Every boat we have owned as a team is named after a powerful woman from history.
Our first boat is Belle Starr, named for the outlaw queen of the Wild West. We were so green and fresh when we got Belle Starr that putting her together for the first time was a huge challenge. We spent days in the parking lot of the sailing center in Medemblik, Holland, trying to figure out what the heck we were doing.
Later in our campaign we met our second boat. By the time she came into our lives we knew what we wanted and setting her up to race came much more naturally. Smooth. She is named Isabella Bird, after the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. Funny enough, Isabella Bird the Nacra 17 did actually complete her own circumnavigation after being shipped to Oceania in 2019-2020.
As we start our second campaign together we are older, wiser, and more determined than ever.
Our new boat is aptly named. The Chihenne Chiricahua Apache warrior, Lozen, was a prophet and a leader. She was a powerful, skilled, and brave woman. She challenged every norm. And she is an original resident of the land that we call our home.
Lozen “was a respected ally of the famed Apache Chief Geronimo and sister to Apache Chief Victorio. Although these men are better known to historians, Lozen remains a legend to her people today.”
“Lozen is my right hand,” Victorio once said of his sister. “Strong as a man, braver than most and cunning in strategy. She is a shield to her people.” Lozen once crossed the Rio Grande on horseback, rifle overhead, leading her tribe’s women and children and their horses away from the enemy. Then she turned around and crossed the river again in order to rejoin her tribe and fight beside the men.
Lozen will start us off on an excellent month of training in Narragansett Bay this week. Welcome, Lozen! We are so honored to have you!
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Update: We have christened Lozen! We have come so far since the first boat we launched in 2018. This is such a great video of where our team is at! Deep friendship and teamwork, strong support system, relaxed but on point. Love this team. Love this boat! Gorgeous training on her so far and can’t wait to race her this summer.
P.S., we also have a sweet little mascot who is afraid of the sound of a champagne bottle being uncorked. Iren! We have to work on this! There are many more boats to christen in your future! In all seriousness, the little guy actually did a great job helping us out in the rain :)
Thanks @brosenberg1 for taking this vid!