One harbor, two top-notch sailing powerhouses

Editor’s note: The writer of this piece is a parent of sailing team members.

Finishing just a point behind the winner, the Newport Harbor High School Sailing Team placed 2nd in the Gold Fleet division in Pacific Coastal Interscholastic Sailing Assn.’s High School Regatta in Santa Barbara during the weekend of March 19-20.

The Corona del Mar High School Sailing Team placed third out of 28 teams from all over California. It is called the Gaucho Regatta, because the sailing team at UC Santa Barbara sponsors it.

The teams competed on March 19, sailing in the open ocean in 10 to 14 knots of wind, with light rain coming down all day. The racing was canceled on Sunday, as a major storm bore down on Santa Barbara, with small-craft warnings and 25 to 30 knots of wind and 10- to 12-foot waves breaking in the harbor.

On Saturday, viewing of the races was best off the Santa Barbara Pier in the middle of the main beach. The teams would return to shore, beach their boats and then switch sailors, because all of the teams rotated in the boats and sailed different boats throughout the regatta.

Each team was made up of two CFJ boats, with a skipper and a crew. The combined scores of the team (the two boats) after the day of racing decided the winner of the regatta.

Newport Harbor had three teams competing in the Gold Fleet division.

The first team, which placed second overall, consisted of Kieran Chung, Erin Kincaid, Ryan Davidson and Francesca Cappellini.

The second team placed seventh overall and the sailors were Daniel Segerblom, Shelley Grice, Grant Wensley, Cooper Scott and Jackie Cappellini.

The third team that also competed consisted of Andrew Mathers, Bianca Barnes, Chase Wells and Sally Fuller. Other sailors that were part of the team were Keenan Chung, Aiden Dobkins, Erik Higbie and Greer Wattson.

Corona del Mar had three teams competing in the Gold Fleet division as well.

The first team, which placed third overall, consisted of Tyler MacDonald, Brooke Donahue, Michael Dahl, Hannah Callas and Chloe Dapp.

The second team placed 13th overall and the sailors were Connor Kelter, Hannah Hummelberg, Michael Madigan and Caitlyn Johnson.

The third team that also competed in the regatta consisted of Jimmy Madigan, Katie Donahue, Claire Dahl and Austen Boyce.

Other sailors that were part of the team were Konner Boivin, Meredith Kline, Brett Potter and Brooke Stinson.

CdM also had a Silver team, which consisted of Alexandra Ivory, Jack Thompson, Mackenzi Perkins and Sera Alptekin.

This was the last regatta of five-regatta series for the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Assn. before its Gold Pacific Coast Championship in Long Beach on April 9-10, which will decide which teams go on to the Double Handed Championship High School Nationals in Austin, Texas, May 6-8 .

Currently, Newport Harbor is in third place in the standings out of 56 teams from California, Arizona and Hawaii. CdM is in fifth place — making an impressive feat for one harbor to produce two sailing powerhouses.

Five teams will be selected to represent the Pacific Coast Division at nationals.

In 2009, Newport Harbor got first in the nation, and CdM got third at the nationals in Florida.

In 2010, Newport Harbor got third in the nation at the nationals in Greenwich, Conn.

Congratulations to both teams and good luck in the PC Championships!

Also, there are team racing championships that both teams are preparing for. The team racing consists of three boats from one team match racing against three boats from another team. Each team competes against every team at least twice. They combine the scores to see which teams will win to go on and compete for the national championship, called the Baker Regatta.

The Baker Elimination Regatta, which will have teams coming from all over the Pacific Coast and Hawaii, will be here in Newport Harbor at the Lido Isle Yacht Club on Easter weekend, April 23 and 24. The top five teams will go on to compete at the Baker Regatta in Norfolk, Va., May 20-22.

In 2009, Newport Harbor got first in the nation, and CDM got 6th at the Baker in Redwood City, Calif..

In 2010, Newport Harbor got fourth in the nation, and CDM got 5th at the Baker in Seattle.

Good luck in the Baker eliminations!