McNay368
Class: 470 Men
Position: Skipper
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics: 2002, 2004-2008
Member of: Beverly YC
Education: The Roxbury Latin School, Yale University (graduated 2005)
Birthdate: Aug. 1, 1981
Birthplace: Boston
Hometown: Lincoln, Mass.
Occupation: Full-time sailor
Significant sailing achievements: InterCollegiate Sailing Association All-American (2003, 2005)
Biography: For most sailors, strategy is the gameplan you make on the water. But for 470 skipper McNay, strategic thinking is far more powerful when it’s applied both on the water and off.
“Strategic thinking can be applied in two senses,” says McNay as he surveys his Olympic path. “The first is strategic thinking as decision-making on the racecourse. The second sense is strategic thinking as program management.”
Both McNay and crew Graham Biehl raced the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in ’03 on different boats, with McNay finishing fifth and Biehl finishing second.
Full-time focus and a strategic approach to their campaign gave McNay and Biehl what they needed to win the Trials in October 2007: they walked away from the regatta with a win, without having to sail the last two races.
As McNay and Biehl complete their final training before heading to Qingdao, they know they’ve built a strong program, but have further to go. According to McNay, they both have identical goals but complementary skills: “We have found how to use this to our advantage,” says McNay, “making our team dynamic stronger than we each are as individuals.”
Recent Results:
2008 19th 470 World Championships/Melbourne, Australia
2007 8th Sydney International Regatta/Sydney, Australia, 10th ISAF Sailing World Championships/Cascais, Portugal
