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Living , Modern
Jan C.
O’Malley
1946 –
Jan Chance O’Malley, a three-time US Sailing Yachtswoman of the Year, two-time Adams Cup winner, and the first ever winner of the IYRU Women’s World Sailing Championship, has been a leader in sailing, both on and off the water, for several decades. Jan, the daughter of 1952 Olympic gold medalist Britton Chance, started sailing in 13’ wooden duck boats on Barnegat Bay in Mantoloking, New Jersey. Her first Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing (BBYRA) championship, in Sneakboxes at age 14, allowed her to move up to skippering an M Scow, a class she also promptly won. Following her early successes on the bay, she raced E Scows locally and nationally both as skipper and as crew, including with National Sailing Hall of Famers Runnie Colie and Sam Merrick, and with her husband, Ed O’Malley. In the 1970s Jan competed locally and nationally in 470s and Tasars with Ed and later with her sister-in-law, Pat O’Malley. Jan’s formidable campaign in women’s sailing, with Pat as crew, was conducted in a wide variety of boats including 420s, 470s, Tasars, Rhodes 19s, Cal 20s, and Ensigns. Motherhood did not slow Jan down; she placed second in the 1971 Adams Cup while pregnant with her daughter, Christine, and nursed her then five-month-old son, Edwin, on the water in between races at the 1975 USYRU Women’s Doublehanded Championship, in which she finished third. n 1986, always one to take on a new boat and a new challenge, Jan switched to racing Laser IIs locally and nationally. She sailed these demanding, high-performance doublehanded dinghies throughout her 40s, often against elite sailors twenty-plus years younger. After winning the North American Laser II class championship in 1997 in heavy air conditions, Jan retired by transitioning into multi-hulls. She has owned a Corsair F-28R for the past 19 years and has cruised (always at top speed) with her family up and down the East Coast and in the North Channel, Ontario. Jan’s lifelong commitment to sailing extends well beyond the racecourse. She has served as a US Sailing senior judge for over 25 years, including judging the Olympic Trials in 1992, 1996, and 2004, and judging the Sears/Bemis/Smythe Championships six times in the past decade. She also served on multiple sailing-related committees (see bulleted list below), all while raising her kids and pursuing a successful career in software engineering. A staunch advocate for youth sailing and racing, Jan ran the Mantoloking Yacht Club sailing program for many years and has served as a long-term member of the MYC sailing committee and on the club’s Board of Governors. She is the co-founder, president and trustee of the Jersey Shore Youth Sailing Team and helped to establish and run the Carl Van Duyne Memorial Youth Racing Clinic for 15 years, providing the opportunity for youth sailors to benefit from the best of elite coaching and racing. In addition to being named Yachtswoman of the Year in 1969, 1970, and 1977, Jan received the USYRU One-Design Achievement award in 1988 and was inducted into the Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame in 2004. Accomplishments and Honors: Finishes Service
Year(s)
Place
Event
2004
Inducted into Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame
1997
1st
North American Laser II Championship
1960–1995
BBYRA Championships (Sneakbox, M Scow, 470, Laser II), ~8 times
1988
USYRU One Design Achievement Award
1988,1987,1986, 1977
1st
World Duckboat Championship
1978
3rd
North American Tasar Championship
1977,1969,1970
US Yachtswoman of the Year
1977
1st
USYRU Women’s Doublehanded Championship
1977
1st
YRU World Women’s Sailing Championship
1977
2nd
US Tasar Nationals
1971
2nd
US Women’s North American Championship (Adam’s Cup)
1970,1969
1st
US Women’s North American Championship (Adam’s Cup)
1973–1976
USYRU Women’s Doublehanded Championship (medaled every year)
Year(s)
Position
2004–2010
SUNY Maritime Waterfront Committee
2002–2010
Ocean County College Sailing Advisory Committee
1997–2000, 2014–2016
Mantoloking Yacht Club, Board Membe
1993–Present
Jersey Shore Youth Sailing Team, President/Trustee
1986–2000 (Chair, 1988–1990)
Mantoloking Yacht Club Sailing Committee, Member
1983–1986
USYRU Executive Committee
1983–1986
Chairperson, USYRU Class Racing Committee
1979–1986
YRU Women’s Sailing Committee
1979–1983
US Olympic Yachting Committee
1977–1988
USISA Trustee
1973–1988
USYRU Women’s Single and Doublehanded Championship Committee
1969–1973
USYRU Adams Cup Committee
Judging
Year(s)
Position
1978–1984, 1992–Present
US SAILING Senior/National Judge
2000 – Present; Chair 2010 – Present US Junior Championships (Sears/Bemis/Smythe), Judge 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 (Chief)
BBYRA Appeals Committee
2011, 2017 (Chief)
US Women’s Doublehanded Championship, Judge
2012, 2014, 2017
US Optimist Dinghy Association Team Trials, Judge
2016
Laser Masters Nationals Judge
2015
US Youth Championship Judge
2014
E Scow Easterns, Chief Judge
2014
Sandpiper Nationals, Chief Judge
2014
Flying Scot North American Championship, Judge
2013, 2014
US Men’s Singlehanded Championship, Judge
2013
US Women’s Singlehanded Championship, Judge
2013
US Ensign National Championship, Judge
2013
Sunfish North American Championship, Judge
1992, 1996, 2004
US Olympic Trials, Judge
Preserving America’s Sailing Legacy
Engaging Sailing’s Next Generation
Stay Connected to the National Sailing Hall of Fame