Maddie was excited but nervous when she was asked by her coaches to skipper at CFJ Nationals. It was not part of the original plan for the summer as she had been focusing on Sabot Nationals, her had only been doing CFJs for less than a year, and most of that time was as a crew member. However, her coaches at NHYC felt she should get the experience and fellow (high school) sailors reiterated how she should get as much CFJ experience before she begins high school.

This year’s US Women’s Match Race Championships, held in Chicago, showed not only the range of Lake Michigan’s conditions, but the depth of the current women’s match racing fleet. Over three days of varying conditions, 10 teams comprised of 4 sailors fought for the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy.

The 2024 Sabot Nationals was my 4th and likely final Sabot Nationals. This event was a different experience than I am used to as it was hosted at SDYC and we sailed in La Playa, which is known to be very challenging. I would say that SDYC went above and beyond with how well organized and exciting it was after not hosting for 62 years. I enjoyed learning about the history of Sabot Nationals and seeing some of the past winners at the Opening / Welcome event. 

Thank you so much for accepting my grant application and getting me closer to competing on the Wing Foil World Tour. I really appreciate the help and support.

Team NHYC traveled to Newport, RI to compete in the NYYC 2v2 Women's Team Race Championship June 1st & 2nd. Each June, the New York Yacht Club welcomes a competitive group of women sailors representing yacht clubs and sailing associations from across the US for a weekend of team racing in Sonars. NHYC was thrilled to be invited back to compete this year, the fourth edition of this event. We fielded a team of eight women including Carolyn Smith, Sally Mace, Colin Voigt, Skylar Jacbosen, Clare Dahl, Maddie Bashaw, Marley Mais, and myself. 

Thank you for supporting me at the 2024 U.S Youth Champs Regatta in Bristol Rhode Island in June.  I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to compete at this high level event this summer because I learned so much more about big fleet strategies and tactics for sailing in heavy air. 

The wind conditions on the first two days of the event were building breezes that ranged from 18 to 25 knots by the end of the day. These conditions were great for me, and I was able to get some consistent results in the top half of the fleet. I was very happy with my overall results because I was able to see my gains and my improvements from last year's event, where I was very overwhelmed by the breeze and was in survival mode. This year I was in control and could appreciate my growth as a competitor in these heavy air conditions.

For the fleet split, I was able to make gold and even though we only had one race in our fleets because the wind died down the last day and they had to cancel after one race, I was still very pleased with my results.  I was proud that I was able to make gold with such a high caliber fleet. 

Overall, I am very grateful I sailed this event and I learned so much in the heavy wind days. Thank you again for your support.