NEISA News


INTERCOLLEGIATE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE UNDERWAY AT THE BELMONT PIER IN LONG BEACH


The top 18 men and 18 women singlehanded college sailors from around the country descended upon sunny Southern California and started sailing today in the 2012 LaserPerformance/ICSA Singlehanded Nationals off of the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach, CA.

After a brief delay waiting for wind racing got underway in a nice southerly sea breeze ranging from 4 to 10 knots.  Erika Reineke of Boston College and Chris Barnard of Georgetown University got off to a quick start and are leading the regatta after 6 races.

“I’m pretty stoked about it (the regatta),” said Reineke.  “Avoid the big mistakes and tacking advantage of the bigger shifts has been the key to doing well.”

When asked about sailing back in Southern California, Chris Barnard said, “It’s great to be back sailing on my home waters in the sunny weather.  My boat speed has been a big advantage and I’ve also avoided having any big mistakes.”

Still the racing is very close with Juan Maegli of the College of Charleston only 2 points behind Barnard.  Meanwhile, Reineke has a larger lead of 12 points over 2nd place Lauren Cefali of the Coast Guard Academy.

The women, sailing Laser Radials, are competing for the Janet Lutz Trophy.  The men, sailing Laser Full Rigs, are competing for the Glen S. Foster Trophy. Each sailor has earned a spot by qualifying at championship regattas in
their respective conferences.

The winners of each fleet will be invited to compete for the US Sailing O’Day Trophy which is the National Singlehanded Championship for all sailors in the United States.

Event Chairperson, Mike Segerblom said, “It is great to see all of the Southern California natives return here to sail for this championship.  We are expecting another great day of racing tomorrow.”

Racing is scheduled to continue at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, and 10:15 a.m. Sunday; conditions permitting. All on-land activities will be based at the US Sailing Center-Long Beach, and racing can be watched from the pier.

The event is hosted and organized by the United States Sailing Center-Long Beach and the University of Southern California Varsity Sailing Team.

For scoring updates and information, follow the regatta online at: http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/5465#_home

For Event Photos visit: www.gtsphotos.com

About LaserPerformance – LaserPerformance is the world’s largest producer of small sailboats and proudly promotes the sailing community. LaserPerformance boats are designed and built to meet the needs of all sailors.  LaserPerformance proudly produces many sailboats including: Laser, Sunfish Pico, Bug, Club FJ, Club 420, Vanguard 15, and Vapor Optimist. For more information, visit: www.laserperformance.com.

The United States Sailing Center – Long Beach offers a wide range of programs that range from youth summer sailing camps, adult “Learn-to-Sail”, outreach for at-risk and disabled as well as programs for high-school, collegiate and Olympic sailors. The not-for-profit US Sailing Center is administered by the Pacific Coast Sailing Foundation, a 501.c.3
organization; tax-deductible donations may be made to the PCSF to support these programs.

For more information, please visit the United States Sailing Center – Long Beach website, www.ussclb.org  or call the Sailing Center at 562-433-7939.  Address: 5489 East Ocean Blvd.  Long Beach 90803

Information on the University of Southern California Varsity Sailing Team can be found at: www.uscsailing.org

The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing body of college sailing in the United States and parts of Canada. Detailed info on the ICSA can be found at: www.collegesailing.org