US J/24 Class Association awards 2nd Annual Boat Grant to Kira Munger from Oswego, New York

2018 J/24 Midwinter Championship - Day 3 © Christopher Howell

The US J/24 Class Association has awarded the second annual Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant to Kira Munger from Oswego, New York.

Along with crew members Robert Hoffman (tactician), Tom King (bow), Brendan Dickerson (trimmer) and a rotating fifth person, Munger (at the helm) will have use of a donated J/24 for the upcoming season. The Program is named in honour of Kelly Holmes-Moon, a long-time supporter of the J/24 Class Association who served as US Class President and as the Copyright Holder's Representative.

From May through November, the boat will see weekly action at Oswego Yacht Club with J/24 Fleet 146. The Boat Grant team plans to participate in the District 7 Pennant Series in hopes of earning a berth for the 2019 J/24 World Championship in Miami, FL. Munger and her crew have a busy projected travel schedule, including J/Daze in Canandaigua, NY, the Oneida Lake Pennant Series Regatta, Newport Regatta, Marblehead NOOD, J/24 District 7 Championship in Oswego, NY, Lambert Lai Memorial Regatta in Rochester, NY, the J/24 US National Championship in Maine, Changing of the Colors Regatta in Lake George, NY and the J/24 East Coast Championship in Annapolis, MD. Class members will mentor the young team, as well as the other individuals who applied for the Program.

The Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program encourages talented young sailors to gain first-hand experience racing within the J/24 Class of one-design sailboats at virtually no cost. Dave Eggleton donated the boat, USA 423, to the program, providing the Scholarship Boat recipients with the experience to escalate their level of competitiveness and inspire them to accomplish great things in the sailing world. The team is in need of contributions to help fund their campaign. To find out how you can help, e-mail director@j24class.org.

The application process for the 2019/2020 Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program will begin in late 2018.

2018 Boat Grant Member Biographies

Kira Munger, from Oswego, NY, began sailing in middle school at Fair Haven Yacht Club Community Sailing where she served as Head Instructor for three years. She skippered for Christopher Newport University while in college. Since graduation, she has split her time between Newport, RI and Central NY and continues to sail J/24s, Lightings, J/22s, Thistles, 210s, as well as frostbiting Interclubs and Lasers. She works in the media and public relations fields, as well as at a sail loft in service and production. Kira has coached sailing since 2008 at the junior sailing, high school and adult level.

Robert Hoffman grew up in Annapolis, MD and spent summers in Henderson Harbor, NY. He graduated the International Yacht Restoration School in 2013, focusing on Composite Building. Rob spent close to a year as crew of an arctic research vessel. He currently works as crew on a Custom 42 and Custom 47 that operates in the Gulf of Mexico, the East Coast and the Pacific Northwest. This summer, he is coaching sailing at Henderson Harbor Yacht Club in NY.

Tom King grew up sailing in Henderson Harbor, NY and stayed involved with the program as a coach throughout college. He also has experience coaching at the high school level. Tom regularly sails Lightnings, Lasers and J/24s. He graduated from Roger Williams University with a degree in architecture in 2012, attended the International Yacht Restoration School, and recently graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a Masters in Product Architecture and Engineering.

Brendan Dickerson hails from Skaneateles, NY where he grew up sailing on his family's J/22, Hobie 16 and 49ers during the summer. He is an avid skier and is graduating from Saint Michael's College with a degree in mathematics this Spring. Brendan is eager to expand his sailing experiences this summer by attending more regattas.