Congressional Cup : Woman Leading the Way for Lynn

Bill Lynn begins the last day of sailing competition in position to win the Congressional Cup at Long Beach today, with a woman crew member literally leading the way.

She is bowma--er, bow person Martha MacKechnie, the only female participating in the world’s premier match-race sailing series.

Australia’s Peter Gilmour (6-1) has victory in hand after dealing John Bertrand (6-1) his first defeat in Friday’s 10 to 14 knots of breeze, but he has two races remaining and will have to get past Lynn (5-2) in the last race of the final round.

Lynn, 25, representing the American Yacht Club of Rye, N.Y., is the son of the president of the United States Yacht Racing Union of the same name and was a late alternate entry in the 24th Congressional.

When he had to scramble for a crew, MacKechnie was one of the first hands he called.

MacKechnie had her steam up when she arrived at the Long Beach Yacht Club for the start of the event earlier this week.

She had just read Houston Astros pitcher Bob Knepper’s views on Pam Postema and women umpires. Knepper had suggested that umpiring was contrary to God’s plan for women, since it was not a submissive role.

“I can’t believe he said that,” MacKechnie said. “In sailing you come up against the exact same thing.

“Coming in after practice, I ran into (former Star class world champion) Vince Brun and he said, ‘Oh, were you out watching?’

“No, Vince, I was crewing.

“Then Michael Loeb asked me who my husband was sailing with. When I told him, he just choked up. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ ”

A lot of people have been surprised this week to see MacKechnie, 28, scrambling around the bow of Lynn’s Catalina 38 in this world-class competition, but she long ago learned to take it in stride.

“When I go down below to pack the chute, it gets warm down there so I’ll take off my one-piece suit and come up wearing my bathing suit,” she said. “When we were out practicing, some of the guys on (Bertrand’s) boat were very surprised that there was a woman going forward, actually doing something. They were sitting on the rail, open-jawed.”

MacKechnie concedes one handicap: She is only 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs just 110 pounds.

“There are some strength disadvantages, but I work hard and try to stay in shape,” she said. “I’m not out there to prove anything. I’m out there to sail, and climbing out on the (spinnaker) pole to the foreguy, it’s a little easier for me because I’m not carrying 70 extra pounds.”

Lynn said: “She’s really good, and she’s tough as nails. There may be times when we give up a little strength, but it helps us when we have her, instead of a big guy running around the bow, upsetting the boat.”

Congressional Cup Notes

In the pivotal race to open Friday’s competition, John Bertrand of Anaheim Hills luffed Australia’s Peter Gilmour outside the right end of the line and got off two boat lengths in front. But the Australian slipped through a slam-dunk tack by the Olympic Finn silver medalist after they passed through the start-finish line to start the second lap and won by 13 seconds. “John had us nailed at the start,” Gilmour said. “(One factor was that) a large spectator fleet was following us and he sailed into the wash a couple of times and stopped.” Gilmour popped a yellow protest flag at one point, but judges Robbie Haines and Goran Petersson of Sweden waved it off.

In the on-the-water judging system Friday, there were seven protests but only one allowed, that by Gilmour against two-time winner Dennis Durgan, who is struggling at 2-5.