Huge Turnout for Good Luck USA Sailing Team Party

Banners were all over Larchmont Yacht Club on Saturday for the Good Luck USA party.

Larchmont Yacht Club was hopping July 14 when more than 1,000 junior sailors, parents, coaches, and friends came to celebrate the US Olympic Sailing Team’s departure for the Olympics at the Good Luck USA Olympic Team Sendoff Party presented by Maclaren. The event was organized by the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound and Larchmont YC, with the assist of the US Sailing Team.

The party featured the Olympic sailors with their teammates at tables in the Pandemonium pavilion talking to partygoers and signing autographs on trading cards of the sailors for a good part of the afternoon.

“It was really exciting and inspiring to meet the sailors,” Aisling Quirke, a junior sailor from American Yacht Club, said Saturday afternoon after the party.  “My favorite part was talking to the sailors and getting all of their signatures.”

Many others felt that meeting the Olympic sailors was a special experience, such as junior sailor Tyler Webb, who enjoyed talking to sailors about their career paths.

“It’s exciting because I love sailing and it’s really exciting to see how they’ve succeeded in their careers as sailors,” said Webb during the party Saturday.

Erik Storck signs autographs on trading cards that partygoers received upon arriving at Larchmont.

And for some sailors, the experience just left them starstruck about being in the presence of famous athletes.

“I’ve never met Olympians before,” Kyle Nathan, a junior sailor attending the party with Webb, expressed Saturday afternoon.  “It was an amazing experience, getting to meet them.”

Clearly, the general mood at the event was one of excitement; however there was also a tremendous feeling of pride.

“It’s an honor to have them here at Larchmont and it’s an honor to have them represent our country,” said Elizabeth Carrier, a junior sailor from Larchmont YC during the party.

The Olympic sailors felt similarly.

Children enjoy Ben and Jerry's ice cream, an essential element of Larchmont Race Week every year.

“I think Larchmont’s a great place to have our sendoff party; you can see the community here is really behind everybody, and there’s a great sense of pride,” Debbie Capozzi, an Olympic sailor in women’s match racing from Long Island, commented after the party.

“A lot of our team has a history with the JSA and with the LISOT team, so I think coming to Larchmont has been perfect,” Dean Brenner, the chairman of US Olympic Sailing and MC of the party, said Saturday evening.

As with all events at Larchmont during Race Week, guests enjoyed complimentary Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and a number of exciting giveaways, including very popular Sperry Topsider shoe key chains!