I had the pleasure of sailing the Roy Woolsey Regatta at LIYC. Racers enjoyed beautiful sailing conditions, but more importantly it was a great opportunity to remember Roy Woolsey, who was truly a local sailing legend.
To say that Roy epitomized “Corinthian” Sailing is an understatement. He sailed the first-ever Lido 14 Championship in 1958, and he sailed in the Class’s 50th Anniversary Championship in 1997 (at age 90!). In between he is also estimated to have sailed another 30-plus Lido Championships over the 50 years between these events. Roy passed away in 1997 just a few days after competing in the 50th Lido Champs.
When Roy wasn’t out on the water, he was well known in California legal circles as a successful trial lawyer – Bob Yates shared a story that Roy argued a case at the Supreme Court in his mid-80s partly to show that he still could.
To quote reigning Lido champion Mark Gaudio, “If I’m in town, the Woolsey regatta is the one event that I won’t miss.”
On the water, competitors in the Woolsey regatta were treated to great summer-like conditions, with steady 10- to 12-knot breezes and temperatures in the mid-70s. A total of about 50 sailors raced in Lido 14s and Lasers (another boat that Roy enjoyed racing actively until his mid-80s).
It was a fun five-race regatta run at LIYC by Yates. Gaudio and John Papadopolis won Lido A, Porter and Chris Killian narrowly beat myself and Dede Ward in the Lido 14 B class, and Michael and Jimmy Madigan dominated the Laser and Laser Radial classes, respectively.
