Timothea Larr

Timothea "Timmy" Larr is a naval architect and three-time winner of United States Women's Sailing Championship. She was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2013. She is also known for her work in developing training programs for sailors in the United States.

Timothea Schneider Larr
Personal information
Birth nameTimothea Schneider
Full nameTimothea Schneider Larr
Nickname(s)Timmy
Born (1940-06-01) 1 June 1940
Sailing career
College teamUniversity of Michigan

Education and career

Larr is an alumna of Friends Academy and the University of Michigan[1] where she earned a degree in naval architecture in 1964. Following college, she worked at MacLear and Harris, a yacht design firm.[1] She described some of the boats she helped design, including a 72-foot double centerboard ketch and a 72 foot catamaran, in a 1966 article in the New York Times that profiled Larr.[2]

Sailing history

Larr started sailing when she was around ten years old, and as a junior won championships in a Seabird.[2] In college, she sailed on the varsity team at the University of Michigan for all four years.[2] Larr has raced multiple types of boats. As a member of Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, she sailed her sister's boat to win the Raven national championships in 1961[3] and 1965.[4] She also won Manhasset Bay Yacht Club's Race Week in the Ravens in 1965.[5] Larr won the Syce Cup, the Long Island Sound women's sailing championship in 1961,[6] 1965,[7][8] and 1973.[9]

In 1962, she switched to sailing in the International One Design class[2] and, in an article in the New York Times, she described how she was the only woman skipper in the fleet where she enjoyed the longer season and tougher competition in the class.[2] At the conclusion of the 1965 Larchmont Race Week, Larr received the Anne Kathleen Cullen Memorial Trophy for "the helmsman over 18 years old who, in the opinion of the race committee and flag officers, had achieved the best record against the strongest opposition in class with a substantial number of starters".[3] She had raced in the International One Design class that week, and the committee commented on the consistency of her results throughout the week.[3]

In 1969, Larr was the inaugural winner of the Etchells national championship; her husband, David Rea Larr,[1] crewed for her.[10][11] She went on to win the Etchells national championship again in 1970[12] and was a two-time winner of the Etchells' North American Championship.[13] In 1972, Larr won an Etchells race at the American Yacht Club where she beat E. W. Etchells, the designer of the boat.[14]

Larr won the US Sailing Women's Championship, the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy, three times (1961, 1965, and 1973).[3][4][15] Sheila McCurdy, the first female Commodore of the Cruising Club of America, describes the summer she spent sailing with Larr in Solings while training to go to the Adams Cup which they won together in 1973.[16]

Contributions to training

Larr has made multiple contributions to training new sailors and standardizing the sail training program in the United States. US Sailing annually presents the TImothea Larr Award for "outstanding contribution to the sport".[17] Larr has written articles and books that train sailors and power boaters,[18][19] worked on the National On-Water Standards for boating safety,[20] and served as chair of the Junior Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound (1976-1979).[21] In 1983, Larr participated in the discussion about winged keels on the America's Cup boats in the 12-Meter Class, thereby bringing her training in naval architecture into the realm of competitive sailing.[22] In 2016, Larr and Bill Simon collaborated to establish the Clagett/Oakcliff Match Race, a match racing competition for adaptive sailors.[23][24] Larr was a college council member of State University of New York Maritime College and a member of committees within the United States Yacht Racing Union.[25]

Awards

In 1992, US Sailing awarded Larr the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy for "outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in this country in any associated activity",[26] and in 2013 she became the second woman inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame.[27] In 1993, Larr became the first recipient of the Luray Award which is Community Sailing's highest honor and recognizes someone who has furthered public access to sailing.[28][29] Larr was named US Sailor of the Year first in 1961, the first year the honor was named, and again in 1965.[30][31][4]

References
  1. "Timothea Schneider Bride of David Larr". The New York Times. 1964-06-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  2. Sharkey, Jane (1966-01-16). "Sail Champion Keeps Boys Guessing; 25-Year-Old Blonde Is Naval Architect Here Weekdays". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  3. Rendel, John (1965-07-25). "Mrs. Larr Captures Title as Race Week Ends at Larchmont; Mrs. Larr and Worcester Win Principal Honors at Larchmont RACE WEEK ENDS SUCCESSFUL RUN Event Draws Record 2,901 Boats -- Mrs. Larr Victor in International Class". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  4. "Tillman and Mrs. Larr Receive Yachting Awards". The New York Times. 1966-02-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  5. Rendel, John (1965-08-20). "Mrs. Larr Wins Raven Class Sail in Manhasset Bay Race Week Competition; CRIBB IS SECOND, LEADS IN SERIES Five Skippers Triumph for Second Time -- 195 Craft Cross Starting Line". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  6. "MRS. LARR TAKES 3 SAILING RACES; Needs Second Place Today to Clinch Syce Cup". timesmachine.nytimes.com. July 14, 1965. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  7. Special to The New York Times (1965-07-15). "MRS. LARR IS VICTOR IN SYCE-CUP SAILING". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  8. Special to The New York Times (1965-07-14). "MRS. LARR TAKES 3 SAILING RACES; Needs Second Place Today to Clinch Syce Cup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  9. "MRS. LARR EXTENDS LEAD IN L. I. SAILING". The New York Times. 1973-07-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  10. "Larr, Timothea". National Sailing Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  11. Rendel, John (1969-09-22). "O'Neal and Mrs. Larr Capture National Yachting Class Titles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  12. "LARRS RETAINS TITLE IN ETCHELLS SAILING". The New York Times. 1970-09-21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  13. "Etchells Class". etchells.org. November 5, 2013. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  14. "Two Women Win in Sailboat Races". The New York Times. 1972-05-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  15. "Mrs. Larr Is Sailing Victor; MRS. FOOTH NEXT IN CUP YACHTING Oyster Bay Skipper Takes 2d North American Series for Adams Trophy". The New York Times. 1965-09-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  16. Szepessy, Chris (2020). "Sheila McCurdy". WindCheck Magazine. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  17. "Timothea Larr Trophy". US Sailing. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  18. Fishman, Joanne A. (1978-04-10). "How Your Child Can Learn to Sail". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  19. Larr, Timmy; Allsopp, Dick; Smith, Mark (2003-10-01). Start Powerboating Right. Joe Comeau (1st ed.). United States Sailing Association.
  20. "About the NOWS Program | National On-Water Standards". usnows. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  21. "Former Officers" (PDF). Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  22. Fishman, Joanne A. (1983-11-13). "Keel Wings Under Discussion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  23. "Inaugural Match Racing Event for Adaptive Sailors". Oakcliff Sailing. 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  24. "Skippers Signing up for the Inaugural Clagett/Oakcliff Match Racing Event for Adaptive Sailors". Canadian Yachting. July 8, 2016.
  25. "Timothea Larr; USYRU Collection". Collections & Research. 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  26. "Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy Winners". National Sailing Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  27. "Hall of Fame Inducts Ten of Sailing's Significant Contributors >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News". Scuttlebutt Sailing News. 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  28. "Martin A. Luray Award". US Sailing. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  29. Luray Award. Yachting. 1994. p. 34.
  30. "NSHOF Inducts Ten of Sailing's Significant Contributors - Annapolis Yacht Club". www.annapolisyc.com. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  31. "US Sailing's Rolex Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year Awards". US Sailing. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
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