麻豆影院

Ryan Davis (AeroEngr鈥�19) of Sugar Land, Texas, has skippered the resurrection of CU鈥檚 dormant sailing club. New boats are on the way, and regattas at the 麻豆影院 Reservoir are on the horizon.听
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What鈥檚 your favorite part about sailing?

It鈥檚 a big mix of just being out in the sun, being on the water, just the wind in your face, you鈥檙e making this boat go fast. It鈥檚 pretty cool. To make it really, really go fast, it takes some skill.

What鈥檚 the most intense sailing experience that you鈥檝e ever had?

I鈥檝e had times when I didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be able to get the boat back in. I was out on a Sunfish, which is a smaller one-person boat, almost like a learner boat. It鈥檚 got a big sail, so when the wind really starts to blow and you鈥檙e going downwind, there鈥檚 not a good way to slow yourself down, so you have to go downwind to get back home and you鈥檙e just going to haul doing it. I actually pitchpoled the Sunfish, which is where you drive the bow into the water because the wind is coming from behind you.

So, you flipped it?

I didn鈥檛 flip it all the way over . Boats capsize a lot. That鈥檚 kind of what they do when you鈥檙e in heavy wind. And when it goes over the front, it鈥檚 just a scary feeling. It kind of stopped, threw me forward and the boat went over. I didn鈥檛 know if I鈥檇 be able to get it back up 鈥� the sail ended up getting wrapped around the mast. It was a whole storm of problems.

When you got back on dry land, did you decide you needed a break?

Exactly. I was like, 鈥榊ep, not doing that again for a while.鈥�

How did you hear about the CU sailing team?

I did a lot of research and ended up finding an old Facebook page. I showed up at a meeting, and I was like, 鈥楥ool, all right, let鈥檚 do this.鈥�

Do you have people on the team who have never sailed before?

Yes. It鈥檚 a lot of fun. We have one person who had been to one practice before he went to a regatta and we raced with him. It鈥檚 really cool how quick you can pick it up.

Tell me about the crowdfunding campaign you did with the university.

Our goal was $17,000, which included new boats from Old Dominion University and Virginia 鈥� well, they鈥檙e used boats, but new to us 鈥� new sails, some miscellaneous fixing costs, just some new rigging and small parts and shipping. We raised $12,650 and so that put us at enough to buy the boats and to cover most of the shipping costs. So, we hit the real goal. We aren鈥檛 going to buy new sails just yet and we aren鈥檛 going to be able to fix up all the things, but we鈥檒l have better, sailable boats here that are all going to be standard so we can host regattas and races.

What kind of boats are you getting?

They鈥檙e called 420s and they鈥檙e called that because they鈥檙e 4.2 meters long. So, it鈥檚 a two-man dinghy with a main sail and a jib.

What does it mean for you to get these new boats?

It means we鈥檒l be able to establish a valid program. Colorado hasn鈥檛 been active since 2011 or 2012 in the Southeast
Region, which is the competitive region we鈥檙e a part of. A lot of people know that we鈥檙e starting up again but don鈥檛 really take the Colorado sailing program seriously because we鈥檙e just really new, not too organized and we鈥檙e also not very good. If we get these new boats here, we can really get organized 鈥� I believe we can recruit a lot more, we鈥檒l be able to host our own races, get people on the water, gain the respect of the rest of the region.

Are there any totally unrealistic sailing scenes in movies that make you cringe?

Pirates of the Caribbean. Those boats turn very slowly. And you can't go whichever way you want. You have to go with the wind. It's a lot harder than people might think.听

Condensed and edited by Jennifer Osieczanek.

Photo by Glenn Asakawa听