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Thursday, November 2, 2000

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Sarah Reed and Willy Edwards of the University of Hawaii sailing
team are "hiking" their boat as they practice off Sand Island. They
hike going upwind to gain speed as the wind pushes into their sail.

UH sailing:
low budget,
positive outlook

Surprised, happy with team's
performance, coach Andy
Johnson sees big things ahead

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By Kalani Wilhelm
Special to the Star-Bulletin

In the sport of sailing, winds can blow in tricky and sometimes unpredictable directions. For coach Andy Johnson and the University of Hawaii sailing team, the ocean breeze is blowing just the way they like it.

At a competition earlier this month -- the Stoney Burke Intersectional off Treasure Island, Calif. -- the team finished in third place out of 15 schools.

UC Santa Barbara won the regatta, but Johnson came out of the race with a positive perspective on what his young sailors were capable of doing when thrusted in a big race environment.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
After a day of practice, the sailing team returns to the pier at
sunset. The UH team finished third out of 15 schools at a
California competition earlier this month.

The surprising finish was due in part to a crop of newcomers. Freshman Matt Megla and sophomore Jennifer Warnock finished in second place in the A division and freshman Will Edwards and second-year sailors Steven Brown and Sarah Hitchcock finished fourth in the B division.

Johnson was also given a sneak peek at the future of the sailing program.

"I was happily surprised. I saw some of the raw talent we have," Johnson said.

There are 26 members on the coed squad this fall with not one senior in the bunch. The team is comprised of nine freshmen, 16 sophomores and just one junior.

"They're young but they have shown that if they can focus in the right direction we can be really good," said Johnson.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
A rainbow peaks through the clouds as the UH
sailing team practices off Sand Island, where
there are ideal sailing conditions. Practice consists
of a series of races where the top finishers are
selected to travel to the sailing meets. These
boats are rounding an orange buoy during the race.

Out of the 20 sports at UH, sailing ranks dead last in terms of overall budget.

According to UH assistant athletics director Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano, the combined budget of the men's and women's program is $100,000. To put things in the proper perspective, the woman's golf team alone, has an annual budget of $105,000.

Sailing is the only coed sport at UH. Without a single scholarship to work with, the team is forced to make due with what it has.

Faced with limited resources, Johnson says he' been fortunate to get the talent that he has now.

"The kids like the appeal of Hawaii and the opportunity to train in warm water," Johnson said. "We make the best of what we have. I have no complaints."

To combat the lack of funds, Johnson organizes work parties where the sailors themselves fix their boats.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
After a day of practice, some of the women of
the UH sailing team were hosing down their
equipment, but they ended up squirting each other.

There are 25 total boats. Each member is assigned a boat and responsible for making sure that it is in good working order.

"We have a fleet of boats that has to be cleaned, fixed and maintained," Johnson said. "We'll provide the tools but the kids, myself and the assistant coaches do the repair work."

The team may be used to riding on 14-foot long boats, but when it comes to funding, things run short. There are no free rides. Sailors are responsible for paying their own way through school.

"They're competing because that's something they all want to do."

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
The UH sailing team ends practice with a team cheer.

When it comes to the next few years of the program, you can't help but notice the smile that starts to form on Johnson's face. Johnson said that 4 to 5 of the nation's best high school sailors are interested in coming to Hawaii.

"If all the kids that say they're going to come, come, we'll be one of the top five sailing programs in the country," he said. "The program is at a pivotal point right now. I'm really excited. I think we're going to be huge."

The coed sailing team has five regattas remaining while the Wahine have three.

One of the team's major goals is winning the North/South Intersectional in Ventura, Calif.

"All the big teams come out for that one," said Johnson. "We've come close but we've never won it. I think we have a deep enough team this year to win it."

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http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu