Pam Healy won a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, in the 470 class together with JJ Fetter. She learned to sail growing up in the Bay Area in her yellow El Toro named “Woodstock” alongside the likes of sailing legend John Kostecki at the Richmond Yacht Club where she met her husband, Craig Healy. She joined the St. Francis Yacht Club as a Junior Member in 1983 and In 1983, she joined St. Francis Yacht Club as a Junior Member and she has been nominated for the role of Rear Commodore in 2025.
Healy is a member of US Sailing’s Board of Directors and took on the role of Organizing Authority for the domestic Trials in Miami which occurred this past January and February. Her responsibility was to report to US Sailing and the USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) to ensure the Trial events were held at USOPC standards. She also organized the 68 volunteers for the January Trials and 45 volunteers in February, crucial to the Trials’ success. With the Paris Olympics done and dusted, as well as the past few years of upheaval at US Sailing, Healy reflects on the recent Olympic quad with a view to LA2028.
JJ Fetter & Pam Healy: Bronze Medalists & great friends
“Working as the Organizing Authority for the domestic Trials was a 2-1/2-year project for me and I didn’t realize how much work it was until it was over, I was buried!” laughs Healy. “We brought in people from all over the country and involved as many women as we could; I was really proud of how many women we had on the water running races. It was great to learn who can really handle this kind of regatta pressure and who is ready for LA2028, because we’ll be needing them; we really have a talented group of people in this country who can do this work.”
Healy commented on the success of running domestic Trials for the first time in many years.
“There is an argument for domestic Trials and having everyone meet the pressure of just that one competition,” notes Healy. “I saw how high the pressure was; the fleets were small and the competition really unforgiving. It was beneficial for the athletes because they had never sailed like that before. It’s a little exclusive to have the Trials abroad because you won’t grow the depth in a class – you’ll end up with just a handful of decent sailors. For example, in the 470 class there are a lot of kids who are young and who don’t have the funding right now, but they were at the Trials earlier this year giving everyone a go-around at the marks, they weren’t far off the pace, but they would never have been able to go to abroad to race an Olympic qualifying series.”
These past Games have been the first time since her own campaign, other than helping her husband with his 2000 Olympic effort in the Soling, that Healy has been involved in Olympic sailing although she has been instrumental in assisting with the Olympic Development Program over the past years. Healy’s good-humored observations of how different the experience was back in her day highlights how much easier it should be for athletes competing at the elite level today.
“Sailing competitors today may think a campaign is so much work and so much time; looking back, we did not have half of the amenities and resources they have available to them now like cell phones, cash machines, or even Google!” smiles Healy. “We would arrive in Europe and our boats wouldn’t be there; we wouldn’t know when the container was arriving. Competitors today just have so much more communication available to them. Fundraising has been facilitated by social media which athletes can take advantage of and can appeal to people who know little about sailing to donate to their campaigns. It was also more difficult for women when I was campaigning; women expect to be treated differently today as they should be, and there is a difference in the way that their male counterparts treat them, it is much more respectful, and you never hear any undertones of inclusiveness.”
As a spectator this year and with no official duties, Healy got to enjoy the Games alongside many friends in Marseille supporting Team USA, as well observe the positives that will serve future US sailing athletes rolling into LA 2028.
“It was heart-warming to see so many St Francis Yacht club members in Marseille supporting our sailors,” says Healy. “While the racing wasn’t too exciting to watch because there wasn’t much wind, there were many USA fans and family members rallying and supporting their athletes. I was impressed to see in action that the athlete voice is top of mind and that’s how the USOPC wants it, as it is in all sports. US Sailing is coming out of the dark ages on its approach to elite sailing competition and acting in the best interests of the whole athlete. I wish our sailors had done better this year, but I feel good about how the program worked, how the support systems worked and the communication. They were united and had an amazing collective experience, great team cohesiveness.”
Nonetheless, it is no secret that there is room for improvement in order for US sailing athletes to do well in 2028, and Healy places an emphasis on working together and training as a quad as key components for success.
“Leading up to the Trials I saw how the 49er class was excellent at working together as was the iQ Foil class; sailing together, sharing information, sharing settings, and talking to each other,” says Healy. “You have to rely on your teammates, and you have to make each other faster. It was impressive during the Trials watching Charlie Mckee (coach to bronze medalists in the 49er Ian Barrows and Hans Henken) gather all the 49er sailors around a picnic table – they wouldn’t talk about who tacked on who or who won the start, they talked about what each other’s’ settings were, how they were approaching the race etc. I also see it in the ILCA 6 class where there is a nice women’s quad developing. Naturally, in the last couple of months you are allowed to be selfish and on your own program but we’re not going to get the best result as a country if we don’t all work together. Everyone needs to be of that frame of mind, you have to buy into the whole program and be part of the US Sailing Team. We have good potential in some classes, but success can’t be achieved in a vacuum.”
On Healy’s wish-list for LA2028 is to see the positive energy generated this year in Olympic sailing continue to gather momentum and focus on a full team effort because as she well understands, thinking you can win at the Games all by yourself is unrealistic.
“Seeing everyone work together, get behind our representatives on the team and ensuring that we get some top finishes in the classes where we are strongest, that would be so great for our program,” comments Healy. “I think we can do it in several of the classes with everyone working together. There is a ground swell happening within the ODP under ODP Manager Rosie Chapman’s direction and everyone involved feels like they are part of a movement, part of a culture. If you get second in the Trials and the representative gets a medal, you know you are a piece of that medal; let’s bring back that national team spirit!”
Pam Healy is a board member of the St Francis Sailing Foundation (StFSF), and her Olympic sailing partner JJ Fetter sits on the Foundation committee. StFSF was proud to assist recent Olympians including club members Hans Henken, Daniela Moroz and Markus Edegran with fundraising in this past quad. Donations by the Foundation are possible through funds raised at STFSF’s annual Auction which is scheduled for March 4, 2025.
The largest contribution to the Foundation came from the estate of member and Staff Commodore Tom Allen in his trust. Please consider a tax-deductible gift to the St. Francis Sailing Foundation in your will or trust. If you or your attorney needs information, call Treasurer Greg Meagher at 510-541-2543.