Hello, I am Isabelle Meegan and I would like to thank the Balboa Yacht Club Maritime & Seamanship Foundation for supporting my goal to improve my sailing skills by sponsoring me to attend the Balboa Yacht Club – Riverside Yacht Club exchange in Greenwich, CT July 7-13, 2014.
My teammates, Pearce Mendoza, Peter Joslin, and Gray Hemans were selected and attended the BYC-RYC Exchange too. It was a great bonding experience to travel cross-country with my teammates and experience the East Coast with them. Our days at the Riverside Yacht Club were busy. Every afternoon, we sailed Optimists, or Optis. On our last day, we participated in the RYC 2014 Opti Regatta in Long Island Sound. We were so excited that Peter won 1st place for the White fleet. In the mornings we learned how to sail 420’s and, once, we were Junior Instructors. We met many RYC junior sailors during the exchange and they were kind, helpful and became great friends.
Our trip was amazing because of our host family, the Shintos: Mr. & Mrs. Shinto, Jake, Taylor, Ben, and their dog CupCup. They provided us with a number of opportunities to sail outside of the classes and they took us out on the Sound on their boat – Storm. One morning we all piled into Storm with the Shintos to drop Jake off in Oyster Bay, New York for a regatta. It was so cool to be in two states in one morning! Mrs. Shinto was our mom away from home and made sure all the little things ran smoothly. Jake, Taylor and Ben were always helpful by telling us what to expect, introducing us to new people, and showing us how things work at the club.
Personally, I achieved some of goals that I had set up for myself at the beginning of the sailing year. First, I learned and sailed two new and different boats: Optis and 420’s. Optimists are different from the sabots I usually sail because they have a centerboard and a sprit pole. A sprit pole shapes the sail, almost like a downhaul on the sabot. Also, I got the opportunity to sail a 420. They are different from CFJ’s because they have a trapeze and are a larger boat. I also sailed outside of Southern California for the first time. Sailing in Long Island Sound helped me learn how to adapt to different weather, wind, and wave conditions and increased my sailing knowledge and skills.
I feel that my teammates and I improved our sailing skills from the BYC-RYC exchange. I am very grateful for the opportunity to represent Balboa Yacht Club. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Isabelle Meegan