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FOUST Newsletter OCTOBER 2012 |
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Dear Friends, Another year of UCLA sailing has started, and the team has already competed in four regattas. We've got results for you below. They've also had a great start recruiting, with 25 new sailors showing up for the initial recruiting event and around 18 staying involved so far. The roster was starting to get a little low last year, but with only one graduate departing last spring and a good turnout this fall, the future of the team looks as bright as ever. The team shifted to a new practice schedule this fall, getting on the water on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Considering the number of Monday practices that got cancelled when people were worn out from regatta weekends, I wish we had thought of that while I was there. Instead of sailing on Mondays, they've been holding chalk talks in Westwood to help get the new recruits up to speed. So far, these have been well attended by new and returning members alike. In addition to regatta results, we've also got some updates on alumni sailing activities, including dinghy racing, distance sailing, and a pirate festival. These newsletters often include a request for donations to the team. Right now, though, there are significantly greater needs. Please do what you can to help with the recovery from Hurricane Sandy, whether that's donating money to the Red Cross, giving blood, or if you're in the affected areas, volunteering. Don't worry, we'll get back to hitting you up for money for the team soon enough. For now, we hope that any members of the FOUST community who are on the east coast are staying safe. Sam Wheeler
The Bruins' fall 2012 season started out with the Frosh/Soph regatta in San Diego. Zack Chin ('15), Gabe Monti ('15), and James Healy ('14) skippered, with a number of new crews rotating in. UCLA took finished tenth out of fifteen boats. More importantly, this was a chance for new recruits to get some early racing experience. Complete results are here. Next up was the Stoney Burke regatta at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Team captains Emelia Pellicio ('13) and Erica Parker ('14) had a strong regatta in B Division, ending with back to back second place finishes and an overall seventh position of 25 boats in the division, edging out Hawaii's women's team in a tie breaker. Overall, the Bruins took seventeenth. Peter Bailey ('15) skippered A Division, with Allison Skager, Justina Leo, and Priya Patel (all '14) crewing. The singlehand championship regattas, sailed in Lasers, have never been UCLA's strong suit, but Peter Bailey gamely competed this year in the PCCSC Men's Singlehands in Long Beach on October 20-21, finishing eleventh. Since other schools sent multiple sailors, this put UCLA sixth in the conference. That same weekend, sticking to the usual FJs, the girls took an impressive third place in the Women's Fall Championships. Both divisions sailed in a combined fleet, so although there were only six schools, Emelia and Erica in A Division finished third of twelve, and skippers Louse Lehman ('14) and Nora Brackbill ('13), sailing with Amy Stuyvesant ('13) and Carly Olenick ('13) as their respective crews in B, took ninth. The Bruins' B Division managed to snag a first place finish in race 7. Sorry we didn't have regatta photos this issue! The team is fired up for the upcoming North/South regatta (officially the PCCSC Fall Dinghy Championship) on November 10 and 11, and promise they'll get us some pictures from that one. The team is also already planning regattas in both Hawaii (the Rainbow Invitation) and France (the Course Croisière EDHEC) coming up this spring, and will definitely have pictures from those. By Billy Edwards ('12), FOUST Team Liaison, and Lyzz Schwegler ('07), FOUST Vice President Audi Cup and Billy's J/80 Adventures After five years racing dinghies, recent UCLA graduate Billy Edwards ('12) has started pursuing keelboat racing. After sailing in several Martin 242 races out of Cal Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey, Billy was invited to sail on Avet, a J/80, as the tactician for skipper Curt Johnson. His first race with fellow crew Sterling Franken-Steffen and Paul Burnett was a PHRF race from Marina Del Rey to Alimitos Bay called the Marina Del Rey to Seal Beach race on September 1st. After the wind picked up to about 20 knots in the early afternoon, it was a white-knuckle down-wind run with the boat reaching speeds of nearly 14 knots. After about a four and a half hour race, Avet wound up finishing in third place with only 45 seconds between her and the first place boat. On September 8th and 9th Billy rejoined the crew for Audi Cup in Dana Point. After seven races over the two-day regatta, Avet wound up on top and Skipper Curt Johnson took home the Cup for the J/80 one-design class, but not before a nail-biting, winner-take-all final race on Sunday afternoon. In fact, quite a few UCLA alumni were in attendance at this race including Carmen Bozina ('11), Mark Anders ('11 BS '12 MS), Richard Fuller ('11), and Eric Chrisman ('10) who all sailed on a Henderson 30 in the PHRF class. Billy joined Avet a third time for J/Fest hosted by Balboa Yacht Club on September 22 and 23 where the wind was light, but the competition was stiff. Racing against many of the same boats that sailed at Audi Cup, the Avet crew again took home the first place trophy. This weekend, Curt Johnson will navigate his crew through the waves at the J/80 North American Championships (sadly, Billy will not be joining them). Etchells at ABYC On September 13, a group of UCLA alumni and students made their debut appearance racing as part of the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Etchells fleet in Long Beach. Sailing the boat Spirit in a nine-boat fleet, helmsman Scott Barber ('11) steered the crew through three races with Mark Anders ('11 BS '12 MS) trimming the main sail and calling tactics. Together with Emelia Pelliccio ('13) on bow and Nora Brackbill ('13) trimming the jib and flying the spinnaker, the four Bruins pulled off some great races including a 3rd place finish in the second race. Throughout the day the wind built to a respectable 12-15 knots and the crew felt the boat really power up for some exciting action on the water. Scott hopes to assemble a competitive Etchells program and continue racing out of Alamitos Bay whenever the opportunity arises. While pleased with their first foray into Etchells racing, Skipper Scott Barber knows that there is room for improvement and plans to bring his A game to the next race in the series in two weeks on November 13th. Catalina Buccaneer Days For those of you who love everything pirate related (I'm lookin' at you, Jake Muhleman), Buccaneer days on Catalina Island is a must-see annual event. This year on October 6, Carmen Bozina ('11), Morgan Glier ('11), Scott Barber ('11) and several others braved the channel crossing from San Pedro to Catalina Island onboard the beautiful J/120 Hot Tamale, arriving Friday evening to pick up Shannon Walker ('11) and head to Two Harbors. After a long night of plundering and pillaging--in full pirate costume, of course--at the Isthmus, the Bruins and their friends were ready to board their dinghy and return to the boat for some shuteye (even a pirate has to sleep sometime). After a full day of scouring the island for booty (some light hiking) and searching the cove for treasure (snorkeling), the crew ate dinner on the beach with a group from LAYC celebrating Couples Weekend before returning for more festivities at the Isthmus. After a second night of rabblerousing and pirate shenanigans, these pirates were pooped and pushed off to return to port the following morning. V15 Fleet 53 Championships Nor Cal alumni kept the Bruin torch burning bright yet again at the Vanguard 15 Fleet 53 Championships on Tomales Bay, in beautiful Point Reyes, CA, on October 13-14. The regatta, known for it's "intense laid-backness," is a fleet tradition going back untold years and involving camping, kegs, and catering. The UCLA alumni turnout was high, including two all-Bruin boats: Kevin Richards ('00) and Neha Bazaj ('10), and Sam Wheeler ('08) and Lyzz Schwegler ('07). Danielle Ryan ('09) also crewed for honorary Bruin Kara Wilcox (St. Andrew's, '11), and Martha Thompson ('10) and Danny Wudka ('10) showed up as team "parents." Saturday was sunny and warm, and although the breeze didn't fill in until at least 11 am, the fleet managed to get in a number of races amongst the carpet of seaweed flooding in with the tide. Sam and Lyzz reminded everyone that they are capable of pulling off multiple bullets if and only if conditions are absolutely ideal (flat water, 8-10kts, sunny). Sunday started out foggy and cool, and in their zest to run as many races as possible the fleet ended up "racing" in windless conditions for the first several races. But that didn't stop Kevin and Neha, who reminded everyone that they can sail well in both glass and gale, and after 31 races glided to an impressive second place finish overall out of fifteen boats. Sam and Lyzz, although on track for third after day one, fell to fifth in the final results. Those of us who attended would like to thank Inverness Yacht Club for hosting, the organizers from Fleet 53, and especially the providers of incredible food for the fleet! Miscellaneous Heather Funkhauser ('09) got back on blue water with a doublehanded delivery from Hawaii to Washington. Highlighter, an Islander 36 that Lyzz and Sam crew on, dominated its division in the South Beach Yacht Club summer series. Are you an alum with recent sailing accomplishments or experiences? Shoot us an email and we'll include them next time! |
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