Friends of Navy Sailing: 17 Sept 2022

The Friends of Navy Sailing 2021 Weekend was a great success! With a total enrollment of over 150, on par with (pre-COVID) 2018, we're counting this as a major win.

The weekend kicked off with our "Starting Gun Reception" at the Annapolis Maritime Museum catered by Mission BBQ on Friday evening. In his remarks to open the weekend, Hal Gilreath (’84), Chairman of the Fales Committee, stressed the emphasis of the FONS Weekend and the national FONS Network on mentoring the Navy Sailing Midshipmen. It was great to see everyone again in a superb on-the-water venue to socialize and from which to watch (an impressive lightning storm and) a great slideshow of post-USNA sailing by weekend participants, with thanks to Gavin O'Hare ('92) for pulling together the photos.

Saturday morning we all gathered at the new NAAA Terwilliger Center where we were welcomed by Director of Naval Academy Sailing Commander Luke "Cosmo" Kremer (‘96)and Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean Buck ('83) who left no doubt that he is a great supporter of Navy Sailing. We all learned at the morning event that, in the wake of a Double National Championship performance, the Intercollegiate Dinghy Sailing Team was also recently awarded the coveted NAAA Director of Athletics Cup - a first for the Sailing Team! After breakout sessions to discuss boat assignments and racecourse geography, we were off to the Robert Crown Sailing Center where the Midshipmen, Race Committee and our boats were waiting.

We were able to get everyone on the water on a variety of platforms ranging from the 420 dinghy to a vintage 12 meter America's Cup yacht. The weather was sunny, 84 degrees with winds of 8 gusting to 12. We set two different Colgate 26 courses: one for straight up windward-leeward fleet racing and another for team racing. We set a 420 course near Greenbury Point and set three Navy 44s, a Farr 40 and the 12 Meter Easterner loose for a cruise down the bay. Thirty-five current team Midshipmen, ten Class of ‘21 Ensigns, and twelve Staff helped crew the sailboats and run the Race Committees. The winning boat on the 420 course was the team of Mike O’Bryan (‘93) and Sophia Taczak. The top boat in the Colgate fleet racing was the team of Steve Lowery (‘82), Mark Converse (‘82) and Ward Carroll (‘82).

After everyone had their fill of sailing for the day, they gathered on the top of Robert Crown Sailing Center for the casual Finish Line Social. This event was sponsored and executed by John Grierson (‘91) and his family. From the top of the Robert Crown Sailing Center sailors, staff, midshipmen and family enjoyed reconnecting after sailing. It was a beautiful afternoon to socialize and watch the boats on the Severn.

In the early evening, we gathered for the Sail Navy Banquet at the N* Banquet Room at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Twenty-four Midshipmen and the two head coaches joined us and were dispersed across all the tables. The dinner was excellent and, as dessert was served, Les Spanheimer from the Naval Academy Sailing Foundation brought us up to date on recent Margin of Excellence funding initiatives, followed by Rusty Yeiser of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation who presented the best option (the Sailing Excellence Fund) for future cash contributions in support of Navy Sailing. We took some time to recognize a few folks who helped bring us all together including Mark Converse ('82) who chaired the event committee, and Paul Hankins ('81) who did a fabulous job of organizing the weekend's social events and booking the venues. The class with the largest attendance was 1982 with twelve. John Riley (‘84) traveled from San Diego, which was the farthest for the event. The senior attendee was Jim Maitland (‘64). Our Keynote Speaker, Gary Jobson, provided some very interesting insights on the three major sailing events of 2021 (America's Cup, Olympic Games and College Sailing Nationals). As you might expect, Navy Sailing figured heavily on the plus side of that discussion. Gary also premiered a short film which details the numerous and historical links between the New York Yacht Club, the USN, and Navy Sailing.

The attendees wrapped up the weekend with a standing ovation for the Midshipmen and Coaches, and, while it felt like perhaps it had all gone by too fast, it was great to once again get some Navy Sailing legends back in Annapolis and on the water together. Hope to see you next time...to be continued…for sure!

Go Navy | Sail Navy | Stay Navy!

To join the FONS Network and to keep up to date on Navy Sailing, go to sailnavy.org