In February, our friends at Clagett Sailing announced the members of Team Clagett for 2025. These five sailors will be representing Clagett Sailing at the 2.4mR World Championship, hosted by Fraglia Vela (Sailing Brotherhood) Malcesine in Veneto, Italy in October. Among those who’ll be racing these “one-person keelboats for all” on spectacular Lago di Garda is longtime North Sails Sales/Ops representative Chuck Allen.
© Will Keyworth Photography
“I grew up in Wickford, Rhode Island,” says Chuck, who resides there with his wife Becky. My family were more powerboaters, spending summer vacations in Block Island at Champlin’s Marina. I would bring my Sea Dog (a local frostbite boat) and sail around New Harbor all day.
“I started sailing late, at age 13, because I had so many other sports: baseball, soccer, cross country, etc. I had lots of catching up to do, so I sailed as much as I could. My next boat was a Sunfish. I loved sailing a boat with a chine, and sailing in a ton of conditions taught me a lot. I remember my first I-420 Worlds with crew Mike Tammaro. We bought our first boat from Jenny Swett (USA 36514). Jenny was legend at the time and I was friends with Hannah her younger sister, who everyone knows now, but let me tell you Jenny and Bradie Swett were untouchable…we had to have THEIR boat!
“High school Sailing was at Bishop Hendicken, an all-boys Catholic school. We didn’t have any boats, so we practiced with St. George’s and Tabor a bunch. We were quite competitive, placing 5th and 3rd at Nationals…our coach was the Hockey coach!
“Sailing at the University of Rhode Island was much of the same. Lars Guck and I entered at the same time, so sailing all four years together was great, with many regatta wins in dinghies, sloops, keelboats, etc. We both became All-Americans and had All-American crews. So many stories from The URI days…”
Chuck cites several sailing mentors: “Henry Little, a great salesman at North Sails, basically taught me how to race big boats and how to relate with the owners. Ed Adams is The Man. Every class he sailed in, he would be the go-to guy for tuning, set-ups, etc. Others included Dan Neri, Kenny and Brad Read, Lars Guck, and Tim Hotchkis (the King of Current and funny as hell).
“I worked in the spinnaker department building kites at Shore Sails during college, and with both Dan and Kenny sailing J/24s it was non-stop 24 kites. Bill Shore had us racing Lightnings, Shields and Snipes. Brad worked there too, and I went to
J/22 events with him…many trophies and van rides.
“After college, West Marine was opening tons of stores on the East Coast and I decided to join them. Based in Newport, I became the manager there as well doing store planning out of Watsonville, California, opening new locations, mostly in Florida and the Carolinas. I’d go to a store for three weeks, get to the grand opening, fly to the next spot and repeat. Then I moved to Sausalito and managed that store and continued building new stores.
“One day, North Sails president Gary Weisman came in. We met over in the North Sails Oakland site and he offered me a job back in Rhode Island running a new division called Cruising Direct. Twenty-four years later and with many positions held, my favorite job at North was with One-Design, selling sails and racing boats – right up my alley.
“I had a stroke two years ago, and spent Christmas and New Year’s in Vanderbilt Rehab at Newport Hospital. The team there is spectacular. From Speech to PT and OT, it is well run. Then came all that at home, combined with Outpatient back at Vanderbilt. The biggest help during that time was my wife Becky. She’s the real trooper here!
“Frostbiting Sea Dogs was out of the question, but I was able to rehab enough to get back that summer and sail the season with Outlier, a team from Nantucket. I went to US Sailing’s National Programs Symposium in Savannah, where I ran into Betsy Alison. She mentioned the 2.4mR and Clagett Sailing. She introduced me to Clagett Sailing board member Andrew Parish who told me about the Clagett Boat Grant Program, so I applied and got it. Andrew has helped me enormously. He’s always there for a call or help with boat issues I may have…I can’t say enough. I’ve only been at it for half a year, but have sailed in something like eight regattas, from Sandy Bay to Florida…great fun! Clagett Sailing has been nothing but supportive during this whole process.
“My first 2.4mR event was the C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta in Newport. I’d never rigged or sailed a 2.4mR before, and this was the perfect time to start. I met lots of people in the boat park, learning tips, etc. I also had my college buddies Buster Pike and Heather Shaver helping me out, which was huge, but the most help came from the coaching during the regatta. My learning curve was tenfold, especially from Nancy Haberland, and we had daily debriefs after sailing. Like a sponge I was, and it wasn’t long before I was winning races. I couldn’t believe how many volunteers were there, from help on the dock to the water, just crazy. Some of my new friends sailing the 2.4mR require lifts to get in and out of their boats and there was always someone around to assist. It’s just an awesome event!
“The 2.4mR looks like a 12 Metre, just shrunk down. At just under 14 feet, it fits one sailor and weighs about 560 pounds with removable lead as ballast. It is sailed with a main and jib, and the jib has a whisker pole which launches off the boom to go wing-on-wing downwind. The boat has a lot of controls: jib leads, backstay, vang, jib cloth, etc. There is a mast puller to bring the mast forward downwind so there are lots of lines to pull, but you get used to it as it becomes second nature. Steering has two options: a tiller and foot pedals. I have both, as I like to hand steer when it’s windy and big waves. 2.4mRs are sailed by both able-bodied and para sailors. It’s a very cool boat to sail!
“We are expecting 100-plus boats at this year’s Worlds. Garda is windy in the morning for practice, like 6:00 to 9:00 am, then the breeze shuts off, goes 180 degrees the opposite way and comes in for the afternoon, usually a race to the right.”
Chuck’s Team Clagett teammates for the 2025 2.4mR Worlds are Peter Eager (Toronto, ON), Delani Hulme Lawrence (Saint Paul, AB), Siobhan MacDonald (Toronto, ON) and Julio Reguero (San Juan, PR), with Tim Ripley (Randolph, NJ) as the reserve. “We are sending twelve boats over to Italy in two containers from Miami,” Chuck explains. “They leave in early August. Our training for the event is basically ‘sail the boats as much as possible until they leave the States.’ Every Team Clagett sailor going to Worlds helps each other, so in that way there’s a lot of support.
In preparation for the 2.4mR Worlds, Team Claggett is competing in the 23rd Annual C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta, hosted by Sail Newport at Fort Adams State Park the weekend of June 18-21. (Readers seeking an unforgettable volunteer experience are encouraged to visit clagettsailing.org – Ed.)
“Being selected for Team Clagett has given me some much-needed confidence sailing small boats again. Everyone in the 2.4mR Class has been welcoming and really helpful right from the start, from rigging to sailing tips. I have met many new friends through Clagett Sailing, from coast to coast in the U.S. as well as in Canada, all of whom have gone through similar disabilities. This has been life-changing.” ■
Sam Crichton contributed to this story.
