Former Olympic sailor wins first-ever EYC Women’s IOD Invitational

Greg Mancusi-Ungaro
September 9, 2024

The first-ever Eastern Yacht Club Women’s IOD Invitational featured top-level racing this past Saturday and Sunday with the win going to 2004 Olympic sailor Isabelle Farrar and her team from Fishers Island, New York.

A total of 38 women sailors on seven all-female teams competed in the regatta, a first for Marblehead and the International One Design Class. Farrar dominated the event with an impressive five bullets and one second over six races. Finishing second was local sailor Hanna Vincent and a team of sailors from MIT. Third place went to Jordan Hecht, and her team from the Downtown Sailing Center of Baltimore taking the final spot on the podium. Ameila Lewis, from Bermuda, Mia Thompson from Maine, and local sailors Carolyn Corbet and Emily Jennings led the other teams in the event.

The two days of racing, September 7-8, 2024, offered the competitors very different conditions. By the end of the weekend, the teams had sailed in just about every kind of sailing weather imaginable.

Saturday’s light air and large ocean swells challenged the sailors. Competitors were towed to the starting area in very light winds, and once there, slatted about waiting for the breeze. Large ocean swells swept through the racing area, and without enough wind to fill the sails, the waves bounced the boats about like leaves. It was uncomfortable for all. After a delay of about one hour, the sea breeze developed enough strength for racing. Three races were successfully sailed, and the finishing order — Farrar, Vincent, and Hecht — was the same in all three.

Sunday arrived with gusty offshore winds that offered ideal racing conditions. Hanna Vincent claimed the first race of the day, which opened the possibility that the regatta winner might not yet be decided. Alas, for Vincent and her team. Isabelle Farrar and her team of Fishers Island sailors, Beth Scholle, Meris Enright, Jennifer Parsons, Erin Maxwell, and Megan Raymond, took Sunday’s second race to clinch the overall victory.

“We want to thank the Eastern Yacht Club and the Marblehead IOD Fleet for putting the regatta together,” Farrar said during the awards ceremony. “It is my hope that this won’t be the last Women’s IOD Invitational.

The Eastern Yacht Club’s Susie Schneider led the Race Committee team for the weekend, which responded to every challenge that Mother Nature threw at them changing mark locations frequently to constantly present the sailors with the best possible tactical challenges. An all-female jury, led by Marblehead’s Danielle Lawson, stood by in case there was an incident that would require adjudication — but no protests were filed.

The Marblehead IOD Fleet was instrumental in creating, promoting and running the Women’s Invitational. Their generous owners made their boats available to the guest sailors, providing them with a closely matched racing fleet. Competitors drew for boats on Saturday morning, and to ensure that there was no advantage afforded any team, no team could sail in the boat regularly sailed by her skipper or any crew member.