From our favorite little riverside Sailing Club, with thanks to Nick Stockton for the report and David Hewitt for the photos.
Old muscle memories were reawakened as former college athletes squeezed
into Flying Juniors on Saturday for the Portland Sailing Alumni’s 2011 Winter Regatta. This inaugural Northwest event had an excellent turnout of 20 boats, with complimentary
mild weather and Mickey Mouse waffles.
A nice Southerly kicked off the day for the A fleet, but couldn’t sustain a full day’s worth of racing. The wind came to an almost grinding halt during the B fleets races, but spectators on shore watched in awe as Jeff Causey and Caitlin Coleman-Hulbert roll-tacked their way to a pair of decisive victories. Coupled with Kevin Stravers and Florence Chan’s 2nd and 4th place finishes in the A fleet, these Portland State University alumni took the titles of Regatta Champions.
Though the racing itself was truncated by the notoriously fickle Willamette winds, the regatta surpassed all expectations at accomplishing its real goal: Connecting current and former college sailors and re-forming the essential bonds of mentorship that are necessary to maintain the proud tradition of college sailing.
