This past weekend, while other high school students were relaxing at home or going on a vacation, the high school sailing team represented CdM at the annual Golden Bear Regatta. The event took place at Treasure Island, San Francisco and was hosted by the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association (PCISA). Golden Bear is a high school regatta, meaning only high schools, not yacht clubs, are allowed to enter teams into this event.

Because of the faraway location, most sailors decided to either take the flight, which was only an hour and a half, or drive all the way there, which took about seven to eight hours. The actual races didn’t start until February 23rd and 24th. However, to get more familiar with the wind conditions and the geography of the area, the team traveled a day earlier and arrived on Friday, February 22nd, to practice for the big event. The few hour practice was successful and very productive, which pleased the two coaches very much.

The next day, the skippers’ meeting was at 10:30, so the sailing didn’t begin until around 11:00. The day started out pretty light in terms of wind conditions. However, throughout the day the direction of the wind shifted drastically, forcing sailors to constantly check their angles. The wind picked up to about ten knots by the end of the day. By the very end of the first day, two of CdM’s three teams were in first and second place.

The final day of sailing was out of the ordinary. The forecast had previously shown that the wind was going to pick up to at least ten knots. However, the wind completely died by noon and stayed that way for the next four hours. No more races could be completed, so PCISA was forced to end the regatta early. When interviewed about her experience at the regatta, sophomore on the team, Marlo Bozza, explained, “This regatta was super fun. It was a little sad that it ended early, but at least we won the regatta!”

CdM won the entire regatta in first place! The other two teams came in fourth and eighteenth. Keep it up Sea King Sailors!