REGATTA RACERS WIND THEIR WAY AROUND LAKE COURSE.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer Jake Sorosky stared across the wind-swept surface of Westlake Lake on Sunday like a steely-eyed veteran of sail boat racing. At age 9, he'd already spent three years learning the complicated rules and techniques of maneuvering his sabot at competitions such as the ninth annual Bill Vrooman Memorial Regatta regatta: see rowing; sailing. A high-end Unix-based pSeries server from IBM. Introduced in late 2001, the model p690 incorporates mainframe class self healing capabilities and partitioning to the pSeries (RS/6000) family for the first time. at the Westlake Yacht Club. ``It's fun, fast and pretty challenging,'' said Sorosky, a Reseda resident who placed fourth in the first race. Four types of sailboats, from eight-foot lasers to two-person, 14-foot C-class boats, skimmed skim v. skimmed, skim·ming, skims v.tr. 1. a. To remove floating matter from (a liquid). b. To remove (floating matter) from a liquid. c. across the 150-acre man-made lake Sunday. For sabot-racers like Sorosky, it was a chance to take part in the eighth race in the season's Hi Point Series of competitions. Racers using other types of boats had an opportunity to hone their skills for upcoming competitions, which take place regularly at yacht clubs across Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . A few just raced for the fun of it. The 60 sailors ranged in age from 8 to over 50 and live as far away as Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. and Marina del Rey Del Rey may refer to:
In one race, 10-year-old Nicholas Olson of Westlake placed first among the C-class boats. From the dock, his mother Cindy reflected on how quickly many youngsters take to sailing. ``It's fun because they have something they can be in charge of,'' she said. ``It's like driving a car, but no one's telling them what to do.'' Lyle Schlyer, who coordinates the club's summer youth sailing program, seemed to agree. ``There's no soccer moms soccer mom n. An American mother living in the suburbs whose time is often spent transporting her children from one athletic activity or event to another. or baseball dads out here,'' he said as his 12-year-old son, Chris, prepared for the second race. ``The parents can yell all they want, and the kids can't hear them.'' Not that it would do much good to heed the elder's advice. Young or old, sailors say the sport requires at least as much mental concentration as physical prowess. ``You have to understand the concept of wind and how the boat works,'' said Michael Mothner, 16, of Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. . ``By reading a book you can understand the concepts, but separate from that you've got to get out and practice.'' Mothner, like others, got into sailing at an early age. He said it took about a year to become competent using a laser boat. Strength is not usually a critical factor, unless the wind becomes unpredictable, he said. ``On a lake like this, the winds constantly change directions,'' he said. ``In the ocean, the wind only changes direction by 2 to 3 degrees.'' The day's competition was held in honor of William ``Bill'' Vrooman, who at age 14 learned to sail a sabot on these waters. A graduate of Westlake High School Westlake High School may refer to:
His mother, Diette, said the event has grown in size and popularity since it started nine years ago with eight boats. ``It's a beautiful sailing day,'' she said, adding with a touch of sorrow that the thought of her son's death ``gets to me every year.'' The race is also part social event and its completion is marked by a family barbecue. With more kids signing up to learn sailing every summer, the sport appears to be catching on, Schlyer said. One reason is age, gender, size and other physical characteristics are not barriers to becoming a good sailor. Instead, one of the toughest challenges in mastering the rules, he said. For example, sailors must keep an eye on the flags flying over the yacht club to know when to start a race and which course to use. Once on the water, improperly cutting off another boater might require a sailor to complete two, time-wasting circles before continuing on. Passing a race marker on the wrong side results in an instant disqualification dis·qual·i·fi·ca·tion n. 1. The act of disqualifying or the condition of having been disqualified. 2. Something that disqualifies: illness as a disqualification for enlistment in the army. . ``All of this can be a little intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. ,'' said Schlyer, noting the sport may look quaint from a distance, but in terms of competition. ``It's pretty intense.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Color) With the wind swirling around Westlake Lake, competitors make the circuit in Sunday's regatta. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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