Debbie Capozzi

For Yngling crew Debbie Capozzi, growing up on the shore of Long Island, New York, was all about being on the water. Capozzi and her family lived within walking distance to the yacht club, and that is where she spent her summers: sailing Optimists or Sunfish or Laser Radials from the water's edge, and racing local junior events on Great South Bay. 

"How I grew up, that is a big part of where I am right now," said Capozzi. "Without sailing lessons as a kid, I would not be doing what I am today."

However, it wasn't until college that Capozzi made what she calls "the leap." As a student at Old Dominion University, she was able to ratchet her competitive sailing up to a new plane. 

"At Old Dominion, I sailed every day," she says. "I entered as a freshman and we had some very good upper classmen on the sailing team … We did so many starts, so many mark roundings: there were lessons to be learned every single day."

College is also where Capozzi met Sally Barkow, a fellow teammate at Old Dominion. They both raced against Carrie Howe on the inter-collegiate circuit, and the trio teamed up together for a shot at an Olympic berth in 2003.

Together, these three racers have proven to be a force in women's sailing. For Capozzi, the first proof of their potential was back in 2005, when they won both the Yngling World Championships and the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) Women's Match Racing Worlds in a single year.

Capozzi enjoys both the positions of crew and helm. As an Yngling crew, the opportunity to look around the racecourse and gather information to feed to the helmsperson is what she finds most satisfying. Capozzi also makes a point to vary her perspective and get behind the helm for match-race events.

"It's important to change roles every once in a while," she says. "It's a powerful thing to take yourself out of your comfort zone."

When Capozzi talks about her college days, what she gets most enthused about is the learning environment that being a member of a top-ranked inter-collegiate team provided. That penchant for learning, however, carries over to this day, and she considers sailing to be a lifetime sport with an endless amount of knowledge to absorb.

Capozzi's course is now set for Olympic gold. But that may only be her short-term destination. For in the big picture, her take on this sport as an arena for endless learning make her horizons truly limitless. 

SIGNIFICANT SAILING ACHIEVEMENTS:

Winning the Yngling World Championships and the ISAF Women's Match Racing Worlds in a single year (2005)
Ranked #1 on the US Sailing Team in the Yngling class (2005-2008)

SAILING RESUME:

2008
1st BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup Women's Match Racing Championship/Annapolis, Maryland (J22s)
2nd French Olympic Sailing Week/Hyeres, France
4th Yngling Women's World Championship/Miami, Florida
6th US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR/Miami, Florida

2007
1st  HRH Princess Sofia Trophy/Palma de Mallorca, Spain
1st US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
1st US SAILING's Rolex Int'l Women's Keelboat Championships (IWKC)/Houston, Texas (J/22s)
1st Boat U.S. Santa Maria Cup/Annapolis, Maryland (match racing)
2nd Semaine Olympique Française/Hyères, France 
2nd Yngling North American Championships/Miami, Florida
2nd ISAF Sailing World Championships/Cascais, Portugal
3rd Rolex Osprey Cup/St. Petersburg, Florida (match racing)
4th The Good Luck Beijing - 2007 Qingdao International Regatta/Qingdao, China

2006
1st Semaine Olympique Française/Hyères, France 
1st HRH Princess Sofia Trophy/Palma de Mallorca, Spain
1st US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR (Yngling)
2nd Yngling North American Championships/Miami, Florida
3rd Yngling World Championships/La Rochelle, France
5th The Good Luck Beijing - 2006 Qingdao International Regatta/Qingdao, China

2005
1st Yngling World Championships/Lake Mondsee, Austria
1st Semaine Olympique Française/Hyères, France
1st US SAILING's Rolex IWKC/Annapolis, Maryland (J/22s)
1st US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
1st ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship/Bermuda

2004
3rd Semaine Olympique Française/Hyères, France
4th Int'l Yngling Women's World Championship/Santander, Spain
8th US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR