July 3 through July 8, 2012
On Tuesday morning at 4:30 amwe packed our bags and got ready for a six hour flight across the country. We left Los Angeles International Airport at 7:55 am and landed in Chicago for our connecting flight. We had to run across the entire airport because our next flight was leaving in only 40 minutes. We got aboard just as the plane was leaving the gate for New York. We could see the Hudson River and all the trees as we started our descent into Westchester, New York. We could not believe all the trees! As soon as we got to the door of the airplane, we had a brand new experience…we were able to walk down a few steps and walk across the tarmac to the terminal. We had NEVER done that before. That was our first time in a really small airport.
Mrs. Joslin, our chaperone rented a car and we drove to Connecticut. Our host family, The Schintos, lived a few blocks from the yacht club, in Riverside, CT near the town of Greenwich. We arrived there just in time for dinner. When we opened the car door, we were hit with a wave of steamy, hot, humid air. Welcome to the worst heat wave in Connecticut! We could tell as soon as we stepped out onto the driveway that it was going to be a great trip because our host family was SOOO nice. They greeted us with a beautiful air conditioned home and a houseful of excitement and joy.
We slept in second floor bunk beds in the room of their youngest son Benjamin. They have 3 children of their own, two boys , Benjamin and Jake and a girl, Taylor, all about our age. They had a surprise waiting for us in their dog Cup, Cup. He is a Jack Russell Terrier and was just as excited to see us as the kids were. The Schintos were also housing one of RYC’s best Opti coaches for the summer, so it was a FULL and busy house.
The next day was the 4th of July and we planned to spend it at RYC. We toured the club and went swimming in the pool. Because it was the 4th of July, there were a couple of fun pool games for the kids. One of the games was a relay race on blow up sea creatures. We won so we got ice cream. Later, we went out on the Schinto’s powerboat called Storm. The Schintos have a tradition that all of their boat names relate to bad weather. Today was no exception. We experienced three thunderstorms with tons of lightening and rain that day, one during our boat ride and while watching fireworks. As the lightening strikes got closer to us, we headed back to the dock.
Thursday was our first day of sailing. We were introduced to 420’s in the morning and Optimists in the afternoon. The wind was really light and it turned out that our first afternoon of sailing Opti’s was also their Captain’s Cup Regatta which is a part of their bay fleets. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot about Opti’s and the conditions on the Sound. Between races, the RYC coach boats gave us tips on how to make the boats go fast. Late in the race day a squall passed through, the wind kicked up big time and we were all fully hiked out and screaming along on top of the water in a ton of breeze with big wind chop.
That night we got to go sailing on a 44 foot boat called Exuberance that belongs to some friends of the Schintos. It was still very hot but there was a little more wind and we each got to take the helm for a little bit.
Friday was filled with another practice day in the Optis. In the afternoon we watched the Schinto kids play water polo. RYC has it’s own water polo program. If we were not on the water in boats, we were in the water, cooling off or playing tag in their cool basement. The average temperature during the day was in the low 90’s and it never seemed to cool off. We learned that tying up to the coach boat and taking a swim in the Sound was another good way to cool off.
Friday night is Beer Cans on the Sound and we got to go out on Exuberance again. There was a little more wind and we got 4th or 5th overall. A boat named Zombie, which is a really cool, sleek boat with nets on the side so that you can trap, beat us by a lot. After racing there was a BBQ on the lawn at RYC. After eating we played a fun game called Ghosts with a bunch of the kids that we had met at the yacht club.
Saturday was Regatta Day. Jeffrey was in the White Fleet for the 10 and under age group; Jack and Christian were in the Blue Fleet for 12 and under. We attended the Skippers’ meeting and found that it was pretty much the same as at home. After the Skippers’ meeting the race committee sounded the horn indicating that we could leave the dock and sail out to the race course out on the Sound. As we left the little harbor where RYC sits, we passed a “safety boat” where they recorded every sail number as we left and returned to be sure that all sailors were accounted for. All 93 Optis in the regatta sailed the same course but set up in different starts. Conditions were very light wind for the first few races, but a squall came through in the third and fourth races and made things really exciting. It was a good opportunity for us to really experience the differences between our Sabots and the Optis. Race one in each fleet saw a bunch of boats over the line. There were several General Recalls throughout the day. Once the India flag was flown, there were no chances to redeem yourself if you were over at the start. If you were over, you were scored last plus one. Jeffrey and Christian were both very eager and were called over. Jack was the only one of our group who did not violate the India flag. We all ended up mid-fleet but learned a ton about sailing in very light, shifty wind conditions. At the awards presentation, there were several clubs represented from all over the Long Island Sound. Of course, we had come the farthest to race. Commodore Anderson of RYC introduced us to everyone and we presented him with a BYC burgee and were given their RYC burgee in return. After the ceremony, we privately told the Commodore to make sure that our burgee was not hung upside down…the point on the star always points up. After the awards on Saturday, there was another fireworks display in town.
Sunday was our last day with our host family and we were all feeling a bit sad knowing that we would have to leave at the end of the day. They took us out on their new Summit 35 sailboat, Hurricane, that Dr. Schinto had just brought down from Newport, Rhode Island two nights before. It was a bit cooler and there was enough wind that we sat on the rail with our legs over the side telling jokes with the Schinto’s kids. We enjoyed a great day sailing on the Sound then had to head back to pack and catch our flight home. Before we left Greenwich, we stopped into the Ella Vickers store for some great gifts of recycled sailcloth bags and pillows for our family back home. We spent every last bit of the spending money our parents had given us for the trip. We got a little lost on the way to the airport when our Map Buddy app directed us to go the wrong way up a one way street. Fortunately, Jack is very good at reading maps and got us to the airport in plenty of time to return the car, check our bags and get a bite to eat. We arrived at Los Angeles International Airport after midnight, exhausted and bug bitten, but happy to be home and see our families.
We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Joslin for the idea of the swap with Riverside Yacht Club, Katie Tinder for believing in us and trusting that we could represent BYC well both on and off the water, our parents for letting us go out of state over a major holiday weekend, our amazing host family, The Schintos, Megan Magill, the RYC Junior Program Director, Mrs. Joslin for being our chaperone and keeping up with us and especially the BYC Maritime Sciences and Seamanship Foundation for funding this amazing experience. The travel was fun, the regatta was a blast and the weather was crazy. We made new friends and had our best sailing buddies by our side all the while. We cannot describe the magnitude of our gratitude but will continue to say thank you every chance we get and hope to get to do a trip like this again! We look forward to hosting some junior sailors from RYC here in Newport next spring to race Sabots.
Best Regards,
Jack Joslin Jeffrey Petersen Christian Rosene