A wonderful week for Menninger siblings

Growing up a Menninger in Newport Beach most likely meant a life of sailing was in store. But such was not the case for Marla Menninger.

Her brother, Michael, one year younger, easily took to sailing, but Marla was different.

“I was really young,” Marla said. “I didn’t want to sail by myself and didn’t want to compete. I wasn’t that interested.”

That’s OK. Sailing was a family affair anyway in the Menninger home. Bill, the father, grew up a sailor. He started when he was 8 for the Los Angeles Yacht Club. Mary, the mother, likes to joke that she began sailing at six months old. But it’s true she was on a boat as a baby.

Sailing has always been prevalent for the Menningers.

Marla eventually immersed herself into sailing as an eighth-grader. Later, Michael and Marla would compete together for the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, sail together for fun and win together for Newport Harbor High.

They were at it again, together, this past week, but sailing for different universities at the Intercollegiate Sailing Assn. National Championship on the San Francisco Bay. It was quite a memorable week for the Menningers.

Marla competes as a junior for Yale, Michael’s a sophomore skipper at St. Mary’s of Maryland.

The ICSA National Championship consists of three classifications: women’s, team racing and co-ed. St. Mary’s won the ICSA/Gill Co-ed Dinghy National Championship and Yale won the women’s title.

The co-ed title featured an exciting finale that included Michael and Marla, sailing in different divisions, but still figuring into the results.

Sailing in the ‘A’ Division, Marla, alternating with sophomore Blair Belling, also from Newport Harbor, as crew for skipper Thomas Barrows posted enough wins to eliminate a seven-point lead St. Mary’s had over Yale when the day started.

But St. Mary’s later regained the lead. Then after another set of races, Yale moved back ahead, leaving the ‘B’ Division to determine the winner.

That’s when Michael and his crew posted the win and brought home the title for St. Mary’s.

“It was a pretty proud moment,” Bill Menninger said. “It was windy and it was really cold, but it was so exciting it kept you warm.”