As the flotilla of eight Flying Juniors raced before the wind toward the dock where he was standing, assistant sailing coach Eric Knopf thumped his chest. "Aim for me," he yelled above dozens of adolescent whoops. "Push the tiller away from you and point straight at me." The 13-foot boats turned sharply into the wind and gently side-slipped into their moorings. Skippers and crews -- ages 9 to 15 -- dropped mainsails and jibs, raised centerboards and hauled the dinghies onto padded cradles. Then they all dashed for waiting lunch bags.
By hosting summer sailing camps and high school regattas, Knopf and head coach Steve Bourdow, a 1992 Olympic silver medalist, make year-round use of the Stanford Sailing Center in Redwood City to raise funds for the main event: varsity sailing. "The varsity teams are why we exist," Bourdow says. "The camps and phys ed programs all support the teams."
Last year's team captain, Anika Leerssen, '00, won 15 of 16 races in buffeting winds off her hometown of Newport, R.I., to capture the women's singlehanded championship of the Inter-Collegiate Yacht Racing Association. Leerssen was the first Cardinal sailor to win an individual national title, and the coaches hope to reclaim the team racing title they brought home in 1997.
Leerssen's national dominance has boosted Cardinal recruiting efforts in the sailing strongholds of New England and the mid-Atlantic states, and Bourdow expects incoming freshmen and returning sophomores to fill 24 slots on this year's roster of 30. When a new $3 million sailing center opens in fall quarter 2001, Stanford will be able to host bigger and better regattas. Until then, youngsters continue to learn how to right a capsized dinghy. Fire the soakers when ready, maties.
