UCLA Sailing Team

West Marine team fundraiser!

Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:33:30 +0000

Hey guys!

Just a heads up that the UCLA Sailing Team has a fundraiser going on all day Tuesday, May 25th at the West Marine in Marina del Rey.

5% of the day’s earnings will go toward the team!! So it’s REALLY important that you buy any and all boating/sailing/water gear on the 26th, and tell your friends and family to come on out and support us! Team members will be in the store throughout the day, and rumor has it there will be snacks/goodies to lure you in.

Please come out and support us in any way you can…as an almost entirely member-funded club that is perpetually low on funds, this event could really help us out. Not to mention this is the week before our Alumni Regatta…stock up on gear for the fun weekend ahead!

Hope to see you there!

Alumni Regatta NOR

Administrator — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:44:31 +0000

NOTICE OF RACE
UCLA SAILING TEAM 2010 ALUMNI REGATTA

Location: UCLA Marina Aquatic Center (14001 Fiji Way, Marina del Rey, CA)

Format: As with last year, we will try to run open rotation fleet races early in the day to determine teams for evenly-matched team racing in the afternoon. Courses will depend on conditions and participation.

Entries: All are welcome.

Entry Fee: FOUST and Current Team Members – no charge. All others – $15.

Schedule:

Sunday, May 30, 2010

10:30am – Report and Registration

When the Wind Fills In – First Start

All Day – Food, Beverages, and Good Times

No racing after sunset.

Lodging and Transportation: If you would like to share a ride from a major California city, or need a place to stay, contact FOUST and we’ll see what we can do.

Rules: This regatta will be governed by the rules in the Racing Rules of Sailing 2008-2012. Mostly.

Contact:
Sam Wheeler
UCLA Sailing Team, Class of 2008
President, Friends of the UCLA Sailing Team
www.foustsupport.net

Sailing Team makes front page of Daily Bruin Sports!

Administrator — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:02:46 +0000

http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/4/27/smooth-sailing/

UCLA sailing team takes on international regatta in France

After months of fundraising and practice, sailing team takes on international regatta in France

When the sails are unfurled and all of the contestants take their mark, the sight is truly majestic. There are 60 sailboats spanning hundreds of yards of water, painting the horizon with color and contrasting with the bright blue sky off the scenic coast of Brest, France.

However, these boats are not there to take a group picture. They are there to compete in the 42nd annual Edhec Boat Cup.

Last week, all of the top European universities came to Brest to compete against one another in the weeklong regatta, and in the midst of all the international competition, the UCLA sailing team looked to make its mark.

One of only two schools from the United States that competed in the regatta this year, the team played the role of ambassador and carried the banner for their own style of sailing into international waters.

The sailing team is one of the smaller club sports on campus but has been growing in popularity as well as skill level in recent years. The team normally competes in events up and down the California coast and occasionally travels to Hawaii for competitions.

But this all changed when fourth-year environmental science and accounting student Victor Weisberg showed up on the scene with the idea to expand the team’s competitive spectrum.

“My sophomore year, I lived in a co-op, and I’m French-American, and a guy I met there, who was French, told me about this awesome regatta in France with all these international schools,” Weisberg said. “He motivated me and other students to go to France and compete.”

In the previous two years, the UCLA sailing team has been the sole representative among American schools at the regatta and has raised the banner of Westwood alongside universities from countries such as New Zealand, Senegal and Switzerland.

Weisberg knew that the task of funding the annual trip to France would not be easy. Because they are a club team, they had to rely on fundraisers and donate money from their own pockets to compete and do what they love.

“We’ve outreached to small businesses, family friends, which are some of our biggest contributors. … But what’s fortunate about this year is that because we’ve done it for the past two years, the organization that runs this tournament really values having such a great American school go, so they’re actually one of our biggest sponsors this year,” Weisberg said.

Getting such high praise from the international community is definitely an achievement, considering that 140 other colleges competed in the regatta this year, not all of them receiving funding.

The team rallied together, and after months of hard work and planning, raised a total of $22,000 to make the trip.

While a weeklong voyage to sail along the coast of France sounds like a luxurious vacation to some, the UCLA sailing team went to prove itself and compete against the best in the sailing world.

Sailing is a sport that demands communication between the crew and requires members to do their job. Because there are so many different details involved in sailing a 32-foot boat, like they did in this regatta, the team had to rely on each other to succeed.

The core group of eight crew members who made the trip to France has been sailing together for some time but had to get used to sailing large boats before they left.

“Normally in the United States, flying juniors (smaller, two-man boats) are the main boats that people sail on … but in France we compete on 32-feet Grand Surprises, which are much bigger boats,” Weisberg said.

The Grand Surprises are no joke. They are huge boats, used exclusively in France, that require all eight members to pull their own weight. Weisberg accredited the back-of-the-fleet performances that the team has had in the past to the tough switch from the smaller American boats to the larger French ones.

“Communication was one of the things I was worried about before we left,” UCLA alumnus and sailing team member Jake Muhleman said. “In order to yell to the front of the boat you have to yell real loud because the coast of France is very windy.”

As if the switch to a larger boat didn’t make things hard enough for them, the competition that assembled at the regatta made the team’s journey even harder. Weisberg said a number of other teams pay for professional sailors, including Olympians, to compete with them.

But UCLA did not show up unprepared.

“A group of us had been practicing really seriously, and what was also exciting was our skipper … who has had experience on these boats,” Weisberg said.

The team seemed to have better success this year in the multiple-race format and consistently finished in the middle of the fleet.

After a week of racing, their efforts fell just short, and they failed to qualify for the championship race.

With 140 different universities from all over the globe coming together to compete, one has to believe that the social life on land was just as fun as the race out on the water.

A whole “village” is set up that houses the 3,000 participants every year.

At night, mingling among the different countries and sampling the food and drink is a major part of the experience.

“It was real cool to get to know people from another part of the world. I will definitely try to maintain those relationships and keep in contact,” third-year mechanical engineering student Billy Edwards said. “The sailing community is a very tight-knit community, and to be a part of it was great.”

Edwards added that the sailing community in Europe takes the sport very seriously.

And with their unique status as one of two American teams, the only other being from Oklahoma City University, the UCLA team members reveled in the opportunity to make their name and what they stand for known to the international community.

“We have for sure built up a brand. … My sophomore year I went in and hung out with all these different schools … and then last year I went back and everyone knew us already. They were like, ‘Oh, UCLA, sweet.’ We have just created a brand of UCLA,” Weisberg said.

The sailing team has not only made a name for itself in the international sailboat racing community, but it is beginning to shape how others view American collegiate sailing.

Weisberg and his crew have taken on the challenge and pressure of spreading the word of UCLA sailing.

“Everybody (at the event) even knows the 8-clap,” Weisberg said.

For more information on our participation in the EDHEC Boat Cup, check out the Bruin EDHEC Team website at: www.bruincce.blogspot.com

Team Racing in the Bay 2010

blogpost — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:44:18 +0000

The weekend of March 6th was packed with team racing in the bay. UCLA, rolling DEEP as usual, sent one team to the Jeremy McIntyre Team Race at Stanford, another to the Cal Team Race at Treasure Island, and a third to a high school ladies fashion show in Fullerton. We’ll let it slide THIS time, Boomstacks.

Let’s start with the Cal Team Race. Please be advised that I was not there to witness the proceedings first hand, so some details might be stretched, twisted, or made up altogether. Sailing started right away as an awesome 8-10 knot breeze filled from the west and stuck around all day. The team, comprised of skippers Shannon Walker (junior), Drew Morton (junior), and Andrew Segal (freshman 4 lyfe), reported having some really good races, with Shannon and freshman crew Nora Brackbill starting particularly well. While there were other shining moments in their races, the team noted that consistency and a lack of practice as a team held them back a little this weekend. Overall, they came out with 5 wins and 8 losses, which was good for 4th place overall. In related news, Drew Morton hit his knee on the thwart possibly harder than anyone has ever hit their knee on a thwart before this weekend. Despite the injury, mental and physical toughness, some encouragement from his crew, and a lack of alternates kept him from having to sit out any races. The consistent breeze allowed for two and a half round robins to be completed, so Cal decided to end the regatta after just one day. Kind of a bummer if you ask me. They did provide boats, so I guess beggars can’t be choosers.

Moving on to McIntyre. The breeze was slow to fill on Saturday, with postponement ashore until around 1 o’clock. Racing began and ended in light and shifty breeze, which was less than enjoyable in the 420s, used to prepare for nationals in Wisconsin this year. All but a few races of the first round robin were completed that day. UCLA managed to beat UC Santa Cruz but lost a HEARTBREAKER to USC. We had a 1-3-4 rounding the leeward mark, and despite drawing a foul on the final beat, boats 2 through 6 ended up converging in a 5 boat cluster on their way upwind. After a blur of tacks, ducks, and profanity, UCLA ended up in the 5-6. I still have no explanation for what happened in those few seconds.

The forecast for Sunday was for strong breeze, and as promised, it blew about 15 knots all day. The first round robin was finished, with UCLA ending up in the bottom 4 of 10. A double consolation round robin was sailed, in which UCLA finished with 1 win and 5 losses. We caught a lot of frustrating breaks, including an umpire obstruction, which cost skipper Mark Anders the 1 in a race against Northwestern. Likewise, junior skipper Carmen Bozina had to avoid an umpire boat while doing a spin, which changed the combination in a race against Santa Cruz. Finally, Oscar fell out of the boat, which he really can’t blame anyone for no matter how he spins it. Maybe Tats. Yeah, Tats. Frustrating as it was, sailing in heavy breeze is always fun, and we came away from the weekend having learned a lot (particularly about starting strategy).

We’d like to give a big thanks to Carmen’s family for hosting us, and to Neha’s and Drew’s families for providing food. Next up is South 5 in Long Beach on the weekend of March 27th, where we can seal our qualifying spot for coed PCC’s! Details to come.

2010 PJ Wenner Rainbow Invite, Hawaii

Administrator — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:08:11 +0000

Although the team didn’t do much sailing on thursday, January 14th, first year teammate Linda Wennerstrom earned teammate of the day honors by scoring 8 free airport food vouchers, good for 15 bucks at any airport eatery! This years trip to the PJ Wenner Rainbow Invite literally started out with a bang, as the plane broke and the team got to spend a bonus five hours in the airport terminal with none other than the entire USC sailing team. Rad.

After the short delay, the team was in good spirits and on the ground in Hawaii, where we piled into a rental van and headed for the home of the one and only REIN ZANE. After a couple thousand wrong turns, we found the new apartment, set our alarms for 9, and crashed for the night.

Why do we have to go to Hawaii every year? One reason: it’s not everday that you get to hike a mountain, climb a 30 foot waterfall, and plunge into a tropical freshwater pool before a sailing practice. We followed the lead of our fearless commander, captain Mark Ander, who was the first to jump off the waterfall after an encouraging chorus of “quit being a bitch!” cheers from the bystanders below. After a few jumps, we headed to the sailing center for practice.

The 10-15 knot breeze was coming from the usual direction, and each pair got about 5 practice races in the fleet of about 20. The practice day was hugely important, as we had spent the better part of the last two weeks practicing in 0-5 knots. Mark Anders and Neha Bazaj had a couple of standout races in practice, and we all went back to Rein’s hopeful for the next day.

The wind on Saturday was quite a bit lighter, around 8 knots but with big puffs and huge shifts. Racing that day was incredibly tricky, as a different side of the course appeared to be favored every race. “I couldn’t seem to sail on the lifted tack,” said a frustrated Anders as he came off the water. Garrett’s advice for sailing off of sand island was to pick a side and stick it, but that was hard to do with big pileups at both the boat and the pin at the starts. Junior women’s skipper Shannon Walker and crew Lea Cohen appeared to be the only ones who could figure it out, starting the day well with 7th and 8th place finishes.

After a frustrating first day, Sunday provided us with a change of scenery, with a light, 5-8 knot breeze from a completely different direction. Strange as it was, the wind stuck around all day and was a lot steadier and more predictable than it had been the day before. Jasklowski and Woo-Kawaguchi changed their strategy on day 2, opting for conservative starts in clear air rather than fighting for the favored end of the line. They were rewarded with some consistency, finishing int the top 8 four times on day two, and in the top 5 twice. Anders and Bazaj also found a little more success on Sunday, and the coed team finished with 122 points in each division, enough for 14th overall. The women’s team was just three spots back in 17th.

Although we’ve had better results in the past, the annual trip to Hawaii was no less fun than it had been in years past. We were treated to gorgeous weather, awesome sailing, and the hospitality of our favorite host, Rein. Can’t wait until we’re back for coed PCCs in April.

Rose Bowl 2010

Administrator — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:07:42 +0000

A bit of a change of pace from the 6 boat, 25 sailor extravaganza that was North South, only 4 sailors, 1 FJ, and 4 cheerleaders made the trip to long beach for the last weekend of winter break. Marking the end of the ICSA Fall season, Rose Bowl will be the last regatta junior skipper Billy Edwards will spend on the sidelines after being suspended for attempting to stab a competitor on the water last spring (this is a joke, the very mild mannered Edwards is sitting out a quarter to save eligibility for a 5th season). His highly anticipated debut will be at South 1-2, the weekend of January 30th. Alas, I digress.

Winter days in southern California are typically pretty light, and Saturday was no exception as racing got started around noon after a morning delay. In the 26 boat fleet, both A division’s Mark Anders and Neha Bazaj and B divisions Oscar Jasklowski and Tatsuma Woo-Kawaguchi managed 8th and 7th place finishes, with a helping of some mid-fleet finishes as well. At the end of the day, 4 races had been sailed in each division. In loosely related news, an anonymous cheerleader’s crustacean phobia had been elucidated when some lobsters washed up on the beach.

The competitors returned on Sunday, one of them sporting a new, fashionable “mullet” haircut. As excited as “team mullet mayhem wildcard” was to get on the water, this didn’t happen until around 2pm, after A division had finally managed to complete two races. The second race was Anders’ best finish of the weekend, 6th place, which unfortunately wouldn’t be counted because only one race was completed in B division. Jasklowski and Woo-Kawaguchi were plagued by over-earlies this weekend, which is something they will certainly be focusing on improving. “We will certainly be focusing on improving our over-earlies,” commented Woo-Kawaguchi after racing on Sunday. When it was all said and done, both Anders and Jasklowski had finished 12th in their respective divisions, resulting in a 12th place finish overall.

The next stop for the team will be Honolulu, Hawaii, as the annual PJ Wenner Invite is fast approaching. This event will be especially exciting for UCLA as Junior skippers Shannon Walker and Carmen Bozina (team captain) will be making their debuts after being abroad in the fall.

North/South 2009

Administrator — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:07:03 +0000

Upon arriving at the El Capitan Campground on Friday night, the team was greeted with the task of pitching tents in the dark in a 25 knot northerly. Not surprisingly, the next morning the team woke up to two broken tent poles, some broken stakes, and a completely collapsed tent on top of JV skipper Milo Victor.

Expecting more of the same during the day, the cold and tired contingent of 24 sailors, 5 FJs, and 1 laser showed up to Santa Barbara Yacht Club only to find the wind had completely petered out. On the day, only 3 races were sailed in a dead or dying southwesterly in each division. This was the better day for B division’s Jasklowski and Woo Kawaguchi, whose best finish on the day was an 8th. Drew Morton’s back must have been hurting in the laser as he carried the team on that day with 8th, 11th, and 12th place finishes.

Not to be outdone by the previous night, winds on Saturday night again picked up to around 20, keeping everyone good and tired for the next day. Luckily, it’s not hard to find energy to sail when it’s sunny and 75 degrees with a steady helping of dolphins and 10 knots of breeze. Mark Anders and Neha Bazaj made the most of the ideal conditions in A division, winning a race, averaging a 6th on the day, and taking 7th place overall in A-division on the weekend. It’s safe to say that Mark’s back was hurting, as Jasklowski and Morton couldn’t get into much of a groove, not finishing much higher than mid fleet in any of the 8 races on the day. In the end UCLA took 11th in varsity.

UCLA made all kinds of noise in the JV fleet as well, highlighted by senior skipper Eric Dita scoring four 5th place finishes in B division and finishing 5th overall in B. Freshman skipper and crew pair Leo Daube and Emelia Pelliccio had a close encounter with a large seal, resulting in a capsize and the unfortunate loss of an 8th place position, their best of the weekend. All the freshman that made the trip deserve to be congratulated as they continue to improve throughout this young season. After a strong performance in A division, UCLA has high hopes for Rose Bowl, the next major intersectional in Long Beach in January.

Stoney Burke Intersectional

Administrator — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:36:33 +0000

Treasure Island

With 4 boats, 17 sailors, and 1 cheerleader in Billy “BoomStacks” Edwards (who is red-shirting this fall to save eligibility for a super-senior season) the UCLA Sailing team made a bigger entrance to the annual intersectional regatta than the Blue Angels that were flying overhead.

Sailing began according to schedule on Saturday morning, with a shifty 6-9 knot breeze filling in from the west. “It’s hard out there. Boats are making both sides work. Roll for the instantaneous wind, not the average, because it’s really puffy,” coached captain and A division skipper Mark Anders as he handed B-division crew and fellow senior Tatsuma-Woo Kawaguchi the bailor. Following a solid A-division rotation, junior skipper Oscar Jasklowski’s nerves seemed to be getting to him as he limped across the line in 17th in both of his first two races. “I really shat the bed on that rotation. And that late 70′s FJ wasn’t helping me out either,” muttered a frustrated Jasklowski as he handed to boat off to a UC Irvine Anteater. In JV, senior skipper Eric Dita and crew Taryn Aguiar came out flying and bangin’ corners with a couple of 6th place finishes. Junior skipper Drew Morton and sophomore crew Lea Cohen were not far behind in 9th.

As the day progressed, the wind picked up to a solid 12 knots for the second rotation and a blustery 17 knots for the third. Perhaps the highlight of the regatta came during Anders’ and senior crew Neha Bazaj’s second rotation, when they finished 4th, and subsequently 1st. Booyah. Considering this is Anders’ first regatta in almost a full year, not too shabby. With stronger winds and a focusing pep-talk from BoomStacks, Jasklowski appeared to have gained some confidence after reeling in a 4th place finish. The building wind didn’t phase Drew Morton or his tree-trunk quads as he hiked his way into 7th in JV-A on the day.

Sunday’s 10a.m. report time seemed to catch Anders off guard, as he had some teammates ready to go by 9a.m. Sunday’s breeze started off much stronger than Saturdays, with puffs up to 15 knots, but gradually died as the day progressed until the final signal start around 4p.m. After taking a shroud to the face and bleeding all over an Oregon FJ, varsity B-division crew Woo-Kawaguchi was on fire spotting puffs and shifts, finishing near the top of the fleet five races in a row. A great day in B-division was marred by a disqualification in the last race for being over early. Sounds like Jasklowski needs to look up at his sail number more often. Morton continued his consistent sailing, and Sophomore skipper Andrew Segal torched some opponents in B-division with 4 top 10 finishes on the weekend.

On behalf of the UCLA Sailing team, we would like to give a big thanks to Mark Anders’ family and Richard Fuller’s sister for giving us a place to sleep, eat, and warm up after the cold conditions. Also, new crews Erin Riley, Linda Wennerstrom, Carly Olenick, and Ingrid Shin deserve a special congratulations for braving the cold in the little gear they had. We hope to see them back for Frosh Soph in Mission Bay on October 17th.

Alumni Regatta

Administrator — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:35:31 +0000

Marina del Rey, CA

The first annual UCLA Alumni Regatta was sailed in Marina Del Rey on Sunday May 24th. Recent and older alumni raced along with current team members in a buzzards bash format. We fielded 18 boats that sailed in 2 fleet racing divisions to determine the team racing teams for the afternoon. 8 races total were finished by the 18 boats in the morning we took a lunch/free sail break to figure our team racing teams and racing resumed finishing one round robin with 6 teams.

Barbeque was provided all day and Alums met and mingled with current and other past team members. Friends of the UCLA Sailing Team (FOUST), the alumni group, conducted its first meeting and voted on officers President: Sam Wheeler, Vice President: Lyzz Schwegler, Treasurer: Blaize Wallace, Secretary: Stephanie Spilker, Team Liason: Kelly Kephart.

This event was a great success and we plan to continue the tradition annually. Thank you so much to the Alumni who came out to participate and donated their time and money to help the team. Special thanks to the current team members who helped run the regatta and sailed with Alums.

THANK YOU!!!

Women’s PCCs

Administrator — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:34:36 +0000

Santa Barbara, CA

Women’s PCCs was sailed in Santa Barbara, hosted by UCSB, 9 teams attended. A division was sailed by Kelly Kephart and Joana Que with Shannon Walker as the alternate, B division was sailed by Carmen Bozina and Danielle Ryan with Shannon Walker as the alternate.

Saturday began in a light easterly and quickly built up to the low 20′s. Six races were completed in A and four in B, and most teams experienced at least one capsize. A division at the end of Saturday was in 3rd place, B division was in 6th. Overall the team was in 5th with only 5 points seperating 3rd to 6th place.

Sunday was sailed in light conditions 1-5 knots, 2 races were sailed in A and 4 in B. A division dropped to 4th place and B division finished in 5th. UCLA stayed in 5th place behind UCI and USC a mere 8 points out of qualifying for semi finals.

This regatta closes UCLA’s 2009 season.