Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Buddy Melges - to be mentioned in the same sentence as these American sailing legends could be seen as one of sailing's greatest achievements. But to be nominated for the 2007 US Sailing Yachtsman of the Year Award? Well, that would be simply extraordinary.
In fact, extraordinary seems like a fitting word to describe sophomore Tomas Hornos, a key member of the Tufts' sailing program. His latest achievement came on December 27, when he was one of 10 men nominated for the highest individual sailing recognition US Sailing has to offer: Yachtsman of the Year. At 19 years of age, Hornos is the youngest ever nominated for the award.
Some of the biggest names in sailing history have donned the title of Yachtsman of the Year, including Conner, a four-time winning skipper of the America's Cup, and Turner, also an America's Cup victor who is better known for founding CNN and TBS.
Though he did not ultimately walk away with the honor, as US Sailing announced Wednesday that Lightning World Championship winner Jeff Linton would receive the award, Hornos still considers it an accomplishment to have been recognized.
"It's an honor," Hornos said. "To be considered amongst some of the best sailors in the world is really something special. It's great to be recognized on this level."
Hornos is among good company. Joining him in the nominations were Tufts alumni Pete Levesque (E '03) and Lisa Keith (A '01), the latter of whom was nominated for the Yachtswoman of the Year Award. Levesque won both the U.S. and the World Team Racing Championships this year, with Keith as his crew for both.
"It's been a great year for Tufts sailing," coach Ken Legler said. "Many former Tufts sailors won world championships this year aside from Tomas in the Snipes and Pete and Lisa in the Team Racing Championship. The fact that team racing even got this recognition is great in of itself."
Hornos was one of several nominees to have won a World Championship in his respective racing class. It was the culmination of tireless hours spent on the water, as Hornos has frequently put his life on hold for weeks at a time to go to regattas all over the country and the world.
"This nomination has shown me how worth it all the hours of practicing and going to regattas at the college level has been," Hornos said. "Tufts has given me a new dimension to sailing. All of the short races have helped me with close-quarter maneuvering, which is needed to excel at the higher level."
With three more nominees this year, Tufts is adding to the list of high-profile sailors to have had their skills honed at Upper Mystic Lake. The Jumbos have had three different sailors win the Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year award, including Betsy Allison, a five-time winner, as well as Dave Curtis, a two-time winner, and Susan Dierdorff Taylor.
For Hornos's sailing career, the future looks bright. With five major regatta victories this year, including his World Championship, continued hard practice and time spent on the water would seemingly ensure that his success continues.
"Tomas has developed much faster than most," coach Ken Legler said. "We gave him the most improved award for this fall.
"What sets him apart is that not only does he sail as much as he can in college, but outside of school, during the winters and summers, he sails more than everyone else. He sails Lasers in Boston Harbor during the winter on the weekends, which helps him tremendously. He campaigns with his Star boat, which is an extremely hard class to sail in because it is an Olympic class boat and everyone he sails against are people training full-time for the Olympics."
"I want to continue to do as well in college sailing as possible," Hornos added. "In the long-term, I'd like to get more and more experience and training in the Star class to get into and see how far I can go in the Olympic trials. I want to see how far I can take sailing until I have to start thinking about getting a job."
Already off to a good start, Hornos won two Star regattas, finished second in two of them and had another two top-10 finishes in the class, all within 2007. With a little more experience, the Olympic trials can only be the next logical step.
