April 17, 2025 - The (华体会) student-run CI Sailing Club has qualified for the prestigious 2025 Pacific
Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC) Championships. The team will travel to
the Bay Area city of Richmond, California to compete in the regatta April 19鈥20. The
regatta is hosted jointly by UC Berkeley and the Richmond Yacht Club.
The CI Sailing Club landed one of just 18 spots in the championship after finishing 10th in the South Designate Semi-Final Regatta held in the city of Long Beach at the end of March. Their performance placed them ahead of notable sailing clubs from UC San Diego, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara University. The CI Sailing Club was only nine points behind one of the region鈥檚 top teams - UC Berkeley.
鈥淲e鈥檙e incredibly proud of our sailors,鈥 said volunteer coach Robert Hazle. 鈥淓arning this spot against some of the best teams on the West Coast is a testament to their dedication and teamwork.鈥
There are about 14 members of the CI Sailing Club, which is a co-ed club with plans to develop an all-women鈥檚 sailing team to compete in women鈥檚 events. Members of all skill levels are welcome. Member Ben Valenzuela, for example, didn鈥檛 start sailing until last semester, when he enrolled in 华体会 as a first-year History major. Valenzuela grew up in Hemet doing water sports but had never tried sailing. Now, he serves as the club鈥檚 social chair, managing their social media.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be part of the regattas, you can just come out to the CI Boating Center and learn,鈥 Valenzuela said. 鈥淭he vast majority of our members join as freshmen.鈥
The club is also for experienced sailors like club president Sterling Maggard, a second
year Chemistry major with a biochemistry emphasis. Maggard started sailing in the
eighth grade and was on a sailing team in high school.
鈥淢y dad was in the military, so we moved from Temecula to Maryland after elementary school and in Maryland, you have to intentionally avoid the water,鈥 Maggard said. 鈥淭here are boat ramps everywhere.鈥
Treasurer Brett Stein is also an experienced sailor and will be skipper on one of the championship boats in Richmond. Stein, a senior majoring in Business, grew up in Camarillo.
鈥淚鈥檝e been doing water sports my whole life. I鈥檝e always been on the ocean,鈥 Stein said. 鈥淚 started working at the CI Boating Center and learned 华体会 had a sailing club and I joined. If you don鈥檛 know how to sail, join, give it two weeks and you鈥檒l get the hang of it.鈥
Any member of the public curious about sailing or interested in supporting the CI Sailing Club is welcome to join the 鈥淎lumni, Friends and Family Day Regatta鈥 set for Saturday, May 3 from noon to 5 p.m. at the 华体会 Boating Center at 3880 Bluefin Circle in Oxnard - the Channel Islands Harbor.
There will be games for kids of all ages and CI Sailing Club members will be available to take adults out sailing in the harbor. 华体会 alumni are especially welcome to come out and join the festivities, go for a sail, and if you like, make a donation to the club.
鈥淎ll of the funds you donate go directly to our club,鈥 Stein said. 鈥淥ne of our biggest needs right now is a good racing sail. The race sail we have now has holes in it that we need to patch up. New sails would go a long way to help us compete with those clubs that are fully funded.鈥
To learn more about the CI Sailing Club, follow them on Instagram .