After three days of intense on the water competition off the Balboa Pier at Newport Beach, California, Boston Yacht Club member Charlie Quigley won the prestigious U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship in September, 2002. BYC member Leo Fallon, Jr. sailed with Quigley as crew, together with David Bryan and Bill Hooper.

The event’s trophy is a beautiful silver tureen named the Clifford D. Mallory Cup. The cup has previously been awarded to other sailing luminaries such as BYC member Ted Hood, Cornelius Shields, and Buddy Melges. Following Quigley’s victory, US SAILING loaned the trophy to the BYC for display in the clubhouse.

This September the BYC Race Committee will host the Championship in Marblehead. Quigley will try to qualify for the Championship. As a lead up to the regatta we asked him about the event and his big win.

John Henson for the BYC Race Committee
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BYC: Winning the U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship is a major achievement which involves several regattas. Could you explain how this “ladder event” works? What types of one-design boats were used?

CQ:  US SAILING, the governing body for sailboat racing in the United States, divides the country up into 10 regions, designated as Areas A through K. Area A includes most of New England and is subdivided into four geographical areas, each of which is governed by a sailing association. These are the Mass Bay Sailing Association (MBSA), the Northeast Sailing Association, the Narragansett Bay Sailing Association, and the Southern Massachusetts Sailing Association.

The ladder event is a series of qualification rounds where the top boats from each of the Association Championships rounds advance to the US SAILING Area Championship and then the winner of the Area Championship advances to the U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship. At each level, the organizers attempt to conduct the event in the same type boat as that used in the finals.

BYC:  What was the time commitment for the competitors?

CQ:  Each round was usually completed in one afternoon, except for the finals. You were required to compete in every round to qualify. The MBSA territory ranges from the New Hampshire border to Scituate so not much traveling was required in the initial round. The Area A round can be a haul however. We have driven to locations ranging from Newport to Montpelier to spend a single afternoon on the water trying to qualify. In 2002, the Mass Bay Championship was held in Boston Harbor at the Courageous Sailing Center in Rhodes 19s. The next round, the Area A Championship, was held at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead in Sonars. As you can see we didn’t have to travel much that year until the finals in California.

BYC: You had two first place finishes and three second place finishes during the finals. What factors were on your side?

CQ:  The Mallory that year was held in J24s using jibs as the headsail rather than the class genoas. The racing was conducted in light to moderate air. Acceleration and boat handling in the chop were big issues we all had to deal with. There was a lot of frustration expressed by competitors more accustomed to racing their own J24s using genoas. Having sailed J24s for years in Boston Harbor frostbite racing under similar conditions helped our cause.

BYC:  Were the boats rotated among the contestants? If so, did you see much difference between them?

CQ:  They were rotated every race so the competitors sailed each boat once. They all had new sails and their rigs were tuned exactly the same prior to racing. The boats were very even.

BYC:  Were there professional competitors in the event? What were the major financial issues?

CQ:  There are usually a couple of pro’s mixed into the final round. As far as finances are concerned, the boats and sails were supplied at the event eliminating the expense of providing your own boat, buying new sails, and fairing bottoms. Housing was provided so the air travel was the major expense for the competitors.

BYC:  Were there significant differences between the sailing conditions off Southern California compared to New England?

CQ:  New England is New England. In the fall, you can get rain in the  50°s, fog and squalls followed by sunshine in the 90°s, all within the period of one four day event. Southern California was pretty much what you would expect-- sunshine and steady breeze.

BYC:  J24s have been around for some time. How do they stack up alongside newer one-design classes? What is your favorite one-design boat?

CQ:  There are boats that are faster, handle better, and are easier to sail, but no racing boat that size has the accommodations for day sailing/cruising that the J24 has. It is a classic boat that will be around for awhile.

Favorite one-design boat? That is a tough one. One of my most memorable races involved setting the chute while reaching on a Etchells in 30+ knots of breeze. We finished a 13.5 nautical mile olympic triangle course in just over an hour and 5 minutes. Most of my last 20 years of racing has been on keelboats but I will always remember planing from the trapeze of a 420 with the spinnaker flying.

BYC:  At what age did you start sailing? Who was the most influential sailor in your early days?

CQ:  I began racing at the age of eight at the Winchester Boat Club on Mystic Lake. I continued sailing until the age of 17 and then after working a few years out of college I picked it up again at around 26. My father probably encouraged my racing more than anyone.

BYC:  Sailboat racing garners more popular support in countries such as the UK, New Zealand and France than in the US. What are your thoughts on that? Is there a “center” of sailboat racing on the east coast?

CQ:  The lack of media coverage in the US for sailing is nothing new, but the sport has done pretty well on its own and continues to grow. Regarding your question about the geographic mecca of sailing, clearly the center of racing on the East Coast is at the Boston Yacht Club.

BYC:  On that point we concur. Thank you, Charlie.
 

 

BYC members Charlie Quigley (center) and Leo Fallon Jr. (second from left).