J/22 Youth Team- Encouraging Talented Youth Sailors

(Newport, RI)- The United States J/22 Class Association has announced that Patrick Isherwood and his team have been awarded the annual J/22 Scholarship Boat. Isherwood was selected from several extremely qualified candidates from the nation’s top-ranked university sailing teams.

Isherwood, and his teammates Jack Hurley, Peter Girard, Dakota Northrup and Marina Barzaghi, will be campaigning the scholarship sailboat during the summer. Possessing high-performance records in a variety of dinghies and keelboats, the team plans to compete in several J/22 regattas, including the 2018 J/22 World Championship at Annapolis Yacht Club in September.

The J/22 Youth Scholarship Boat Program was designed to encourage talented youth sailors to experience the J/22 Class’s tremendous community of one-design sailors – at virtually no cost. The goal of the program is to escalate the scholarship team’s experience and inspire them to accomplish great things in the sailing world. The scholarship program is funded through generous contributions from North Sails and members of the J/22 Class Association.

“North Sails is proud to provide sails for this excellent youth sailing opportunity in the J/22 Class,” said Mike Marshall, sail designer/design services for North Sails. “We are excited to work with a new youth team that is energized about sailing J/22 sailboats. We want to provide them with the opportunity to race at the highest possible level. The more we can help this program succeed, the stronger the J/22 Class and quality of racing becomes.”

To learn more about the J/22 Youth Scholarship Boat Program, visit j22.com/scholarship-boat. To track the progress of the 2018 scholarship boat team, visit www.j22.com.

2017 Scholarship Boat Member Biographies:

Patrick Isherwood is a junior ocean engineering student at the University of Rhode Island where he sails as part of the sailing team. He grew up sailing C420s in local Narragansett and Buzzards Bay events. As a freshman, Isherwood sailed for the University of Rhode Island under coach Skip Whyte. His collegiate major successes include winning A division at the 2016 Boston University Trophy and the 77th Schell Trophy at MIT. His first exposure to keelboat sailing was trimming main on a J/35— a boat he still races. More recently, Isherwood has begun racing J/22s with Matt Dunbar and Bill Porter. In 2016, he had the chance to compete in the J/22 Worlds—jump starting his exposure to J/22 sailing. This inspired Isherwood to sail weekly J/22 events—most recently skippering in the 2017 J/Fest. He has sailed on many different boats in various crew positions, including a J/111, J/30, Aerodyne and 210.

Jack Hurley is sailing for the University of Rhode Island . He views the J/22 Scholarship Boat grant as an opportunity to broaden his sailing experience. Hurley has been sailing all his life in many different regattas. Most recently, he competed in the Around Long Island Regatta. During this regatta, Hurley was the foredeck on a Farr 395. He has also sailed J/22s, most notably at the 2017 Annapolis NOOD Regatta. These were both amazing experiences where Hurley expanded his skills and further developed as a sailor. He participated in high school and college sailing. While on the high school team, Hurley competed and placed at multiple state- and divisional-level events and became captain of the team his senior year. Currently, he is sailing for the University of Rhode Island. Hurley has sailed with Pat Isherwood for two years. Isherwood and Harley have been successful racing in multiple regattas.

Peter Girard is a senior ocean engineering student at the University of Rhode Island. Girard competes as a skipper on the University of Rhode Island sailing team. Sailing has been a central part of his life since he began sailing at Community Boating Incorporated on the Charles River. Girard was on the junior program race team, competing in youth events in Boston. He sailed throughout high school, where he was captain during his senior year and competed in events as part of the New England Schools Sailing Association (NESSA). His desire to participate in its highly active sailing team was a crucial aspect of his decision to attend the University of Rhode Island. He has placed in high-level college sailing events throughout the east coast.

Marina Barzaghi is a freshman skipper at the University of South Florida pursuing a major in nursing and a minor in psychology. Barzaghi raced C420s in the New England summer circuit for four years and crewed on a boat that achieved 25th place out of 173 participating boats at the 2016 Buzzards Bay Regatta. She also won A division at the NESSA women’s championship her junior and senior years. As a freshman in college, Barzaghi placed second out of 16 competitors in B division at Mrs. Hurst Bowl at Dartmouth College. She also skippered in A division at the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship. She has keelboat racing experience on Narragansett Bay aboard J/22s, J/24s and Shields. Barzaghi delivered a Swan 56 from Bermuda to Newport in 2016 and raced the same boat in the 2016 and 2017 NYYC Annual Cruise. This summer, she will compete in the Newport to Bermuda Race on a Swan 56 and will continue to be involved in keelboat competition throughout New England.

Dakota Northrup is a student at the University of Rhode Island. Northrup started sailing at the age of 13. He competed at NBYA events on C420s when he was 15 years old. Northrup has competed at events outside of Narragansett Bay and has participated in the Brooke E. Gonzalez Advance Race Clinic. He also raced in the Buzzard Bay, New Bedford, Hyannis and Falmouth Regattas. Northrup is part of the University of Rhode Island sailing team, coached by Skip Whyte. Add to Flipboard Magazine.