14th C. Thomas Clagett Jr Memorial Clinic and Regatta in history books

by Sam Crichton on 30 Jun 2016

Clagett 2016 Sonar class sailors from USVI and Warrior Sailing Program with Randy and Nanette Gifford and Judy McLennan Billy Black / Clagett Regatta

The 14th C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta, which finished on June 26, was attended by 22 sailors from Canada, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and across the US from Rhode Island, Florida, Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Michigan.

Many of the sailors taking part have competed in at least five Clagett regattas with some returning to sail 10 or more years. Both the US and Canadian sailing teams heading for Rio in September for the 2016 Paralympics are Clagett alumni and six out of the 15 teams taking part in the Sonar class in Rio have attended The Clagett over its 14 year history.

Over the course of the three days of the 14th event, the race committee set the race courses against the back drop of Newport's iconic Pell Bridge, in between Goat and Rose Island, on Narragansett Bay. Lead by Principal Race Officer (PRO) Tom Duggan (East Sandwich, MA), the race committee had three days of challenging racing that allowed for spirited competition for both the 2.4mR and Sonar classes.

Clagett 2016 2.4mR sailors Charlie Rosenfield, Julio Reguero and Dan Evans with Carl Lessard and Judy McLennan © Billy Black / Clagett Regatta

'The weather was spectacular and the conditions were perfect for these boats (2.4mR and Sonar), it's very rare see four days like this on Narragansett Bay. I never had too much or too little wind to cancel racing,' said Duggan.

The two boats in the Sonar class, the Warrior Sailing Program team and team from the US Virgin Islands, made the most of the opportunity to learn from the coaches who worked with them during the clinic and regatta. By the end of the 10 race series the two boats were finishing within two feet of each other in the final race. The Warrior Sailing Program team used the opportunity to train prior to heading to Kingston, Ontario for the J-22 World Championship in August and managed to wrap the regatta up with a scorecard of 10 first places.

Joshua Agripino (San Diego, CA), skipper of the Warrior Sailing Program team and a former US Marine commented after the four days of clinic and racing, 'This regatta has been a lot of fun and a great opportunity for the team to train prior to the J/22 Worlds. It was fantastic to be able to sail against Nancy when she was training with the US Virgin Island team. We're all really looking forward to coming back to The Clagett next year.'

Christine Lavalle winner of the Gene Hinkle and Robie Pierce trophy with Judy McLennan and Gene Hinkle © Billy Black / Clagett Regatta

Puerto Rico's Julio Reguero, who last sailed at The Clagett in 2013, managed to take the win in the 15 boat 2.4mR class, by five points. Second and third places were tied on points with Charlie Rosenfield (Woodstock, CT) and Dan Evans (St. Petersburg, FL) finishing on 29 points with Rosenfield taking second place on a tie breaker.

'I enjoyed being back racing at The Clagett, racing was tough with speed and tactics making it a tough fleet to sail against, this fleet is a tough one to win. I am planning to do the Clagett/Oakcliff Match Race clinic and that will be my first time match racing which I am really looking forward to as I will be sailing with my son,' remarked Reguero.

Aaron Wong Sing winner of the Nick Scandone trophy with Audrey Kobayashi and Tim Ripley and Judy McLennan © Billy Black / Clagett Regatta

'We are very proud to have hosted the 14th C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta. To see so many sailors return year after year encourages The Clagett to continue to offer events for adaptive sailors to attend. We are very excited that 2017 will be the 15th Clagett regatta and we would like to invite all Clagett sailors to attend for the celebrations. In two weeks we will be holding the inaugural Clagett/Oakcliff Match Race event in Oyster Bay, NY and we look forward to seeing the sailors again for that event. We also send our best wishes to the Clagett alumni who will be taking part in the Paralympics in Rio in September,' commented Clagett co-founder and President, Judy McLennan (Portsmouth, RI).

Josh Agripino winner of the Larry Gadsby trophy with Judy McLennan, Nancy Haberland and Betsy Alison © Billy Black / Clagett Regatta

The dates for the 2017 Clagett will be June 21-25 and will be held at Sail Newport, located in Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI.

Awards

Susan B Johnson - Sportsmanship Award

Tony Pocklington and Jim Kerr

Larry Gadsby - Most Improved Award

Josh Agripino

Nick Scandone - Spirit Award

Aaron Wong- Sing

Robie Pierce and Gene Hinkle - Seamanship award

Christine Lavallee

The C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Trophy 2016

Julio Reguero