Interest Soars - Rolex International Womens Keelboat Championship

by Barby MacGowan on 17 May 2001 The word is out that the worlds premier womens keelboat regatta is the 'must do' regatta of the 2001 sailing season. Before the Notice of Race (NOR) went out this Spring for the 2001 Rolex International Womens Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC), more than 50 skippers from seven countries had registered their interest in participating through the event's website (www.ussailing.org/riwkc).

'Since the announcement of the regatta's move to Annapolis and into the International J/22, the buzz surrounding the event has been unbelievably positive,' said Denise MacGillivray (Newport, R.I.), who chairs US SAILING's International Women's Keelboat Committee and was the regattas chair in '99, when it was held in
Newport, R.I.

This year's regatta co-chair Sandy Grosvenor (Annapolis, Md.) credits the interest to the changes plus a number of innovations. 'We have two websites focusing on the event,
www.annapolisyc.com/rolexkeelboats and www.ussailing.org/riwkc, and an email list service with hundreds of subscribers,' said Grosvenor. 'The Internet has really come into its own as a means of getting the word out. We can communicate seamlessly with competitors and other interested people to provide information and get feedback from around the world easier and faster than ever before.'

Who's coming

One of 2000s most celebrated sailors, USA's Olympic 470 women's silver medallist and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Pease Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.), will
crew in the Rolex IWKC for 1995 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.), who has participated in all but one of the regatta's past eight runnings. Since returning from the Sydney Olympics, Glaser is 'still really psyched to go sailing,' and nothing is going to stop her from competing at the Rolex IWKC this year. 'Cory and I have talked about sailing the Rolex Women's together for the last four or five times,' said Glaser. 'But there were always other regattas on my schedule that conflicted with it. A lot of my friends have done the Rolex and everyone always talks about how much fun it is. We decided last year that no matter what, we were going to do the Rolex Women's together this year!'

Sertl, who is well known for her dedication to women's and youth sailing and serves on the US SAILING ISAF delegation, also will include her perennial Rolex IWKC crew Dina Kowalyshyn (Annapolis, Md.) and one other crewmember yet to be decided. A frequent competitor in many dinghy and one-design classes, Sertl is looking forward to the challenge of sailing the J/22, which replaced the J/24 previously used. 'I love sailing in different types of boats,' said Sertl. 'The J/22 is a good choice because you need four people instead of six, which is more manageable in many ways.' Sertl won the inaugural event in 1985 crewing for Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.).

Returning to defend her 1999 Rolex IWKC title is Pat Connerney (Middletown, R.I.). Working around a successful career as a nurse practitioner and a family that includes two young children, Connerney has a busy summer planned. With two of her ‘99 winning crew, Louisa Boatwright (Providence, R.I.) and Kim Hapgood (Newport, R.I.), Connerney will charter a J/22 for competing in local and regional events. As a former Olympic aspirant in the 470 Women’s class, Connerney likes the pace of preparing for the Rolex IWKC. 'The Rolex IWKC is a perfect regatta for me to participate in,' she said. 'It doesn't take the all-out 100 percent dedication of Olympic-level sailing where you give up your life's a very doable regatta to prepare for and fits perfectly into my professional and personal time.'

She is excited about the superb racing conditions in Annapolis. 'Annapolis is a fantastic place to sail,' said Connerney. 'I am very happy about the new venue. There are so many great women sailors already in the area.'

Jody Swanson (Buffalo, N.Y.), who won both the Rolex IWKC and the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award in 1989, will sail with veteran crew Abby Ruhlman
(Cleveland, Ohio), Debbie Probst (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Joyce Spring (Columbus, Ohio). 'I'm really looking forward to it, and Annapolis Yacht Club does
such a great job with every regatta they run,' said Swanson. 'The J/22 is a good boat because you need some change every once in a while. Hopefully it will draw
some of the match racers to the event, and there are plenty of good J/22 sailors who will come.' Swanson's busy sailing schedule this summer includes the
world championships for Lightning and Yngling, as well as the J/22 North American championship.

Although this is her first time helming an entry in the Rolex IWKC, Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.) has competed five times. Cronin put the event on the top of her 'must do' list for 2001. 'The regatta is a really good fit for me and my Yngling campaign,' said Cronin, who has been nominated numerous times for Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year based on her success as a standout crew in several one-design classes. 'Its important to get an international regatta under my belt and it seemed time to step up to the plate and drive a boat.' This summer, Connerney will crew for Cronin, her tactician in the ’99 Rolex IWKC, aboard a Yngling as they start their campaign for a 2004 Olympic team berth.

Many other accomplished sailors, known for their international experience, have expressed interest in competing, including 1999 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Dawn Riley (San Francisco, Calif.), Danish match racer Marie Klok, Cayman Islands one-design sailor Jane Moon and 2000 Europe Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson (U.K.).

Veterans of the Rolex IWKC planning their return in 2001 include:

Ann Acland (Halifax, Nova Scotia; CAN), Charlie Arms (Vallejo, Calif.), Janie Davis (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Anne Eager (Galesville, Md.), Sandy Grosvenor (Annapolis, Md.), Susan Reddaway, (Flowery Branch, Ga.), Heidi Riddle (Vermilion, Ohio), Sandra Swenson (Philadelphia, Pa.), Diana Weidenbacker (Kittery, Maine), Judy Woellner (Wayzata, Minn.) and Nancy Zangerle (Cleveland, Ohio).

Organizers are using the Internet to promote the Rolex IWKC and provide information: www.annapolisyc.com/rolexkeelboats is focusing on Annapolis details; www.ussailing.org/riwkc
has the official NOR and Entry Form in PDF format, event history and news releases. There is a web server list to get direct information by email. To subscribe, visit
www.ussailing.org/riwkc.






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