My Sailing Accomplishments
Avid Athlete & Lifelong Sailor
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Update!! I will be joining the New York Yacht Club, Bella Mente Quantum Racing America's Cup Design Team! For more on my adventures in the AC design world (starting in Spain!) please follow my blog at rlesh.wordpress.com
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Teamwork, Drive & Dedication are what sailing as a competitive athlete means to me. These three components help me succeed on the water, at work and in my sailing. Sailing competitively over the past 9/10+ years has helped to make me the strong, driven individual I am today. I have been on boats since I was 6 days old and grew up sailing on the weekends throughout the year & taking long trips in the summers. Starting in middle school I started racing dinghies and weekday races on our San Juan 34. I raced profusely all through middle school, high school and college both in dinghies and keel boats.
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I recently graduated from MIT where I sailed on the varsity sailing team for four years and received the Women's Team 2016 Most Valuable Player (Skipper) of the Year award. Link to roster.
I am currently the High Performance Fleet Manager at Oakcliff Sailing in on Long Island. At Oakcliff I race every weekend, many week-nights and manage Oakcliff's fleet of eighteen 49er Skiffs, six foiling Nacra 17 catamarans, two C-board Nacra 17s, two foiling carbon Nacra 20s, and six foiling WASZPs. My current passions are training on our fleet of foiling Nacra 17s and evening "WASZPing" foiling training-sessions. I'm still working on my WASZP website but you can check out how it's going at www.waszpworld.com
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College sailing awards:
- ICSA Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship of the Year Award Runner-up 2016 - link
- New England (NESA) Sportswoman of the Year, 2016 - link - MIT article
- MIT Varsity Sailing Team Women's Team MVP, 2015-2016 - article
- New England Women's Sailor of the Week, September 2015 - link
- Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) 2014-2015 All-Academic Sailing Team - link
- New England (NESA) Sportswoman of the Year, 2015 - link
- New England (NESA) Women's Skipper's Second Team, 2015 - link
- New England (NESA) Women's Sailor of the Week, October 2014
- New England (NESA) Women's Skipper's Second Team, 2014
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National Competitions:
- WASZP Nationals, September 2017, 3rd place - Results
- College Sailing Nationals 2016, A Skipper, 8th place, 9th in A - MIT article
- Laser Radial Nationals, 2015, 10th place - MIT article - News article
- College Sailing Nationals 2014, Alternate, 7th place
- Qualified for Laser Radial Nationals 2014 & 2015 - MIT article
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Recent High Performance Events:
- Oakcliff Triple Crown Stage 3, August 2017, in a 470, Crewing, 2nd place Womens, 3rd overall - link
- Oakcliff Triple Crown Stage 3, August 2017, in a foiling Nacra 17, Helm/Crew, 3rd place- link
- Oakcliff Triple Crown Stage 3, August 2017, in a 49er FX, Helm - link
- C-Foil Nacra 17 Nationals, August 2016, Helm, 1st
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Foiling Experience:
- Extensive training in Foiling Nacra 17s and Foiling WASZPs
- Experience sailing Carbon Foiling Nacra 20s and Moths
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Match Racing:
- U.S. Match Race Nationals, Crew, October 2017, 3rd place - link
- Oakcliff International, Grade 2, Crew, August 2017, 8th/11 place - link
- Oakcliff Grade 3 Clinegatta, Crew, August 2017, 4th place - link
- Oakcliff Grade 4 Clinegatta, Crew, July 2017, 4th place - link
- Oakcliff Grade 4 Clinegatta, Helm, June 2017, 2nd place- link
- U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship, Helm, September 2016, 3rd place - link
- Oakcliff International, Grade 2, Crew, August 2016, 3rd place - link
- Oakcliff Grade 3 Clinegatta, Helm, August 2016 - link
- Oakcliff Grade 4 Clinegatta, Helm, August 2016, 2nd place- link
- Oakcliff Grade 5, July 2016, Helm, 1st place - link
- Taylor Trophy @ Larchmont YC, Crew, July 2016 - link
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Keel Boat Racing:
- Block Island Race, Far 40, Bow, May 2017
- Edelu Race, Columbia 32-Carbon, Bow, May 2017, 1st/13 in class
- American Yacht Club Spring Series, Columbia 32-Carbon, Bow, April/May 2017
- High Performance Dinghy Open, Viper, Front, October 2016
- American Yacht Club Fall Series, Ker 11.3, Bow, October 2016, 2nd in class
- American Yacht Club Fall Series weekend 1, Farr 40 - "Oakcliff Black", Bow, October 2016
- The Vienyard Race, Ker 50 - "Temptation", Bow Assist, September 2016
- Edgartown Race Week, Ker 50 - "Temptation", Bow Assist & Squirrel, July 2016, 1st in class Round the Buoys, 2nd Round the Island
- Swiftsure International Yacht Race, Beneteau 36.7 - "Intuition", Crew & Helm, Summer 2015
- Tactician, Bellingham Yacht Club, Beneteau 36.7 - "Intuition", Summer 2015 & 2014
- Crew, Long Island Yacht Club Race, J44 - "Resolute", Summer 2015
- Crew & Helm, Bellingham Yacht Club, Etchells, Summer 2014
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Achievements:
- First place at the International Laser Performance Collegiate Cup, August 2015
- Accepted to selective America's Cup/North Sails Internship Program
- Attended High Performance Skiff Clinics at Oakcliff Sailing Center, Spring & Fall 2015, Spring 2016
Other Keel Boat Experience:
- Crew & Helm, Ultra 30 - "Team Zombie", Training day Oyster Bay
- Crew & Helm, Andrews 68 - "Simon Says", Delivery (250 miles)
- Co-captain, Navigator & Helm, 24 foot sloop, one month in the San JuanIslands, Summer 2015
- Crew, Helm & Navigator, Grew up on San Juan 34, sailing most weekends - link
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Click on these links to read about one of my college sailing regattas and my 2016 trip to the America's Cup facilities in Bermuda!
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International Laser Performance Collegiate Cup, Robyn Lesh - Helm, Sydney Monahan - Crew