It's never like this

When you are buying plane tickets to San Diego, CA to compete in the US Championship of Champions, there is a presumption that of the many obstacles you are soon to face, adverse weather will not be one of them.

You will be competing against 18 other teams, all having earned their way to this event by standing at the top step of their class championship podium. You will not be sailing in your expertly prepared boat, but rather adapting to the fleet of supplied boats for the event, which for this year is the Snipe. You may even be teaming up with someone other than your championship crew so as to better meet the weight and experience needed for the Snipe. All these are big obstacles, but at least you will be going to San Diego, and will benefit from the steady sea breeze and warm sun that the fall weather provides.

Those thoughts were surely going through the minds of the competitors who had gathered Wednesday morning at Mission Bay Yacht Club, circled around a full-rigged Snipe in the parking lot, and being educated by past national champion and local fleet captain Doug Hart. However, the ominous clouds overhead were a reminder of the previous night’s rain, and the intermittent drizzle that had continued through the morning. The glassed off bay in the background did little to assure the promise of a worthy practice session in the afternoon, which was deemed vital to grasp the characteristics prior to the first race on Thursday.

As Hart worked his way around the boat, balancing his instruction between those familiar with a doublehanded dinghy, and those less so, you could easily hear the thoughts on the minds of so many locals, “It’s never like this.” However, per the Hollywood script, the skies cleared, and the seabreeze kicked in to provide a worthy outing to test out the lake-like conditions in Mission Bay, and to otherwise familiarize themselves with the first boat each competitor will be using in what is planned to be a full, 18 race rotation series. The forecast bodes well for the rest of the event as well, with races scheduled on Thursday through Saturday.