A Bit of Midwinters History

Doug Clark, former coach at the Naval Academy, was one of the founding members of the Annapolis InterClub Fleet. He’ll be coming down to the regatta this year with sailors from the Merchant Marine Academy. I asked him about the “old” days, and this is what he had to say:

“I believe the first IC Midwinters was 1989, Pete McChesney and I were the instigators. I sold a Soling we had at Navy and purchased 3 new IC’s from Menkart. At SSA we found some 100 series boats in Rochester for $500 a piece – instant fleet. Alex’s (Stout) boat the “pig” I think is the only surviving member. We had 12 teams that 1st year. The funniest thing was when Gary Jobson was sailing and came into the basin to rotate and got his sail wrapped up in a piling and tore it to shreads. Good laughs for all the spectators. Thanks for all the hard work.”

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Midwinters Factoid

Is it too cold and windy to frostbite in February?

Since 1996, frostbite regattas in Annapolis (4 Midwinters and 1 Nationals) have never missed a single day’s racing. On average, the Annapolis IC Fleet misses less than 2 days racing per year due to bad weather. These statistics make Annapolis the most reliable location for frostbiting on the East Coast. The Annapolis Midwinter’s regattas generally run over 20 races in a weekend, or 10 races per division.

A few past winning skippers of the IC Midwinters include:

  • Ed Adams
  • Andy Pimental
  • Neal Fowler
  • Bill Hardesty
  • Jim Bowers
  • Tim Healy
  • Bill Healy