A Great Weekend in San Diego

By Gweneth Crook, SCIRA Vice-Commodore

District 6 Snipe Championships (regatta report) were held this past weekend at the San Diego Yacht Club. It was a long weekend for those of us who live in British Columbia so at the last minutes I was able to get a flight and decided to join in on the fun.

It was a great weekend of racing with Doug Hart and Ryan Hopps of Mission Bay just beating SDYC’s Rick Arneson and Diana Waterbury by four points to win the Championship and the qualifying spot for this year’s Western Hemisphere and Orient Championship. Carol Cronin and Kim Couranz also qualified for the WH&O as the highest placing female team. As always the SDYC did an excellent job both on and off the water.

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San Diego has a long history with the Snipe Class and it was wonderful to reconnect with some of the individuals who have sailed Snipe in the past and those that continue to do so. Some of the people that were there: Past Commodore Doug De Souza and his wife Jennifer, Current US National Secretary and Past Commodore Brainard Cooper, sailors Greg Morton, Roger Stewart, George and Stacey Szabo.The US Sailing Leadership forum was also happening that weekend and brought in Snipe sailors from other parts of the US, who dropped by SDYC to say hello, such as John Tagliamonte and Lori Stout from the East Coast.

The Snipe Class has produced some excellent sailors over the years and San Diego looks to continue that tradition as there were lots of children from the next generation in attendance.

Even as I was leaving town I met a woman at the airport who saw my Snipe jacket and asked about the class. She had sailed when she was young and was thinking of getting her teenage children involved in sailing, and of course, I was quick to suggest the Snipe. She still has friends sailing Snipes and said she would reconnect with them when she returned to San Diego.

I highly recommend a weekend at a Snipe regatta, thanks to San Diego for such a warm welcome and a great event.