Oakcliff heating up for summer of match racing
by Oakcliff Sailing 22 Apr 2021 10:35 PDT
David Storrs Memorial Regatta © Oakcliff Sailing
Let the races begin! Oakcliff hosted first regatta of the season, the David Storrs Memorial Regatta, this past weekend. The event was a qualifier for the US Match Racing Championship to be held in Long Beach CA this fall.
We have tons of awesome content, including live streams of most of the matches, on Facebook page.
Just in time for match racing season, our trainee teams returned from a successful week of sailing at Charleston Race Week. Trainees learned a lot from both each other and very stiff competition in the Melges 24 class.
Local? Have you renewed your supporter donation for 2021? This summer, being a supporter comes with more perks than ever, including supporter sails two days a week, access to our on-site gym, and (coming soon) an outdoor kitchen and event space. Donate today!
If you're a Oakcliff graduate, please fill out survey! We want to connect with you and see how you remember your time at Oakcliff; as well as see what we can do to help you as a graduate.
Lastly, meet our Student Sapling of the week: Sapling Harry Prager. Harry first came to Oakcliff as a 14 year old for the Offshore Marblehead to Halifax program, and liked Oakcliff so much he decided to stick around for the next three years. Read on to hear more.
Holz qualifies for USMRC at Oakcliff Season Opener
Oakcliff's 2021 season opened this weekend with the David Storrs Memorial Regatta. The regatta is held in honor of Match Racing enthusiast, champion and long-time Oakcliff supporter David Storrs, who passed away in 2019. Eight teams fought to qualify for the US Match Racing Championship which will be held this fall in Long Beach California. Peter Holz, a previous winner of the David Storrs Memorial Regatta, took first place in a close finals against Pearson Potts.
"I think throughout the week we were shaking off the rust, but I'm thankful I had the best team on the water to bail me out of sticky situations," said Holz. "Pearson sailed incredibly well but we caught a couple breaks that set us over the edge." Pearson Potts, a frequent Oakcliff match racer, took second with Peter Bailey rounding out the podium in third. See the full results on Clubspot.
PRO Patrick Burks honored David Storrs at the prize-giving ceremony, remembering when Storrs won the Prince of Wales regatta, which was probably the "happiest moment of his life." Event winner Peter Holz added "I had the privilege of sailing against David, and he was so great for the sport and generally an awesome competitor. This regattas is a great way to honor him."
The team at Oakcliff including many volunteers, kicked off our season with a wrinkle-free running of this event and went home optimistic for an awesome 2021. Make sure to join us this season for some exciting match racing!
See match racing schedule here
Trainees finish up Charleston Race Week
Right as our match racing season starts heating up, our group of winter saplings and high performance high school trainees is coming off of an awesome training opportunity at Charleston Race Week, where the two trainee teams battled it out in the Melges 24 fleet.
The Oakcliff School Bus, lead by training director Ethan Johnson, finished in 24th while the Magic School Bus, lead by High Performance Manager Andres Guerra, finished 28th. But more importantly, our trainees got the experience of a lifetime - learning lessons about high performance boats both from the pros and from each other.
The Melges 24 fleet was stacked with great sailors, from America's Cup sailors to world champions, each one willing to give trainees a hand or advice. (Media "intern" and Oakcliff Graduate Harry Prager even got to spend the weekend with Cam Appleton, a much looked up to pro sailor, on the media boat). Harry and PR and Media manager Lexi Pline will be working on a video wrap up of the trip, available soon. In the meantime, watch a quick edit of their pre-regatta training. Go team!