470 TEAM USA

Olympic Sailing | 470 class
Beijing, China. 2008

Formed in 2006, 470 Team USA is a unique partnership between Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving, two of the top women sailors in the United States. Together, they represent the fierce competitive drive and rigorous preparation towards their goal of representing the United States in the 2008 Olympic Games. With your support, they are eager to take on the best teams in the world

470 Team USA
Sailing Foundation of New York
150 East 73rd Street, Apartment 6D
New York, New York 10021
Team@470teamusa.com

Latest Updates

  • September 24th, 2007 - Mikey Murison Memorial Regatta Update
  • September 23rd, 2007 - Training Hard for the Trials
  • August 6th, 2007 - New Photo Gallery: Palma de Majorca
  • August 6th, 2007 - Upcoming Events...
  • July 19th, 2007 - World Championships Wrap-Up

View more news updates

Upcoming Events

Erin Maxwell

Position: Helm

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Erin Maxwell grew up sailing out of Ram Island Yacht Club and Wadawanuck Yacht Club in Connecticut. In high school she competed on the Williams School sailing team where she led her team to placing well at several national championships. Erin went on to Dartmouth College where she finished her college sailing career as a four-time Women’s All-American skipper. She was also named a Co-ed All-American skipper in 2001, an honor rarely awarded to women in the history of US college sailing. After college sailing she transitioned into sailing 470s. At the 2001 470 World Championships in Slovenia, she placed a remarkable 14th in her first world championship. This was followed by winning the 470 Nationals in 2002. In the winter of 2003 Erin began sailing full time in 470’s training towards the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. She placed 3rd at the Olympic Trials and did not qualify for the Olympics, but Erin immediately refocused on her Olympic goals for Beijing in 2008. Jumping right back into competition, Erin dominated the 2004 US 470 Nationals with all first place finishes. This was followed by finishing as the top US Women’s Team at the US Nationals in 2005, making it the 4th time Erin finished as the top US women’s team at the 470 US Nationals. In July 2006, Erin joined forces with Isabelle Kinsolving, 2004 470 Olympian. She is now more determined that ever to achieve gold at the 2008 Games knowing she has the talent of Isabelle on her side.

Erin holds a BS in Economics and a BA in Studio Art from Dartmouth College. After graduating from Dartmouth in 2001 she worked at Lehman Brothers, Inc. in their Prime Brokerage Group until the Fall of 2002. In her free time outside of work and sailing she competed in the New York Marathon in 2002, and enjoys continuing with her art by painting and drawing. She has currently been working as an investment banker in the Asset-backed Finance division of RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut since the Winter of 2004, while maintaining her 470 training.

Erin’s Top Sailing Accomplishments:

  • US Sailing Team Member, 2000-2001, 2003-2006
  • 1st, 2005 St. Francis Olympic Classes Regatta (Coed 470)
  • 2nd, 2005 US 470 Women’s Nationals (Top American)
  • 2nd, 2005 Rolex Miami OCR, Women’s 470
  • 1st, 2004 US 470 Nationals (Coed)
  • 3rd, 2003 US Women’s 470 Olympic Trials
  • 1st, 2003 US Women’s 470 Nationals
  • 1st, 2003 Travemunde Race Week (Coed 470)
  • 1st, 2002 US 470 Nationals (Coed)
  • 14th, 2001 Women’s 470 World Championship
  • 1st, 2000 Intercollegiate Women’s Championships
  • 5th, 1999 US Women’s 470 Olympic Trials
  • 2nd, 1998, 1999, and 2001 Intercollegiate Women’s Championship
  • Intercollegiate All-American, 2001
  • Intercollegiate Women’s All-American 1998-2001
  • 1st, 1998 and 1999 Club 420 North American Championships
  • 1st, 1996 and 1997 Ida Lewis Trophy (US Jr. Women’s Doublehanded Championship, Club 420’s)

Isabelle Kinsolving

Position: Crew

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A 2004 Olympian, Isabelle Kinsolving grew up in New York City, sailing out of Fishers Island Yacht Club right across the sound from Erin Maxwell. Through junior sailing in Optimists, Blue Jays and Club 420’s, Isabelle succeeded on a club and local level. Isabelle graduated high school from Groton School in Massachusetts, where she was co-captain of the Girls’ Ice Hockey Team and a member of the New England Champion rowing team. As an undergraduate at Yale University, Isabelle played Women’s Varsity Ice Hockey for two years before concentrating on sailing. She skippered for both the Women’s and Varsity Sailing Teams, leading the Women’s Team to a New England Championship in 2002, her senior year.

Olympic Sailing in the 470 Class

The 470 is one of nine one-design boats used in the Olympics. It was designed in 1963 in France as a modern fiberglass planing dinghy. By 1969 the class was given international status and it has been an Olympic class since 1976. In 1988 the first Olympic women’s event was sailed in the 470. The United States won the first gold medal in the Women’s 470 class.

Key Statistics:

  • Length Overall 4.7 m
  • Length Waterline 4.4 m
  • Beam 1.68 m
  • Draft .5 m
  • Draft (CB down) 1.5 m
  • Weight 120 kg
  • Mast 6.78 m
  • Jib 3.58 sq.m
  • Main 9.12 sq.m
  • Spinnaker 13 sq.m
  • Total Sail Area 12.7 sq.m

The 470 is equipped with a spinnaker and a trapeze, and is quite fast, especially when the breeze is up. Tactically, the boat is demanding, as speed differences are small and fleets are usually big. The competitive crew weight is 275-320 lbs, which makes it ideal for both women and men. World and Continental Championships are organized every year with separate starts for women and men/mixed teams. In the World Championships there have been more than 30 countries represented. There are 65 member nations in the International Class Association and more than 40,000 boats have been built in 20 countries on all continents.

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Fundraising

Unlike some other sports and many of our foreign competitors, U.S. sailors are not fully funded by a national sports organization. U.S. Sailing’s Olympic Sailing Committee is currently taking steps to rectify this imbalance over the coming decades. But, for the next several years, sailors will continue to bear the responsibility for raising the majority of the funds necessary to finance their efforts.

470 Team USA relies almost entirely on private donations and corporate sponsorship to finance our training and competition. Individual supporters can be part of the quest for Olympic gold through tax-deductible campaign contributions, per the instructions to the right on this page. These funds are used for equipment, travel to training camps, boat transportation, and competition-related expenses, among other items. A more detailed breakdown of our expenses and fundraising targets can be found by clicking here. For more information on corporate sponsorship opportunities, please visit our Sponsorship section.

Support 470 Team USA

All individual contributions to 470 Team USA are tax-deductible. After receiving your donation, we will send you a receipt for tax-reporting purposes.

Checks should be made out to Sailing Foundation of New York (note “Maxwell/Kinsolving Campaign” in the memo line) and mailed to:

470 Team USA
c/o Isabelle Kinsolving
150 East 73rd St., Apt. 6D
New York, NY 10021

Thank You!

The success of our campaign depends heavily on both monetary and non-monetary contributions, and we are incredibly grateful to all of our sponsors and donors for their financial support of our efforts. We also wanted to take a moment to recognize several individuals and groups who have made substantial contributions to our campaign by providing organizational, logistical and emotional support throughout our campaign. We couldn't have done it without all of you - Thank You!

  • The Maxwell & Kinsolving Families
  • The Bischoff Family
  • Skip Whyte
  • Pease Glaser
  • Paul Foerster
  • Joe Walsh, Polly Barry & the rest of our Greenwich Capital supporters
  • Jay & Amy Kehoe
  • Peter & Stu Egeli
  • Craig Westlin & Brandon Flack from Samson Rope
  • Bruce Lockwood
  • Don Jesberg
  • Bill Goggins from Harkin