UC Irvine Club Sailing Team

Against all odds, the Sailing Team at UCI proved that theywere a force to be reckoned with.  Withtheir second qualifier of the season, the Anteaters prevailed, winning theSloop Pacific Coast Championships. 

The forecast predicted gale force winds for Saturday’sracing.  They were right.  The day started out relatively calm, but notfor UCI.  Their boat, seemingly rigged toperfection, ended up missing main sail battens. They scuffled to fix the problem and were towed out to the course.  Every other team had already done a fewpractice sets in the J22s provided by CMA and Richmond Yacht Club.  The Anteaters barely made the firststart.  Their first race, they managed asecond place despite the stress.  In thesecond race, around the last leeward mark the pin attaching the boom to themast sheared off and left UCI’s team of four “boom-less”.  This resulted in a BYE.  Each team switching into that boat insubsequent races sat out. 

The Anteaters forged ahead without a break and managed thebreeze as it began to build.  The thirdrace, UCI came back with a bang and proceeded to win, dominating the downwindlegs with phenomenal spinnaker work. Gybes were in control and quick. In race 4, the Anteaters stayed consistent with a 2, the wind shiftingmore to the right and gusting to over 15 knots. 

Race 5 proved to be the biggest challenge for UCI.  They were late to the start and this was whenthe breeze really began to pick up.  Withgusts over 25 knots there were really no opportunities to pass.  “It was all we could do to keep the boatupright with the kite up,” skipper Brian Hoover commented.  However, with a 4 as their worst finish andthe totals close, the Anteaters needed to focus.  Consistency was the name of the game.  First place finishes were going left andright to the other three competitive teams; USC, UH, and CMA. 

The hunt was on and so was the breeze.  With gusts now in the 30s, the Anteatersbuckled down, trimmed everything in tight and sailed on.  They were 4th off the line, butmanaged to get their boat moving much more effectively.  UCI passed two boats and finished in second,just behind USC.  No spinnakers were set,and for good reason.  CMA attempted a setand capsized their J22 twice on one downwind leg.  This ended the racing for the day.  The standings were USC with 10 points, UCIwith 11, and UH with 12 points.  Withonly one race left for Sunday and a completely different forecast, theAnteaters had their work cut out. 

Sunday began with light breeze and serious attitudes.  After last year’s close regatta (USC winningby 1 point ahead of Irvine) and the summer’s setbacks (UCI budget issuesdropping the team and lack of coach), Irvine had a lot to prove.  The team knew they needed to stay close toUSC and UH.  They were a little late tothe start but had pushed both teams back. However, they split off the line and UCI had to make somedecisions.  They rounded ahead, played aconservative game downwind and again had to make a decision.  CMA split off to the left around the leewardmark while USC and UH hugged the right. The Anteaters chose to stick to the right and ended up watching CMA takethe 1.  Irvine ended the last race with asecond, UH close behind in 3rd and USC deep with a 5th.  This was it. UCI had won PCCs and was going to ICSA Sloop Nationals.

With the feeling still unreal, the team then had to worryabout their Suburban that had broken down the day before.  UCI managed to rise above all of the littlesetbacks over the two days of racing and proved that they were the team thatdeserved to go.  Skipper Brian Hoover ’12had a serious goal set in his mind and consistency throughout the regatta helpedthe team accomplish that.  Superior teamwork also helped UCI rise above. Freshman Ashley Hobson did a phenomenal job on foredeck.  Senior Ryan Moore doused and was a boathandling master.  Senior and Team CaptainFrank O’Brien managed trimming the spinnaker in over 20 knots and Senior MonicaOrphan stood by as backup for lighter breeze.

Nowthe team will travel to the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut the thirdweekend in October.  The team willprepare to sail Colgate 26s.  Be sure tolook for results and updates along the way.