By Laurie Fullerton

Boston, Mass- The first-ever grand prix level sailing regatta, the Flip Flop regatta, held in Boston harbor Saturday featured 40 high-performance yachts in a pursuit race where some of the region's top sailors went boat to boat for a spectacular spinnaker finish.

The Flip Flop Regatta was so named to honor the memory of Alexandra Nicole Zapp, a 30-year old Boston sailor, Oregon native and philanthropist who was brutally attacked and murdered in the ladies room at a Burger King rest stop by an employee last July while driving home to Newport, R.I.

Ally's free-spirited style and love of sailing prompted her friends and family to name the event after her trademark flip-flops.

"This race is homegrown in Boston, which doesn't have its own annual regatta," said Brian McSweeny, owner of the Baltic 50 "Bully" which placed second in Class A. McSweeny, in honor of Zapp, had his entire crew dressed in his late friend's favorite colors of bright pink and lime green, adding a spectacular glow to their already strong performance.

Racing through a foggy afternoon and a building sea breeze, boats focused less on the handicapped measurement system of big boat racing and more on the timing of the starts. In a sequence of three minute starts divided into four classes sailors had a chance to win on skill and speed alone Class A sailing veteran Hugh Chandler of Boston finish first, followed by Bryan McSweeny's "Bully" and Marblehead's John Fisher placed third aboard his ID35 "Jazz Sensation."

"The pursuit race format was great because unlike most PHRF (Performance Handicapped Racing Fleet) races we worried more about the boats in front of us instead of behind us," Fisher said. "And, as fun as this is, the reason we are all here is heinous and we hope that this sort of crime never happens again."

Hosted by the Courageous sailing center and sponsored by Sperry Topsiders, proceeds from the regatta went to the Ally Foundation, a non-profit foundation that hopes to rectify attitudes, practices and laws favoring the violent over the innocent, particularly in the area of repeat sex offender management. During the regatta, the Ally Foundation donated two boats an Eastern 18 and a Nomad 16 by Vanguard to the non-profit sailing centers Courageous and Sail Newport.

Zapp had stopped to use the ladies room on July 18, 2002 late at night when the sole employee at the restaurant trapped, attacked and killed her. The attacker had a long history of incarceration and was a repeat sexual offender and he was left working alone at the 24-hour Burger King rest stop after 12 midnight. Zapp was returning to Newport after attending a Boston fundraiser. Zapp's mother, Andrea Casanova of Portland, Oregon, formed the Ally Foundation shortly after her daughter's murder. The foundation raises funds, through events like the Flip Flop regatta, to lobby for tougher criminal laws against repeat sexual offenders.

"Our family and friends have experienced a huge loss but I have tried not to feel angry. Ally would have encouraged me to do what we have done in trying to change legislation. The Mass. State House has given us access and we are working on both changing laws and changing the cultural attitude about sex offenders. This is not just a case of law, it is a case of attitudes," Casanova said

Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, a young woman herself, attended the regatta and by proclamation of Gov. Mitt Romney, August 9 was declared Alexandra Nicole Zapp day in Boston. Healey also announced her support of a recent crime bill filed to crack down on repeat sexual offenders and enact tougher laws.

"Ally loved the water and spent a lot of volunteer hours working with children here at Courageous," said Healey. "This event really seeks to celebrate Ally's life and reiterate the causes that put an end to her short life. We know that fighting crime is something everyone cares about, and so many of us felt that it could have been anyone of us at that rest stop that night."

"This regatta is a way of showing Ally how much we loved her and how great she was," said professional boat captain and friend Scott Akerman. "We also hope to try and prevent this from happening to someone else."

For more information on the Ally Foundation, go to www.theallyfoundation.org.