Fair American: A Shift to Race Mode

AYC

AYC

— 5 min read
Share
Fair American: A Shift to Race Mode

by Carolyn Russell

There was a noticeable shift during NYYC Race Week at Newport. Not just in our results, but in who we are as a team. For the first time, we felt less like a group of individual sailors racing an IC37 and more like a team racing one boat.

Since the spring of 2025, the American Yacht Club Women's Team has been training with one goal in mind: being prepared to compete at the New York Yacht Club Women's International Championship this September. Along the way, fourteen women—our race team and reserves—have committed themselves to practices, regattas, fitness, strength training, boat work, and countless hours learning how to make an IC37 go fast.

Practice day, photo by Stuart Streuli

Last summer was about learning the boat—maneuvers, communication, boat speed, and understanding what it takes to race together. The off-season became a commitment to becoming stronger, fitter, and more prepared.

This spring, we kicked off the season at the AYC Spring Regatta, earning a second-place finish in sporty Long Island Sound conditions before heading to Newport for training and the IC37 season opener. Since then, we've raced the Bay, the Ocean, and back home in Rye—winning the AYC Cruising Boat Championship while learning patience in light, shifty conditions and continuing to refine our gybe set, affectionately known as a "Sambuca."

Racing the IC37 Nationals

Every regatta and every practice session has been an important building block, but when sailing the mid-July IC37 National Championship in Newport, those blocks finally started to feel like a foundation. The first day was humbling. At least from the bow, it felt catastrophic. But instead of letting frustration define the weekend, the team responded the way a championship team needs to.

Saturday brought 15–22 knots of breeze. After a frustrating first race, we committed to simply sailing the boat fast. We trusted our preparation, executed our maneuvers, and finished the day with fourth- and second-place finishes.

Sunday tested us again. The Race Committee initially signaled reefed mains and jibs before shaking out the reefs just before racing. Another to-do item checked off our growing IC37 playbook.

Both starts on Sunday were executed perfectly—zero seconds, zero meters. In a competitive fleet of twenty IC37s, finding a clean lane with speed is a massive achievement. Our helm, Michelle Lahrkamp, has been relentless in refining our starting sequence, focusing on the precision of timing and distance. That hard work was evident as we hit the line accelerating in clear air.

The course was puffy with constant shifts and lulls, but something felt different. From the rail, calling pressure and communicating breeze, you could feel the boat working as one. Fair American stayed balanced, accelerating through pressure instead of reacting to it. Our speed team had her perfectly trimmed, constantly adjusting to keep her moving forward. Every maneuver became smoother. Every communication became quieter. Every sailor trusted the people around them to simply do their job.

Then a quick gybe and douse around the final leeward mark. We rounded cleanly, rolled into passing mode. It wasn't just another maneuver—it was the moment when more than a year of work suddenly came together.

One boat. One team.

We're certainly not done improving. There is still more speed to find, more boat handling to perfect, and more lessons to learn before September.

But our last two weekends in Newport confirmed something important.

This team has earned the right to line up against the best women's teams in the world—not because of one regatta, but because of the commitment every sailor has made over the past fifteen months.

As we head back to Newport for the Safe Harbor Race Weekend in August and continue preparing for the New York Yacht Club Women's International Championship, we'll keep doing what has brought us here: showing up, working hard, trusting one another, and leaving everything on the race course.

Photo by Stuart Streuli

We're incredibly grateful to our coaches, Zeke Horowitz and Mike Marshall, along with IC37 coach Moose McClintock, whose knowledge and patience continue to push us forward. Thank you to Rob, our unofficial "Boat Dad," for the planning and logistics; Will Florio, a part of our team who raced with us in Newport to satisfy the mixed-crew requirement; Collin Alexander for joining us during the Club Championship; Jack Dowd for his help behind the scenes; Chef Annie Myles for keeping us fueled; our Commodore and American Yacht Club for believing in this program; and to our fans—everyone who has followed, encouraged, and supported this journey so far.

This team spans generations of AYC sailors. Many of us learned to race on these same waters through JAYC, sat on that lawn before Opti regattas, and raced with—and against—one another as juniors.

Watching PRO Clemmie Everett recently address the JSA Opti Championship sailors was a reminder that every championship team starts in exactly the same place: learning, growing, and believing. She encouraged the sailors to look around because the competitors beside them today will likely be the same people they race against in high school, college, and beyond. Be a good sport. Leave it all on the water.

That message resonates and in many ways, team Fair American feels like JAYC all grown up.

As Clemmie inspired the next generation, I was reminded that we're also carrying forward the legacy of the women who came before us while inspiring those who will wear the AYC burgee after us.

"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."

— Attributed to C.S. Lewis

The storm isn't over. But somewhere between the frustration, the setbacks, and the breakthroughs … we shifted into race mode. Let’s go!

Team Fair American Roster

Race Team

  • Michelle Lahrkamp, Helm
  • Carolyn Russell, Bow (Team Captain)
  • Meg Myles, Tactics
  • Elizabeth Luciano, Runners
  • Charlotte Antoni, Pit
  • Lindsay Powers, Jib
  • Gigi Boehringer, Main
  • Payton Braverman, Off-side Jib / Spinnaker Trim
  • Haley Rodriguez Hitt, Float
  • Alexa Shea, Mast

Team Manager / Coach

  • Rob Alexander

Pre-Championship

  • Will Florio
  • Collin Alexander

Reserves

  • Meg Leary
  • Haley Shea
  • Alex Stengel
  • Allie Tilinghast

Coaches

  • Zeke Horowitz
  • Mike Marshall

AYC Coaches

  • John Connolly
  • Peter Duncan
  • Rob Fear
  • Andy Giglia
  • Mark Ploch
  • Sandy Weil

Chef

Annie Myles

Advisory Committee

  • Libby Alexander, Commodore
  • Rob Alexander
  • Rob Fear
  • Jen Leary
  • Carolyn Russell

Shore Support, Marketing and Communications, Team Gear, and Housing

  • Sheila Cameron
  • Elke Lahrkamp
  • Marie McKeige
  • Haley Shea

Read more