Rolex Juniors Take "Next Step" to Keelboat Sailing At the Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC), held September 17-23 on Chesapeake Bay, it wasn't all about which team won, even though Wisconsin's Sally Barkow and crew wowed the 42-boat fleet with their stellar boat handling to carry off the title. It also was about who showed up. In addition to regatta participants, which included both experienced and novice sailors and mothers as well as mothers-to-be and daughters, a group of 27 junior sailors, ages 13-17, flew in from all corners of the continent and the UK for a long weekend of Rolex Next Step activities. "The Rolex Next Step Program was established in 1997 to expose junior women to advanced sailing in a mentoring atmosphere," said Rolex IWKC Outreach Director Sue Mikulski (Annapolis, MD), who along with Nan Walker, oversaw the whirlwind of activities for the juniors before taking the tiller of a J/22 to compete in the Rolex IWKC Regatta herself. "Since its creation, it has served as an inspiration for hundreds of young women. I feel strongly that juniors will take sailing to another level. I don't think any of us have a clue what competition will be like years from now!" The junior women arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately launched into their first of several on-water learning experiences. Compliments of J/Port and J/World of Annapolis, the Rolex Next Step juniors learned how to handle asymmetrical spinnakers aboard a fleet of 12 J/80s. A multitude of high-profile sailors from the community showed up to instruct and assist, while Rolex IWKC competitors, including the regatta's youngest skipper, 17-year-old Sara Morgan Watters (Annapolis, MD), checked in on the water for some practice race starts. The United States Naval Academy hosted an all-day clinic on Saturday at the Robert Crown Sailing Center. Allan Terhune, Director Basic Seamanship Training and JV Offshore Sailing, provided onshore instruction and on-the-water coaching in the Navy’s fleet of J/22 and Colgate 26 keelboats. This year a generous grant was given to the Rolex Next Step Program by the Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation to help promote the program. "We split into two groups, one for downwind drills and one for starts and upwind drills," said the participant who came the farthest distance, Frances Holmes of the UK. "I normally sail a Topper back home, which is a little bigger than an Optimist Dingy. I came to see what this type of racing involves." Holmes, like the other young women she had met for the first time less than 24 hours ago, had to apply to the Rolex Next Step program and write an essay on why she liked to race. "The finishing gun bangs, and I remember," wrote Holmes. "It's this feeling, the self-pride. It's the exhilaration on the start line just as the gun fires. It's the drift to shore when you know you have done your best. It's the love you have for the sport and the elements. It's the freedom you saw to the leeward mark." Taking time out from their team preparations to help with some hands-on instruction on Saturday were Debbie Probst, Cory Sertl, Julie Sitzman, and Jody Swanson. "When I heard Jody Swanson would be coming, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, that's just really amazing,'" said participant Daphne Arena (Pacific Grove, CA). "To watch how those women handle the boat, it's so subtle. They are really top notch and carry themselves a different way." According to Swanson, there was great satisfaction in showing the young girls the simplest of nuances about keelboat sailing such as working a snap shackle, wrapping the jib sheet the correct way around the winch and avoiding an override. "You are reminded that they have been sailing dinghies, and this is their first real step to sailing a bigger boat," she said. Swanson, who like Sertl is a Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, took the stage with 2004 Olympian Liz Filter on Sunday morning at the Annapolis Yacht Club to share their special moments in sailing with the juniors. Following that, the junior women, who by then had overcome all shyness and were comfortable with each other and familiar with the women sailing in the Rolex IWKC, boarded former US Sailing President Jim Muldoon's Santa Cruz 72 Donnybrook to view the afternoon practice race. "The participants were extremely impressive," said Annapolis sailor Dave Gendell who handled commentating duties aboard Donnybrook. "It was a light air race and unfolding very slowly. But they were focused throughout. They asked a lot of questions about the current and were constantly asking about and analyzing the tactical and strategic decisions of the racers." Gendell, the editor and co-owner of Annapolis-based SpinSheet Magazine, saw several Next Step participants taking notes on the conditions. When he pointed out the stretches of Severn River that serve as home waters to the Naval Academy's intercollegiate sailing team, he asked if any of the Next Step sailors were interested in college sailing. Every hand went up. "Sally Barkow, Carol Cronin and Jody Swanson are real heroes to these sailors," Gendell continued. "As we got near their boats cameras came out, and a real buzz ran through the group. There was a lot of energy, and it was wonderful to see it applied directly to sailboat racing." Participant Laura Beigel (Severna Park, MD) called it the chance of a lifetime. "I spent Sunday night writing everything I learned in my sailing journal. I think I wrote about five pages; the most yet from a weekend of sailing!" 2005 Rolex Next Step participants were: Daphne Arena, Pacific Grove, Calif. Amanda Baker, Grosse Ile, Mich. Christina Baker, Grosse Ile, Mich. Reilly Barrett, Bethesda, Md. Laura Beigel, Severna Park, Md. Louise Browning, Plandome Manor, N.Y. Christine Burke, Newport Beach, Calif. Kelsey Dubois, Grosse Ile, Mich. Kati Gulick, Portland, Maine Amanda Holm, Cape Carl, Fla. Frances Holmes, Rochdale, Lancashire, UK Tori Ibrahim, Chadds Ford, Pa. Sydney Jones, Christiansted, Virgin Islands Alanna Jordan, Glenwood, Md. Kesshi Jordan, Glenwood, Md. Chloe Leblanc-Libotte, New Brunswick, CANADA Sophie Little, Baltimore, Md. Katie Love, San Diego, Calif. Whitney McClees, Severna Park, Md. Amy Omlansky, Monterey, Calif. Danielle Powers, Port Washington, N.Y. Meredith Powlison, Shelburne, Vt. Cameron Regan, Killingworth, Conn. Kellie Rosica, Ocean City, N.J. Ashley Saylor, Gray, Ga. Keely Scates, Pacific Grove, Calif. Brooke Thomson, Newport Beach, Calif. Copyright © 2005, USA J/22 Class