Marisa O'Neil
People shopping on Balboa Island might have wondered if one shop
owner had seen "Pirates of the Caribbean" one too many times.
Last week, Gail Hammerschmidt filled the window of her Sandpiper
store with every pirate-related knickknack she could find. She wanted
everyone to know that the rowers of Orange Coast College -- the
Pirates -- are really going places, and fast.
"The guys practice in [Newport] Bay every day," Hammerschmidt
said. "A lot of people see them every morning but don't know what an
outrageously fast group of guys they are."
Members of OCC's rowing teams head East this weekend to compete
with some of the country's best crews. Two women's boats -- a novice
eight and varsity four -- and one novice and two varsity men's eights
headed to their national championships in Massachusetts this weekend.
"This is a huge testament to how we've done this year," co-captain
Danny Johnson said. "We set our sights on it and, step by step, we
made that happen."
OCC was one of only 18 small, nonscholarship colleges invited to
each event in the Eastern College Athletic Conference National
Invitational Rowing Championships, head coach Larry Moore said. Other
colleges attending include the University of Virginia, University of
Michigan and Marist, Ithaca and Vassar colleges.
The men's varsity eight won the Cal Cup at the San Diego Crew
Classic last month, giving Moore hope that OCC could secure a berth
at this weekend's regatta. OCC is the only community college in the
country with a rowing team.
"As far as varsity level, we're at an extreme disadvantage," Moore
said. "We have people who are a freshman one year, then sophomores
and then they're gone. By the time they're getting to learn things,
they're in someone else's program and competing against us."
But getting invited to a regatta on the other coast is one thing,
getting there is another. Just sending the men's team will cost
$27,000, Moore said.
Hammerschmidt decided to lend a hand, placing pirate and rowing
memorabilia in her shop window and donating 10% of sales last week to
the crew's trip. That's despite the fact that her husband, a coach
and rigger for the team, will be in Massachusetts for her birthday
and Mother's Day, Moore joked.
The teams still came up short on funds, but managed to borrow
enough to get them to the races, Moore said. The boats left Sunday on
a trailer headed East and the team leaves today.
"If we have to deliver phone books or sell Christmas trees to pay
it back, we will," he said.
