The 19th Brooke E. Gonzalez or “BEG” Clinic was held at Sail Newport June 13-16. Miss Gonzalez was a promising youth sailor who died tragically in 1997. Gonzalez impressed members of the sailing community with her willingness to learn and improve. The clinic honors that memory by gathering some of the best youth sailors with astounding coaches in Newport, Rhode Island.

Ella Beauregard and Hamilton Barclay of Southport attended the clinic after a rigorous application process on first selection in April. This was the first time the pair were eligible to attend this premier racing clinic. Participants arrived Thursday afternoon; some flew across country while others missed the last few days of school to attend. Upon arrival sailors set up boats for a tuning clinic and three intense 12-hour days of learning. Classes involved in the BEG Clinic were the Laser Radial, 29er, I420, and C420.

BEG co-founder, Brown Head Coach John Mollicone and Sail Newport’s Race Programs Manager Nick Eweson, staged the 2019 clinic. Two-time Olympic medalist Anna Tunicliffe-Tobias (Laser), Stuart McNay (470), Willie McBride (49er), and Sarah Lihan (470) joined a dozen collegiate coaches to train the sailors aged 14 to 18. Richard Feeny, US Sailing Olympic Development Program head coach, led the 29er squad. USCGA head coach Brian Swingly and Tobias led the Laser squad. URI’s Skip Whyte and Mollicone led the I420 squad. Dartmouth head coach Justin Assad and Bowdoin Head Coach Frank Pizzo along with Olympian Lihan and Maine Maritime Academy head coach Tyler Martin coached the 24 boat C420 squad. Tufts’ coach Ken Legler returned for his 19th year at the clinic to run races Sunday.

124 sailors were selected from more than 300 applicants. Acceptance to the clinic was determined by demonstrated competence and race results. The C420 class was the largest class with 24 pairs accepted out of 75 applicant teams. Applicants provided published results, a resume, stated sailing goals, a coach’s reference, and their training regimen. Participants wore sailing team gear from schools they were heading to in the fall including Navy, Dartmouth, Yale, Penn, Brown, URI, and Stanford. A California contingent of sailors planned on staying for the Nationals in July, with other sailors coming from the USVI, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, the Midwest, and New England.

Thursday’s registration was followed by a tuning clinic held in light showers after earlier downpours. After the tuning session, a cookout style dinner and opening remarks were made at Sail Newport’s new facility. Then the participants left for their dorm housing at Salve Regina College in the historic mansion section of Newport.

Friday dawned bright, clear and blustery with a growing southwesterly. Day 1 focused on boat handling as each class sailed out Narragansett Bay into the Atlantic with winds in the mid-twenties. Some parents noted the forecast on Facebook. The sea state was described by Barclay as “big as small houses.” The 24-boat C420 squad was broken into groups of eight boats. One boat came in early with a jammed centerboard, and a top Severn School sailor from Annapolis was sent to an urgent care facility with a suspected concussion. Our Southport sailors tore a spinnaker on the last hoist of the day.

Diminished conditions were expected Saturday but again saw mid-twenties breeze in the morning that dropped to low teens in the afternoon. Day 2 focused on boat speed, with long upwind beats requiring keeping the boat flat while adjusting sails and bodies with as little tiller movement as possible. Sailors extended themselves on trapezes and tested their hiking muscles. Downwind the teams focused on high wind jibes and surfing. A coach noted Ella and Hamilton’s surfing techniques working to pump the spinnaker and mainsheet to extend the boat’s time on the wave.

Sunday’s Race Day saw the Southport sailors nervous given the immense talent pool in their class. Barclay noted it was the highest level of competition they had faced, while Beauregard faced pre-race jitters for the first time in nearly a year. The winds were in the high teens but racing was held in a familiar area between Rose and Goat Islands close to the Pell Bridge.

In the six short races, each lasting 20-24 minutes, the pair managed mid-teen finishes never less than 13 nor higher than 18. Setting the spinnaker in a gust in race 5 swamped the boat as the bow dove into two waves. The pair doused the spinnaker and bailed furiously finishing the race with a boat that had recovered from a capsize.

Head Coach Mollicone’s clinic write up and race results are still pending. Our Southport sailors found the big wind experience and high level competition both humbling and worthwhile as it provides a road map for improvement. Their next event is the New England C420 Championships in Shelter Island, New York July 1-2.