Hey V15ers,
I probably don't know everyone on this list, but there are a lot of people
special to me that I want to share this news with:
Adam was surprised last weekend when I got tired and suggested sailing
in. Totally uncharacteristic. I got my energy back that afternoon and
obviously the regatta worked out fine for us.
I flew out that Sunday night to Singapore for a work trip. Thursday evening
I went for a humid run by the river, and the next thing I knew I was lying
on the sidewalk, about to be loaded into an ambulance. I had lost
consciousness and fallen down. They stitched up my head at Singapore
General Hospital and found a brain tumor in the meantime.
The really good news is that we’ve caught this on the early side and know
what we’re facing. As my family’s neurosurgeon friend said, this may have
been the luckiest fall of my life. I'm safely back home and ready to fight
this thing!
xo, sally
On Monday, October 24, 2016, Steve Kleha <skleha at gmail.com> wrote:
>> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*
>>> *Vanguard 15 Champion Emerges on Stormy NorCal Weekend*
>> Inverness, CA -- As the Vanguard 15 fleet descended on Inverness Yacht
> Club for the 2016 Fleet Championships, the weather decided to commemorate
> the event with a late fall, early winter storm. Day 1 saw fierce winds and
> rain batter the fleet without mercy.
>> This was some of the most challenging sailing I've done," said competitor
> Cole Hatton. "If the 20 knot plus puffs weren't hell on your quads, then
> it was the unrelenting competition that would steal your lane or hose you
> off the start. I've seen some crazy stuff in my life, having been to
> Burning Man several years in a row, but this event is up there."
>> The race committee set an ambitious agenda for the event: sail
> college-style, short-course, windward-leeward races, once or twice around,
> until the local shallow tides made sailing impossible or until the steely
> resolve of the fleet was broken. In this regard, the race committee was
> largely successful. Tight starts with all boat bows on the line, 20 knot
> puffs, radical shifts and off-the wind planing characterized all the races
> of the day. Around race 5, however, the stress started to emerge. Citing
> the extreme conditions, new comers Robert and Caitlin decided to hang up
> the hiking pants and call it a day. It was a prudent call. The light
> weight crew of Al and Ethan Sargent took to the docks for the final two
> races of the day in order to preserve strength for day two. Matt and Maddy
> started the last race of the day with every intention of winning, but it
> was not to be. The sheer force of the wind combined with a full hike
> caused the windward shroud to shear near the hounds. The mast came
> crashing down with the sound of thunder. Dismasted, the crew looked over
> at the Race Committee with weary eyes and shredded rigging in hand.
>> "Our work is done here," said PRO Amanda Kleha, "any more of this and
> we'll be breaking spirits instead of boats!" After eight races, the day
> was done. And at the end of day 1, Matt and Avery/Maddy led the regatta
> followed closely by Sam and Danielle. Previous champ Sally and Adam
> rounded out the top three. Citing fatigue and extreme exhaustion, Cole and
> his crew Yuri would have to retire after the first day and seek therapeutic
> assistance at a local hot spring. They would later recover from the
> exhaustion.
>> The fleet was blessed at the end of the day with the generosity of the
> Inverness Yacht Club: were it not for club's gas grill, we would never
> have gotten the briquettes lit and much needed sustenance would not have
> made it into the bellies of worn out sailors. The delectable treats from
> the grill in combination with some high quality beer made for a raucous
> time at IYC. Several tall tales were told, each one seemingly more
> fantastical than the previous. Assistant PRO Steve Kleha was overheard
> relating an implausible yarn about a troubled Pacific crossing complete
> with gear failure and diaper rash. A spiritual Bear Grylls Award goes to
> all those who camped at Olema that first night in the rain. At least they
> had the keg to keep them company.
>> If day 1 of the regatta could be compared to taking sip of water from a
> firehose, then day 2 was an extended game of online, multi-player chess
> played with a blindfold. Combine the light following winds of a storm with
> the generally fickle nature of Inverness wind with a strong flood tide and
> you've got conditions that will befuddle even the best sailors. Each
> participant saw highs and lows, recording finishes in the front and the
> back of the fleet. A confused Matt and Nicholas Sessions scoured their
> boat, looking for a leak when none was discovered. Emilio and Maria sought
> to preserve their sanity and sailed in for the last race of the day. The
> twilight zone conditions even had several sailors report that two
> individuals on the race committee boat had mutated into an oversized banana
> slug and praying mantis. (These reports were unconfirmed.)
>> All the weirdness considered, the regatta came down to the final race, as
> it seems to every year. After 16 races, second place team Sally and Adam
> was within 4 points of leaders Matt and Nicholas. These two boats have
> been perennial favorites in the Vanguard 15 fleet, both with past Fleet
> Championships to their credit. This year it was Matt and
> Nicholas/Avery/Maddy's turn to take the trophy. Sally and Adam took second
> followed by Sam and Danielle taking third. (Full results of the regatta
> can be found here
> <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q9UHZL5e9scJOoepgyEIwoNcOxhsUuNYVGYwQE-VEi4/edit?usp=sharing>.)
> Special recognition went out to Robert and Caitlin, and the two received
> the "most improved" award, having battled tough conditions both days. The
> two were smiles all around and are a wonderful addition to the fleet. A
> final word of caution: junior sailors Ben Foox, Nicholas Sessions and
> Ethan Sargent look poised to challenge for the podium in the years to
> come. Everyone should keep up the hard training.
>> In a fitting conclusion to the regatta, the weather saw fit to provide
> sailors with a double rainbow. Tired sailors took a break from packing
> their boats to gaze on the rainbows. In a quiet moment, one competitor
> could be heard to say, "what does it all mean?" The boats packed up, the
> keg running dry, the 2016 Vanguard 15 Fleet Championship came to a solemn
> end.
>> A special thanks to Inverness Yacht Club for hosting the event year after
> year. The coziness of the club and the warmth of its members is unrivalled
> in the Bay Area. Sam Wheeler coordinated travel to and from the regatta
> with the generous aid of triple boat trailers from the Golden Gate Yacht
> Club and the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF). Travis Lund and
> the Treasure Island Sailing Center is home to the fleet and tolerated the
> pell mell of boat loading before and after the event. Finally, Principal
> Race Officer Amanda Kleha sacrificed a weekend and ran a solid 17 race
> regatta.
>>> *Contact:*
> Steve Kleha
>skleha at gmail.com <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','skleha at gmail.com');>
> 650-248-3849
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