Allegra ("Leggie") Knapp Brickell Mertz (1913-1989) was a four-time United States' women's national sailing champion and the first women to receive the Nathaneal G. Herreshoff Trophy from

US Sailing The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing) is the national governing body for sailing in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers t ...

Sailing history

Mertz grew up sailing and a 1954 ''Sports Illustrated'' article describes her tenacity and how she encouraged junior sailors. Mertz won regattas in a range of boats including the

Moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

class, the 210 class, and the

Etchells The International Etchells Class is a racing class of one-design sailing boats, designed by American Skip Etchells. Production The first 36 boats were built by Skip Etchells and the Old Greenwich Boat Company between 1967 to 1969. In the ea ...

class where she split helm duties with her husband James Mertz. In the International One Design class she won the first IOD trophy in 1937, a silver seashell that is now given as the 'Allegra Trophy' for 2nd place at the IOD World Championship. Knapp was a four-time winner of the

Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy The Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy, or Adams Cup for short, was the competition for the United States Women's Sailing Championship. The donor of the award was Francis Lovering Adams the wife of Charles Francis Adams III, former Secretary to the N ...

(1950, 1954, 1959, and 1963), which placed her as the United States' women's national sailing champion in those years. She also won the Syce Cup trophy for the women's Long Island Sound championship eight times. Her first win came in 1938 where she sailed with her sister-in-law Dorothy Knapp, Sarah Baylis, and the 13 year old Aileen Shields who was the youngest competitor of the event. Knapp was a longtime president of the Women's North American Sailing Committee. In 1954 she founded the International Blue Jay Association and was Blue Jay class association president for 24 years. Her husband was also a commodore of the American Yacht Club.

Awards and honors

Mertz was the 1963

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and in 1966 was the first woman to win the Nathaneal G. Herreshoff Trophy from US Sailing for "outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing" who highlighted both her contributions as a competitor and administrator, and for encouraging women in sailing. She was named to the International One Design World Class Association hall of fame. As of 2021, the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy is awarded each year to the winning women's match racing team in the United States. Mertz is a nominee to join the

National Sailing Hall of Fame The National Sailing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes sailing and racing by recognizing individuals who have contributed to the sport, highlighting sailing's contribution to the American culture; and demonstrating i ...

Personal life

Knapp married James Bain Brickell in 1937 and they had one son, James Brickell. She later married James M. Mertz and they had a daughter, Allegra Mertz.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mertz, Allegra American female sailors (sport) 1989 deaths 1913 births Sailing