UW Sailing Team Report by Kristie Fenn

The UW Sailing Team is open to students of the University of Washington who are interested in participating in competitive dinghy sailing. For more information check out their web page.

The racing team has just returned (exhausted) from an incredibly exciting two weeks on the east coast. Due to our hard work and many members' dedication, we qualified for the North American Championships in all three events: Women's, Team Racing, and Coed Dinghies. The first event, Women's, was sailed mostly in a shifty, puffy 10-18 knot northerly breeze, posing a formidable challenge to our ladies. They persevered through it all, finishing 18th. The final day of that event, our boys flew out and joined us for the Ronstan Team Racing championship which started the next day. We fared much better in this event, which suffered through several grueling postponements due to light wind. In wonderful 80+ degree weather, we held our own with the top teams. St. Mary's College and Georgetown University, first and second place finishers, respectively, were our closest and most exciting competitors. We finished this event in 8th place. 

From St. Mary's College in Maryland, we traveled up to New York City for some more fun and sailing. The Coed Dinghy Championship was held at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. The 2-3 ft. waves and chop were a challenge, and the thought of sailing in waters so close to the East River, of Mafia "cement shoes" fame, was hair raising. The forecasters tried to intimidate us, predicting winds ranging from 25 to 30 knots, but much to our relief, they held down at 15 to 20+. At the awards banquet that evening, a fellow Seattleite and USC student was named College Sailor of the Year, collegiate sailing's highest honor. After a scenic cruise through New York and around the Statue of Liberty aboard the Spirit of Jersey, we returned home to Seattle the next morning. 

This summer will see the team in a variety of roles. Many of us will teach sailing at the Seattle Yacht Club, while others will return home to teach at their own home Yacht Clubs, and still others will take a break from full time sailing for a couple of months. But despite what this summer holds for us, one thing is sure, we will all be on the water at some point, doing what we love: sailing!

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