EWE Spirit Foundation
In memory of Geoff Ewenson
1970 - 2020
Peter McClennen
Peter McClennen is a lifelong sailor whose passion began while sailing with his family, especially his mother, who was also an avid sailor and racer. They sailed together on Cape Cod nearly every day in the summer on their wooden 1914 Wianno Senior racing sloop. Peter’s current sailing pursuits are unique as he is very active in restoring and racing classic yachts as well as racing today’s modern boats. His racing program, Gamecock Sailing, is named after his classic 1925 Herreshoff R Class racing yacht, Gamecock.
Peter’s interest in learning about and racing modern boats is what led him to Geoff. It was in Fort Lauderdale in 2017 when their paths eventually crossed. Geoff took Peter sailing on Themis, a C&C 30 One Design, giving him his first experience on a planning sport boat. At this point Peter was hooked. Geoff proceeded to sail with, coach and advise Peter on all types of sailing endeavors. They sailed together on Peter’s C&C 30, Nyabinghi, and on his IC37 and Melges 24, both named Gamecock.
Although Geoff and Peter both attended the University of Rhode Island, they did not know each other then. As their friendship blossomed, they discovered a shared love of ’80s movie trivia and taking fast sailboats “Plaid!”—a reference to the 1987 movie Spaceballs’ idiom for “going very fast.” The two men also shared a passion for developing young sailors. Peter helped found the Eos Big Boat Program at Sail Newport to develop young adult sailors’ big boat and team skills. The program uses the C&C platform, which kept Geoff in the mix with his expertise and advice on these boats.
In his “other life,” Peter is an accomplished healthcare executive focusing on providing new technologies and services in the complicated world of healthcare delivery. He was CEO of Best Doctors, a global second-option service, president of Teladoc, the leader in virtual care, and president of healthcare IT companies dbMotion, Allscripts and Amicas. Prior to that he was an executive for General Electric in its global medical imaging IT business.
Primarily living in Newport, Rhode Island, Peter is married and has a college-age son. He can be found racing up and down the East Coast, most frequently in Newport and Miami.