Variety found at Rose Bowl Regatta

The first weekend of January, USC and Alamitos Bay Yacht Club hosted the Rose Bowl Regatta in Long Beach.

As is common for Southern California events, both Saturday and Sunday were very light breeze and racing started later in the day. Mike Segerblom, USC coach and race committee compromised by racing through late afternoon completing a total of nine races in each division, making it a solid event. Boston College took first place with MIT and Georgetown in a close 2nd and 3rd. On the high school scene, Point Loma won followed by Newport Harbor and Santa Barbara.

The Rose Bowl Regatta is unique in that it is an event for both high school and college teams, which closes the gap from junior to college sailing. This rare opportunity opens the door for slightly younger sailors to get an idea of what they want to accomplish in their sailing careers; and for college sailors to reconnect with the friends and teams that motivated them to such a high level of competition.

One of many things that make this event great is that West Coast sailors attending East Coast schools get to continue racing in one of their home events and to share their experiences with current and past team members. For example, both Boston College skippers, Tyler Sinks and Briana Provancha are graduates from Point Loma High; while Georgetown sailors Charlie Buckingham and Carly Chamberlain once sailed for Newport Harbor High (not to mention B skipper, Sydney Bolger, a Long Beach local). After one A division race in which Tyler Sinks, Michael Menninger of St. Mary’s (with Brooke Thomson, another boat where both skipper and crew are Newport Harbor High grads), and Charlie Buckingham finished in a very narrow top three, a spectating parent chuckled, “Wow, they started that race when they were 9, and I guess it continues on.”