Alli Bell sits down with sailors and brothers, Chris and John Busch. Chris and John grew up in the SDYC Junior Program, attended Gonzaga University and are both still active sailors.
The brothers started out in sabots right in La Playa. Their father was in the Navy, sailed in San Diego and helped start the sailing program for regular officers and enlisted around the country. They start off the episode by telling some of their stories of childhood sailing, how they started crewing and some of the family sailing rivalries including on the Transpac Race.
SDYC Commodore Michael Dorgan took the reins hosting this special episode with Tyler Sinks, the most recent skipper to win the Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup. Tyler also recently skippered SDYC's winning team for New York Yacht Club’s Resolute Cup.
Tyler started sailing at a mere six years old and tells us about some of his first experiences with some bumps in the road as a junior sailor. He goes on to talk about the potential he saw in himself as he got older with sailing and notes the importance of friendship in the sport through his whole life. Tyler also thanked his parents for their support growing up sailing.
This weekend, the San Diego Yacht Club hosted the 2018 IKA Formula Kite North American Championship off Crown Cove State Beach in South San Diego Bay. Twenty nine kiteboarders from twelve different countries gathered to sail in a series of nine races for three days. The regatta also seconded as a Pan American Games Qualifier.
The Club Leaders Forum Platinum Clubs of America list for 2019 was released, and ranked San Diego Yacht Club as the #2 ranked yacht club in the country. The voting was done by General Managers, Presidents and Owners based on the seven Platinum Club of America Selection Criteria: Univeral Recognition, Excellence in Amenities and Facilities, Caliber of Staff and Professional Service Levels, Quality and Commitment of Membership, Governance and Prudent Fiscal Management, Adapting to Changing Times, and Overall Experience.
With 6 of the 11 teams being driven by past regatta winners, this years’ event was a difficult regatta to control. Winds on the practice day ended up being twice what we actually sailed in so, as usual, Long Beach delivered a crap-shoot of conditions where consistency and scoring no more than 21 points ended up winning the regatta. Team SDYC was represented by Kris Zillmann, Julie Mitchell, Stacey Szabo, Sandy Vissmann, Lisa-Marie Terhaar, Tiffany Billings, Alexa Cavalieri, Kim Standford, Kym Kapalla, Lois Harrington, and Gigi Mitchell and finished fifth in the event.