Italia Yachts 13.98 'Artemis' to compete for the first time in this year's Annapolis to Newport Race

Annapolis to Newport Race 2019 © Event Media

Among the fourteen yachts competing in the ORC 2 division will be Artemis, an Italia 13.98 owned by Jeff Kennedy.

This year the crew will include several veteran A2N racers, as well as a few first-timers! Representing David Walters Yachts and Italia Yachts will be DWY President Josh McLean and Italia Yachts USA Sales Director Erik Haaland, both experienced sailors. This will be their first Annapolis to Newport race!

Jeff Kennedy - Skipper and Owner of Artemis - Long time racer and sailor, wind surfing record holder, former rigger and sail maker, now works in IT. Jeff attended St Mary's College where he met his wife Sarah- they were both on the sailing team there. Jeff has twin daughters Hillary (racing with us) and Katie, and dogs Sawyer and Gus. He Resides in Middleburg, VA. Jeff has raced A2N before, including on Tartan 3500 'Resolute'. This year will be his first A2N on his own boat!

Erik Haaland - Italia Yachts Sales Director, experienced racing sailor, and member of Annapolis Yacht Club. In 2019 Erik won the Annapolis Yacht Club double-handed distance race with Andrew Waters aboard the Italia 9.98 VICHINGO. Erik earned DWY's Top Broker award in 2020 for highest sales revenue.

Josh McLean - Josh is the President of David Walters Yachts, a United States Air Force veteran with several combat tours, and an experienced sailor. Josh currently resides in Annapolis with his wife Amber, his daughter Lilly, and his golden retriever Reef.

John Dodge - Learned to sail out of Oxford, MD as a child with his brother Scott. He has several decades of racing on yachts large and small, including a long tenure with the Jim Muldoons Donnybrook program. He has several offshore races under his belt including A2N, Bermuda races, and the Caribbean 600. John is a long-time friend of Erik Haaland. He is also the former Annapolis Leukemia Cup Regatta chairman. John now resides in Richmond, VA.

Ted Haaland - Ted is a professional sailor with an extensive background in offshore racing. In 2013, Ted won the Transpac Barndoor Trophy aboard Wizard RP74. He is the owner of Haaland Marine, an annapolis based company providing high level race program management, rigging, and yacht services. Ted completed his last A2N race aboard Kodiak RP/66. This year he is racing aboard Artemis with his brother Erik Haaland.

Roger Lant - Owner of Abiento, J/35 in Annapolis. Roger has completed many offshore races including A2N. He has been very successful with his J/35 in the Annapolis racing circuit. Roger grew up sailing in the North Sea and competed in his first A2N in 2007.

Scott Steele - Scott is a sailmaker and professional sailor. He is a US Olympic team windsurfing silver medalist, a Good friend of Jeff Kennedy (both St Mary's College alumni). He has a long history in winning sailing teams and offshore races and is currently an Olympic Sailing Team Coach.

Hillary Stubblefield - One of Jeff Kennedy's daughters, Hillary has been sailing her entire life. She currently resides in Virginia Beach with her husband who is in the Navy. This year will be her First A2N race.

Andrew Waters - Quantum sailmaker and professional sailor. Andrew was born in England and starting sailing as a kid. He worked at a sailing school in college, and logged over 100,000 miles offshore by his mid-20's. Andrew moved to South Africa before sailing to the Caribbean in 1996 on one of the first charter catamarans. He has multiple wins in one design regattas and international events. Erik and Andrew race together frequently and in 2019 they won the Annapolis Yacht Club Double Handed Distance Race aboard Italia 998 'VICHINGO'. Andrew has been an Annapolis local since joining the Quantum Sails team in 2016.

The crew will send periodic updates via satellite phone, which will be posted to social media pages! Be sure to follow on Facebook for exclusive updates from the crew as they complete the 475 mile race!

Official website: www.annapolisnewportrace.com