ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Awards were handed out by the
United States Sailing Association at its annual meeting
in St. Petersburg, including the Nathanael G. Herreshoff
Trophy, US Sailing's highest honor, which was given to
longtime sailing advocate Roy E. Disney, the association
reported in a recent statement.
Disney was not present to receive his award, however,
because of the premiere of his film "Morning Light,"
which focuses on sailing.
Disney has been involved with sailing for years, and he
has set records in offshore races including the Transpac
Race, the Chicago Mackinac Race and the Newport-Bermuda
Race. Disney has also shown his passion for the sport
with financial support. According to US Sailing, when it
created the medalist donor program to support the
athletes of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, Disney
was the first donor to pledge at the highest level. He
also contributes to the California International Sailing
Association and several other sailing organizations.
Ruth Creighton of Wilmington, N.C., was honored with the
Timothea Larr Award for her lifelong commitment to
quality sailing education. Creighton has been a
multi-talented and hard-working member of US Sailing's
training committee for about two decades, the group
said.
Hugh Elliot of Alexandria, Va., was presented with the
Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy for his contribution to
sailors with disabilities and the sport of disabled
sailing. Elliot became involved in disabled sailing
following a car accident, and it was Gay Lynn, the
trophy's namesake, who encouraged Elliot to try disabled
sailing. He went on to compete in the 2000 U.S.
Paralympic Team Trials and was runner-up. After that,
Elliot made it his personal mission to mentor sailors
with disabilities, promote disabled sailing and
encourage others to do the same.
The St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy, which recognizes
excellence in race management, went to the Southwestern
Yacht Club of San Diego, Calif. The club was selected
from a list of nine nominated sailing organizations for
its execution of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for
Sailing in the 49er, held in October 2007. The regatta
was held over a 14-day time period in difficult weather
conditions.
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