2013 Patriot Regatta - U.S. Coast Guard wins second annual regatta

by Rick Roberts on 15 Sep 2013 The U.S. Coast Guard’s Team 2 won the second annual Patriots Regatta Sunday against 10 other teams from our country’s Armed Forces in this event hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club as a tribute to the men and women of our military.

Under the supervision and guidance of skilled coaches, more than 70 members of our military showed their talents as sailors in a closely fought regatta. So close that there was only a two point separation from first to third place.

Scheduled to begin racing at 1:30 p.m., the first start of the day was postponed for about an hour and 15 minutes until a heavy fog cleared out enough so competitors could see the start line and---most importantly---each other.

The Coast Guard’s Dustin Sliva (pronounced Sl?va) competed on the winning boat and commented on his team’s day.

'It’s nice to see all of the branches get together for something like this, enjoying ourselves all together.'

One of the coaches on board their boat was US Sailing Judge and LBYC member and veteran sailor Randy Smith.

'The team was extremely focused,' Smith said. 'We utilized the time during the fog delay for practice. We practiced for a couple of hours and we figured it all out.

'This Coast Guard team really wanted to win. Before the start another team sailed by, talking and trying to stir things up. That made this team super competitive.'

Taking second place honors on a tiebreaker was Air Force Team 1 forcing the Marines Team 1 to settle for third place in the regatta.

After the day’s racing action, LBYC held a reception, which included the awards ceremony and dinner featuring a band made up of veterans known as, 'Rock for Vets.' Joining in the festivities was the 35th California Governor George Deukmejian, California Senator Ricardo Lara and Long Beach Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell.

Co-chairs for the Yachting Committee are Jack Geortner and Steve Meyer. Steve’s wife, Judy, was the event chair and one of the key players in making this year’s event so successful.

Yachting Committee co-chair Steve Meyer said, 'We are very excited about this, the second annual Patriot Regatta and looking forward to next year’s event.'

Air Force Team 1 sailor William Beasley summed up the day in saying, 'Today was the most fun we’ve had in a while. The only thing I’m upset about is that it had to come to an end.'

Results and regatta information available at www.lbyc.org!Event_website

Final Results
1. Coast Guard Team 2, 5-1-4-3, 13 points

2. Air Force Team 1, 2-10-1-2, 15

3. Marines Team 1, 6-5-3-1, 15

4. Marines Team 3, 1-4-5-6, 16

5. Navy Team 1, 3-9-2-5, 19

6. Marines Team 2, 4-3-6-7, 20

7. Coast Guard Team 1, 8-6-8-4, 26

8. Army Team 2, 9-2-7-10, 28

9. Navy Team 2, 7-7-11-9, 34

10. Army Team 1, 10-11-9-8, 38

11. Air Force Team 2, 11-8-10-11, 40