US Sailing’s West Coast Tour commences this this week

by Jake Fish on 11 Jul 2013 Sailing is a number of things to many people and US Sailing is out to highlight the sport through its West Coast Tour. Modeled on the popular Roadshow format, US Sailing will visit sailing organizations throughout the West Coast focusing on signature regattas, junior and adult learn-to-sail clinics, community outreach programs, US Sailing Speaker Series, Regional Sailing Program Symposiums, Safety-at-Sea Seminars, and more.

The West Coast Tour launches this Thursday, July 11 at Olympic Day, hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in conjunction with the So Cal Junior Olympic Sailing Festival in Newport Beach, Calif. The West Coast Tour will run through September, 2013.

Sailors can come along the journey with US Sailing’s West Coast Tour Coordinator Kate Sheahan (San Diego, Calif.) as she shares her experiences and take-aways on the US Sailing Blog with reports, video and audio interviews, photos, Facebook and Twitter updates, and more. 'After traveling around the world I have come to realize that some of the best sailing is right at home on the West Coast,' said Sheahan. 'I am thrilled to meet with sailors and look forward to covering the classic, the quirky and the extreme as I hit all the stops between San Diego and the Gorge this summer.'

An avid sailor herself, Sheahan won silver at the 2012 Melges 24 North Americans in San Francisco and in 2011 she took bronze at the Women's Snipe World Championship. She also campaigned for the Melges 32 World Championships in 2011-2012.

At Thursday’s Olympic Day kick-off to the West Coast Tour, youth sailors participating at the So Cal Junior Olympic Festival will have the opportunity to meet and learn from Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.), a member of the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider in the Olympic Finn class. Caleb will talk tactics and local knowledge with all sailors participating in the Junior Olympic Sailing Festival.

www.TeamUSA.org/OlympicDay