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Tom Allen,
III |
Sailor of the Week, Tom Allen, III of
Buffalo, NY had a fascination with sailing from an early age.
Ironically, his start in the sport was a bit tentative. As a boy, he
watched people sailing at the Buffalo Canoe Club and hoped that
someone would ask him along, but when he finally received the
invitation that he hoped for, he declined because he says, “I was too
bashful.” Finally, a friend talked him into it and he was absolutely
hooked. He bought his first boat in 1951, a Lightning, and is still
active in the class, nearly 60 years later! He won his first North
American Championship in 1954, his eighth in 1970, and was crowned
World Champion four times. In the early 1960’s Tom wanted to make some
adjustments to his boat, but couldn’t find anyone to do the work he
envisioned, so he founded the Allen Boat Company and started building
winning boats. Often he’d take a new boat to compete at a regatta, his
results were so impressive that fellow competitors would offer to
purchase his boat on the spot and Tom would return home to build
another before the next event! To date the Allen Boat Company, now
headed-up by his son, Tom Allen Jr., has built hundreds of winning
boats, helping the Lightning Class become one of the largest fleets in
the country. Sailing Lightings has been a long-standing family
tradition for the Allen clan and Tom is quick to point out his
family’s accomplishments with pride. One of the highlights was winning
the World Championship in 1977 with his children (Tom, Jr. and Brenda,
then 16 and 19) onboard as crew. He often races with his wife Anne, a
very accomplished sailor, current President of the Lighting Class
Association, and recently elected the first female commodore of the
Buffalo Canoe Club. “All of my children and now all of my
grandchildren sail,” he says “The Lightning Class has been good for us
as a family, because there are so many variables; it changes and keeps
everyone interested.” Although Tom has raced and won in countless
national and international championships, he enjoys sailing “right at
home” at the Buffalo Canoe Club best. His favorite aspect of sailing
is the camaraderie among sailors. Tom adds, “a day of racing in
pleasant conditions with a cook-out afterwards, that’s a pretty good
day.” |
