Felicitations from the Grand Canyon State
GOOD MORNING TOM – congrats on the super new SAILING ILLUSTRATED site! Tomorrow is my last "official" day as Vice Commodore of the Arizona Yacht Club, and after two years it is time to move on to “less talk, more do” although I have never been accused of being the shy, silent type.
My new venture “TILLER and KITES” is an International Yacht Training accredited sailing school, plus service, repair and boat sales. Our own boats are all painted in the distinctive shocking pink and all have ‘Mermaid’ names. Some insist the color is magenta, fuchsia or flamingo. No, they are pink!
This coming May 20th is also the last AYC regatta of the season, The Tall Cactus long distance event. TILLER and KITES has put together not one, but two Ladies Teams on identical J/24s.
MERMAID REVOLUTION (MLT2162) will be sailed by Stacey Loula, Ellen Wesley, Monique Palermo and Susan Pew. Stacey is a very accomplished sailor and instructor in San Francisco, here and elsewhere. Ellen comes off a J/105 in Chicago, Monique sails a C25, SolCat and Sunfish, and Susan is a new TandK school graduate with mad driving skills.
MERMAID RESCUE (MLT2978) will be sailed by Wendy Larsen, Dianna Andress, Michelle Bailey and Kristeen Teague. Wendy is the club PRO and a former J/24 owner, Dianna races her own Santana 20, Michelle joins us from Tucson – famous for racing a Laser in the Leukemia Cup, capsizing and getting run over by a Viper – and Kristeen sails on a fleet-winning Merit 25.
In Arizona we're not just talking about women in sailing, but helping to make it happen. All the best from the Grand Canyon State!
Your friend,
Victor Felice
hello@tillerandkites.com
