12th Annual CJ Buckley Regatta Set for Next Week

The Greenwich Bay Sailing Association (GBSA) and East Greenwich Yacht Club will host the 12th Annual CJ Buckley Regatta / Club 420 Association National Junior Team Race Championship on Monday, July 28 – Wednesday, July 30, 2014 off the beach at Goddard Memorial State Park. The regatta is sailed in 420s, a two-person, high performance sailing dinghy.    

The CJ Buckley Regatta celebrates one young sailor’s life and passion and raises scholarship funds for junior sailors to learn sailboat racing skills. 

More than 250 youth sailors are expected from all over the U.S. and beyond - Narragansett Bay, Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Texas, California, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Bermuda.

This increasingly popular event was established in 2003 to celebrate and honor the life of CJ Buckley, a passionate sailor and team racer, who lost his battle with brain cancer the previous year. “This regatta is very meaningful to our family. It celebrates CJ’s life, and we know he is here in spirit cheering everyone on,” said CJ’s father, Carter Buckley.  As CJ often said, “Sailing is life. The rest is just details.”  

Justin and Kyle Assad, Tyler Baeder, and Austin Brown started the “CJ Regatta” back in 2003 as a way to remember their special friend. “CJ’s enthusiasm was contagious. It was a gift to everyone who knew him, and we wanted to find a way to continue to share his courageous spirit with young sailors for a long time to come,” said Justin, Co-Head Coach of the Dartmouth University Sailing Team.  Kyle added, “This event not only allows young sailors to build their skills and passion on the water, but also raises money for scholarships for new sailors to discover and share CJ’s enthusiasm for the sport.” 

Click here for more information, photos, and results from previous years.

More About CJ Buckley from his Dad Carter Buckley

“The beaming strong boy you see in the photographs is CJ Buckley who was diagnosed with the unthinkable, brain cancer, in July 2001, two days after winning a regatta and two weeks before his 16th birthday.  He endured surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, but he never complained and never gave up hope that he would someday sail again on Narragansett Bay.

CJ lost his valiant battle with this devastating illness in December 2002 but his courage, spirit and determination continue to inspire everyone whose life he touched.  He was a devoted son, loving brother, and trusted friend.

CJ’s passion was sailing.  From his early days as a “wharf rat” at the Providence Community Boating Center to his experiences as a member of the sailing teams of the Greenwich Bay Sailing Association and Tabor Academy, he loved the excitement and challenge and feeling of freedom on the water.  He was a talented sailor and a fierce competitor and he particularly relished the cooperative effort and strategic maneuvering inherent in team racing.

The CJ Buckley Team Race Regatta celebrates the short but remarkable life of this young man and keeps alive his love of sailing.  The tireless efforts of Chief Race Officer, Justin Assad, Chief Scorer, Kyle Assad, and the race committee, umpires, judges, and coaches (many of whom were CJ’s teammates) , and countless volunteers, parents and sponsors has assured the success of the regatta.

We thank everyone for their extraordinary support and commitment to honor CJ’s legacy:  “to endure what is hardest, to dare to dream for the future, and to live every day to the fullest”.  As CJ wrote in his admissions application to Tabor, “Sailing is life. The rest is just details”.