Champions of the sea, sustainability honored at Marblehead Harbor Rotary
by Will Dowd
The Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor marked its 28th anniversary with a “Breakfast of Champions” event on Sept. 17 in the Masonic Philanthropic Lodge. The celebration honored local sailing icons and environmental advocates, and featured Paralympic gold medalist Maureen McKinnon as the keynote speaker.
Club Co-president Patricia Sullivan welcomed attendees, emphasizing the organization’s commitment to recognizing exceptional contributions at local, national and international levels.
“We are so grateful to all of you for who you are and how you have impacted our world,” Sullivan said.
The honorees
The event highlighted Marblehead’s rich sailing heritage by honoring three accomplished sailors.
Dave Curtis, a celebrated sailor and sailmaker, was recognized for his numerous national and world championship victories, including two Rolex Yachtsman of the Year titles and gold medals at the Pan Am and Pre-Olympic Games.
Joan Thayer, another honoree, was praised for her lifelong dedication to sailing and her efforts to increase women’s participation in the sport. Thayer developed the Take the Helm Women’s Sailing Conference, which has educated hundreds of women in sailing skills, and chaired the Centennial Marblehead Race Week.
Quoting Thayer, Sullivan said, “Women sailors are not just along for the ride any longer. We are at the helm, on the ownership papers and sought-after crews.”
The breakfast also celebrated local environmental advocates, acknowledging the intersection of sailing and environmental stewardship. Sustainable Marblehead, the town’s environmental advocacy organization, was recognized for its efforts. The Sustainable Marblehead honorees—Judith Black, Nancy DeMuth, Petra Langer, Elaine Leahy and Lynn Nadeau—were recognized for their leadership in environmental advocacy, policy development and sustainability efforts.
Black, Nadeau and DeMuth were honored as co-founders (alongside Sullivan) for their vision in creating an organization that now boasts 1,200 subscribers and five working groups.
Leahy, the current executive director of Sustainable Marblehead, was commended for her leadership and involvement in various local initiatives. Recently, she participated in the Friends Forever Day event, giving a talk about the harm of plastics and litter in the marine environment. The event also featured an Environmental Jeopardy! game, which was conceived and run by Summer Genovese, Sustainable Marblehead’s summer intern.
Langer, the organization’s first executive director, was recognized for her role in developing its effective bottom-up approach. Nadeau, a Sustainable Marblehead board member, was also honored for her work with the environmental organization HealthLink and her efforts in closing the Salem coal-fired power plant.
Lisa and Steve Wolf were acknowledged for building Marblehead’s only net-zero home and their contributions to local environmental initiatives and marine protection efforts. Steve, a member of Sustainable Marblehead’s board, was recognized for his leadership in the Harbor Working Group, which has implemented various green boating practices and ocean plastic reduction efforts.
The keynote address
The highlight of the morning was the keynote address by McKinnon, who shared her inspiring journey from a casual sailor to becoming the first American woman to win a Paralympic gold medal in sailing. McKinnon became a paraplegic due to a tragic accident in 1995. While walking her bicycle back toward a ferry landing in Rockland, Maine, she tripped and fell 13 feet off a seawall onto the sand and rocks below. This fall resulted in her paralysis from the waist down.
McKinnon described how a chance meeting with Rick Dorr, another paraplegic sailor, reignited her passion for the sport.
“I found out I could be a true contributing member of the team. My disability washed away. I left the wheelchair on the dock, and I was back to sailing again,” McKinnon recounted, emphasizing the empowering nature of adaptive sailing.
McKinnon’s story took an unexpected turn when her young son, Trent, was diagnosed with a brain tumor during her preparation for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Despite this challenge, McKinnon and her team persevered.
“Within 72 hours of the diagnosis, we decided we were not going to allow cancer to ruin this campaign,” she said, highlighting the support she received from the community.
McKinnon went on to win gold in Beijing with her teammate Nick Scandone, who was battling Lou Gehrig’s disease. She described the emotional moment of their victory: “I can’t really explain to you what the feeling is like when you first lift up that American spinnaker. You realize that you are competing for your country, and that this is not just a little round-the-can race anymore.”
The Paralympian also touched on her subsequent competition in the 2016 Rio Paralympics and her current focus on single-handed sailing in the 2.4-meter class. Throughout her speech, McKinnon emphasized the inclusive nature of sailing and its potential to empower individuals with disabilities.
“Sailing can be for everyone, it truly can be,” McKinnon affirmed, recounting her experiences designing and running an adaptive sailing program in East Boston.
The event concluded with McKinnon sharing updates on her family, including her son Trent’s recent enrollment at Salem State University, marking another triumph on their journey.