the
IOD he placed 2nd as tactician in the 2012 Nantucket
IOD Invitational and 3rd as crew for a Nantucket IOD
fleet boat in the 2012 IOD Worlds. He has been Sailing
Wianno Seniors in the Scudder Cup series for the last 7
years. He is a member of the Hyannis YC.
Dave Franzel
Dave majored in sailing at Rutgers
University. Alright, there was a math
degree involved too. He then taught
sailing and racing at several schools in
the Northeast and the
Caribbean. Following a series of seagoing adventures
which included an Atlantic crossing and a stint as a
fisherman in northern Norway, he founded the Boston
Sailing Center in 1977 and served as executive director
until 2007. BSC gradually grew to become one of the
largest organizations of its kind in the country. Dave
established a Soling racing program that grew to 40
teams, and a “Frostbite” racing program using J-24s
that entices 100 people out to sail on Boston Harbor
every Saturday throughout the Winter. Dave sees
great value in public sailing programs and is glad to be
participating in a benefit for Nantucket Community
Sailing.
Dave has raced many classes, but most of his adult
racing has been in Soling’s, best finish 3rd in the 2002
Worlds, and Sonars, 9 top two finishes in the North
Americans and 1st in the Worlds in 2009. He now sails
his J/70, “Spring”, out of Marblehead.
Since selling BSC in 2007 Dave has coached a number
of teams which he generally finds to involve more fun,
less stress and less overhead than owning a sailing
center.
Phil Garland
Phil Garland is a native of southern New
England and a partner in Hall Spars, one
of the world’s premier spar
manufactures. Phil was the winning
navigator in the 1989 and 97 Fastnet Races and a twotime Mumm 30 North American champion. He continues
to race boats from 17' to 80' in a variety of
competitions. Phil's focus on the racecourse is
legendary, as is his understanding of spars and rigging.
John MacCausland
John lives in Cherry Hill, NJ and has been
a lifelong member of the Cooper River
Yacht Club in Collingswood, NJ.
International Moths were the start of
John’s sailing career, winning the Junior
World Championship in 1976. He has
raced many other boats including
Penguins, Comets, GP-14, Lasers and Stars and has
won many National and International tittles in these
classes. John was a crew member on Stars & Stripes
winning the 1987 Americas Cup in Perth Western
Australia.
Star Boats are near and dear to John’s heart, spending
most of his life sailing and servicing Stars. John
John has won 6 Star North American Championship.
Chasing the quest in Star boats, John was able to go
the 1992 Olympics as a team member on the USA
Olympic Team. He coached the Bermuda Star team to
a 4th place finish in the 2000 Sumer Olympic Games.
Most recently John and his crew Phi Trinter won The
2013 Star World Championship in San Diego, CA. With
this accomplishment, John was nominated for the 2013
Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. Even though 2013 was a
busy year, John also found time to climb MT Kilimanjaro
in Africa.
John is now the owner of Moorhouse MacCausland
Sailing in Lumberton, NJ and services the Jersey shore
and the Star class around the world.
Mark Reynolds
Well-known as the "Star of the
Star class”, Mark is the four time
consecutive Olympic
representative in the class—and
two world championship titles
('00, '95) and three Olympic
medals (1992 Gold, 1988 Silver, 2000 Gold) amply back
up the statement. He is also the sail maker of the Star
Class and has made sails for 13 of the last 15 Olympic
champions.
Mark’s other accomplishments start with 2nd place
finishes in the 1974 and 1975 in the North American
Dinghy Championships. He was Bacardi Cup
Champion 7 times, tactician for the winner 2002 Farr 40
World’s ISAF World Sailor of the Year and Rolex US
Yachtsman of the year. In 2012 Mark was inducted into
the National Sailing Hall of Fame.
Dawn Riley
As CEO and captain of America
True, Riley was the first woman to
manage an America’s Cup sailing
team. She raced on four America’s
Cup and two Whitbread (now Volvo
Ocean Race) teams. She is the
former president of the Woman’s
Sports Foundation, serves on the board of US Sailing,
and is an adviser to several public service
organizations.
Since the inception in 2010, Riley has been in Oyster
Bay NY at Oakcliff Sailing. There, she is building
American leaders through sailing. A nonprofit open to
all, Oakcliff's signature Acorn and Sapling programs
cross train athletes in inshore, offshore and high
performance sailing. Graduates receive training in all
aspects of running a racing campaign from technical to
finance to marketing and strategy. Oakcliff is creating
leaders inside and outside of the marine industry with
graduates racing in the next Volvo, the last Red Bull
Youth America's Cup and at the top of the shorthanded
world. As the first US Sailing Sperry Top-Sider training
center Oakcliff is training the next Olympic champions.
The rest of the graduates... have jobs.
Jud Smith
Jud Smith is the head of Doyle One
Design, as well as being 2006 Rolex
Yachtsman of the Year. Jud was born
and raised in Marblehead, MA and
learned to sail with his father, David
Smith. He was the mainsail trimmer on
Stars and Stripes during Dennis Conner's 1995
America's Cup campaign. Jud has won numerous
championships in one-design and handicapped fleets
alike. He won the 2006 Rhodes 19 Nationals and sailed
the Etchells to six North American Championships. He
has also won seven World Championships - two IOD
Worlds, two Mumm 30 (now Farr 30) Worlds, one
Etchells, one Sonar and the one Swan Rolex Words in
a Swan 44. Jud has been a sail maker for over 30
years and is regarded as one of the finest One-Design
sail makers in the world.
Mike Toppa
Mike has diverse sailing experience
with winning the America’s Cup
twice over six attempts in the role of
sail program coordinator and sail
trimmer, raced the Whitbread Race
on Chessie. He has raced and has
won multiple 12 Meter and Swan World Championships.
He started his sail making career as a sail designer with
North Sails in Annapolis where his designs were chosen
by several America’s Cup winners and was the sail
coordinator for both Stars & Stripes AC campaigns in
New Zealand. Mike has competed in 4 Trans-Atlantic
Races and multiple Bermuda and Sydney-Hobart races
in addition to campaigns in Shields, Melges 24’s and
Etchells 22’s. He is a 29er Dad and Manager of North
Sails, Florida.
Dave Ullman
Ullman Sails was founded in 1968
by David Ullman, one of the
world’s greatest competitive
sailors. Dave was named Rolex
Yachtsman of the Year in 1996,
was nominated again for 2007,
and is a three-time 470 World Champion, the 2007
Melges 24 World Champion, a five-time Lipton Cup
Champion (1992-1996), a ten-time Lido 14 National
Champion, and a National Champion in the Snipe,
Thistle, Sabot and Coronado 15 racing classes. Dave is
also an S.O.R.C. class-winning skipper, a U.S. Team
Racing Champion, a U.S. Men’s National Champion
(Mallory Cup) and a former coach of the U.S. Olympic
Sailing Team.
Will Welles
The up-and-coming Will Welles
has been a member of the North
Sails Rhode Island team since
January of 2007, although in total
he sports more than fifteen years
of experience in the industry,
including a six- year
apprenticeship at the North Sails loft in Salem, Mass.
Born in Boston, MA, Welles first tasted victory as a 9year old sailing a 15-foot Cape Cod Bullseye with his
father in the Northeast Harbor Fleet. “Winning,” says
Welles, “fueled my passion for sailboat racing and I
have been driven to win ever since.” Welles, a
graduate of the University of New Hampshire, lives with
his wife Katie in Newport, RI, where he owns and
skippers his J/24 Cougar. At North he is dedicated to
becoming an innovator in One Design sail making.
In addition to J/24’s he is involved with Shields, J80,
J22 and Etchells. With a foundation of multiple National,
East Coast and regional titles to build on, clearly Welles
remains intent on adding to a growing list of
achievements—2009 saw a strong showing at J/24
Worlds in Annapolis and in 2010 he won the US
Nationals in Marblehead, MA. He is a fixture at the top
of the leader board at just about every major J/24
regatta around and has established himself as a force
to be reckoned with. Welles sailed for the first time with
his twin sister when they were just one week old—
surely for his age his experience is unmatched.
Jon Wright
A native Philadelphian, Jon
Wright cut his teeth in New
Jersey—sailing everything from
Moth Boats, Comets, Penguins,
and GP-14s to E Scows, some of
which were built by his father,
Jack Wright, founder of Wright Boats in Philadelphia.
In college, Jon sailed for the US Merchant Marine
Academy where he was team captain and an AllAmerican sailor. He won the coveted Everett Morris
Memorial Trophy as College Sailor of the Year in 1971.
A three-time winner of the America’s Cup, Jon crewed
in five campaigns over 13 years trimming the sails for
Ted Hood on the 12-metres COURAGEOUS (1974) and
INDEPENDENCE (1977); and for Dennis Conner on
FREEDOM (1980), LIBERTY (1983), and STARS &
STRIPES (1987). Jon’s extensive offshore racing
experience includes the Newport-Bermuda Race (12
times), The Southern Ocean Racing Conference
(SORC), Middle Sea Race, Clipper Cup, Maxi World
Championship, Annapolis-Newport Race, and the Halifax
Race. He has been responsible for sail trim, navigation
and tactics of countless boats as both a navigator and
watch captain.
Jon’s honors include America’s Cup Hall of Fame
Inductee (2012); Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame
inductee (2010); USMMA Athletic Hall of Fame inductee,
(1991); and Yachting Magazine Crewmember of the
Year (1989). Jon is currently the Vanderstar Chair at
the US Naval Academy, advising the Director of Naval
Academy Sailing in regard to the safety of Midshipmen
on the water and the quality assurance of all Academy
sailing vessels. He lives on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland with his wife, Karen. He has two children,
Laura and Stuart.
Team Bios
Nantucket – We the People - Bobby
Constable
The Peoples Boat is a collection of local artifacts, golf
rejects and Chesapeake expatriates. Usually lost in the
fog, the People occasionally find their way to the
starting line around gun-time, provided it isn’t
interrupting lunch. Having too often been cold-cocked
by the boom, their tactician “Staples” Judson takes a
dyslectic view of right-of-way rules. Co-helmsmen
Verney and Constable divide their labors the old
fashioned way: rock-paper-scissors…loser drives.
The Blond Boys of Annapolis take time off from touring
their act through the Old South to bring their special
sound to the Nantucket Sound—that’s not the mating
call of homesick cormorants, it’s the Allsopps in
mangled four/four harmony. Oh, and if you need to
duck the People on port, give them a few hundred feet
of extra room as they usually have a line out, trolling for
scup. Tennis, anyone?
Team Windward Spirit - Steve Cucchiaro
Steve was a two time collegiate All-American at MIT,
where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree
in mathematics. While in college, Steve won the Prince
of Wales North American Match Racing Championship.
He earned his MBA in finance at the Wharton School,
where he served as coach of U. Penn’s collegiate
sailing team which achieved a national ranking during
that time. Steve was a 470 class national champion and
represented the U.S. in the Pan American Olympic
Games, where he won a gold medal in the 470 class.
He was also a Sonar North American Champion, a J22
Mid-Winter Champion, winner of Yale’s Snow and
Satisfaction Regatta and a J105 North American
Champion as tactician. Steve enjoys summer months
cruising on his Baltic 43, Windward Spirit, with family
and friends.
Steve is joined by his friend of many years, Stewart
Neff. Stewart is a former US Youth Champion in the
Laser Class, a Bronze Medalist in the Pan American
Olympic Games in the Laser Class, a US Laser
National Champion and a Gold medalist at the PreOlympics in Russia in 1979. Most recently Stewart was
the 2011 North American Champion in the J105 class
and participated in the E22 World Championship in
Newport, R.I. this past June.
The third member of the team is none other than Bill
Shore. Bill started sailing in an Optimist that he
constructed while in Jr. high school. He advanced to
Turnabouts in the Cape Ann Massachusetts area. Bill
built his own Lightening in high school as a family
project. He went on to win 40-50 World, Continental and
National championships in a dozen competitive classes,
including the Lightning. Bill started building his own sails
in his living room while working as an engineer in the
Boston area. He turned his hobby into a sail making
business and successfully raced bigger boats up to and
including AC boats, winning on Bill Koch’s AC team. Bill
now enjoys coaching AC programs, Olympic Teams
and Team members. Lately he has been coaching
Team Windward Spirit’s crew member Stewart Neff in
the 2014 E22 World Championship.
Finally, Lindsay Smith, the daughter of Rolex Sailor of
the Year Jud Smith, grew up racing on various one
design classes and PHRF programs in Marblehead, MA
and is a member of the Eastern Yacht Club. She has
since moved to Newport, RI where she is employed as
the office manager at the local Quantum loft. When not
escaping to warmer weather for regattas like Key West
or Charleston, Lindsay dabbles in frostbiting Sea Dogs
and Sonars in the off-season, while racing locally on
VX-Ones, J70s and J24s in the summer.
TRIPLE A SYNDICATE REPORT:
CELEBRITY IOD REGATTA, 2014 - Tom
Darling
First ,we want to recognize our pro and muse from
2013- Robbie Doyle—for his first to finish in the
Bermuda Race aboard Shockwave. All Good! All Good!
Just in case,this year Triple A will have extra sailing
gloves and secret sauce on board for consumption!
Brian Simmons has been plotting all winter to take over
uniform duty so I did him one better: we have recruited
the one and only owner of our swag supplier, Team
One Newport Martha Parker, the TON proprietor, is to
be our bowperson. A rock star at the point of many a big
boat, Martha has been holding out on me for years.
Now we have her!! The Big Red Alerion rides again!
We invoke the ghost of Captain Nat, the Wizard of
Bristol, yet again in our attempt to move up to the
podium in 2014.
Mark Pagon, A-24, returns from a winter of squash play
determined to drive even better. He has been
practicing his IOD tiller skills with the objective of
avoiding getting the tiller extension stuck between
tacks, especially on weather mark port tack
approaches. He rightly points out that most of the socalled amateurs in this event look like pros to him! He
will be testing all rival skippers on the pronounciation of
his A-24 ‘s name. It’s a tongue twister for any hail!
::Schez……
Brian Simmons, A-26,is preparing for this years event
by playing pro am golf events . His sailing program has
been getting Thatcher Spring,who beat us out of the
top 3 last year by a smidgen, to sail with him on First
Tracks, at least until I finally get to Nantucket in August.
TCD4sail has been campaigning #5 , the last remaining
woodie in LIS,with her owner, Jennifer Miller. A lot of
bullets in light air, we have thus far in a season of
bizarre conditions, a hurricane on the 4th of July--- go
figure. Does 2nd in Larchmont Race Week translate into
the big time. By the time of this publication, the LIS YRA
Champs will also be in he books. We are like everyone,
“cautiously optimistic” and deeply suspicious of
perpetrating “Sophomore Slump”.
If asked for a prediction on which to water, I answer like
our new Federal Reserve Chairmwoman, did recently to
a question of whither future results:
“Economy improving….recovery still not complete…”
Team STAR IOD - Jeff Ecklund Lauderdale Yacht Club
Jeff Ecklund from Ft Lauderdale, FL is an avid Melges
sailor including Melges24, Melges32 and now Melges20
all by the name of STAR. Jeff learned to sail on Lake
Minnetonka, MN and raced Scows throughout the
midwest for nearly 30 years before venturing to the salt
water with a pointed bow and keel. Currently, Jeff is on
the Board of the Lauderdale Yacht Club Sailing
Foundation, which is building an endowment to support
youth sailors throughout South Florida. Jeff is also a
member of the Lauderdale YC, New York YC, Ocean
Reef Club, Storm Trysail Club, Minnetonka YC and
Wayzata YC.
Charlie Smythe from Kemah, Texas is a 4th generation
sailor, hunter, and fisherman. Charlie has deep roots
that run in the south but has lived and traveled all over
the world. Anything outdoors is of great interest to him
and he can be found traveling the country in his pick up
truck with his wife when not at home. His love for travel
and cruising has been instilled in him from a young age
when he and his sister were home schooled by his
parents on their Grand Banks as they traversed the
Bahamas and eastern United States. He has been an
avid sailboat racer since the age of 7 and has been
lucky enough to sail with many amazing yachtsmen.
Tom Lihan is a recreational weekend fisherman out of
Fort Lauderdale, FL who prefers wood sport-fishing
boats as old and slow as he is. Tom often can be found
sanding and varnishing or scraping barnacles off his
1959 Rybovich named Popeye. Most recently, Tom has
been living vicariously through his daughter and riding
her coat tails after sailing in the London games. Good
news for the other teams, he probably won't be looking
up at the mainsail, but rather keeping his eyes peeled
for giant blue fin tuna. Tom is an active member of the
Cane Pole Bridge Fishing Club and can be seen around
dinner time holding his bobber.
Allen Breed has spent many years plying the waters of
Nantucket Island, found most sand bars, and a few on
land bars. As a junior sailor, he twice represented the
Nantucket Yacht Club at the Bemis Junior National
Championships and competed in the Junior
Olympics. Allen grew to racing keel boats and has over
6,000 nautical miles of blue water sailing. He has
competed in the Newport Bermuda, Marion Bermuda,
Annapolis Newport, and Marblehead Halifax races. In
addition to offshore racing, Allen enjoys buoy racing and
has a particular love for cruising. He is a part owner of
an International One Design (IOD) which he races as
part of the Nantucket IOD fleet. He has competed in all
the Opera House Cups he can remember, including
winning aboard the 6-Meter Totem.
Stage Harbor Yacht Club - Team Cape
Cod - Heather Gregg
Heather Gregg grew up sailing on Cape Cod and is a
member of Stage Harbor Yacht Club in Chatham, MA
and New York Yacht Club. She sailed for Tufts
University women's team, is a two time college
nationals winner, was a member of the U.S. Women's
Sailing Team during an Olympic campaign sailing 470's
in the late 80's and is and member of the Collegiate
Sailing Hall of Fame.
Recently, Heather has been actively racing her J-70,
MUSE, and won the 2013 J-70 North Americans in
Annapolis, MD as a Corinthian team. She spends time
on the Team Racing circuit for New York Yacht Club,
and when on the Cape, races in Wianno Seniors, where
she won Edgartown Race Week and the Scudder Cup
in 2011. Heather spends much of her time now chasing
her son, Hayden, around on the international opti circuit
now. She is winner of the 2012 IOD Celebrity
Invitational.
Luke Lawrence grew up sailing at Coral Reef Yacht
Club in Miami, FL. He sails most major one design
classes in the US and won the 2010 Finn Jr World
Championships.
Joining them is Michael Obuchowski, a fellow team
racing sailor from New York Yacht Club. The team
rounds out with Robby Bisi, who lives in Buenos Aires,
Argentina and is spending the summer coaching
optimists and 29ers in the US. Robby has won many
470 championships in South America and is now sailing
a 49er.
Team Jobson
Gary Jobson, NRW’s Honorary Chairman, will be
accompanied by his team:
Hank Stuart, a partner at Cobblestone Capital Advisors
LLC, serves on several boards including Excellus
BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and
COMIDA (County of Monroe Industrial Development
Agency). He is president and Board Chair of Monroe
Newpower, Upstate Telecommunications Corporation,
Monroe Security and Safety Systems and Civic Center
Monroe County LDC.
Hank learned to sail at the Sodus Bay Junior Sailing
Association in Sodus Bay, New York, where he
continues as a volunteer; teaching junior sailors sailing,
swimming and seamanship. Hank is an ISAF
International Race Officer, US Sailing National Race
Officer and Senior Judge. Hank is chairman of the US
Sailing Race Administration Committee and active in
race administration for several one-design classes. He
has won the 8 Metre World Championships and US
Sailing Offshore (Lloyd Phoenix Trophy) Championship.
He was part of the winning crew for the J/24 Worlds,
Newport-Bermuda Race, Congressional Cup and
Liberty Cup. Hank is a member of New York Yacht
Club, St Francis Yacht Club, Rochester Yacht Club,
Bayview Yacht Club, Oswego Yacht Club, Storm Trysail
Club, Sodus Bay Yacht Club and Commodore of
Rochester Corinthian Sailing Club. Hank Stuart and his
wife Mary live in Rochester, New York.
Dave Reed grew up sailing around Newport and is now
the editor of Sailing World magazine.
Gary Jobson and Hank won the 1982 Hall of Fame
Regatta in Newport RI and this year they sail together
again to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of that regatta.
NIODFA GOLF – Peter McCausland
Winner of the 2006 IOD Celebrity Invitational, third
place in the 2007 regatta, and third in 2012, a four time
Constable Cup winner including 2012, and consistent
top finisher, Peter McCausland is a force to be
reckoned with! He sailed an impressive series to victory
in 2006, with North Sail’s Geoff Moore serving as
tactician. Peter is the founding father of Nantucket’s
IOD Fleet, continues to serve as its guiding light, and
owns the appropriately-named Golf Syndicate—a
testimony to where his real talents lay.
He began sailing IODs in Bermuda in the early 1990’s,
an experience that led him to introduce the boat to
Nantucket. In addition to his IOD credentials, he has
raced a Nantucket Indian for twenty years, and is four
time winner of the venerable Constable Cup, the Indian
Fleet’s equivalent of a world championship. Personally
and through his employer, Airgas, Inc., Peter has
supported Dennis Connor in 2 attempts to win the
America's Cup in New Zealand. Peter’s crew will
include Steve Mead, Fritz McClure, and Graham Kilvert
– all experienced IOD sailors who know Nantucket’s
waters well.
NIODFA HOTEL - Ian McNeice
Ian McNeice: A native of Auckland, New Zealand,
started sailing at the age of five. In his early years, Ian
was an equestrian and engaged in show jumping and
fox hunting. Ian received a degree in Veterinary
Medicine from New Zealand’s Massey University where
he was also a member of the sailing team.
In the 1970’s, Ian sailed Cherubs, the first Lasers in
New Zealand, and IOR one tonners and 1Ž4 tonners in
New Zealand. Ian campaigned J-24s nationally and
internationally in the 1990’s and won the J-24 class in
the Figawi race 5 times between 1990 and 1998. Ian is
an internationally certified J-24 class Measurer. Ian
raced in the Nantucket Yacht Club (NYC) big boat
series from 1989 to 1996 and won the Gifford Bowl in
1992 and 1994.
Additionally, Ian won the NYC Reiner-Halsted Trophy
on 4 occasions. He sailed in the first race of the
Nantucket IOD fleet and skippered the late Curt Ivey’s
Sierra Syndicate. Ian then took a break from Nantucket
sailing to race in the Wianno Seniors Class, where he
won the Scudder Cup twice. Ian returned to IOD racing
with HOTEL in 2003 and joined the syndicate in 2004
and has consistently skippered HOTEL since that time.
Under Ian’s leadership, Hotel has represented the NYC
in four IOD World Championships placing third in 2010
and 2012. He has also represented the Nantucket IOD
fleet at Bermuda Race Week. Finally, Ian has enjoyed
racing Indians for the past several summers and won
the prestigious Constable Cup in 2011 and again in
2014.
Zenas Hutcheson: Zenas never raced a sailboat until he
and Arthur Gosnell formed the HOTEL syndicate--one
of the original six syndicates in the NIODFA—in 1997.
Zenas will be working the mainsheet.
Arthur Gosnell: Arthur Gosnell grew up in Rochester,
NY sailing on Lake Ontario, as well as in the
Adirondacks and on Nantucket. He has been part of
HOTEL since 1997 with Zenas Hutcheson.
Christian Nebergall: Christian is a native of Providence
RI. He is a graduate Portsmouth Abbey (2006) and
Union College (2011). Christian was named to the
Rhode Island All State Lacrosse Team and played
lacrosse at Union College. Christian grew up racing
sailboats with his family. Christian will be on the
foredeck.
Fort Worth Boat Club – Philip Schutts
Philip Schutts, former Commodore of the Fort Worth
Boat Club. Owns and races a J105 and cruises in his
Beneteau 473.
Paul Bregenzer, current member of Fort Worth Board of
Governors. Professional rigger and active
racer. Recently crewed on the Swan 42 "Hoss" when
the captured the National Championship.
Craig White, avid one design racer with championships
in Catalina 22s and J80s. Currently races on a J105.
David Schafer, avid racer and currently Captain of a
custom 93' sailboat based in Newport during the
summer and the British Virgin Islands each winter.
Team "TBD" - Michael Baldock
Team TBD was a late addition to the Celebrity
Invitational several years ago, and used “a lack of time”
as an excuse for the unimaginative name. It is now just
simply habit and a lack of imagination!
Skipper Michael Baldock has left the Swanabago at
home in Greenwich, CT this year and is looking forward
to sailing anything that weighs less than 30,000 lbs. He
did swap the wheel on the Swan for a tiller to better
prepare for this year’s Celeb invitational.
DeAnn Reynolds grew up sailing dinghies at Mission
Bay Yacht Club and was a collegiate sailor at
SDSU. She is a US National & North American
Champion in the Snipe Class, and a closet golfer. She
now owns and sails a PC (not a computer...well, she
owns but doesn't sail the computer) in San Diego.
DeAnn brings a broad range of skills to TBD. In
addition to wielding a mean sheet, she provides
unparalleled insight into the competition.
Evan Kornack is a long-time IOD sailor having been a
member of the fleet since his teenage years. When he
is not frequently reminding his crew that he has no boat
(something they all truly love to hear), he can be found
racing and cruising throughout New England, and is a
member of the New York Yacht Club. Evan lives in
Boston with his wife Kinsey, and works as a
professional gambler (a.k.a. a venture capitalist).
Alex Whipple has done extensive sailing abroad as well
as domestically including a few world championships in
the 420 and in the Melges 32. He currently sails on the
College of Charleston sailing team in South Carolina.
NIODFA Alpha - Richard Werdiger
Richard Werdiger: Member of Great Harbor Yacht Club
and NIODFA Alpha syndicate. Long time big boat sailor
still learning the hard way!
Miles Cameron: Member of NIODFA Alpha syndicate.
Extraordinary sailor, windsurfer, kiteboarder and skier.
He brings youth, strength and optimism to our
endeavors on the water!
Shane Well: According to him "a legendary sailor at
least in his own mind". Sailed at Boston University, sails
Shields in Marion, an active team racer and all around
bon vivant!
Ben Kinney: Sailed at University of Pennsylvania,
sails Etchells and an active team racer. Between
his understanding wife, two young children and a
high stress job in Manhattan, he was still able to
finish 4th in the 2014 Etchells Worlds!
Fisher’s Island – Peter Rugg
Peter Rugg first sailed an IOD as crew for Cornelius
Shields Jr. in the 1960s. He has been an IOD owner
and active competitor since 1988. He has campaigned
a J105 in one-design and handicap racing and been
active in distance and ocean racing both doublehanded, and fully crewed. Mr. Rugg is sailing under The
Storm Trysail Club flag, The Storm Trysail Club,
reflecting in its name the sail to which sailors must
shorten when facing severe adverse conditions, is one
of the world’s most respected sailing clubs, with its
membership comprised strictly of skilled blue water and
ocean racing sailors. In addition to hosting Block Island
Race Week in odd-numbered years, the club holds
various prestigious offshore racing events (among them
the annual Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race and the
Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race); regular junior
safety-at-sea seminars; and the Intercollegiate Offshore
Regatta for college sailors using big boats.
NIODFA - Team B.R.A.V.O.
Like a Broadway musical (or aging rock band), the
players change but the show continues. This
incarnation of Bravo features Ted Moore on the
helm. Dinghy sailor as youth and at heart, Ted won
Sunfish Worlds and twice has finished in the top 4 in
Laser Master worlds. He’s also logged a dozen
Bermuda races and has sailed 15 years aboard 12
Meter Intrepid. Lately he’s doing a lot of team racing –
both masters and varsity circuits – for New York YC and
Boston YC.
Don Thinschmidt returns as Bravo’s guest ringer. He
too grew up in dinghies – Optis and Lasers, was a
member of the U.S. Sailing Team (2005-07), and
mounted an Olympic campaign (’08 Tornado class). He
competed on Northwestern’s sailing team, where he’s
still an alumni advisor. He races on the family Nelson
Merek 43, Tyrant, on Lake Michigan and has crewed on
a range of mono and multi-hulls, including mini maxis,
J105's and is also team racing with New York YC.
Great Harbor Yacht Club staff commodore Peter Barrett
is coming off injured reserve, with plans to run the
foredeck this year just to show what he’s made
of. Peter may have started sailing later than many, but
did so with such a passion that he’s part of the Bravo
nucleus, and on Saturdays is always around the front of
the Rhodes fleet.
Chris Gould is also a Bravo regular and serves as the
Nantucket IOD fleet’s technical officer. Chris grew up
with small West Coast keel boats (the Mercury class,
which he still sails) and went on to extensive Olympic
class racing (four campaigns in Finn and Star classes).
Ted and Chris sailed together in college, prompting this
year’s name variant – Big Red And Various
Others. Couldn’t figure how to spin Paws and purple
Wildcats in there.
NIODFA Victor – Peter Thomas
Peter Thomas: Peter Thomas is a native of New
Zealand who is very familiar with Nantucket waters
sailing both in the Alerion & IOD fleets.
David Edwards:
Karl Anderson: Karl has been active in international
sailing competition since 1980. Karl has won three
Etchells North American titles and two J/24
European and Italian championships. As crew,
Karl’s wins include five J24 World titles, three
Etchells New England Championships, a Melges
24 National title, and four Wianno Senior Scudder
Cups. Karl will be trimming the jib and flying the
spinnaker.
Presented by
Windhaven Investment Management, Inc. manages broadly
diversified investment strategies which seek capital
appreciation over full market cycles. Strategies are generally
diversified across geographies and asset classes and may
provide exposure to U.S. and international stocks, fixed
income securities, commodities, real estate and currencies.
The firm employs a proprietary model that combines
economic, fundamental, and behavioral factors to evaluate
the global capital markets. Strategies are dynamically
managed, striving to take advantage of investment
opportunities while focusing on downside risk management
by changing allocations in response to the firm’s views and
market conditions.