Hugh Dougherty

Hugh Dougherty, of Cambridge, MA, comes to Oakcliff with his sights set on improving his match racing and offshore racing plus to continue to advance through the ranks of race management. Hugh continues to be an active racer in various boats like the Laser, MIT Tech Dinghies, Viper 640, and Star and is regularly a race officer at the MIT Sailing Pavilion, and Boston’s Community Boating, Inc where the competition is world class and rounding the windward mark is more than challenging. Being competitive, you need to know how far you can push the rules and when your competitors are operating outside the rules. In race management, Hugh strives to keep the course square and fair.

Hugh thanks Dawn Reilly, Oakcliff’s Executive Director, for the opportunities she and Oakcliff provided. These include access to big boat racing on boats such as Match 40, Ker 50, or Farr 40. 

It was a learning moment to be on a boat’s team whose management would move Hugh during racing into different positions from mast to bow to driving to tactician. This teamwork resulted in the team consistently being on the leaderboard. Hugh states Oakcliff’s match racing clinics with Dave Perry (one of his favorite authors) coupled with a match racing regatta are “fabulous”.  

The William I Koch International Sea Scout Cup Association has appointed Hugh to their Key Six as Race Officer.  He served as PRO in 2018. Hugh judged the 2017 Laser Masters at Columbia River Gorge. Hugh served as PRO for August 25-26, 2018  Oakcliff Triple Crown Series Stage 1 for 49er, 49er FX and Nacra 17.

Hugh is a sophomore in Mechanical Engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst.