Barkow named winner after last day with no wind

by Dana Paxton on 24 Sep 2005 After a day of waiting on the Chesapeake Bay for wind that never materialized, the Annapolis Yacht Club Race Committee concluded the 11th biennial Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship shortly before 2:00pm.

Upon the completion of racing yesterday, it was determined that Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) did not need to sail the 11th and final race today as she had a low enough total score in to win the regatta. Racing took place Sept. 19-23 in Annapolis, Md. At the gala Rolex Awards ceremony held this evening at the Annapolis Yacht Club, Barkow and her crew of Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Annie Lush (Poole, England) presented with US SAILING’s Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel & 18k gold Ladies Datejust.

Going into today’s racing, the battle seemed to be for second place. Without enough wind to settle the battle, yesterday’s standings became the series final results and Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.) with her team aboard Lucy -- Dina Kowalyshyn (Annapolis, Md.), Pease Glaser (San Diego, Calif.) and Suzy Leech (Avon, Conn.) – captured third place in the 42-boat fleet, with Jody Swanson (Buffalo, N.Y.) and crew Debbie Probst, Abby Ruhlman and Maegan Ruhlman in third place. Fourth place was US Olympian Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.), who sailed her Team Spidey with crew Jamie Hanes (Newport, R.I.), Linda Epstein (Arlington, Mass.) and Kim Couranz (Annapolis).

The top foreign skipper was New Zealand’s Sharon Ferris, who with her TeamOneNewport finished in fifth place overall.

Sixth-place was one of the regatta’s standouts, Jo Ann Fisher (Arnold, Md.). Fisher and her crew of Emma Jones, Kiri Key and 16-year-old Morgan Wilson made an impression on the fleet since this is Fisher’s first regatta steering a J/22 class sailboat. The top Annapolis skipper, Lorie Stout, was awarded the City of Annapolis Trophy by Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer. Stout, who sailed her boat Stoutgear.com to an impressive seventh-place overall, topped the 13 other Maryland teams competing.

Rounding out the top 10 places were Julie Sitzman (Orr’s Island, Maine), Anna Tunnicliffe (Norfolk, Va.) and Derby Anderson (Annapolis).

For more information and results, visit www.ussailing.org/riwkc or www.race.annapolisyc.org/2005rolex . Event video coverage will be available on demand at www.t2p.tv

The Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship title sponsor is Rolex Watch U.S.A. Platinum level sponsors are Condé Nast Media Group, Fairchild Publications, Inc., The Golf Digest Companies, Annapolis Volvo and Hinckley Yachts. The Gold level sponsors are Bank of America, Fawcett Boat Supplies, Liljenquist & Beckstead, Brown-Forman Wines, Appleton Rum, Tuaca, Finlandia Vodka, and Brown-Forman Spirits America. The Silver level sponsors include North Sails and Quantum Sails. Bronze level sponsors include J Boats, J Port Annapolis, J World Annapolis, Annapolis Bank and Trust, AGA Correa, Boatyard Bar and Grill, Sterling Brokerage, Grog & Gruel Provisioning, VC Performance Rigging Courtney Sue Handbags, US Watercraft, Anne Arundel County EDC, SpinSheet Magazine, Café Gurus, Royal Folly B&B, and the AYC Foundation. The Official Gear sponsor is Helly Hansen. The Rolex IWKC 2005 is a US SAILING Championship hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club.