Robie Pierce Regatta for sailors with disabilities at American Yacht Club

Robie Pierce Regatta for sailors with disabilities © Jan Hodnett

A Paralympian Medalist and Three Wounded Warriors will all compete in the 2019 Robie Pierce One-Design Regatta at American Yacht Club, May 30-June 4

Maureen McKinnon, a gold medal winner in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, and Rebecca Miller USAFO, Katherine Kern Navy JAG Corps and Dawn Hart from Warrior Sailing are all competing in the 2019 Robie Pierce Regatta for sailors with disabilities. With a record turnout, this should be an exciting match-up of winners racing at the American Yacht Club, Rye NY.

McKinnon will compete against nine other boats in the one-day Women's Invitational on May 30th. During the three days of the Robie Pierce One-Design Regatta for men and women racers, a total of 24 boats will be competing against each other, in the largest fleet in the Robie's history. Jim Hahn, of American Yacht Club, who has campaigned in many onshore and offshore regattas, will be competing in the Robie for the first time.

Two relatively new sailors who only started sailing last December through the Warrior Sailing Program are looking forward to competing this year.

• Rebecca Miller of Florida said, "The Robie Pierce will be my first regatta and I am excited about it. I hope to learn a lot more at this regatta and look forward to it being a real learning experience. I also want to meet more people and get connected with more sailing folks. I plan on having fun on and off the water during this regatta and hope to make the Warrior Sailors proud."

• Karen Atkinson of Florida said, "I found the whole Warrior Sailing Camp experience very heart-warming, because of all the wonderful people doing this for veterans. I had never sailed before and focusing on something new seemed like it would be good for me. The challenge didn't deter me at all. I just relied on my own inner strength and kept going."

2019 is the 11th year that American and Larchmont Yacht Clubs have hosted the Robie Pierce One-Design Regatta for sailors with disabilities, which is named after one of the founding fathers of adaptive sailing, Robie Pierce, whose son Robbie, Jr. will attend this year's Regatta.

Over the years, the "Robie" has become one of the country's foremost regattas for sailors with a broad array of disabilities including physical, neurological, and visual impairments. Competitors sail in specially adapted Ideal 18s. Each boat will be crewed by two sailors with disabilities and one able-bodied sailor, who will assist in an action or activity that the disabled sailors are unable to perform.

Siobhan Reilly and Bill Sandberg of American Yacht Club, and Buttons Padin of Larchmont Yacht Club have jointly chaired the Robie for 11 years. US Sailing awarded the Co-Founders of the Robie Pierce (Buttons Padin, Siobhan Reilly, and Bill Sandberg) with the Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy for their outstanding contributions to sailors with disabilities and to adaptive sailing. They are looking forward to celebrating this award with all of the sailors, volunteers and sponsors this summer.

To learn more, go to robiepierceonedesignregatta.com

Supporting Sponsors: Subaru, Carlsberg, Sailing Foundation of New York, Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, White Plains Hospital, Gowrie Group