Representatives of the UCLA Sailing Team at the Course Croisiere EDHEC in France. UCLA took 17th, its best result yet in five years of attending this international event.

Sorry you haven’t heard from us in a while, but we’ve been saving up for an issue you won’t want to miss. See below for alumni regatta updates, including an NOR, and two social events for Memorial Day weekend in addition to the regatta itself. We also have results from Coed, Women’s, and Team Race PCCs. Finally, a recap from team captain Billy Edwards of UCLA’s fifth straight year participating the the Edhec Cup in France, where the Bruins got their best results yet.

Can’t wait to see you all in Marina del Rey on May 27!

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

Schedule:

Sunday, May 27, 2012

10:30am – Report and Registration
When the Wind Fills In – First Start

All Day – Food, Beverages, and Good Times

Finish by 5:00

Social Events:

7:00pm on May 26: Time capsule party! Hosted by Mark Anders (’11), Eric Dita (’10), and Tatsuma Woo-Kawaguchi (’11) at 11551 Ohio Ave #4, Los Angeles.

Following racing on May 27: Fleet dinner at the Schweglers’ house! 4153 Cedar Ave, Long Beach.

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 2009-2012.  Mostly.

1: The team is ordering jackets.  They are going to be graphite gray Gill Softshells with an embroidered UCLA Sailing logo.  Please let us know right away if you’d like to get one.  With embroidery, the cost will probably be about $130.  It’s possible that will come down a little if they can get a group discount.  The team is not making any money off this, so if you get one please consider also making a donation.

2: Just as a reminder, the Alumni Regatta is on Sunday, May 27, in Marina del Rey!  That’s Memorial Day weekend.  Make sure to mark your calendars, and please either RSVP on facebook or send us an email to let us know you’ll be there.

3: We’ll have more results in the newsletter, but we wanted to say congrats to the women’s team on taking fourth at Women’s PCCs in Hawaii!  Unfortunately they were one spot away from qualifying for nationals, but with no one graduating, they’re in great shape going into next year.

Looking forward to seeing you all next month!

The original post is below for posterity but can be ignored in light of recent events.

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Unfortunately, UCLA did not qualify for Coed PCCs this year. The circumstances are a little complicated, so we wanted to explain it here for you.

Normally, the top five teams from the North and South divisions of the PCCSC qualify for PCCs, plus Hawaii. Unfortunately, UCLA was not able to make it into the top five in a very competitive South division this spring.

This year, one extra berth was available (PCCSC Standing Rule 9(e)(vi) allows the host to make extra berths available if they can accommodate additional teams).  Rule 9(e)(vi) states that such a berth goes to the not-otherwise-qualifying team with the best combined score at the two “designate” regattas: South 5 and St. Francis.

Going into St. Francis, UCLA was slightly leading Cal State Channel Islands for the wildcard, based on their scores at South 5. The South standings were set at that point, but the North series includes the St. Francis regatta and was not yet complete. However, the sixth place North team at the time, UC Santa Cruz, was well behind both UCLA and Channel Islands in the wildcard standings.

At St. Francis, UCLA did what they had to do to beat Channel Islands and presumably secure the wildcard berth. What none of us saw coming was a strong regatta from Santa Cruz, who finished 12th overall and 3rd in the North district. This still left Santa Cruz behind UCLA and Channel Islands in the wildcard race, but they were now tied with Cal State Monterey Bay for fifth place in the North series.

Under Racing Rules of Sailing A8.1, the normal tiebreaker procedure is that the team with the most first place finishes wins, or if none then the most second place finishes, and so on. This process would have given Monterey Bay the fifth North berth, as they placed second at North 4, and Santa Cruz’s best result was third. However, ICSA Procedural Rule 24(c) sets a different test: the school that beat the other in more races or events wins.

Santa Cruz beat Monterey Bay in three of the five North series regattas, so they took the fifth slot. Monterey Bay was pushed out of the top 5 and into the wildcard race. Since Monterey Bay narrowly beat UCLA at both South 5 and St. Francis, they claimed the wildcard. You can see the final North, South, and wildcard standings here.

This was an unexpected and disappointing result for UCLA. However, there is still Women’s PCCs in Hawaii coming up. If you can, please consider a donation to help cover the team’s airfare to Honolulu, and ensure the Bruins make it to at least one championship regatta this year.

Participants at the 2011 Alumni Regatta. Mark your calendar for May 27!

Dear Friends,

The date is set for the 2012 Alumni Regatta! Please join us at the UCLA Marina Aquatic Center in Marina del Rey on May 27 (Sunday of Memorial Day weekend). You can RSVP on Facebook here or send us an email if you prefer. All are welcome – FOUST members for free, and others for a nominal entry fee to help cover costs. We’ll have more information as the regatta gets closer, but expect the usual: great weather, fun sailing, and of course carne asada on the grill.

The early logistics for the alumni regatta have been keeping us busy, so we’ve got a short issue for you this time (and we missed February altogether – in our defense, it’s a short month…). Read on for a recap of the spring regattas, which have left the Bruins fighting for a wildcard slot at the coed district championships.

With Coed PCCs in question, it’s even more important that the women’s team have a strong showing at Women’s PCCs in Hawaii. If you can, please consider making a donation to help the girls get to Honolulu. (And if you do, please also send us an email so we can keep track of how we’re doing on that.) The team is and has always been largely self-funded, but we don’t think anyone should have to pay out of pocket to get to a championship regatta.

Freshmen Peter Bailey and Zack Chin enjoying a Hawaii sunset at the PJ Wenner Memorial Rainbow Invitational Regatta. Help us get the women's team to Hawaii for PCCs!

Dear Friends,

Our first issue of 2012 includes results from Long Beach, Hawaii, and San Diego, and a profile of recent alum Heather Funkhouser (’09), who just completed a Pacific crossing, and the spring regatta schedule for the team. We’re also passing along a sailing opportunity with Tom Hartmann (’04) and the Newport Sea Base youth racing team on February 17-18.

We also have some news to share: Judge Ryan (’14), who last year won A Division at PCCs as a freshman (among other accomplishments), has transferred from UCLA to Brown this semester. While we at FOUST are sorry to see him go, we wish him the best with his new team, and hope that he survives those New England winters despite his SoCal roots.

If you can, please consider helping out with our current fundraising goal: helping the women’s team make it to Hawaii for PCCs this April. No one should have to pay out of pocket to get to a championship regatta, but the team traditionally has not had the funds to cover airfare. At approximately $400 per round trip ticket, the total cost to get a team of four there and back is $1600. We’re just getting started – so far the FOUST community has chipped in $100 – but I’m confident that we can come together, meet this goal, and get the girls to their championship.

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The 2007 women's team at Women's PCCs in Hawaii. Help out the current lady Bruins to compete this spring in Keehi Lagoon!

Dear Friends,

Happy holidays and happy new year from FOUST! I hope the season finds you all well.

November saw just one regatta for the team, with the Thanksgiving holiday interruption. PCCSC Fall Champs (otherwise known as North/South) was held in Santa Barbara harbor, with the team finishing a solid 8/21 overall.

As many of us all-too-painfully remember, running a club team is possibly the most difficult aspect of the sport (alright, some of those St. Francis regattas may take a close second). We’d like to introduce a few of the “my real major was sailing” members this year– the two Co-Captains, Billy Edwards and Emelia Pelliccio, team Treasurer Erica Parker, Safety Officer Judge Ryan, and Social Chair Amy Stuyvesant.

We’re also bringing you a highlight of alumnus Jed Olenick (written by recent grad Drew Morton). Jed has been very supportive of the team with his time (and, apparently, pizzas), and also incredibly generously bought the team their brand new trailer last year.

Lastly, no FOUST newsletter would be complete without letting you know what we need money for next! The team’s next fundraising goal is covering airfare for the ladies to go to Women’s PCCs in Hawai’i this coming spring.

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Team UCLA leading UC Irvine at Match Race PCCs out of St. Francis Yacht Club, with Transpac 52s Vesper and PowerPlay racing behind them.

Dear Friends,

Happy Halloween from FOUST!

October was a busy month for the UCLA Sailing Team, kicking off the season with two regattas in San Diego and three in the San Francisco area. Highlights include winning A Division at Stoney Burke, taking third at the SDYC Autumn Invitational Match Race Regatta, and snagging a bullet in the first B Division race at Women’s Fall Champs.

The biggest highlight, however, might have been the completion of our latest fundraising target, with Ed Feo (’74) making the final donation to push the team past the $7900 they needed. Thank you to everyone who chipped in!

Finally, the Stoney Burke regatta tailgate was a big success, with alumni ranging from 1991 to 2011 in attendance. A few alumni will also be showing up for North/South at Santa Barbara on November 12-13, so if you’re free that weekend come out and show your support at the last regatta of 2011!

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FOUST would like to congratulate the team on their success, and thank Ed and the other donors for their support.

Current status of fundraising for a new boat.

Dear Friends,

Another short newsletter this month, but get excited for racing to start next month. UCLA will kick off the college sailing season at Frosh/Soph, a regatta for first and second year sailors on Mission Bay on October 8-9. The full team will compete at Stoney Burke at Treasure Island on October 15-16, where we’re hoping for strong alumni turnout, and the women will hopefully be sailing Women’s Fall Champs at Stanford the following weekend. The complete fall schedule is available on the PCCSC website.

This issue includes a letter from the captains, the status of fundraising for a new boat, and information about the upcoming tailgate for alumni and other friends of the team at the Stoney Burke regatta.

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