Tricky Day at The Clagett

Newport, RI (June 25, 2016) – Day two of racing at the 14th C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta had a delayed start when the race committee held the sailors ashore while they waited for the breeze to fill in.

The 22 sailors taking part headed out to the course after an hour under the postponement flag and the race committee set up the course for a 10 knot South Easterly off the Southern side of Rose Island. Later in the day the breeze moved around to the South and dropped in strength before building again for the last race of the day. The tide was a contributing factor in today’s racing with local knowledge benefiting the sailors.

2.4mR fleet leader Julio Reguero (San Juan, Puerto Rico) managed to maintain his overnight lead after the four races today. Second place in the 15 boat fleet, after finishing three out of four races today in first, is Charlie Rosenfield (Woodstock, CT) who currently holds a two point separation from Dan Evans (St. Petersburg, FL) in third place completing the podium places.

“Things improved dramatically for me today on the race course. The conditions are what I prefer and I had a better tactical day on the water,” commented Rosenfield.

The Sonar team from the Warrior Sailing Program, skippered by Joshua Agripino (San Diego, CA) continued their winning streak from day one to have a picket fence for results with seven first places over the two days of racing. The two boats took advantage of the opportunity to work on practice starts while racing today. Sailing with Agripino is main trimmer Scott Ford (Traverse City, MI) and jib trimmer Sammy Lugo (Tampa, FL). Ford and Lugo have been members of the Warrior Sailing Team for the past 12 months and all three Warrior Sailing Program team members will be racing at the upcoming J/22 Worlds in August.

“The winds were pretty light today but we had a phenomenal day of racing against the team from the US Virgin Islands. We learned a lot of different sailing techniques and we prevailed when we were match racing against the other team,” remarked Ford after racing today.

The forecast for the final day of racing on Narragansett Bay for the 14th Clagett is for a South East breeze of five to 10 knots.

Event details: www.clagettregatta.org

About the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta: Founded in 2003, the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta honors the late Tom Clagett (1916-2001), a U.S. Navy World War II veteran who learned to sail on Chesapeake Bay. As a youngster he suffered temporary paralysis as the result of a bout of meningitis; an experience that left him with a deep respect for the accomplishments of people with disabilities. The Clagett’s stated mission is “to assist sailors in realizing their potential on the water by providing them both the knowledge and tools to improve their skills and the opportunity to use these skills in competition”. Tom Clagett’s motto was “Reach for Success”, which resonates with every Clagett participant. The event includes all three boats that have been chosen as the equipment of the Paralympic classes: the three-person Sonar, the two-person SKUD-18 and the singlehanded 2.4 Metre. Clagett competitors have seen medal success at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games. Competitors often comment that, The Clagett, has improved their quality of life as they apply what is achieved on the water to everyday situations.

Report by Sam Crichton.