U.S. Patriot Sailing: A Year in Review

U.S. Patriot Sailing is the only national level, all volunteer run program completely dedicated to supporting combat, wounded, and disabled veterans through the sport of sailing.

What a year 2020 turned out to be for all of us.  Little did we know in January, as we put on our boots and zipped up our foul weather gear for frostbite racing, how everything would be turned upside down.  We recognize everyone has a story to tell about this past year, many unfortunately including great loss, pain, and challenges.  However, we hope to shine some positive light for this readership as we review the successful year for the U.S. Patriot Sailing team, to spread our message, and connect off with water with this supportive community. 

You may have seen our boats out on the race course.  Maybe the logo on our jackets at the yacht club, but before we can review this past year, let’s begin with what this team is all about.

U.S. Patriot Sailing is a competitive sailing team that aims to get combat and wounded veterans out on the water with a new mission to accomplish in life.  No sailing experience is required because we teach our teammates, most of which are new to sailing, the skills required to succeed on the race course.  The team is a nationally established, 100% volunteer run organization where we plan, operate, and maintain the boats in our fleet with dedicated supporters, veterans, and active duty service members from across the country.

Mission: We support our Veteran community by welcoming our fellow Veterans back onto a winning team - offering camaraderie, mission accomplishment, and new dynamic experiences - we foster supportive and understanding Veteran communities, ready to help Teammates navigate the hardships of transition, rehabilitation after injury, and the complex life challenges associated with combat deployments.     

Teamwork is the core of any military experience. After deployments and retirement, many veterans no longer have access to the small unit environment so fundamental to military life.  Sailing offers a unique atmosphere where veterans of all ages and capabilities can enjoy camaraderie; navigate dynamic challenges; experience healthy adrenaline; actualize mission accomplishment; feel calm and peace, all in one event.

Peter Quinn, LCDR (ret.) and US Naval Academy graduate (class of ’99), saw firsthand many of his fellow veterans returning from intense combat deployments and knew sailing could benefit their recovery or transition back home. In 2013 Peter founded the program in Hampton, VA as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  U.S. Patriot Sailing has completed its 7th year supporting hundreds of veterans nationally.  Additionally, the team successfully expanded to include Annapolis and San Diego chapters. 

The Annapolis region team of U.S. Patriot Sailing is stronger than ever before.  We have a depth of veterans on the roster and continue to grow with new crew members joining almost every event.  We have veterans with diverse backgrounds, from all branches of the military, and ranging from active duty individuals on their first enlistment to retired officers and staff non-commissioned officers, all coming together for a common purpose in the name of competition.  This local team is particularly special, because we are able to support veterans racing in the Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C region. 

 Steve Young, an Army Veteran, helped expand the Annapolis team and has volunteered a significant amount of time in Annapolis as a skipper since 2017.  He brought online both the Farr30 and Melges24.  More recently in 2019 I, Peter Gibbons-Neff, joined the team as a skipper, having previously sailed with the team in 2018.  As an active duty captain in the Marine Corps, I found the program to be extremely supportive after returning home from another deployment overseas and as I currently make the transition to civilian life.  U.S. Patriot Sailing’s continued vision is to get more veterans trained and qualified to skipper or crew to continue to build the program.

 The Annapolis team’s fleet currently consists of the Farr30 “Patriot” and the Melges 24 “Patriot IV”.  These boats are fast, exciting to race, and an excellent platform for veterans to learn how to sail in a safe, competitive environment.  They are conveniently docked at Bert Jabin Yacht Yard on Back Creek in Annapolis, surrounded by some of the top boats on the bay.   

After an impressive 2019 season, where the Annapolis region team competed in an incredible fifty races or regattas, 2020 was shaping up to be an even bigger year. 

The 2020 season began with a chilly January, frostbite racing J22s out of Downtown Sailing Center (DSC) in Baltimore.  DSC has remained committed in their support to U.S. Patriot Sailing, always welcoming as hosts with outstanding racing throughout the year. For those team members that wanted to escape the cold, they traveled down to St Petersburg, FL. From 14-16 February they competed in the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta on the Melges24 “Patriot IV”. In a competitive fourteen boat fleet for the regatta, the Patriot team sailed against some of the best in the country, working hard, over the three days of racing, learning about the boat-but more importantly about themselves.

Jan 2020: Frostbite racing J22s at Downtown Sailing Center in Baltimore, MD

The Annapolis team continued to race J22s in the DSC frostbite series throughout February and prepared the Farr30 and Melges24 into early March for transport to Charleston to compete in the 25th anniversary of Charleston Race Week.  As we are all familiar with the happenings of the world in mid-March, all sailing plans were canceled until the foreseeable future. Another part of the team’s sailing plans for the spring included plans to fly to Ireland to compete for the Beaufort Cup against other nation’s veteran teams as part of Cork Week 2020 (and the celebration of Cork Yacht Club’s 300-year anniversary).  With the help of Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, a formal challenge to the Irish veteran team was issued during an event to launch the 2020 season.

Jan 2020: Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley (middle, right) supporting the U.S. Patriot Sailing event

Fast forward to June, and U.S. Patriot Sailing was back out on the water, just more socially distanced this time of course.  The re-launch of the season began where it had left off, now with bi-weekly racing at DSC in their fleet of J22s with a new limit of only two sailors aboard at a time.  Throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall, DSC would host racing Tuesday and Thursday nights which the team eagerly pursued to get veterans outside and back out on the water.  It provided an excellent opportunity for one on one training with the team skippers.

In June we received the generous donation of a hull wrap for the Farr30 by Boat Wraps-Chesapeake (boatwrapschesapeake.com).  This incredible design incorporated all branches of the military with a large American flag on the hull.  Chesapeake Boat Wraps would return later that summer to also wrap the Melges24 in her current dark blue color.  We thank Boat Wraps-Chesapeake for their generous donation to make the U.S. Patriot fleet look so sharp!

We took the summer slower than in years past, in an effort to follow social distancing guidelines while still providing a racing environment for many veterans.  Therefore, we mainly raced the Melges24 in the few weekend races that were hosted and in Wednesday Night Racing hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club.

In August, U.S. Patriot Sailing hosted a learn to sail seminar for new team members.  This started with dock side instruction on concepts such as safety, rigging, and basic sailing, then progressed into on the water practice later that day.  This action-packed day concluded with a socially distanced social event for new members to meet other teammates.  The following day the team hosted a more advanced training session for teammates who had more experience racing.

In mid August U.S. Patriot Sailing competed in the CRAB cup, which is hosted each year by the Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB) organization. This program provides sailing experiences to people with disabilities and our team is always excited to help support by participating in their annual regatta. This year the team raced hard and placed third in their class on the Melges24!

As the fall quickly approached, the team continued to compete in events such as the inaugural Naval Academy Sailing Squadron’s (NASS) Race to the Lighthouses.  The final racing of the season occurred from 23-25 October; U.S. Patriot Sailing traveled to South Carolina to compete in the Melges24 Charleston Open.  With a competitive fleet of twelve boats, this experience provided an excellent opportunity for the teammates to be challenged while working together and competing against high caliber sailors.

As the sailing season comes to a close, it provides an opportunity to reflect on 2020.  Even with part of the racing season canceled, the team came together, along with the greater Annapolis community, to persevere and overcome the challenging year.  Seeing the dedication of teammates over the past year makes us excited for the opportunities in the upcoming 2021 sailing season.

The U.S. Patriot Sailing Annapolis region team would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chesapeake Bay sailing community and clubs for their support, encouragement, and advice over this past season.  Thank you for welcoming these veterans back home and including us on the race course.  We cannot continue to provide this service to veterans without your backing. 

View the team’s website at uspatriotsailing.org , like them on Facebook, and follow on Instagram @uspatriotsailing.

Happy New Year from U.S. Patriot Sailing!