Connell Phillips

Connell Phillipps grew up sailing on Lake Elizabeth in Fremont, California. It wasn’t  until he was 8 years old when he joined Richmond Yacht Club junior program that his love for sailing grew as he started racing. He has competed in many different classes from El Toros to J22s and 29ers, and sailed in dozens of regattas all over the country. Some of the highlights of his career have been achieving top 5 at the Chubb Junior Championship, or the Sears Cup, and competing in the Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup. Looking to the future, he wants to build his career as a competitive sailor and match racer but also become more involved in the engineering aspect of the sport.

Connell enjoys tinkering and taking things apart to see how they work. Whether it's a winch on a Farr 40 or his friend's drone, he isn't afraid to roll his sleeves up. His ultimate dream is to be apart of the engineering team for the America's cup because it showcases the highest levels of racing with the fastest sailing machines; it's the Superbowl of sailboat racing. He also aspires to one day do the Cup as a sailor. He was a four-year varsity swimmer and water polo player in high school. He plans to sail at the University of Vermont and continue a high-level fitness regimen while studying Mechanical Engineering.