February 2004. CONGRATULATIONS!!! to all the
women who have won the Olympic Trials and will be representing us in
Athens: Meg Gaillard (Europe); Carol Cronin, Liz Filter and Nancy
Haberland (Yngling); Katie McDowell and Isabelle Kinsolving (470);Lanee
Butler Beashel (Mistral).
Nice radio spot NPR did recently on Carol Cronin and
team.
February, 2004. Kudos to Gail Hine, who ran
the 15th annual Women's Sailing Convention February 7th at Bahia
Corinthian Yacht Club, in Corona del Mar, CA. Over 300 women
participated in the one-day on-the-water and off-the-water seminars and
coaching situations. Keynote speaker was Doris Colgate, CEO and
co-owner of Offshore Sailing School and founder of the National Women's
Sailing Association and Women's Sailing Foundation.
January, 2004. Hannah Swett of NY receives
the 2003 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award. The following was
taken from the press release in the USSAILING archived pages
A panel of sailing journalists
selected Hannah for the distinction from a shortlist of five nominees for
the Rolex Yachtswoman. Established in 1961 by US SAILING and sponsored by
Rolex Watch U.S.A. since 1980, the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the
Year Awards recognize outstanding on-the-water achievement in the calendar
year just concluded. The winners were honored and presented with specially
engraved Rolex timepieces February 6, 2004, luncheon at the New York
Yacht Club in Manhattan.
Hannah Swett, age 34, was cited by the
panel for full-time dedication to her Olympic campaign in the very
competitive Yngling class, which will make its debut at the 2004 Olympic
Regatta in Athens, Greece. Swett’s list of achievements in the Yngling
is topped with victory at the Yngling World Championship, where her team
competed among a fleet of 40.
"I am truly honored to accept this prestigious award," said
Swett. "I accept it on behalf of my teammates Melissa Purdy and Joan
Touchette. Together we accomplished a great deal in the past year."
The banner year includes an impressive string of first-place finishes at
the Yngling Olympic Pre-Trials, Scandinavian Race Week and Danish
Nationals, as well as a second out of 85 boats at the Yngling Open World
Championship.
Swett is also recognized as one of the best match racers in the world and
in 2003 she participated in two events, finishing second at the ISAF Grade
1 Rolex Osprey Cup and third at US SAILING’s U.S. Women’s Match Race
Championship. This prompted one panelist to note that "even though
she spends almost all of her time in the Yngling, she found the time to
have fun and do very, very well in match racing."
Raised in Brookline, Mass., Swett started sailing in Jamestown, R.I.,
where her parents own a summer home. Her sailing career blossomed at St.
George's School (Middletown, R.I.) when she won the High School Nationals
as a freshman.
At Brown University (Providence, R.I.) Swett won the 1989 College
Nationals as a freshman, which earned her All-American honors. She again
made the All-American list in 1991. She met Purdy during her senior year
when both were on the sailing team and they forged a strong friendship
that eventually led them to sail aboard the historic "Mighty
Mary" women’s team in the 1995 America's Cup Challenger Series.
There they met Touchette, who ultimately filled the third position in
their current quest for an Olympic berth.
In 2000 when ISAF did not select match racing as the format for the new
women’s only keelboat event at the 2004 Olympic Games, Swett decided to
return to her family’s real estate business full-time. That decision was
soon interrupted by a phone call from Purdy who persuaded her old friend
to take up the helm of an Yngling once again. "I couldn’t turn down
an offer like that," said Swett. "It’s been great to be so
completely involved with something. I’ve never had an experience like
this before, not in sailing, not in business, and it is thrilling."
Swett recalled that her love of sailing started as a child when she
decided to emulate her mother, Eleanor Burgess, who was once a celebrated
Finn sailor. "I heard all these great stories about how awesome my
mother was and just like her, I like to compete against the boys. My
parents are incredibly supportive. I cannot imagine doing this without
them." In addition to her mother, Swett notes that she gets a lot of
advice from her father Brad Swett. "When I get home from a training
camp, he always asks for the details and we talk over everything."
Acknowledged as the sport’s highest honor in the United States, the
Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year awards have honored such sailing standouts
as Betsy Alison, Liz Baylis, Dawn Riley, and Cory Sertl.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America’s Cup
defenders in 1958, the company has consistently endeavored to recognize
and encourage excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing,
including Olympic Games preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled
sailing, and offshore, one-design and women’s events.
October 2, 2003
Frannie Wakeman was
inducted into
N.E.
Women's Sports Hall of Fame.
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