2024 PCCSC Open Team Championship Crosses Tacks With the ‘Robert G. Brownlee’

On Saturday, April 13, while many of us were snugged up with a hot drink avoiding the rainy weather, college sailors were competing in the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference’s [PCCSC] Carter Ford Open Team Race Championship in Redwood City. (The previous weekend Redwood City saw teams competing in the High School Northern League Championships.) Hosted by Stanford University produced epic sailing action, and an encounter with the Marine Science Institute’s research and education vessel, the 90-ft Robert G. Brownlee, which maneuvered away from the dock and into the race field. Bay Area sailor and all-around watersport aficionado Bryan McDonald shared a wrap-up of the day’s events.

“It was an epic day in the Redwood Creek,” Chris Kevlan of Stanford Sailing wrote on social media. “A unusually consistent southerly maintained all day at 5-15 knots. 63 races were sailed, completing the triple round of 7 [sic], and the regatta found totality all in one day.

“Big thank you to ChUmp [Chief Umpire] Bryan McDonald and his crew, Don Wieneke, Paul Zupan, Mathew Hogan and Clark Url, who kept the competitors honest, cracked jokes, moved marks, and towed RC boats.

“Stanford won the day and the regatta with an 18-0 record. Congrats to all the PCCSC teams who endured an odyssey of a day.”

Along with umpiring the regatta, Bryan McDonald managed to capture the action as the Robert G. Brownlee made her mid-race appearance.

“Great day of sailing,” Bryan writes. “We pulled off a two-day regatta in one day as the breeze was on from the south/southeast and excellent for team racing (as well as building a bit for the teams that love breeze to thrive). Chillier conditions than normal for this time of year, rainy at times but fun was had by all.”

“Heading from mark 2 to mark 4 in a team race is the downwind leg. While heading downwind in a lovely southerly, imagine looking toward your left and seeing the massive, close to 100-ft Robert G. Brownlee heading toward you,” Bryan recounts. “This is exactly what happened yesterday at 1 p.m. as Stanford had a 1/2/3 lead over their opponent, Cal Maritime Academy. Stanford’s first-place sailor was so far ahead that she easily crossed ahead of the Brownlee after passing mark 4 on the way to the finish line,”

The Brownlee was leaving Redwood City turning basin and heading into San Francisco Bay, her path leading right into the race field.

Bryan continues. “No bother, the Brownlee tooted her horn, [and] the second-place racer paused at mark 4 for a few seconds to allow the Brownlee to pass before continuing to race (without losing her second-place position) :).

“While the notion of a vessel the size of the Brownlee does not really fit into the middle of a championship race, the sailors figured it all out, the Brownlee nimbly glided through the race course as the racing continued toward the finish line, with Stanford retaining her original lead of 1/2/3 to the finish line, not only winning that race but … undefeated for the entire regatta, which earns her a berth in the collegiate sailing national championships coming up in a few weeks.”

“Speaking of national champions,” Bryan adds, “Stanford are the reigning national champions, after their women’s team took the open championship for the first time in college sailing history. An amazing feat to be sure (and that’s All-American Hannah Freeman driving, along with her crew, Sophie Fisher, who is also a skipper and was the PCCSC Women’s Skipper of the Year [2022-23], in boat 12, both members of the 2023 championship team … so, if you want to sail fast, just watch how they do it :))

“Many thanks to Stanford for hosting, and my fellow umpires for staying on the water nonstop from about 10:30–6:30.”

Bryan adds a note on the Brownlee. “If you have sailed in the Redwood City turning basin in the past generation, you’ll instantly recognize the Robert G. Brownlee, as she’s a fixture of that area. In case you did not know, the Brownlee is a lovely research vessel for students of all ages to experience marine life up close and personal as she brings classes out into San Francisco Bay almost constantly, for observations and all things marine science.”