annapolis yacht club junior sailing

Request access code

Click below to receive a one-time access code. We'll send a code to the following contact points.

Please check your phone and/or email for the verification code.

Your code may take 1-2 minutes to arrive.

Please pick a NEW password for the next time you log in.

Enter the password you want to use from now on.

1. Email [email protected] , and cc [email protected] . 2. You must email us from the email address we have on file for your account. This allows us to verify your account. 3. We will respond with your code. Click here to enter it .

Log in or sign up

Annapolis Yacht Club's Summer 2023 Junior Sailing Program registration is powered by Clubspot . Please log in or sign up for the best checkout experience.

Log in with Clubspot

Log in (or sign up) to pre-fill form fields, pay with a card on file, or easily manage sign-ups post-registration. 🎉

Continue without logging in

✅ Click here if you already have a Clubspot account.

Click here to create a new Clubspot account.

This is the email or mobile number you use to log in with Clubspot.

🎉 Did you know? You can now use your Clubspot account to sign up for events at hundreds of clubs on the Clubspot network - even beyond your home club! Click here to ask our team about upgrading your club's website to Clubspot.

Forgot password?

I have read and consent to the Clubspot Terms & Privacy Policy .

The fastest growing platform for clubs

Clubspot powers the full software stack for hundreds of forward-thinking clubs..

AYC sailors shine in series of local junior…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Baltimore Sun eNewspaper

• Latest Headlines
• News Obituaries
• Death Notices
• Things To Do

AYC sailors shine in series of local junior regattas

A review of results from the previous five years or so showed that Annapolis Yacht Club sailors were not performing up to expectations. That was inexcusable considering the caliber of the club.

AYC made a conscious decision to invest more resources into the junior program in terms of equipment, resources and coaching. Those efforts are beginning to pay dividends as AYC juniors have begun to enjoy success in major national events.

An overall improvement in competitive level was on display locally last week when members of the AYC Club 420 Racing Team dominated a series of three annual junior regattas.

Porter Kavle and Caroline McNeil took first place at the West River Sailing Club Junior Regatta with three other AYC crews finishing in the top five. Casey Cabot and Nicholas Salvesen were champions of the Annapolis Yacht Club Junior Regatta with teammates taking second through fourth. Phillip Schofield and Nick Papadopoulos were winners of the Sandy MacVickar Regatta hosted by Severn Sailing Association as AYC once again secured four of the top five placements.

“We’re really happy with the way all the kids have been sailing and we’re particularly proud of those three teams that won,” said Tierney Driscoll, Club 420 head coach for the AYC Junior Program. “We have a very dedicated group of sailors. They come to practice every day ready to work and ready to learn. They’ve put in a lot of hours on the water to improve.”

Driscoll is an example of the type of summer coach the Annapolis Yacht Club is looking for. She was a talented 420 skipper for Sayville Yacht Club on Long Island and was a member of the nationally-ranked College of Charleston sailing team, earning All-American crew.

The Bayport, New York native has brought a collegiate sailing mentality to the AYC Club 420 program with the goal of building a strong team.

“I think the best way to develop depth is to work together as a group,” she said. “Our kids all come from different high schools and backgrounds, but when they come back to Annapolis Yacht Club for the summer the emphasis is on team. Everyone is eager to learn and no one is afraid to ask questions or try new things.”

Salvesen, a Davidsonville resident whose two older sisters sailed at AYC and collegiately, agreed the overall talent raises the level of everyone. “We have a really strong team so practices are pretty intense,” he said. “Pracitces are every bit as competitive as the regattas.”

This marks the third year Salvesen and Cabot have sailed together and they have been stringing together some solid results. Last week, Cabot and Salvesen captured Club 420 class at the Commonwealth of Virginia Championships, hosted by Fishing Bay Yacht Club.

“We’ve definitely stepped it up this seasons and are putting things together,” said Cabot, a D.C. resident who lives aboard his family’s Jeanneau 45 at Annapolis Landing Marina on Back Creek during summers.

In addition to the aforementioned teams, another AYC crew that performed well in 420 class during the three local regattas was Connor Bayless and Kimmie Leonard. Bayless-Leonard took third at the West River and AYC regattas, fourth at Sandy MacVickar.

Severn Sailing Association members Trevor Davis and Andrea Riefkohl also had a good week, finishing fourth at West River and fifth at AYC. West River Sailing Club member Charles Anderson took first place in Laser Radial class at his home event.

Most of the top Club 420 sailors from the Annapolis area will now head north for a series of major events such as the Buzzard’s Bay Championship and Hyannis Yacht Club Regatta. Falmouth Yacht Club is hosting the Club 420 Association national championship.

“It’s time for our kids to head out of the bay and test themselves against national competition. I’m excited to see how they will do,” Driscoll said.

Annapolis Yacht Club member Owen Hennessey enjoyed a successful week, winning Optimist class at both the AYC Junior Regatta and Sandy MacVickar. The 14-year-old won two of three races to top a 78-boat fleet on Tuesday then posted a pair of bullets and couple seconds in besting a 77-boat fleet on Wednesday.

“It was all about boat speed and boat-handling for Owen. He pretty much sailed circles around the other kids,” AYC Optimist head coach Connor Corgard said. “Owen is very coachable and has really improved his tactical skills.”

Hennessey, whose older brother Ryan races on the Club 420 circuit now, qualified for the U.S. National team by placing 15th at the USODA Team Trials, held off San Francisco in late April.

Robert Shapiro, chairman of the Junior Sailing Committee for Annapolis Yacht Club, said the success sailors such as Hennessey are enjoying on a national level provides proof the plan put in place eight years ago is working.

“It is the investment the club has made in its racing program over the past decade that allows us to achieve that capability,” Shapiro said. “We decided to start pursuing more national-level competition and it truly has made a profound impact.”

Shapiro worked as Sailing Director at Annapolis Yacht Club from 1991-94 and wrote the prospectus pitching the year-round sailing program that came to fruition in his final year. The founder and wwner of Smart Computing Solutions is rightfully proud of how the AYC Junior Program has developed since his days with the club.

In 1993, AYC had 68 slots for youngsters to participate in its summer training program. That figure has swelled to a whopping 420 spots this summer. AYC has 23 staff members involved with junior sailing this summer and owns 18 Club 420s, 25 Optimists and 11 coach boats.

“We have really built the sport up and shown the way for a lot of other clubs around the country,” Shapiro said.

While Shapiro said the initiative to ensure AYC sailors travel the country in order to reach an elite level is admirable, it is important for the club maintains a commitment to Chesapeake Bay events hosted by West River Sailing Club and Gibson Island Sailing Squadron among others.

“We can’t get away from our roots. We need to do everything possible to make sure there is a strong system on the Chesapeake Bay that continues to develop sailors,” he said.

Annapolis Yacht Club Junior Regatta

Optimist (78 boats)

1, Owen Hennessey, Annapolis Yacht Club, 1-4-1=6; 2, Thomas Sitzmann, Fishing Bay Yacht Club, 7-6-2=15; 3, Guthrie Braun, FBYC, 2-5-9=16; 4, Mark Bourdin, Tred Avon Yacht Club, 6-8-7=21; 5, Skylor Sweet, North East River Yacht Club, 10-3-10=23

Club 420 (37 boats)

1, Casey Cabot/Nick Salvesen, Annapolis Yacht Club, 4-3-2-4=13; 2, Phillip Schofield/Nick Papadopoulos, AYC, 3-1-3-14=21; 3, Connor Bayless/Kimmie Leonard, AYC, 1-2-13-6=22; 4, Porter Kavle/Caroline McNeil, AYC, 14-7-1-7=29; 5, Trevor Davis/Andrea Riefkohl, Severn Sailing Association, 20-4-6-13=43

Laser Radial (23 boats)

1, Garrett Levy, FBYC, 1-5-2-3=11; 2, Jordan Bendura, FBYC, 4-1-7-4=16; 3, Noah Kullman, TAYC, 5-6-3-2=16; 4, Jackson Montague, FBYC, 3-4-5-8=20; 5, Gannon Troutman, FBYC, 6-3-1-16=26

Sandy MacVickar Junior Regatta

420 (38 boats)

1, Phillip Schofield/Nick Papadopoulos, AYC, 2-1-(3)-3-1=7; 2, Porter Kavle/Caroline McNeil, AYC, 3-6-1-2-(8)=12; 3, Benton Amthor/Erik DeMario, FBYC, 1-5-2-(7)-7=15; 4, Connor Bayless/Kimmie Leonard, AYC, 11-(12)-7-1-5=24; 5, Casey Cabot/Nick Salvesen, AYC, 7-2-(11)-5-10=24

Optimist (77 boats)

1, Owen Hennessey, AYC, 1-2-1-(4)-2=6; 2, Mark Bourdin, TAYC, (8)-3-2-1-3=9; 3, Guthrie Braun, FBYC, 5-(7)-6-3-7=21; 4, Nathan Smith, FBYC, 3-9-5-(17)-6=23; 5, Tom Sitzmann, FBYC, (57)-10-4-9-1=24

Laser Radial (25 boats)

1, Garrett Levy, FBYC, 2-4-5-(8)-2=13; 2, Alexander Resio, FBYC, (20)-1-2-3-8=14; 3, Coleman Walker, TAYC, 3-6-(12)-4-1=14; 4, Jackson Montague, FBYC, 7-(12)-4-1-4=16; 5, Gannon Troutman, FBYC, (17)-8-3-2-3=16

Laser (2 boats)

1, Robert Schnabel, Eastport Yacht Club, 1-(2)-1-1-2=5; 2, Thomas Johnson, SSA, (2)-1-2-2-1=6

West River Sailing Club Junior Regatta

420 (25 boats)

1, Porter Kavle/Caroline McNeil, AYC, 3-1-5-1=10; 2, Phillip Schofield/Nick Papadopoulos, AYC, 2-2-1-5=10; 3, Connor Bayless/Kimmie Leonard, 1-3-3-4=11; 4, Trevor Davis/Andrea Riefkohl, SSA, 9-5-4-3=21; 5, Willy Comerford/Emily Harrison, AYC, 4-6-17-9=36

Optimist (46 boats)

1, Mark Bourdin, TAYC, 3-7-1-2=13; 2, Philip Ralph, 5-1-16-5=27; 3, Skylor Sweet, 11-11-2-6=30; 4, Matthew Budington, 7-6-10-11=34; 5, Andrew Witter, 15-14-3-4=36

Laser Radial (7 boats)

1, Charles Anderson, West River Sailing Club, 1-2-1-3=7; 2, Colin Ward, TAYC, 2-1-4-2=9; 3, Madison Norris, TAYC, 4-3-2-4=13; 4, Morgan Essex, NERYC, 6-4-3-1=14; 5, Abigail Setzfand, WRSC, 5-5-5-5=20

More in Sports

Baltimore Orioles | Orioles beat Rangers, 8-4, as bats stay hot and Grayson Rodriguez shows growth

Baltimore Ravens | Pressure? Ravens DT Justin Madubuike says ‘they haven’t seen nothing yet.’

Baltimore Orioles | Orioles reinstate Heston Kjerstad from concussion IL, option Kyle Stowers to Triple-A

Sports | Shaq Barrett, Baltimore native and 2-time Super Bowl champion, retires

ANNAPOLIS YACHT CLUB

Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC) was founded in 1886 as an informal canoe club. Today, the Club's mission is to encourage and support a wide range of boating activities and to maintain facilities for the recreational and social use of its 2000 members.

The Annapolis Yacht Club is a full-service, year-round premier private yacht club that provides high-quality programs for its members. These include sailboat racing, cruising for sailors and power boaters, a vigorous junior sailing program, fun, and educational winter activities, social events, and first-class dining and facilities.

AYC is a prominent fixture in Annapolis, is a good corporate citizen, and provides select opportunities for non-members such as its Junior Sailing program. In addition, AYC's Race Committee supports club racing and regional, national, and international championships. AYC members are pleased to welcome these competitors and other visiting yachtsmen to the Clubhouse and sailing facilities.

RACE HEADQUARTERS

ANNAPOLIS: ANNAPOLIS YACHT CLUB

Race Headquarters for the Annapolis Newport Race is at the Sailing Center of the Annapolis Yacht Club located at 510 Severn Avenue, just over the Spa Creek Bridge from the Main Clubhouse. 

Onsite Registration, Tracker Pick Up, and Official Race Merchandise will be available at the Sailing Center. Please see the Event Schedule for the onsite registration schedule. 

Electronic guest cards for Annapolis Yacht Club are available to all non-members visiting the Club for the race. Guest cards will be available in advance and a link to registration will be available one month prior to the event.

ANNAPOLIS DOCKAGE

For Mooring Information in Annapolis Harbor, contact the  Harbormaster.

The source for Annapolis marine services.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Annapolis has all types of accommodations from historic hotels, larger chains, Airbnbs, etc., many of which are within walking distance to the Annapolis Yacht Club

LOCAL GROCERY STORES

Catering/breakfast and lunch, wine, beer, & spirits.

URGENT CARE FACILITIES

HELPFUL INFORMATION

OUR MISSION

The Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation was established in 2000 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to provide scholarships to underserved youths to participate in junior sailing events, grants to maritime-related 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organizations, and grants to amateur sailors competing at the highest levels. 

AYCF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

KATHY PARKS, PRESIDENT

Kathy Parks started crewing on large sailboats and later skippered her J22 with all women crews and eventually a J70 with mixed crews. She traveled around the country for regattas including Mid-Winters, North Americans, Key West Race Weeks and two World Championships.

CEDRIC LEWIS, SECRETARY

Cedric Lewis has been a member of AYC since 1994 and an AYC Foundation board member since 2011. After moving to Annapolis in 1977 he joined the Severn Sailing Association (SSA) junior sailing program where he fostered a love for sailing and lifelong friendships. 

DONALD FARNAN

Donald Farnan joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1983 and retired from PwC on July 1, 2021. During his time there, he served and led client teams ranging from two people early in his career to hundreds of team members in audit, tax, and consulting. 

JACKIE ROLLERI

Jackie was introduced to sailing while working as a launch operator and dockmaster at yacht clubs in Connecticut and Rhode Island. After college, Jackie worked as a deckhand aboard mega-yachts in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

ADEN KING, VICE PRESIDENT

Aden King joined the AYC foundation in 2020.  He has been an active member of the local sailing community since 1998 when he moved to Annapolis from Upstate NY.   At that time, he began actively racing J22s and still competes on a local and national level. 

Chip Carr grew up in the Annapolis area and the Annapolis Yacht Club has been part of his family for 70 years. He joined the Club in 1984 and Chip has been on the ACYF Board for 15 years.

JENNIFER NORWOOD

Jennifer Norwood is a 30-year member of the Annapolis Yacht Club and has held many leadership roles at the Club as well as served as flag officer on the Board of Governors from 2018-2023.

JACELYN SWENSON

Jacie Swenson started racing at age 8 and taught sailing during her high school and college summers. She has competed and won regional and national championships in myriad one-design classes. When she's not racing, Jacie enjoys cruising the Chesapeake Bay on Madeline, the 40' Robbins that she owns with her husband, as well as skiing, hiking, running and yoga.

BRAD JULIAN, TREASURER

Brad Julian has been a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club since 2016 and an AYC Foundation board member since 2020. He learned to sail at Severn Sailing Association when his family moved from Southern California to Annapolis at age 13 and quickly began racing in the international 420 class as a junior sailor.

JENNY CRAWFORD

Jenny Crawford is a non-profit professional and has been the Director of Development at The Light House Homeless Prevention and Support Center in Annapolis since 2017.  She and her husband, Stephen, have two young boys, the oldest of whom started on the Annapolis Yacht Club Green Fleet Optimist Race Team in 2022. 

Jim Praley has been a member of the AYCF Board since 2008.  A native of Anne Arundel County, he learned to sail at Indian Landing Boat Club in his early teens and has long enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake and offshore on his own boats and those of tolerant friends. 

AYCF ADVISORY COMMITTEE

COLE ALLSOPP

Cole Allsopp grew up racing dinghies and keel boats in Annapolis. He attended primarily the Severn Sailing Association Junior Program as well as the AYC Junior Program.

JOHN BREMER

John Bremer has over 30 years experience as an engineer and entrepreneur developing innovative solutions in the healthcare services industry domestically and internationally.

MATT SCHUBERT

Matt Schubert has been a member of the AYCF Board for 12 years and served as president from 2018-2023. He grew up in Annapolis and competitively sailed both nationally and internationally in the optimist dinghy out of SSA. 

JILL BENNETT

Jill Bennett joined the AYC Foundation in 2023. She grew up sailing her Laser and racing keelboats with her dad on Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City. She raced J24’s through high school and college then moved to Annapolis to start a career. She figured if the job didn’t work out the sailing would be great.

Ian Burman grew up in Annapolis Maryland and sailing has been a huge part of his life from a young age.  After starting out cruising the Chesapeake with his family, Ian got hooked by one design racing in the El Toro class. 

JENNY BENSON

Jenny Benson is an Eastern Shore local and member of Tred Avon Yacht Club. Over her years of supporting youth sailing, she has directed the Junior Sailing program at her home club, served on the CBYRA Jr Committee, the USODA Board of Directors and the C420 Board of Directors.

FREDRIK SALVESEN

Fredrik Salvesen has been a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club since 1995 and an AYC Foundation Advisory Committee member since 2010. Fredrik learned to sail from his dad who sailed as a kid in Norway.