Sailing in San Diego after a long, cold winter can be described as nothing but absolute euphoria. Every day we had sunny skies and steady winds, driven by the convection currents from the nearby desert (a keen observation by sailor Phil Houten, a Cali native). We sailing out of the San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC), which allowed us to rent their fleet of FJs for the week. Practices typically started at 9:30 and ran until 3 (at which point the local high schools held their practices). Chandler Koglmeier ('09) was an incredible coach, bringing over a decade of sailing and instructing experience to the table. He created a practice schedule designed to reinforce and build on the basics, and then ran debriefs to review video from each day's practice. The efficacy of his coaching was very clear; both experienced and inexperienced sailors showed major improvements over the week. Furthermore, specific pairings became much more comfortable sailing together, which will be vital to our spring season. Click here for a full gallery from the week's sailing.

As a culmination of the week's practices, Chandler organized a regatta affectionately known as the "Cali Cup". In order to level the playing field, crews rotated through boats over the course of the day (spending two races with each skipper). Despite some minor hardware issues (ask Sam Wyer about his tiller extension), the Cali Cup went off without a hitch. It was actually the day with the strongest winds at an estimated 12-15 knots. The competition was close and at lunch time skippers and crews were tightly grouped in the rankings. After lunch, skipper Phil Houten swept the races with repeated first place finishes, while skipper Sam Wyer wrestled with his jury-rigged tiller extension. Here are the results (at the end of each race, each skipper and crew was assigned a point value equal to the place in which they finished, so a lower number of points is better):

Off of the water, sailors enjoyed a variety of activities at our beautiful beach house in Oceanside. The DeGolia's allowed us to rent their amazing beach house for the week, which was described by one sailor as "french renaissance meets cali cool". It was a great break from dining hall food, and the group embraced the opportunity to cook their own meals. We broke up into food groups to simplify the shopping process and tailor meals more specifically to individual preferences. At the same time, we planned several meals as a group - including a Mexican food night and an impromptu feast cooked by our own Jamie Conkling. While we ordered take-out for Mexican night, sailor Emily Nunez whipped up a gourmet desert that lasted all of about ten minutes at the hands of the team (yes, it was that good). During the afternoon and evening, sailors spent their free time walking on the beach, catching up on some reading, and playing a variety of card games (among other things). It was a great time for the newer sailors to get to know the rest of the team.

Throughout the week sailors took a variety of trips around the San Diego area, but the highlight was definitely our visit to Phil's house. His parents had a true feast waiting for us - a southern style BBQ (pulled-pork, cornbread: the works). The team had a great time during dinner and afterward Mr. Houten organized a ping-pong tournament that was quite intense at times. It really epitomized the amazing community that is built around Midd sailing - the generosity and involvement of parents and alumni makes it a lifelong experience. It also goes to show that the involvement of parents and alumni is not only helpful to the team but encompasses some of the most fun team memories and events. If you would like to host sailors for a regatta or want to know how to become more involved (we have annual alumni/parent regattas and BBQs), please contact us. Furthermore, many of our club events (such as the San Diego trip) could not be possible without the donations from alumni, parents and the other friends of Midd sailing. Please help us out by considering a one-time or annual donation - every little bit counts.