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Sally Barkow of Chenequa, Wis., is the two-time ISAF Women’s world match-racing champion.
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Sally Barkow (at helm) and crewmembers Lee Icyda and Anna Tunnicliffe (left) work downwind at the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship. (©Sue Bodycomb/ YachtShots.com)
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Bowwoman Debbi Capozzi sets the spinnaker pole as Sally Barkow and crew prepare to round a windward mark at the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championshp. (©Sue Bodycomb/ YachtShots.com)
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Nationality American
Residence Chenequa, Wis.
Age 25 years old
Accomplishments
1st — ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship ’05
1st — ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship ’04
1st — US Women’s Match Racing Championship ’05
1st — Rolex Women’s International Keelboat Championship ’05
1st — Yngling World Championship ’05
Two-time collegiate All-American ’01, ’02
Additional Information
The way Sally Barkow sees it she had no option but to get into sailing.
“I was around 5 years old, basically playing around,” says Barkow, 25, of her first sailing experience. “I have three older brothers who taught me about it. Our parents met on the lake we live on. They gave us all the opportunities in the world to sail. That’s cool.”
Barkow, from Chenequa, Wis., is one of 12 entrants in the upcoming Monsoon Cup, the 50th anniversary event of the Swedish Match Tour. She’s had a phenomenal year by any measure, posting the type of results that could lead to her being named the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award in the U.S.
Last weekend she won the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship. Last month she captured her second consecutive ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship. Barkow likes match-racing for the simple things it offers.
“You don’t have to bring a boat, so the logistics are easier,” Barkow says. “It’s also a chance to sail different boats in diff situations. In match-racing it’s short courses and one-on-one. Usually our fleet races are an hour to an hour and a half long.”
Her success isn’t limited to match-racing. In September she scored a resounding win at the Rolex Women’s International Keelboat Championship, and last summer she won the Yngling World Championship. Both are fleet racing events.
Barkow’s campaigning an Yngling for the 2008 Olympic Regatta in China. She likens going back and forth between fleet racing and match-racing events to cross training. She believes that it hones her skill set in both fleets.
“It makes our boat-on-boat stuff in fleet racing better than those who don’t match race,” says Barkow. “When you need to control the fleet or another boat, that match-racing skill is such an advantage.”
Barkow’s Team 7 – including Sofia Bekatorou, Debbie Capozzi, Chafee Emory, Carrie Howe and Annie Lush – is the only female team in the Monsoon Cup lineup, but she’s not daunted by it. She believes that women can compete on an equal level with men in match-racing.
“Match-racing is an exciting level of sailing that women can be good at,” Barkow says. “There’s always something different to learn about; a different venue, a different trend. People ask why I do so well. In truth it’s because I’m match-racing and fleet racing full time. If more women’s teams did that cross-training, you’d see a huge increase in fleet and match racing.”
(Sailing images ©Sue Bodycomb/YachtShots.com. No distribution or reproduction allowed.)
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