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The two-person racing boat team of Ava McAliley, age 14, and Christine Keedy Brown, 17, members of Coral Reef Yacht Club and who were coached by Maximus Sailing Club, finished in 7th place in the 2023 Club 420 Womens Youth North American Championship Regatta, held on July 12-14 at Brant Beach Yacht Club, on Long Beach Island, along coastal New Jersey.
The Club 420 is a two-person dinghy which forms the base of many local, high school and collegiate programs in North America. The boat is simple enough for beginning sailors and yet challenging enough for collegiate champions. Over 5,000 Club 420s are sailed in youth, high school and collegiate programs all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Youth and young adults up to age 22 are eligible to compete in Club 420 events and championships.
In addition to being awarded the 7th place overall prize, McAliley – the youngest skipper among the top 10 finishers and which included top skippers sailing this coming year for schools such as Harvard and Stanford – and Keedy Brown (team crew) were awarded the Sportsmanship Award, given to the team that demonstrated one or more of the ideals of fairness and respect towards others. McAliley is a rising sophomore and member of the Class of 2026 at Ransom Everglades School, while Keedy Brown is a rising senior and in the Class of 2024, also at Ransom Everglades. They are each members and teammates on the school’s renown varsity sailing program.
Also representing South Florida and finishing in 18th place were Audrey Russler, age 15 and Paulina Freyre, age 16 both members of Maximus Sailing Club, and a rising sophomore and junior, respectively, at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. All 4 Miami women were coached by David Bargehr, owner of Maximus Sailing and professional sailor and Coach for Austria’s 470 Olympic Sailing Team. Maximus Sailing operates at the US Sailing Center Miami, in Coconut Grove. “All these sailors did very well. For each, it was their first national event with one another, and working together in this class of boat. They had a huge learning curve while competing against the top youth women in the sport, and their results were a credit to their preparation and commitment to sailing”, remarked Coach Bargehr.
