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CSULB Sailing Team to set sail in China

The nationally ranked Cal State Long Beach Sailing Team is turning its sails toward China for next month.

Five of the CSULB Sailing Team’s top sailors will represent the U.S. in Xiamen, China, in a competition against 13 Chinese college teams in the Pan-Pacific Intercollegiate Regatta from July 15 to 17. The five sailors include team members Mark Ryan, John Hill, Nicholas Santos, Tyler Webb and Sailing Team President Shane Young.

Young said that when Mary Barton of the Long Beach-Qingdao Association asked the team three weeks ago to compete in China, he immediately said yes.

“At first it seemed like a far-fetched idea,” Young said.

Long Beach and Qingdao have been sister cities for 30 years, according to Young. In the past, the relationship brought Long Beach musician Jim Fleishman and local band, The Wilsons, to China.

Both Fleishman and The Wilsons are expected to speak at the team’s fundraiser at Long Beach Yacht Club on Thursday, according to Young. Through the fundraiser, the team hopes to raise $12,000 to cover airfare and accommodation expenses for the trip to China.

Young and his older brother, Chase, resurrected the self-coached team in 2010 and brought it to victory in last month’s Southern Conference, where CSULB sailed against University of Southern California; University of California, Los Angeles; and others.

With plans for the trip to China set into motion only three weeks ago, Shane Young said the team has a lot to accomplish within a short time period, including training.

While the team usually practices on boats called Club FJs, it plans to race a larger keelboat called a J80 in next month’s competition, according to Shane Young. The team plans to practice until it departs.

The team’s president said he has never before sailed a J80, which are twice the size of CFJs and  “a completely different game.” While the dinghies that the team normally uses house two sailors — a crewmember and a skipper — the J80 accommodates five sailors, each with different responsibilities.

“All five people are doing five different things at the same time, all to achieve the same goal,” he said.

Shane Young said that while steering the sailboat, a sailor must also examine the surrounding wind and water. He said a sailor must look at how the sun is reflecting off the water to determine when wind is approaching, from where and how strong it will be.

“My best friend once told me, ‘sailing is a thinking man’s sport,’” Shane Young said.

He said the team is excited to sail in Long Beach’s aquatic counterpart.

“We’ve never been to Asia,” Shane Young said, “[but] we have a goal to win the regatta. It’s not a pleasure cruise.”

The team is collaborating with founder and Chairman of the U.S.-China Yachting Association Eliot Clauss and other contacts in China to glean knowledge of the course and “local secrets,” according to the team president.

“[We will be sailing] at a foreign venue on foreign boat,” Shane Young said. “There is different current, different wind and so many other factors involved.”

Shane Young said that the team owes a lot of its success to CSULB alumnus Steve Flam, a professional sailor who sailed for the team decades ago. He said that although the team cannot afford to pay an official coach, Flam shares his wisdom and tips with the team’s sailors.

Shane Young said he loves sailing because it’s challenging, teambuilding and ever changing.

“So many factors make sailing a challenging sport, and we’re up to the challenge,” he said.

For more information about the CSULB Sailing Team, email the team captain at [email protected].

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