News & Views for Southern Sailors - Southwinds Magazine

An Interview With Allison JollyBy Jabbo GordonWhen Allison Jollytook US SAILING’sLevel 1 (small boat)instructor course in 2004,the instructor trainersused an icebreaker exercisewhere people pair off,talk to each other forabout five minutes andthen introduce each otherto the rest of the group.Jolly and Bob Hillsinterviewed each otherand he introduced her,telling the gang of 24 thatshe was born and rearedin St. Petersburg, FL, thatshe had sailed Optimists,420s, Lasers and 470s as a youngster, that she graduatedwith a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from FloridaState University, that she had worked as a computer programmerin California and that she had a daughter.It was interesting stuff, and their classmates applauded.Wait a minute, an instructor trainer interrupted, andasked Hills if he had not forgotten something vital. Hillscouldn’t imagine what the IT was talking about, but he—like many of his classmates—did not realize they were in thepresence of Olympic royalty. Jolly began to blush.The IT explained. Allison Jolly was the first Americanwoman to win a gold medal in sailing. In fact, she and LynneJewell were the only American sailors to win gold medals inthe 1988 Olympics, which were held in Korea – the first yearthat women were allowed to compete in sailing.This time, the class rose as one and gave her a standingovation.Jolly blushed some more. Hills was flabbergasted.“She never told me,” he said incredulously.No, she hadn’t. And that is the way Jolly is—very humbleand unpretentious. By her own admission, she is basicallya shy person.That’s tough for a girl named Jolly, and even tougherfor someone who is tossed into the limelight periodicallybecause of her sailing skills and prowess. And while shemay not be totally at ease in a crowd, Jolly has so much passionfor her sport that she makes a gift out of an interview.Her road to Korea started when Olympic officialsannounced that women could sail 470s. Jolly, married andliving in Southern California, was ranked high in the UnitedStates in that class, and Mark Elliott, her husband at thetime, suggested that she go for the gold.The first difficulty was finding a crew. As any truthfulskipper will admit, the crew is 75 to 80 percent of the successof a 470. Jolly had tried one after another. Finally, Elliottsuggested Jewell. But there were issues. For openers, Jewellwas also a highly ranked 470 skipper who was consideringan Olympic campaign of her own. Secondly, al-though shewas from California, shehad sailed for BostonUniversity and lived inNewport, RI. Gettingtogether just for practicesessions could be a logisticalnightmare. Jollyasked Jewell, and Jewellsaid no. After a while,Jolly asked again. Thistime Jewell said shewould try one regatta.Well, they won, butJewell wanted to tryanother one. They didn’twin, but they came closeenough that Jewell wasconvinced that this wasthe route to take. Jolly was elated.“Our personalities are the complete opposite,” Jollysaid. “She’s outgoing and vivacious. I’m not aggressive onthe starts, and I’m a numbers kind of sailor whereas she is aseat-of-the-pants type.”But it worked well. Jewell is younger, taller and heavierthan Jolly and was perfect for the trapeze. Jewell alsobrought to the table her boyfriend, Bill Short, a sailmakerand coach. He built exactly the kind of sails the womenwould need, and he had to break Jolly of pinching (steeringtoo close to the wind and luffing the sails) too much andtrained her to be more aggressive when the starting gunsounded.Jolly’s husband, Elliott, introduced the duo to someserious physical training. Some of it was at the OlympicTraining Camp in Colorado Springs, but most of the exertionwas in various gymnasiums.“Back then, 470s would have two to two-and-a-halfhourraces,” Jolly said. “You not only needed physicalstrength, but endurance. “When you are tired, your musclestake the blood from your brain. Then toward the end of arace, when you really need to make important decisions,you may not be thinking right.”A second situation was time and money for a boat,equipment and travel for training.“We didn’t have any,” Jolly said simply. “We bothworked, and our funds were limited.”But they made do. Jewell had a 470 on both coasts thatthey could use for practice, and Elliott took out a secondmortgage on the house to buy a new boat a year before theOlympic trials. Unfortunately, that vessel was destroyed ina training accident off Fort Lauderdale, and they had toraise money for a second one.“It wasn’t as fast as the first one we got from Holland,but it was very sturdy,” Jolly said.And instead of globe-hopping to sharpen their skills ininternational regattas like many of the other prospects did,Jolly and Jewell stayed relatively close to home, worked outAllison Jolly, on the right, and Lynne Jewell at the 1988 Olympics in Korea.The two were the only American sailors to win gold medals that year. Photocourtesy Allison Jolly.44 May 2012 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com