“Leggie” Mertz was a powerhouse on the waters of Long Island Sound as a champion sailor and tireless promoter on behalf of women sailors and junior sailors.  She was the sister of Arthur Knapp, Jr. an America’s Cup helmsman (1958) and top sailor at Princeton University.  In Arthur’s iconic book, Race Your Boat Right he says of his sister, “My sister, Allegra, has given an excellent account of herself in races against men and women as skipper and crew.”   Sports Illustrated described her tenacity and work with junior sailors in a 1954 article.  In the 1920s as a twelve-year-old, she won the midget races but couldn’t compete in the interclub races because the boys didn’t want to crew for a girl.  Far from being discouraged, Leggie persevered and compiled a remarkable record winning four Adams Cup regattas for the North American Women’s Championship (1950, 1954, 1959, 1963).

In 1963, the North American Yacht Racing Union named Allegra Knapp Mertz the Yachtswoman of the Year.  It was only the third time the award had been presented. She raced in the event eight times.  In 1975, she competed in the Syce Cup, the women’s Long Island Sound Championship at the age of 62.  Leggie was tied for first in the event, when she fell ill and turned the helm over to her crew Peggy Duncan Comfort – who went on to win the regatta.  In 1953, at the age of 40 she started a “ladies” sailing program at the American Yacht Club, which proved to be very popular.  That same year she introduced the Blue Jay Class to the Junior Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound.  The nifty small boat (13’ 6”) was designed by Sparkman & Stephens in 1950 and quickly became a boat for young people along the East Coast of the USA.  She served as president of the Blue Jay class for twenty-five years.

Leggie Mertz was a long-time member of the American Yacht Club in Rye, New York.  In 1966, the North American Yacht Racing Union awarded Allegra Mertz the Nathanael Greene Herreshoff Trophy for her leadership and accomplishments in the sport. The award is considered US Sailing’s highest honor.  She also served as Chair of the Women’s Committee for NAYRU for 24 years.  Her husband, James M. Mertz was commodore of American Yacht Club (1955-1956).  He raced in the International 210 class and named his boat appropriately, Allegra.

 People who knew and admired Leggie Mertz talk about her sometimes-stern demeanor.  She did not tolerate foolishness.  At a Long Island Sound match racing regatta in 1974, a young crew from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was sailing aggressively on the starting line.  In one race where the young crew got the better of veteran sailor, Bill Cox, she lectured the sailors on the merits of not being “overly aggressive.”  As the skipper of the boat, I took her words to heart…which helped me three years later in the America’s Cup.

~ Gary Jobson