CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL
SAILING ASSOCIATION
www.cisasailing.org
April 16, 2003 For Immediate
Release
ANOTHER YOUNG CROP ON THEIR WAY
TO THE TOP
 |
| James Spithill helped to
coach the 420s after finishing third in the
Congressional Cup. |
LONG
BEACH, Calif.-–Andrew Keane, 16, came from
White Bear Lake, Minn., to participate among 118
top North American prospects in the California
International Sailing Association's annual Advanced
Racing Clinic April 12-15 at Alamitos Bay Yacht
Club. After four intense days of on-shore instruction
and on-water coaching from Olympic medallists,
America's Cup campaigners and other world-class
talent, he thought it was well worth the trip.
"That's
what's great about this," Keane said as he
hauled out his Laser Radial. "They've reached
the top, and now they're helping us get to the
top."
CISA,
founded in 1971, conducts the clinic each year
for boys and girls ages 13 and older who are selected
on the basis of their sailing résumés.
Boats used were Laser, Laser Radial, Europe, 420,
Club FJ and 29er.
This
year's instructors, many of whom were once CISA
Clinic students: Laser---Nick Adamson, Andy Lovell
and John Torgerson; Laser Radial---Carisa Harris,
Adam Deermount, Andrew Lewis; 420---Simon Cooke,
Brian Doyle, Zach Leonard, Nicolas Winograd, James
Spithill; 29er---Kevin Hall, Charlie McKee; Europe---Rob
Dean; CFJ---Jon Rogers, Jaime Malm.
Cooke,
from New Zealand, is the current 470 world champion.
McKee is a double Olympic medallist and sailed
for Seattle's OneWorld America's Cup team with
Hall and Spithill. The latter was a late recruit
for the clinic after finishing third in the Congressional
Cup one day earlier.
 |
| Meghan Castruccio and Anne-Flore
Perroud of Northern California righted their
29er and kept on sailing. |
"He's
only 23," said clinic director Casey Hogan,
"so for the kids to see someone so near their
own age who has been to the America's Cup was
special."
Spithill
was the featured speaker at dinner one night,
following Dave Dellenbaugh the previous night.
Forty
participants were from out of state, including
eight from Canada. Every region of the country---Louisiana,
Florida, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Illinois,
Minnesota, Washington and Hawaii---was represented.
The average age was 16.
"It
was a younger group than in the past," Hogan
said, "and it seemed to be a particularly
good group of sailors."
She
noted that even the weather cooperated with a
variety of light to heavy wind conditions that
featured a rainstorm on the third day. Many of
the youngsters got practice in righting capsized
boats.
"Monday
was unbelievable," Hogan said. "It was
pretty windy and cold, but the race day [Tuesday]
was incredibly good. It's too bad we couldn’t
have stayed out there longer."
That
was graduation day, when the sailors put everything
they had learned into practice with five or six
races, depending on class, in winds up to 14 knots
and brilliant sunshine.
Cooke,
26, said the program was beyond anything available
to youth sailors even in New Zealand, the cradle
of some of the world's top talent.
 |
| Coach Nicolas Winograd of
Argentina in close consultation with a student. |
"The
national program is probably on a par with this,"
Cooke said, "but generally we just have clubs,
go down and sail and learn it ourselves. I plugged
away and it took some time. These kids should
be way ahead, but it's up to them what they do
from here."
Case
Hathaway-Zepeda, 16, of Pasadena, finished in
the middle of the Laser Radial fleet racing but
first in environmental practice. She spent her
time between racing and drills picking up plastic
bags, Styrofoam cups and other trash off the water.
Asked
if she ever did that while racing, she replied,
"Please don't tell my coach."
CISA
supports amateur sailors by providing travel grants
for regional, national and international competition
and funds local sailing programs and racing clinics.
Unlike other nations, the U.S. has no federally
supported assistance programs for its amateur
sportsmen or for the development of young talent.
CISA, a 501.(c)3 organization, relies on contributions
of corporations and individuals to provide support
of amateur sailors. Because it is non-profit and
tax-exempt, all contributions are tax deductible.
Racing
winners: LASER (14 boats)---Emery Wagner, Seattle;
LASER RADIAL (23)---Matthew Pies, Santa Barbara;
420 (21)---Martin Sterling/Brooks Reed, Waipahu,
H.I.; I-420 (3)---Zachary Brown/Melanie Brown,
San Diego; CFJ (9)---Parker Mitchell/Katlin Hall,
Malibu; 29ER (6)---Cameron Biehl/Ryan Lorence,
San Diego; EUROPE (3)---Lauren Bernsen, Coronado,
Calif.
Photos
and complete racing results: www.cisasailing.org
and www.abyc.org
CALIFORNIA
INTERNATIONAL SAILING ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 17992
Irvine, CA 92713-7992
www.cisasailing.org
President
Tim Hogan, 3090 Pullman Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 434-4400
timhogan@warmingtonhomes.com
PUBLICITY
Rich Roberts
(310) 835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
