The Wind Howled for local High School Sailors in San Francisco
by Vern Vincent

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.---Three Local High School Sailing Teams competed in the Pacific Coast Championship High School sailing Regatta; Treasure Island, CA, April 19-20, 2008

The top nineteen California and Hawaii high school sailing teams dueled it out this last weekend at the The Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association’s (PCISA) Pacific Coast Championship Regatta held at the Treasure Island Sailing Center in San Francisco, CA. Races were run nearly under the Bay Bridge, in the lee of Yorba Linda Island. All three Santa Barbara high schools qualified and were invited to compete. A record contingency of sailors and families were on hand for two full days of high winds and intense top-notch competition. High School sailing events are conducted in rotations of an A and B fleet; two races each. The double-handed (two sailors) events are raced in Club Flying Junior (CFJ) standard “one-design” sailboats. Ever boat has to be identical and “class legal.” High quality sails are provided by PCISA, donated by Roy Disney, so every team essentially has the same boat and sails. The races are decided on skill, tactics and determination, not by customized or enhanced equipment.

Sailing is always at the mercy of the weather. No one was disappointed as it blew 15-20 knots with gusts to 25-30 on Saturday, and only slightly less on Sunday. With temperatures in the mid 50s, endurance and physical condition became as important as skill and experience. Fourteen long races were completed in the most challenging conditions of the year. Saturday ended with Santa Barbara High School in 5th and San Marcos in 6th. The shoot-out for the top 5 finishes to qualify to go to Nationals in Annapolis, MD next month continued Sunday, ending with Point Loma in 1st, Newport Harbor in 2nd… with Santa Barbara just a few points out of the running in 6th and San Marcos in 7th. Dos Pueblos High Schools team finished in 18th.

Competing from Santa Barbara High School were Oliver Toole, Travis Benton, Paul Heffernan and Garrett Tesman. From San Marcos High School; Willie McBride, Carly Shevitz, Cody Shevitz, Andrew McNary and Brittany Hirsch. Competing from Dos Pueblos High School were Sky Adams, Spenser Branch, Hanna Vincent and Hunter Yegendorf. For two seniors, Willie McBride and Cody Shevitz, this was their final high school event. Both will be going to UC Berkley next fall, so they will have many more opportunities to sail out of the Treasure Island facility; the home of the UC Berkley sailing team.

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