Region’s teams continue great sailing season

Editor’s note: The writer is a parent of sailing team members.

Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools placed third and fourth, respectively, out of 22 high school teams that raced in Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Assn.’s Gold Pacific Coast Championships held from April 9 to 10 off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach.

They will represent the Pacific Coast Region in the 2011 Mallory Championship in Austin, Texas, from May 7 to 8.

Three teams from the San Diego area will also represent the Pacific Coast Region there: Coronado High School, which placed first, Point Loma High School, which placed second, and Cathedral Catholic High School, which placed fifth.

The team from Newport Harbor High School consisted of Kieran Chung, Erin Kincaid, Ryan Davidson, Francesca Cappellini, Daniel Segerblom, Cooper Scott, Greer Wattson and Shelly Grice. Davidson, the skipper, placed 2nd overall in the B division with help from his crew of Cappellini, Segerblom and Scott.

The CdM High School team consisted of Tyler MacDonald, Chloe Dapp, Michael Dahl, Madison Vitarelli, Hannah Callas, Michael Madigan, Brooke Donahue and Brett Potter. Dahl, the skipper, placed 3rd overall in the B division with the help from his crew of Vitarelli and Callas.

The teams raced on April 9 in cold and windy conditions of 10 to 14 knots, and on April 10 with slightly warmer weather and winds of 8 to 12 knots. They completed 12 races in each division, and after adding up the A and B divisions, the two Newport rivals were neck and neck, with only two points separating them.

The two rivals will not only compete against each other in the Mallory, but they will meet again on April 23 to 24 in the team racing Baker Elimination Regatta at the Lido Isle Yacht Club in Newport Harbor. The top three teams will go on to the May 21 to 22 Baker Regatta, the High School Team Racing National Championship in Norfolk, Va.

Good luck to both teams!