SANDY ADZICK AND TEAM NANTUCKET TAKE TOP HONORS AT THE 2025 WOMEN’S IOD INVITATIONAL
Teams Enjoy Two Days of Great Racing in Marblehead
The second annual Women’s IOD Invitational took place September 6&7 at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead. A team of seasoned Nantucket sailors, led by Sandy Adzick, and featuring Carolyn Grant, Susie Parkin, Posey Constable and Kathleen Tocke (Saturday) and Bridget Wiatrowski (Sunday) proved that they had the right stuff, winning the final two races to secure the 2025 bragging rights.
Tight competition all weekend long between six talented all-female teams meant that final result was not certain until the last race was completed. Second best overall were a quintet of sailors from Chester, Nova Scotia — Emily Merry (skipper,) with Leslie Taylor, Jen Aftanas, Olivia Mason, and Elsie Gillis. They finished the regatta three points behind the women from Nantucket.
Third place was claimed by Bermuda’s Amelia Lewis sailing with Emily Davis, Nichole Stovell, Julia Lines, and Laura Hupman.
The first day of the
regatta was eventful. With severe weather — 25+kt winds and thunderstorms — slated to arrive in the afternoon, the competitors on the 2025 Women’s IOD Invitational were served three great races in the open waters off Marblehead Neck (The Eastern Yacht Club Race Committee, led by Susie Schneider, sensibly shortened R3 when the storm front arrived)
The racing was spirited and close, with Adzick and her Nantucket team having the best of early sailing. Solid starts and smooth work up and down the course earned them two of the three bullets. Merry (Chester) and Turowski (Shields Fleet 9) shared third, tied just a few points behind the leaders.
Sunday morning delivered Marblehead’s typical late summer conditions… including a usual short delay for the sea breeze to develop. But when it did arrive, three races were managed to conclude the racing.
All of the teams had work to do on the second day of the event. Emily Merry (Chester) opened the final day of racing strong, winning the first race on Sunday, seemingly throwing the door wide open for anyone to claim the top prize. Sandy Adzick and her team restored order quickly in races five and six, claiming both race wins to secure their overall victory.
The two teams vying for the final podium finish put on a real show. Amelia Lewis and team Bermuda battled all weekend long with Lindsey Turowski’s quintet (Newport/Shields Fleet 9) who were having no trouble stepping up to the International from her smaller cousin. These two talented teams traded positions back and forth in almost every race. After all six races were scored, the two teams were tied not just on points, but on the numbers of 2nd place finishes, 3rd place finishes, and 4th place finishes. In that rare situation, the ultimate tie-breaker is who beats who in the final race – and on Sunday afternoon it was team BERMUDA. Exciting!
Jordan Hecht, Sophia Taczak, Anna De Cheke Qualls, Samantha Redles, and Beth Fincham, returning to the Invitational from the Downtown Sailing Center of Baltimore, and Yvonne Otterbeck’s team of local Marblehead sailors – Sandra Nygren, Audrey Commerford, Julianne Mozzer, and Lilia Hutchins struggled to find the gears in the varied conditions, but were in contact with the leaders in many of the races.
The event was expertly managed by the Eastern Yacht Club, Alan McKinnon, Commodore, with Susie Schneider acting as the PRO. US Sailing National Judge Nancy Glover chaired the all-female jury, which included Charlyn Feeney, Alix Bartsch.
It was a terrific weekend of sailing. Thank you to everyone who made the 2025 Women’s IOD Invitational possible.
The 2026 Event is slated for September 12/13! We hope to see you there.
The Women’s IOD Invitational was inaugurated in 2024 by the Marblehead Fleet. It is a limited space resume event for all-female teams. To make the event more accessible for competitors, the sailing is limited to a single weekend – racing takes place on Saturday and Sunday, on the weekend following Labor Day. Prospective competitors for the 2026 Women’s IOD Invitational will find the regatta application materials at www.marbleheadiod.com/womens2026 in March of 2026. The application window closes in June 2026, so that the field can be set in July. For more information, please email womensinvite@marbleheadiod.com