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Feb 14, 2012, 12:59 PM
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Jon Wright new Vanderstar Sailing Chair at USNA
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jay Bower, CAPT USN, Ret
Executive Director
Naval Academy Sailing Foundation
Jon Wright is the new Vanderstar Sailing Chair at the United States Naval Academy
(February 14, 2012) - The Naval Academy Sailing Foundation is delighted to announce that Mr. Jonathan Wright is the newest incumbent of the Vanderstar Sailing Chair at the United States Naval Academy.
The Vanderstar Chair incumbent is a key civilian advisor to the Director of Naval Academy Sailing. The position is responsible not only for coordinating the curricular management of the sail training program (a longstanding responsibility of the position) but also for the oversight of all safety aspects of the program - on the intercollegiate, inshore, and offshore training levels.
Jon relieved Ms. Renee Mehl who moved to the position of Program Manager for the Offshore Sail Training Squadron; responsible for the at-sea sail training of approximately 600 midshipmen annually. Jon brings to his new position, as did Renee, an impressive background in offshore sailing, as well as in inshore competition.
To many in the sailing community, Jon will need no introduction - his vast experience in offshore sailing, teaching, coaching, and managerial positions being well known to seasoned sailors. Jon is a 1971 graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY; where he was College Sailor of the Year and a member of the All American Sailing Team in 1971.
Among his many awards and accomplishments are USMMA Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, 1991, Yachting Magazine Crewmember of the Year, 1989, Winner, J/29 North American Championship, 1988, Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame inductee, 2010; and five America's Cup Campaigns: Courageous (1974), Independence (1977), Freedom (1980), Liberty (1983), and Stars & Stripes (1987).
Chip Loomis, past Commodore of the New York Yacht Club and currently President of the Naval Academy Sailing Foundation, said that, "among the many attributes that he brings to his new job, with his extensive offshore and big boat experience, Jon is in the perfect position to assist in monitoring the Varsity Offshore Sailing Team assets. These are the highly competitive racing yachts that the Sailing Foundation is always seeking for donation and use in the VOST program at the Naval Academy."
Just prior to his selection to the Chair position, Jon was the General Manager of Osprey Point, Inc. a full service, two marina facility in Rock Hall, MD. He has been operations manager of Maritank, Inc in Phila, PA; owner and president of John Wright Boats, Inc, in West Conshohocken, Pa, and was the crew coordinator for Sail America Foundation; assisting Dennis Conner in the successful challenge to bring back the America's Cup as Mainsheet Trimmer on Stars & Stripes '87.
Additionally, he has extensive offshore racing experience including the Newport-Bermuda Race, The Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC), Middle Sea Race, Clipper Cup, Annapolis-Newport Race, and the Halifax Race. Jon's teaching experience includes the "North U Fast Course" at several locations in the US and Canada, and he also developed and presented three day sailing seminars and clinics at locations in PA and NJ. The latter involved intensive training for groups of 10-20 youths with a particular interest in racing. Jon's varied and very successful background in both offshore and inshore sailing; and his many awards earned over the years make him an extremely valuable addition to the Naval Academy Sail Training staff.
Gary Jobson, a great friend and strong supporter of Navy Sailing, made the following comments regarding Jon's being at the Naval Academy, "Jon Wright is one of America's most successful sailors. He has been on winning and losing America's Cup teams. He is also a very skilled dinghy sailor, and was College Sailor of the Year at the US Merchant Marine Academy. Jon brings his experience on the race course and teaching skills to Annapolis. The midshipmen of the Naval Academy will learn a lot from this great sailor."
The Vanderstar Chair position requires a vast amount of sailing, coaching, and managerial expertise, and since that depth and breadth of experience does not exist in very many individuals, the Naval Academy is fortunate to have someone of Jon's caliber in the position. The Vanderstar Chair, with significant safety responsibilities, among other administrative tasks, is best described as the Quality Assurance and Standardization Advisor to the Director of Naval Academy Sailing.
The responsibilities of the Vanderstar Chair incumbent have grown through the years, and the Chair has become a particularly significant position in the leadership, seamanship, and management training of the future officer corps of the Navy and Marine Corps. Additionally, since the Chair incumbent is a civilian position; not subject to the constant rotation of the Naval officers assigned, the Vanderstar Chair represents continuity within the Naval Academy Sailing staff, upon which officers rotating into staff positions have come to rely.
The Vanderstar Sailing Chair is a privately funded position, and has been so for the nearly two decades since its inception in 1993. The chair exists due to the generosity of Mr. Cornelius Vanderstar, and is funded annually through the Naval Academy Sailing Foundation. Mr. Vanderstar, of Newport Beach, CA, is a longtime benefactor of the mission of sail training at the United States Naval Academy; beginning in 1979 with the donation of his beautiful 98' motorsailer, Astral, to the Foundation; a boat which the midshipmen sailed for several years.
We are very pleased to announce that Jon Wright is aboard as the Vanderstar Sailing Chair at the United States Naval Academy.
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