Sally Barkow
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When Yngling skipper Sally Barkow won the 2007 US SAILING Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award—the second time she has won this prestigious MVP award for sailors—she was quick to credit her team. “I have not sailed a singlehanded boat since 2002,” she said. “I believe that teamwork is our biggest asset on the water.”
When Barkow and her Team7 crew Debbie Capozzi and Carrie Howe joined together after their intercollegiate racing days to campaign for the Olympics in the women’s keelboat class, their learning curve rose rapidly. They got into the Yngling in 2003; 2004 was a building year; but by the close of 2005, these three sailors were a global force. In that year, they won the Yngling Worlds, the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championships, and US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR. As Barkow says: “Experience goes a long way in sailing ... In 2005, things seemed to click.”
But Barkow herself doesn’t see their rise as meteoric, but a progression of building blocks—of one significant win after the other. “I have a few [wins] that fall under that category [of significant achievements]: the collegiate national championships, the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat in 2003, and both the Yngling [Worlds] and the match-race worlds in 2005. Each of these successes taught me one more important lesson and gave me the confidence to push forward and have the guts to make the goal bigger—to achieve something even greater.”
A native of Wisconsin, Barkow started sailing prams when she was 5 years old. At age 10, she started steering an X-boat, a popular youth training boat in the Midwest. There has not been one single mentor in her sailing career—but many.
”When I was growing up, I looked to my brothers as mentors when it came to winning and understanding the commitment it takes to win in sailing,” she says. “Now, I try to take a little piece of what I admire about everyone I meet or read about and incorporate that into my drive for the future.”
Right now, Barkow and her teammates hope that future holds an Olympic medal. And if they strike gold in Qingdao, it will not only be an achievement of a lifetime for these three women, but for all the people who have supported them. Says Barkow: “Winning a medal would be a great accomplishment for my team—and for everyone who has helped us and worked with us.”
SIGNIFICANT SAILING ACHIEVEMENTS:
Two-time US SAIILNG Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year (2005, 2007)
Three-time winning skipper/US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championships (2003, 2005, 2007)
Ranked #1 on the US Sailing Team in the Yngling class (2005-2008)
ICSA (Inter-Collegiate Sailing Assn) All-American (2001, 2002)
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)
1st Vitoria Brasil Women's Cup/Vitoria, Brazil (match racing)
1st Trentino Women's Match Race Cup/Lake Ledro, Italy
2nd Semaine Olympique Française/Hyères, France
2nd Portugal Women’s Cup/Troia, Portugal (match racing)
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
9th King Edward VII Bermuda Gold Cup/Hamilton, 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
