Meet Iris Vogel. She’s an atypical veteran of CRW. She raced last year on board her J/88 Deviation, but it had been nearly 20 years since her previous appearance at the event. In the early days of the regatta, she competed on board a J/24.

Vogel is from New Rochelle, NY, and races out of the Huguenot Yacht Club. She’s been sailing competitively for about 30 years, both in keelboats and dinghies. At home, she races most winter weekends in the Laser fleet, but has also frostbited in a variety of boats from Dyer Dhows to Interclubs. In the summer, she’s on the water several times a week, mostly on board Deviation.

When’s she’s not racing – or working as a accountant – Vogel is actively involved with her yacht club’s junior big boat team as a coach.

So, why does she like coming to CRW? “We had such a great time last year and it is also a nice break in the long haul back to New York from Key West.”

As the principal driver on board Deviation, Vogel says she mostly races with friends, some of which have been sailing with her for 20 years, others three to four years. The rest her crew are racing sailors from other programs that are able to take the time off and join Team Deviation. As an aside, Vogel says that she and the team are very much looking forward to heading to Charleston for the regatta this spring.