A Race To Remember

36 Teams, 3 boats per team, 108 boats total.  216 racers, 27 alternates, totaling to 243 participants.

This is what the CJ Buckley regatta has grown to in the 11 years since it first took place. This grand event – sponsored by the Greenwich Bay Sailing Association – dominated Greenwich Bay last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (July 29-31). It is not only a highly competitive race, but a memorial to one of EGYC's own.

CJ Buckley passed away 12 years ago after a battle with cancer, but his passion for sailing has lived on, inspiring all of those involved in the regatta.  
The CJ Buckley Regatta has risen to the status of a "National Junior Team Race Championship," as recognized by the Club 420 Association. Team racing is much more strategic and complicated in comparison to the standard speed racing, from point A to point B. It involves high levels of skill, teamwork and communication, but Lucy Buckley, CJ's mother, said that was exactly what CJ would have wanted. 

"CJ loved this kind of racing, it's like chess on the water," Lucy said.

In all, 26 states were represented by the sailors, as well as foreign countries such as China and the British Virgin Islands.

As well as the visible commitment on the water, the regatta takes pride in the fact that everything is volunteer-based, from start to finish. Volunteers this year reached almost 75 people, many of whom knew CJ very well, from friends and family to GBSA sailing teammates. While some manned the course and served as coaches or umpires, other volunteers make lunches for everyone on the water, sailor or otherwise. The "flying lunches," flung to sailors as they pass, is certainly a sight to be seen.  

In addition to the competitive nature of the race and the hard work of all involved, perhaps what the Buckleys can be most proud of is the footprint of this regatta itself. All of the money raised from admissions is put towards a scholarship fund for children who otherwise couldn't afford to sail. The sailing education of each scholarship recipient is funded until he or she ages out of the program. 

"We're just incredibly pleased that this regatta has grown to the size that it is now, and with the help of so many people – colleagues, friends, and the sailing buddies of CJ," said Lucy Buckley. 

CJ's memory lives on in this regatta, as his family, friends and teammates race in his honor.

Author Paige Smith is a senior at East Greenwich High School.