Hello again,
Its been a little while since I gave any updates so here it goes. Two
weekends ago we took our "varsity" team down to the City by the Bay for the
St. Francis Yacht Club Invitational. As expected the wind was crazy with
the majority of the races conducted in 15-25 kt. wind range. What wasn't
expected was the waves (I think the Willamette is making me soft). They
seemed to come from every direction with the occasional roller from passing
freighters. Boats were upside-down, portside-up and every other way.
Everyone had exciting and fun races despite disparaging comments from Coach
K who really is becoming a class act! Special thanks to Tom's Mom for once
again putting us up in style and for letting us take over her fighter-jet of
a dryer. Thanks again to Brian and Matt of UCSB; I don't need to say why.
Last weekend we attended Rainier Cup hosted by OSU. Ready for the heavy
weather we doubled up our team so that everyone stayed fresh. Day one was
HAIRY to say the least with winds in the 20s from the east with waves to
match. If you every wondered what the bottom of an FJ looked like that was
the day to find out. You could tell who was inverted by the scratches and
marks on the hull; kind of like identifying orcas. Since I usually have to
mention my screw-ups I would like to take a moment to brag that due to the
high level of seamanship that Julia and I possess, when the tiller extension
popped off while we were hiked out we were able to keep the boat upright and
sail her back. Also I must mention the beautiful capsize recovery of
Jonathan and Katia, our newest team members. The last races of the day were
epic with winds dropping below twenty but still stiff and with a very warm
air that was possibly demonic. It was some of the best dinghy sailing I
have experienced and was certainly regretting doubling up the teams. Thanks
to OSU for hosting such a world class event and to Chris Brown for cooking
up a great BBQ, Kyle and the other guy for always being there for race
committee, and the guys who were on the crash boats for lending a helping
hand and a little HP when needed.
Coming up (26APR) is the first race of the JV scrimmage series at Fern
Ridge. New sailors will get a chance to build their confidence and
experience against peers. Everyone is welcome to attend especially any new
recruits.
May 3-4 we will be hosting the NW Team Racing Championships. Everyone on
the roster will be required to attend to help set up boats, handle schedule
issues, selling shirts and cleaning up. Plus WSC is a great place to watch
races.
The following week will be the first and hopefully annual Canada cup
hosted by University of Victoria. They are going out of their way to host a
superlative event. There will even be a trophy! We will leave on friday
the 10th at around 1600, spend the night in Vancouver and catch the ferry to
the island on Saturday morning. Everyone is welcome to attend, space
permitting. As of 01Jan08 all US citizens are required to have a passport
to return to the US from Canada. Check out the State Department website:
http://www.state.gov/
I will be checking everyone's passport before we
leave so make sure you have one and it is current. If you are not a US
citizen please let me know and we can make sure you have a visa if needed.
It is going to be an awesome trip.
I think that I have done enough damage for now. See everyone at
practice.
-Josh
_/)_/) _/) _/) _/) _/) _/)
PSU Sailing, Portland, Oregon
website:
http://www.sailing.pdx.edu
email: sailing@pdx.edu
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