Lake Wawasee, Indiana, is no stranger to Sunfish history. The Wawasee Yacht Club has been hosting sailors for decades, and when the USSCA Women’s North American Championship returned in early September, it was more than a regatta. It was a reunion, a celebration of legacy, and proof that the class is as enduring as fiberglass and wind. This year brought together 33 women sailors from across the country, spanning recent college graduate racers to great grand masters. The competition was fierce and the camaraderie unmistakable.
At the top of the scoreboard, Dartmouth University sailing alumna Taylor Eastman (Hyannis Port Yacht Club, Massachusetts) delivered a masterclass in steady sailing to claim the championship. Her Saturday playbook was straightforward and disciplined: clean starts near the pin, ride the first lefty puff, connect pressure down the course, and hike until exhaustion.
“I knew that consistency throughout the regatta would be key,” Eastman said. “My first race was my throw-out, but from there I focused on staying resilient and sailing each race fresh.”
Sunday’s lighter, shiftier breeze tested patience, but Eastman’s college lake sailing expertise helped her stay in phase. Her single-digit score line carried her to the championship — and a ticket to the 2026 ISCA World Championship in St. Croix.
Pre-Race Routine and Intuition Pays Off for Gretchen Seymour
Gretchen Seymour, Lake Bluff Yacht Club, captured second. “My intention was simple: be myself. This mindset showed up by arriving early each day to get my head into the game and to get out on the course early to check how the boat felt and to make small tweaks that helped free me up to focus on racing, stick to my pre-race routine, and trust my instincts,” she noted. “This year’s Women’s NAs was an incredible event — there’s really nothing better than the joy of great competition with some of my best friends.”
Making a concerted effort to stay consistent with her pre-race routine, Seymour added, “I try to check wind and compass readings on each tack, note shifts up the course and get a clear land reference for the windward mark. I like to also add a few acceleration drills to simulate the feel of starting clean off the line.”
Hometown Spirit
Finishing third carried nostalgia for Susan Tillman Berg, of Wawasee Yacht Club, who spent childhood summers on those waters to carry extra meaning. She and her two sisters hosted sailors in classic Midwest style, turning the regatta into a memorable end-of-summer celebration. Drawing a standing ovation and tears at the closing ceremony, they honored their late mother, Linda, who raced this event often. The weekend felt equal parts championship, part reunion, part home.
Vera Bradley and the “Wawa-She’s”
The regatta’s return to Wawasee echoed its 2007 style, when Pat Miller, co-founder of Vera Bradley and a member of the local “Wawa-She’s” women’s Sunfish fleet, rallied her tote-bag company to sponsor the event. Nearly two decades later, Vera Bradley returned the gift giving with every sailor receiving a tote bag (Berg pictured with bag), a small but symbolic reminder of the ties between women’s community, competition, and tradition.
For Emily Wagner (Davis Island Yacht Club, Florida), the regatta was a breakthrough. She not only earned fifth overall but celebrated her first race win at a world qualifier championship. “Saturday, my goal was to develop a plan and stick to it,” Wagner said (pictured sail #3). “The stronger breeze worked to my advantage, and the gradient wind kept things steady. I kept doing what worked, and suddenly I had a bullet!”
Sunday was a different story. Starting the day tied for the overall lead, Wagner battled the lake’s notorious shifts. “The lake did lake things,” she said with a grin. “I chased shifts more than I should have and took my four deepest finishes. But I never stopped racing every leg, and those extra efforts kept me in the trophies.”
Her takeaway was as much about mindset as mechanics: “Adapt faster. And don’t stop racing, even if you think you’re out. Mid-fleeters, give yourself credit — you’re often sailing a harder race than the leaders. But when it’s your time to shine, we’ll be cheering for you.”
The Trophy that Survived Katrina
The regatta’s perpetual trophy carries a story almost as dramatic as any sporty race. Named in honor of Linda Tillman, Susan Tillman Berg’s late mother, longtime WYC sailor and mentor, the trophy nearly vanished during Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in 2005. Fourth-place winner (pictured with Eastman and the perpetual trophy) and grand master champ Gail Heausler, of Davis Island Yacht Club, accepted her dual awards and remarked that the Sunfish Women’s NA perpetual trophy was at the Bay Waveland Yacht Club in August of 2005 as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Anne Edwards, the 2004 champion, had brought the trophy back to her home club. When it became evident that the storm was likely to make landfall in Mississippi, Anne asked her brother-in-law to tuck it between a mattress and box spring in his home. In the storm, what remained of Clinton Edwards’ house was a cement slab. As debris removal teams cleared the roads, the trophy was found in the street. While scratched, it remains whole and continues to be awarded annually to the winner as a symbol of resilience, strength and continuity.
The Women’s Sunfish North Americans was first sailed in 1978 at Sakonnet Yacht Club in Little Compton, Rhode Island, and has since become one of the U.S.’s longest-running women-only championships. The 2025 great grand master champion, Lee Parks of Sarasota Sailing Squadron and Newport Yacht Club (Rhode Island), raced her first Women’s North American Championship in Mattituck, New York, in 1981. The range of experience in Wawasee, from newcomers to sailors in their 70s, underscores the Sunfish class’s inclusivity. Respect for the rules was matched by a sense of joy. As Wagner noted, “At mark roundings, the most common thing I heard was, ‘You have room!’ not ‘I have room!’ That’s the kind of fleet this is.”
For two breezy, shifty, story-soaked days in Indiana, the Women’s Sunfish North Americans offered everything: random bullets, tactical duels, family legacy, Katrina-proof hardware, and fashionable tote-bag swag. It delivered it all.
