UCLA Sailing Team - Course Croisière EDHEC Team 2011

Daily Bruin article!

2011-04-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

The Daily Bruin printed a feature on the UCLA sailing team's participation in the 43rd Course Croisière Edhec Sailing Cup today! Check it out!

http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2011/04/club_sailing_team_makes_big_waves_in_international_race_in_france

Club sailing team makes big waves in international race in France

By LEE WITBECK

Published April 26, 2011, 12:33 am in Club & Intramural Sports Sports

Tools

Morgan Glier

Jake Muhleman (front), Daily Bruin news contributor Jake Greenberg, Victor Weisberg, Emelia Pelliccio and other members and recent alumni of the UCLA club sailing team competed in the 43rd annual Course Croisière EDHEC Sailing Cup held in France earlier this month.

In the fall of 2007, the UCLA club sailing team was cruising through its season, competing in regattas up and down California.

Then, one of the team members, French foreign exchange student Chabrol Thibault, told the team about a potential opportunity: go to France and compete in the Course Croisière EDHEC.

Other team members didn’t really take it seriously at first. After all, it would cost about $20,000, would mean sailing in a different boat than they were used to, and would be halfway around the world.

Four years later, the event is a burgeoning annual tradition for the squad. This year, UCLAheaded to Lorient, France from April 9 to 16 to partake in the 43rd edition of the Course Croisière.

“I thought it was incredible. I thought it was a great experience,” second-year biochemistry student Emelia Pelliccio said.

“It was my first time in Europe and really my only way to get to Europe,” fourth-year psychology student Scott Barber said. “And to be able to do something there that I know so well, it was really incredible. Really incredible.”

Those are but a few of many glowing reviews from the team of sailors representing UCLA in France. Because of that, the team has been dedicated to overcoming financial burdens and sending a team to Europe over the past four years.

The Course Croisière is put on by the EDHECBusiness School located in Lille, France. Originally, the event was put on as a business venture by students from the school, and to this day it continues to be entirely student-run.

Though that might seem to be a limitation, the event is one of the largest and most prestigious sailing competitions in France. Over 100 teams from all over the world were present this year, and over 56 boats entered in competition.

With so many people from so many places, EDHEC built a village for all the teams akin to an Olympic village. And while the Course Croisière is a sailing regatta, or a series of races, not every moment can be spent on the water. The rest of the time is spent fraternizing with the other international sailing teams in this makeshift town.

“This is the first time I’ve ever experienced sailors from a different part of the world,” Barber said. “I really enjoyed that, because you kind of feel like everyone knows something together, but we’re from different parts of the world. It really brings people together easily, and the camaraderie that you build is great.”

Over the week in France, UCLA’s sailors couldn’t help but get close to the other teams, particularly the Spanish and Swiss contingents. While language would conceivably be a difficult barrier to cross, it was an almost nonexistent border.

“Most people spoke English pretty well. It’s surprising how well people around the world speak English and how often they use it,” Pelliccio said.

English isn’t the only thing the Europeans know about the United States. Once the UCLA team was in France, it noticed almost immediately that the people there knew who they were. The UCLA brand is so in demand that UCLA’s members found themselves trading their gear for others’ and returned home with little Bruin gear of their own.

“People know us. UCLA is huge,” Barber said. “People come up to you, ‘Hey, you’re UCLA!’ It’s amazing to see that 2,000 miles away.”

While the social aspects of the trip are monumental and some of the most memorable, the Course Croisière, in the end, is an international competition, and that’s the reason so many teams return to France each year.

There are three trophies which teams battle for: the Sea Trophy, the Land Trophy and the Sand Trophy. The Land and Sand trophies involve activities such as running, rock climbing and various beach games, but these trophies are secondary goals for most teams.

The big prize is the Sea Trophy, which is awarded to the strongest sailing team at the regatta. It is comprised of a series of seven races over several days. There are buoy races, in which teams race to a buoy before heading back to port, and long leg races, in which teams race from one port to the next and then back the next day.

This year, UCLA placed 20th out of 56 boats in the Sea Trophy competition. While that places UCLAsquarely in the middle of the pack, that result is fairly spectacular for the team at this stage.

Skipper Jake Muhleman, a UCLA alumnus, said that in previous years UCLA has placed in the bottom 10 to 15 spots.

This year, however, with practices beforehand and a more cohesive crew, he set a goal for the team: “Top 20 was a stretch goal, top half was our realistic goal.”

UCLA faced steep challenges going into the competition. First, the Grand Surprise boats used in the competition are different from the 14-foot Flying Juniors that UCLA usually sails.

The big boats require a crew of six – four more than the Flying Juniors – and the operation of the boat is much more complicated.

Second, many of the competitors in the Course Croisière are professionals. Some of them are even former racers of America’s Cup, one of the largest international sailing competitions.

Despite these obvious setbacks, UCLA has returned year after year and shown improvement. TheEDHEC Business School, which helps to sponsor UCLA’s entry, must be pleased with the growing presence the team is making, as it is one of the very few American teams there.

“UCLA already has a name there,” Muhleman said. “Now it’s about making ourselves known as a presence in the race, as serious competitors.”

Photo Tease: Paris

2011-04-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Just a few group photos to hold you over-- these are from our first day in France while we did some sightseeing (aka speedwalking) around Paris.

Arc de Triomphe

Taking a breather...

Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

Quasimodo!?

Follow The Races!

2011-04-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

http://EDHEC.live-sailing.com/

Can't believe we didn't post this link before-- we were given a GPS to track our progress during the races (though we didn't have it for the coastal race, so that knocks out two days).

Take a look at the Grand Surprise courses, we are often in the top 10!

Home! and Final Results

2011-04-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know we made it home safe and sound, after an exhausting 24+ hours of traveling (5 hours from Lorient to Paris, 2 hours of sleep, 2 hour flight to Amsterdam, 10 hour flight to Memphis, 4 hour flight to LAX...)

Also, something changed with the scores so we wanted to correct our last post-- while we were in 19th place Friday morning, we somehow got bumped to 20th in the final results. Not a big deal though, we are still so happy to have made top 20 this year! We're confident that next year's team can do even better :)

Photos will have to wait until I have more sleep in me and I'm not failing my classes...but keep an eye out for some photo posts in the near future.

Goodnight!
~Morgan

The End :(

2011-04-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

After a bit of a late start thanks to long lines and running out of gas for the boat on the way out, we finally got out on the water only to find that there was ZERO wind. We bobbed around for awhile, rafting up with the Swiss, Spanish, and Turkish teams to hang out and eat lunch. After sitting out there for hours, they finally canceled all races for the day at 2pm and we headed back in. Kind of a disappointing way to end the week, but this means that we finished 19th overall, which is really amazing. Our goal was to be top 20 and we accomplished it, so we are really really happy with how the week turned out!

We're currently hanging out in the International Club, waiting for the Swiss to do their food tasting for the rest of the teams-- Raclette! We plan on meeting up with all the other international teams tonight for one last opportunity to hang out before everyone heads their separate ways tomorrow. It's been an incredible week and, as always, it's going to be hard to head home.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Paris for one last night, and then we have an early flight Sunday morning back to the States!

Thanks again to everyone who helped us make it here....especially EDHEC and the international organizers (Simon and Deborah have been absolutely incredible and we couldn't have survived without them!), GG+A, and AnyArt for their support and contributions to the team. We are so appreciative!

Here's to a great 43e Course Croisiere EDHEC, and to the UCLA team who makes the journey next year to carry on the tradition :)

~Morgan

P.S. Photos will come eventually, I promise.

Last Day!

2011-04-15T00:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Just checked the latest scores and after yesterday's races we are now in 19th place (out of 56 boats)! We scored a 15 and a 14 yesterday (only got two races in because the wind died in the afternoon) but we were pretty happy with how we did overall. We're hoping to move up a few spots with some decent races today, and we still get to drop one race so we're aiming to get in the top 15 by the end of the day.

We've of course been having an incredible time off the water as well-- last night the Canadians and the Belgians served food to the rest of the international teams (pancakes, poutine, and the most delicious waffles we have ever eaten). It's been really fun getting to hang out with all the international teams! We also had the opportunity to meet Anne Zuccarelli, the associate dean for academic programs at the EDHEC Business School, and thank her for their generous donation to the team and for helping us come back this year. Without EDHEC there is no way we would ever have made it to the race and we are so grateful for all their help!

We're pretty worn out and are all either sick or on the verge of being sick--long days sailing, very little sleep, and trying to hang out with as many teams and people as possible before we have to head back to the real world. But it's been so, SO fun and we can't believe it's our last day of racing already!! We're all dreading the end of the night :(

OK, need to head to the boat and get out there, but hopefully the next time we update we will have some good news!

~Morgan and Emelia

Scores

2011-04-14T00:33:00.000-07:00

We are in 21st place overall!! Just wanted to throw that out there before we head out this morning :) Didn't do our best in the coastal race yesterday so we are hoping to get back into the top 20 with today's races. Will post again soon!

~Morgan

Coastal Race

2011-04-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
We JUST got back from two days of long-distance sailing down the coast (I am writing this sans showers and changing just FYI, so excuse me if I leave out a few details). In short, it was an unforgettable two days that few of us have ever come close to matching. In length, yesterday's eight-hour, 30-mile race to a town down the coast was a test of our strength, endurance, and ability to cooperate as a team. After a fast-paced upwind leg that flew by quickly, the wind going downwind suddenly weakened, and we were stuck sometimes below 1 knot trying to get to our final destination. When we finally arrived, we learned we were one of the last teams to qualify, as most had either given up or had simply been to slow, so a small victory there!

We spent the night dancing and having fun with the other teams who made the trip, went to sleep late on the boats (it was freezing), and woke up early to get back to Lorient the same way we had come, by racing. Today's race was a lot faster than yesterday's, and we managed to maintain speeds well above 6 knots for long stretches of time. As I said, we're exhausted after all of this, so more to come, with some great pictures from Morgan. Thanks for reading!
-Jake G.

WE ARE ALIVE!!!!!

2011-04-11T23:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not updating sooner, we didn't have any Internet access until yesterday evening and we had a busy busy day so we are just getting around to a post this morning!

Things have been amazing so far. We arrived in Paris on Friday morning and headed over to our gracious host's house--a family friend of Emelia's put us up on their houseboat on the Seine for the night! Thank you SO much to Pierre Denis and his family for taking us in for the night, we ate some incredible meals and were completely taken care of while in Paris and we are eternally grateful! It was a great way to see the city.

Recent UCLA grad and friend Manue Lataste and some other friends met up with us in Paris and were amazing enough to drive us down to Lorient. It was a beautiful 5 hour drive through the French countryside, with a quick stop at McDonald's on the way (it's delicious here, and we were starving, give us a break). We finally made it to the EDHEC village around 5pm and met up with our world-traveler teammates Victor Weisberg (he is taking a break from his internship in Switzerland to join us for the race) and Eric Newton (who is volunteering for the Peace Corps in Benin and was unable to make the race last year due to the volcano issues!) so we are super stoked to have a little mini reunion in Lorient :) The boys had gotten started on our boat check and registration but unfortunately the main registration closed right as we got here so we had to postpone a lot of our set up and logistical issues until the next morning.

We got up at 6am before the sun was even out to get to the village early and get our stickers on our boat, replace some parts, go through the line where we receive all our free food and items from our sponosors, etc etc. We finally got out on the water around 1pm in time to participate in the big practice race at 2pm. We did well considering it was the first time all of us had been on the boat altogether (with Victor and Newton) but we definitely had some issues to work out. However by the end of the first race we were all falling into our designated positions and were feeling confident we could do well the next day for the first races.

Monday (yesterday) was the first day of racing!!!
Yesterday's races were by far the best we have done at this event over the past 4 years. We did SO WELL and it was only the first day, which means we only get better from here!!

We had some AWESOME starts off the line thanks to Jake, which put us in a great position for the rest of each of the races. Our first race we were top 10 in our fleet all the way through the second upwind leg, which is when we ran into some big issues with our spinnaker rounding the windward mark and we had to sail off into oblivion for awhile while we untangled everything...we had our spin and jib both down for a good 5 minutes while we scrambled to figure out what lines were fouled up, so we lost a lot of boats. Despite that whole debacle, however, we finished 17th (out of 54 boats) which we were all surprised to see on the results when we came in...

The second race was okay but not our best, we went the wrong way on the last beat and ended up 26th, but the THIRD race was by far our best-- we placed 15th and had a really great, solid race. Everyone really knows their position now and are working together so things are moving much more smoothly.

We are really, really happy with how yesterday went and are excited to improve today and stay competitive throughout the week.

Unfortunately, with the internet issues, I'm having trouble getting photos up!! SORRY I know I promised! But I will do my best to get some up soon. In the meantime check out the updates of each day on the EDHEC website and maybe you will see us in a few photos of the village!

It's 8:30am here and we are about to head out for a long coastal race to another port 30 miles away. This only happens one day out of the week--we sail there all day today, spend the night camping/sleeping on the boat, and then sail back the next day. Should be quite a long day but we're excited to see some French coastline!

What else??? Weather has been incredible, between 65 and 70 degrees for the first couple days, and today is the first day it's been cold (of course it's the day we have to sleep outside). But for this time of year, this is incredible weather, and it's supposed to stay sunny and nice so we're happy with that!

Ok we need to get organized and get going, but just wanted to update you all and say we are doing well! We will update again probably in a couple days when we get back from the other port.

~Morgan

Aaaand...we're off!

2011-04-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

Sitting in my apartment right now surrounded by half-packed bags and loads of UCLA gear... we leave for the airport in half an hour and are running around taking care of last minute errands before heading off to France! We are super excited and can't wait to be sitting on that airplane...

A few last minute sponsors to thank! Grenzebach Glier and Associates and AnyArt have generously sponsored the EDHEC team and we will proudly display their logos on our boat this week!!

Check back for an update from PARIS!!!!

~Morgan

Thanks!

2011-03-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

One week to go!! As we’re cramming to get our classes squared away, buying our last pieces of gear, and going over the fundamentals of sailing, we’d like to take a moment to thank those who have helped us get here:

First, a huge thank you to Zhik Sailing Gear, which generously donated shorts and shirts, as well as extending a significant discount on equipment to our team.

Also to SailFast, which has given our team a discount on attire and provided sailing shirts for on the boat.

Finally, our thanks to Sound Boatworks, which donated hats to us. We are extremely excited about this trip, and we thank you all for helping us make it all possible.

Check back next week, we will be updating often from France!

-Jake G

Introducing Your 43rd Course Croisiére EDHEC Team!

2011-03-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

It's been awhile...sorry we haven't kept you updated on the status of this year's EDHEC trip. If you want the short version: WE ARE GOING!!! For a little more detail, read on.

We've put together a team of six sailors this year: Jake Muhleman, Scott Barber, Morgan Glier, Emelia Pelliccio, Nora Brackbill, and Jake Greenberg. We still hold out hope that Billy Edwards may be able to join us, and we are super excited to have Victor Weisberg take a break from his internship in Zurich to come help us out for the week as well!

We are once again lucky enough to have the incredible support of the EDHEC Business School, who will be sponsoring our return for the 43rd CCE! Thank you for your continued support EDHEC!

We've been practicing as much as possible, heading down to San Pedro and Dana Point every weekend we can to get some sailing in. Our team is really coming together and we're falling into some set racing positions. Every member has a skill they're really good at, and we're trying to capitalize on those abilities so we can really do well in France. So far things are looking good!

We are still actively looking for sponsorship--particularly monetary sponsorship--so if you would like to support our team, or know someone who would like to contribute, please contact us at uclasailing(at)gmail.com

Okay, that's about it for now. Keep an eye on the blog for an update with our new t-shirt design (courtesy of veteran Bruin CCE member Megan Sullivan!) and details on our upcoming raffle!!

For now, here are a few photos from our last practice--

~Morgan

Another Article! News from France

2010-05-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

From News from France. A publication of the French Embassy to the United States in Washington DC.
http://www.info-france-usa.org/IMG/pdf/nff/index.pdf
May 31st 2010

UCLA SAILORS PARTICIPATE IN FRENCH REGATTA

For the third year in a row, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) sailing team participated in the 42nd annual Course Croisière EDHEC (CCE) in Brest, France. Organized each year by the French business school EDHEC in Lille, the event drew approximately 3,000 participants, 10,000 visitors, and over 165 student sailing crews from all over the world. According to the CCE website, the regatta is Europe's largest student-run sporting event. This year's competition took place between April 17-24. The UCLA crew's participation in the CCE began in 2008 when French exchange student Thibaut Chabrol from Pôle Universitaire Leonard de Vinci in Paris presented the idea to the sailing team. Each year since, the group has worked tirelessly to organize the trip and raise funds for the sailing club."For us, the CCE is more than just a regatta," explained Victor Weisberg, captain of the squad that traveled to Brest. "It's an opportunity to mount an international project — to create a budget, to find sponsors, to organize donation events, and particularly to travel and build relationships with dozens of European students who share our passion for sailing."

For more information on the UCLA sailing team, please visit: http://www.bruincce.blogspot.com/.

West Marine Fundraiser and Alumni Regatta!

2010-05-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

To all of our sailing friends and family in the Los Angeles area (or elsewhere!):

West Marine is sponsoring a UCLA Sailing Team fundraiser on TUESDAY, MAY 25th in Marina del Rey. 5% of every purchase made during store hours will go toward the team on this day. We're asking that any and all sailors, boaters, water-lovers of any kind come out to the store to support us on the 25th!

If you are not in the area and still want to support us by making a purchase, please contact us at uclasailing(at)gmail.com to arrange something.

Also, for those in the area the following weekend, Friends of The UCLA Sailing Team (FOUST) is hosting the annual UCLA Sailing Team Alumni Regatta on Sunday, May 30th. If any alumni, avid sailors or UCLA supporters are in the area, we encourage you to come out for a great day of sailing! Please contact us at the email listed above if you'd like to attend.

PHOTO Installment Five: On land

2010-05-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

The organizers with EDHEC Sponsored universities.

Victor and Billy posted on the blog!

At the EDHEC function with the Director and his wife.

Sengal handing out braclets and necklaces.

Michel Sardou singing to the EDHEC participants during the final night.

Morgan and Kassie.

The organizers in love with the USA!

The car ride to the train station. (Drew in the trunk).

Sweatshirt swap with Montreal!

The 2010 UCLA Sailing EDHEC Team for the 42e CCE.

PHOTO Installment Four: Still on the Water.

2010-05-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Capitan Jake, always classy.

Always on the rail! Hike, hike, hike!

Victor and Billy posing with the main sail and the EDHEC/UCLA Sailing sticker.

Billy adjusting the spin pole.

Drew on foredeck.

The Brest harbor entrance.

Eyes on the water at all times.

Off the line and a great start.

A view from above.

Back in the harbor.

Dry Drew.

Wet Drew.

Finally a picture with Morgan, the photographer!

PHOTO Installment Three: Regattas

2010-05-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

Morning before race day.

Kassie using UCLA lip balm - a big hit the whole week!

Jake coaching the team.

English and Swiss flags in the distance!

A mini photo shoot (Billy, Victor, Drew, Flavien)

The EDHEC Business School, a big sponsor, had also printed stickers for our boat and sails!

Jake (Skippering) and Billy (Main Trim).

Scooping out the wind lines.

The Course Croisiere EDHEC brings in big sponsors and universities from around the world! (Our friends from Beligum with Yellow Spinnaker!)

Focused on winning!

Sailing with the fleet!

PHOTO Installment Two: Sailing Sailing Sailing

2010-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

More photos!?!?!? You better believe it.

We headed to the Village bright and early to take care of our registration, licenses, weigh in, food pick up, etc. The international teams were all put up in a summer camp/dorm style lodging about a 15 minute (beautiful) walk from the Village.

First stop was the International Tent where the organizers gave us these amazing sponsor shirts with Edhec Business School on the front and our UCLA Sailing Logo stitched on the back. SO COOL!

We were one of 5 schools officially sponsored by Edhec (next post will have photos from the function they put on for us)

At 2pm there was a practice race to get familiar with the boat and get a feel for how starts and races would work for the rest of the week. There wasn't much wind to start out so the race was postponed for a bit, but that worked out well for us as we needed the time to experiment with new positions due to Eric and Richard not making it to the race. The easy winds helped us get familiar with our responsibilities in a stress-free environment, which really helped us when the wind picked up later. The practice races went well but we knew we had a lot of work to do the rest of the week.

The next morning we walked to the village bright and early, but it was a gorgeous day and luckily, thanks to the volcano, we had relatively good weather all week--much warmer than was forecasted (which worked out amazingly for us!)

The boats all lined up and eagerly awaiting their crew!

PHOTO Installment One: PARIS!

2010-05-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

So, I have finally had some time to de-stress and catch up on sleep since finishing my midterms...I've also been super sick, which means I've had some time to work on photos. I took around 1800 total, so it's been quite the process narrowing them down and editing.... I've only gotten through our Paris pics so far, so bear with me!

I'll probably be uploading photos in batches/installments throughout the next week, so keep checking the blog on a regular basis!

~Morgan

The team arrived at Tom Bradley International Airport at LAX with plenty of time to spare on Thursday morning, but weren't quite prepared for the wait to come...the volcano in Iceland had halted all air traffic pending the status of the ash cloud above Europe. Here, an Air Tahiti representative tells a group of eager, aggravated passengers to wait 3 more hours until an update from Charles de Gaulle Airport would determine whether or not we'd be heading to France...we ended up taking off about 7 hours after our original departure time, taking advantage of a SMALL window of opportunity--we were the last flight to land at CDG before they completely shut the airport down to all flights (and thus, our two beloved members Eric and Richard were left stranded in the States, and were unable to make it to Brest in the end. We really felt their absence, both socially and competitively -- our performance was really impaired without our knowledgeable mast and foredeck men. We're really sorry, guys. We missed you.)

We arrived in Paris with the afternoon to spare, and spent the rest of the day walking around the city and cramming in as many touristy things as possible.

Our first glimpses of the Eiffel Tower.

Jake being silly. We love the French, of course...

Stopping for crépes across from the Eiffel Tower.

We were at the Eiffel Tower right at dusk, so we waited across the way for the lights to come on. So beautiful!

We then made our way across the city to Gabe's, a friend of Jake's from his MIT days who is now living in Paris and offered to house us for the night (thanks Gabe!) Don't be fooled by the picture...he loves his cat and he's not as creepy as he looks. (just kidding Gabe)

We made the most of our last day in Paris and crammed in more sightseeing...Victor, Billy, Adam and I went and got some amaaaazing sandwiches from a local guy that Victor knew, and Gabe took Drew and Jake to an epic falafel place (I know right? Falafel in Paris? Apparently it's pretty legit). We got to our meeting spot (near the Rambateau metro stop) before the others, so we took advantage of the time to take some photos...

REALLY awesome looking modern art museum that I wanted to go into, but unfortunately we were running out of time to get to our train and wanted to make it to Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomph.

We also really want to thank Crumpler for their generous donation to the team....we were all so, so grateful for our bags while making our way across Paris!! THANK YOU CRUMPLER!

Once the group had reconnected, we made our way toward Notre Dame, stopping for some photos along the way.

We then walked along the Seine toward the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe, hoping to get a couple final landmarks in before our train to Brest that evening...

The group in front of the Louvre (minus Kassie, who went to visit her relatives in Rennes and met us in Brest later that day)

We made it!!! All (well, most) of the major Paris landmarks in roughly 24 hours! GO TEAM!

Then it was finally time to sit back and relax on the 4 hour train ride to Brest, where we would be met by international organizer Margaux to go to the Edhec Village. Most importantly, it was time to rest up for the week of competitive sailing ahead of us!

Wheeewwww. So. Many. Photos. But we promised we'd make it up to you :)

Keep watch here for more installments from yours truly (and hopefully a few from Drew with photos from his epic new camera!). Next up: arrival in Brest and our first days of racing.

~Morgan

Another French Article!

2010-04-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

It's not about us specifically, but the picture is of us on the boat! They just keep coming! (I am currently drowning in midterms and lack of sleep, but I will be putting up my photos as soon as I am physically able. Photo cred for the last batch goes to Adam) Link: http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-3-000-etudiants-s-affrontent-a-la-voile-en-rade-_-1341922------29019-aud_actu.Htm

3 000 étudiants « s'affrontent » à la voile en rade

La course de l'Edhec est le plus grand rassemblement étudiant sportif de France. Elle dure jusqu'à demain samedi. Ambiance à la fois sur mer et sur terre.

Reportage

8 h. Le village de toile installé au Moulin-Blanc, s'éveille aux sons du Dj. Les équipes de la course à la voile de l'Edhec se préparent. Émargement des feuilles de départ et petit-déjeuner pour tous. D'étranges personnages déambulent : Schtroumpf, des danseurs en strass et paillettes, déguisement de poulet... D'autres animaux sont réels : canne, chèvre... Étrange pour une compétition de voile !

Une organisation 100 % étudiante

C'est pourtant une obligation. La canne et la chèvre ont été amenées par les futurs ingénieurs en agriculture de l'école d'ingénieurs en agriculture (Esitpa). L'objectif est de « faire la promotion de ton école et de montrer que ça te plaît, explique une étudiante de l'Esitpa. Et faire le plus de conneries pour passer au JT de la course ». En clair, il faut se faire remarquer.

Événement tant attendu et préparé par les étudiants tout au long de l'année, la course rassemble 3 000 étudiants français et étrangers. L'Edhec est devenue une manifestation nautique incontournable. La course mêle compétition et fête. Mais les étudiants présents soulignent « l'aspect professionnel évident » de la course.

Convivialité et ambiance détendue règnent sur le village. Mais celui-ci reste un lieu d'échanges privilégiés entre étudiants et entreprises. Et prend, du coup, la forme d'un vrai salon de recrutement. Plusieurs entreprises sont installées dans le village. Et certaines mettent le paquet pour attirer leurs futurs cadres.

« Super ambitieux »

Du côté des pontons, les équipages sont impatients de prendre le large. Tous dorent au soleil. Le vent d'ouest peine à se lever pour une fois. Sur mer, 170 équipages participent aux régates. C'est vingt bateaux de plus que l'an dernier. Cette année, l'Edhec met l'accent sur l'international avec plus de vingt nationalités présentes.

Jean Thillaye du Boullay, de l'équipage Léovoile (pôle Léonard-de-Vinci à Paris), se prépare depuis six mois pour cette course. Son équipage vient de remporter la Coupe de France de voile étudiante organisée par l'Edhec. « Notre objectif est de remporter ce trophée Mer 100 % étudiant et de nous qualifier pour la Sywok, la coupe du monde étudiant », lance-t-il.

Plus loin sur les pontons, le drapeau québecois flotte à l'avant de l'habitable. Cet équipage d'HEC Montréal a bien failli ne pas arriver à Brest à cause du nuage de cendres. Pour lui, la course marque l'achèvement d'une année de travail : « C'est un pari super ambitieux. La réussite, c'est d'y être. »

Picture Update

2010-04-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Team UCLA (USA)! Next to the University of Warwick (UK with a skipper from Norway)

Le Noir! Our boat during the 42e Course Croisiere EDHEC.

Kassandra and her German boyfriend, Victor, Morgan, Jake and Billy at the Northern American taste night in the 'Club International' tent.

Morgan, Jake, and Billy (Drew in the background) wearing the EDHEC UCLA Sailing t-shirts

Deborah at the EDHEC party, one of the International Organizers.

The Bruin EDHEC Team 2010 with the International Organizers and the EDHEC Business School Director with his wife.

Daily Bruin Article!

2010-04-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

UCLA's student newspaper ran a story on our journey! It's the on the front page of the sports section and the centerpiece! From: http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/4/27/smooth-sailing/

UCLA sailing team takes on international regatta in France

After months of fundraising and practice, sailing team takes on international regatta in France
By Steven Breazeale
April 27, 2010 at 12:54 a.m.

When the sails are unfurled and all of the contestants take their mark, the sight is truly majestic. There are 60 sailboats spanning hundreds of yards of water, painting the horizon with color and contrasting with the bright blue sky off the scenic coast of Brest, France.

However, these boats are not there to take a group picture. They are there to compete in the 42nd annual Edhec Boat Cup.

Last week, all of the top European universities came to Brest to compete against one another in the weeklong regatta, and in the midst of all the international competition, the UCLA sailing team looked to make its mark.

One of only two schools from the United States that competed in the regatta this year, the team played the role of ambassador and carried the banner for their own style of sailing into international waters.

The sailing team is one of the smaller club sports on campus but has been growing in popularity as well as skill level in recent years. The team normally competes in events up and down the California coast and occasionally travels to Hawaii for competitions.

But this all changed when fourth-year environmental science and accounting student Victor Weisberg showed up on the scene with the idea to expand the team’s competitive spectrum.

“My sophomore year, I lived in a co-op, and I’m French-American, and a guy I met there, who was French, told me about this awesome regatta in France with all these international schools,” Weisberg said. “He motivated me and other students to go to France and compete.”

In the previous two years, the UCLA sailing team has been the sole representative among American schools at the regatta and has raised the banner of Westwood alongside universities from countries such as New Zealand, Senegal and Switzerland.

Weisberg knew that the task of funding the annual trip to France would not be easy. Because they are a club team, they had to rely on fundraisers and donate money from their own pockets to compete and do what they love.

“We’ve outreached to small businesses, family friends, which are some of our biggest contributors. ... But what’s fortunate about this year is that because we’ve done it for the past two years, the organization that runs this tournament really values having such a great American school go, so they’re actually one of our biggest sponsors this year,” Weisberg said.

Getting such high praise from the international community is definitely an achievement, considering that 140 other colleges competed in the regatta this year, not all of them receiving funding.

The team rallied together, and after months of hard work and planning, raised a total of $22,000 to make the trip.

While a weeklong voyage to sail along the coast of France sounds like a luxurious vacation to some, the UCLA sailing team went to prove itself and compete against the best in the sailing world.

Sailing is a sport that demands communication between the crew and requires members to do their job. Because there are so many different details involved in sailing a 32-foot boat, like they did in this regatta, the team had to rely on each other to succeed.

The core group of eight crew members who made the trip to France has been sailing together for some time but had to get used to sailing large boats before they left.

“Normally in the United States, flying juniors (smaller, two-man boats) are the main boats that people sail on ... but in France we compete on 32-feet Grand Surprises, which are much bigger boats,” Weisberg said.

The Grand Surprises are no joke. They are huge boats, used exclusively in France, that require all eight members to pull their own weight. Weisberg accredited the back-of-the-fleet performances that the team has had in the past to the tough switch from the smaller American boats to the larger French ones.

“Communication was one of the things I was worried about before we left,” UCLA alumnus and sailing team member Jake Muhleman said. “In order to yell to the front of the boat you have to yell real loud because the coast of France is very windy.”

As if the switch to a larger boat didn’t make things hard enough for them, the competition that assembled at the regatta made the team’s journey even harder. Weisberg said a number of other teams pay for professional sailors, including Olympians, to compete with them.

But UCLA did not show up unprepared.

“A group of us had been practicing really seriously, and what was also exciting was our skipper ... who has had experience on these boats,” Weisberg said.

The team seemed to have better success this year in the multiple-race format and consistently finished in the middle of the fleet.

After a week of racing, their efforts fell just short, and they failed to qualify for the championship race.

With 140 different universities from all over the globe coming together to compete, one has to believe that the social life on land was just as fun as the race out on the water.

A whole “village” is set up that houses the 3,000 participants every year.

At night, mingling among the different countries and sampling the food and drink is a major part of the experience.

“It was real cool to get to know people from another part of the world. I will definitely try to maintain those relationships and keep in contact,” third-year mechanical engineering student Billy Edwards said. “The sailing community is a very tight-knit community, and to be a part of it was great.”

Edwards added that the sailing community in Europe takes the sport very seriously.

And with their unique status as one of two American teams, the only other being from Oklahoma City University, the UCLA team members reveled in the opportunity to make their name and what they stand for known to the international community.

“We have for sure built up a brand. ... My sophomore year I went in and hung out with all these different schools ... and then last year I went back and everyone knew us already. They were like, ‘Oh, UCLA, sweet.’ We have just created a brand of UCLA,” Weisberg said.

The sailing team has not only made a name for itself in the international sailboat racing community, but it is beginning to shape how others view American collegiate sailing.

Weisberg and his crew have taken on the challenge and pressure of spreading the word of UCLA sailing.

“Everybody (at the event) even knows the 8-clap,” Weisberg said.

Ouest France Article

2010-04-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

The article is in French and was printed with a picture. We'll upload a scan of the printed version ASAP, but for now here is the text! From http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-Ambiance-festive-sur-les-pontons-a-Treboul-_29046-avd-20100421-58077619_actuLocale.Htm

Ambiance festive sur les pontons à Tréboul - Douarnenez
mercredi 21 avril 2010
169 bateaux, 1 400 participants, 20 nationalités représentées et du soleil en prime : l'escale de la course de l'Edhec à Douarnenez a été remarquée.
169 bateaux, 1 400 participants issus des plus grandes écoles : la 42 e édition de la course de l'Edhec a fait une escale remarquée, hier, en fin d'après-midi, à Tréboul. Partis de Brest en début de matinée, les équipages sont arrivés à bon port dès 16 h 30, pour les premiers, et plusieurs heures plus tard, pour ceux qui ont voulu profiter du paysage.
Cette escale est un bel événement pour Douarnenez qui n'avait pas accueilli cette célèbre course-croisière de l'Edhec depuis plus de dix ans. La faute à des débordements enregistrés lors d'anciennes éditions et, aussi, à un reportage télévisé peu flatteur pour l'épreuve, diffusé il y a plusieurs années. À l'époque, semble-t-il, les équipages tanguaient plus à terre que sur mer... « Mais tout cela a bien changé,assure Thierry Montesquieu, l'un des 50 étudiants de l'Edhec en charge de l'organisation. Pour preuve, les sponsors qui nous suivent. » De fait, aucun débordement n'avait été signalé, avant l'arrivée à Douarnenez et, si les autorités avaient quelques craintes pour la nuit, les organisateurs semblaient convaincus que tout irait pour le mieux. « Même si, évidemment, ça reste un événement étudiant. »
Vingt nationalités
Sur les pontons, détente et bonne humeur étaient d'ailleurs de mise, sous un soleil estival. Chose étonnante, l'équipage californien de l'UCLA a même été moins dépaysé par le temps breton, que par son Grand surprise (leur bateau de près de 10 mètres) qui, pour le coup, porte donc bien son nom. « Cette course, c'est beaucoup de fun, même si on n'avait jamais navigué sur ce genre de bateaux avant. On l'a découvert en arrivant ! », confie, tout sourire, Jake Muhleman, 24 ans, skipper en chef.
Autant dire que pour un éventuel record, l'UCLA devra revenir... une quatrième fois. « Moi, mon rôle, c'est de les soutenir au maximum, de faire que tout se passe bien,confie Adam Pruett, leur coach, pas déçu pour deux sous. Mais on n'a pas eu de chance : sur les huit membres d'équipage prévus, deux n'ont pas pu venir et sont restés bloqués à l'aéroport de Los Angeles, à cause du volcan. »
Outre les Californiens, une vingtaine de nationalités sont représentées, dont des Canadiens, des Sénégalais, des Turcs... Tous devraient être réveillés dès potron-minet, pour mettre de nouveau le cap vers Brest, à partir de 9 h.
Retrouvez notre vidéo sur ouest-france.fr

Sunday - Back in Los Angeles

2010-04-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

We all made it safely back to Los Angeles! Morgan and Drew took several pictures, and should be uploading them online promptly.

Again a big thank you to all of our supports! Without your contribution, our journey would have truely not been possible. We'll be continuing to update the blog with pictures, articles, and events as they come up - so be sure to keep http://www.bruincce.blogspot.com/ in your favorites/bookmarks.

Saturday

2010-04-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

The final night was a lot of fun. We were able to hang out with the international organizers and many of the other teams. At the main party, a famous French singer came out at the end to sing several songs for all of the touranment goers.

This morning we cleaned our room and verfied that our boat was presentable to return. In about an hour we are off to Paris for the night and tomorrow the flight back to Los Angeles.

We are all sad that it already over, but are sure to have great memories for the rest of our lives.

Again a big thank you to all of our supportors and sponsors. Although the entire team wasn't able to make it out (Eric + Richard had flight problems due to the volcano), we managed do well given the circumstances. Thanks to Leovoile's member Flovian for racing with us!

Friday Racing & EDHEC party

2010-04-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

Friday racing started late in the afternoon - first race was around 3:30pm. The wind picked up to about 10 knots and both starts were under black flags.

In the first race we had bad spinnaker problems - a wet kite is difficult to fill as it gets twists as it goes up. But we still finished midfleet. In the second race we were great off the line. The windward pin was very crowded, but we smoothly made it in to start the downwind leg. The second downwind wasn't that good, and we lost several boats, finishing midfleet again.

We didn't make it in to the finals unfortunately, but given the circumstances of not having the orginial crew and not fully knowing the waters, we're extremely pleased with our performance.

This afternoon, the EDHEC Business School director hosted a function for all of the international teams. We met the director and his wife, and greatly thanked him for their school's donation to help us compete in the 42 Course Croisiere Edhec. We'll post a pictures as soon as the internet allows.

We're really sad that the tournament has ended for the non- finalists. Most international schools are leaving later this evening. We've all definitely made many, many new friends from around the world (including Sengal)!

A big thank you to Simon, Deborah, and of course Margaux; the international coordinators of the CCE 42e have been amazing in helping us attend the event and with administrative duties.

Tonight is the big party for all of the sailors, and we're excited to say our last goodbyes to many of the teams. Tomorrow we clean the boat and congradulate the winners before taking off to Paris via train.

This has been a truly wonderful experience for everyone on our team. The event has been very welcoming of our presence and provided us with a great opporutnity to integrate not only with the culture of the international sailing community, but also with that of many international peers. There is not a doubt in any of our minds that the experience was worth far more than the months of work and prepartation it required. We would like to again thank all of our sponsors, without whom none of this would have been possible. Those of us who can return next year to the 43rd Edhec Boat Cup certainly hope to do so and are very motivated to begin the necessary groundwork as soon as they return to the states.

Another update soon with pictures!
-Victor, Drew, Morgan

Friday Morning

2010-04-23T03:59:00.000-07:00

It's Friday morning here in Brest and we have been delayed until two o'clock this afternoon to start sailing for lack of wind. Most of us are spending the morning catching up on the sleep we haven't gotten for the last week.
We would all really like to get some good racing in today, but we don't know if the wind will cooperate.

Tonight is the last night we will be in Brest and we are looking forward to hanging out with the other schools here and trading some of our UCLA gear.

-Billy

Thursday Update with Pictures!

2010-04-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Bonjour tous!

We did two races today. A tactical race in which we placed midfleet and an epic coastal race around the Brest region. We caught some lucky wind and were leading the pack for a leg, but made a poor decision down a spinnaker stretch which pushed us back some. The wind picked up again torwards the end of the day, and we were pushing over 7.5 knot going upwind. Tonight we made some punch to give out to the other international teams in 'le club inter' as the Canadians made pancakes! It was a North American taste. (orginally we were suppose to make a chili with OCU).

Only one more day of racing before the finals! The CCE 42 is flying by fast.

OKAY and finally some pictures!

(the internet is super slow so unfortunately we cant get all the photos up but we will try again soon!!)

Monday Events and the Tuesday/Wednesday Race!

2010-04-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

We just came back from our Port Escale to Douarnenez, just south of Brest. First off, sorry for not updating the blog! Our schedule is totally packed, and we spend any free time interacting with other international crews like University of Warwick & Cambridge from the UK, HEC Montreal from Canada, and HEC Lausanne from Switzerland!

Unfortunately our last two crew members, Eric Richard, have been unsuccessful in securing a flight to Paris in time to compete in the regatta. This is really hurting our performance, as positions in the boat have changed due to lack of their presence. We have a friend from Leovoile now as a member, but its really not the same. The volcano also ruined OCU flight plans and aren't able to compete with us... All of us in France are really sad of this about once in million situtation and are now hoping airspace clears up for us to return safely.

Monday - The first day of official racing started off with a sick Billy! Our main trimmer, Billy woke up in the morning feeling quite ill. The medical official at Edhec became concerned as food and water didn't sit well or long in Billy stomach, and recommended that he go to the Brest Hospital for a more detailed analysis. Fortunately, Billy was only dehydrated and after a couple of IV bags and a full days rest, he was back in action Tuesday. The first days races got postponed until the afternoon. With only 6 on the boat (as Billy was in bed) and without our last two members, we placed mid-fleet on the first and second race.

Tuesday/Wednesday - We had a slight altercation with another international boat at the first mark, which caused us to fall back in the first race. But we sailed really well and caught up mid-fleet for the finish. Today we had a medicore start, and made big gains by the windward mark. Unfortunately, some poor tactical decisions coupled with a problem with our spinnaker, caused us to lose a lot of ground. Near the end of the race, the wind increased greatly and we were able to catch a couple of boats by the finish of the race. At one point we reached 7.76 knots on a beat with a fully reefed mainsail!

Also of note, we were interviewed by a French journalist (Ouest France) in Dourarnenez and there was a very nice write-up with a picture in this mornings paper. Once they post the story online, we will post it.

Here is a link with some epic pics from the CCE organization:
http://www.ccedhec.com/achat/photos.aspx

- Victor and Jake

WE PROMISE PICTURES VERY SOON!

First Day of Racing

2010-04-19T01:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

We've been meaning to update but were pretty busy yesterday getting registered, getting the boat all set up and getting practice races in. My battery is about to die so this is going to be quick!

First of all, we're really sorry to say that Richard and Eric's flight has been cancelled yet again. Hopefully they will be able to make it out in the next day or two for the second half of the races!! We are really bummed they can't be here with us right now, and our team feels really incomplete without them. GET HERE SOON GUYS!!!!!

Today is day one of racing, but there's no wind so we're postponed til around 2ish. We're just hanging out around the village and watching the day events. Hopefully we'll get out on the water soon...They're going to keep us out late tonight and hope to get a bunch of races in during the afternoon when the wind picks up.

Tomorrow is a LONG race to a nearby island...over 30 miles. We then camp on the island for the night and sail back the next day....going to be a lot of fun, but COLD! The weather has been absolutely awesome though...warm and sunny during the day, way better than expected. We sailed in shorts yesterday! WOO!

Okay no battery left! More updates/pictures soon!!

Stuck in LA

2010-04-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

While the majority of the team has successfully made it to France, one quarter of the team is still grounded in LA. Richard and Eric showed up for their flight on Friday at 12:30pm, and have since then had their flight rescheduled and canceled 3 more times. They have just been sent back home from the airport with instructions to return again "tomorrow," and to find a more specific time of departure either online or by calling the headquarters. For updates on their flights, they have been checking the Air Tahiti Nui website at the link below.

Air Tahiti Flight Statuses (...stati?)

The original flight number was TN8, and has now been updated to TN408 (departing LAX, arriving CDG). As of now it is showing their departure at 2:00pm on Sunday, and so Richard and Eric will show up at LAX again tomorrow at 11:00 hoping that this flight is the one that will leave the ground.

They are remaining optimistic about getting to France, and are looking forward to joining up with the rest of the team to do some serious sailing! Also, a big thank you to everyone who has called or showed support regarding our flight trouble. More updates tomorrow from LAX!

Update from PARIS!!

2010-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Paris!

We spent what was left of the day walking around the city, eventually making our way to the Eiffel Tower...here's a photo! (we promise it's not photoshopped):

More updates soon!

~Morgan

Update from LAX!

2010-04-15T16:25:00.001-07:00

So we've made it through security and are waiting at the gate with a new departure time of 6pm. Hopefully mother nature will cooperate, but everything really depends on the weather and which way the wind blows (har har har. Sailing joke kind of?)

Anyway, we're all hoping that the plane will at least take off and that the skies will clear by the time we land tomorrow...if not, we figure they'll have to put the plane down somewhere...preferably somewhere warm and exotic with all expenses paid :)

More updates soon..hopefully from Paris!!

~Morgan

Volcano Trouble

2010-04-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

It seems Mother Nature has thrown us a curveball, which in this case seems to be a volcanic eruption in Iceland. apparently the volcano has been active for the past month or so, although not in any capacity for the news to travel all the way to us Americans. That is, until yesterday evening when a significantly larger eruption spewed ash into the atmosphere. Since then, the ash has been migrating across Northern Europe and disrupting hundreds of flights arriving or departing in this area. At the moment, six of our eight teammates are in limbo at LAX awaiting word of when their flight has been rescheduled to. The remaining two teammates, Richard and Eric, will be joining them tomorrow with bunches of sailing gear and optomism that we will make it to Brest in time for check in on Sunday morning!

this photo is crom http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/04/15/iceland.flights/index.html?hpt=T2

The Team!

2010-04-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

THE 2010 UCLA CCE 42 TEAM

Monday, April 12th Meeting -- Finances, Positions, Travel, etc!

2010-04-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

We had a two hour-long meeting last night where we got a LOT done in preparation for our trip.

First off, the final tally is in: we raised a total of $22,000 !! This includes donations from family, friends, sponsors, and team member's personal donations (several of us put in our own money to ensure we would make it). Thank you, again, to all of you who supported and believed in us. We can't tell you how excited we are to have this opportunity!!

We also finalized our positions on the boat and ran through who would be doing what throughout the week. As you can imagine, things get pretty crazy on the water, especially when winds are blowing 20 knots and you can barely hear the person next to you. It's really important that everyone knows exactly what they're supposed to be doing at all times. We will have Sunday as a practice day before racing starts next week, so we hope to get familiar with the Grand Surprise (the type of boat we will be sailing--these are only available in France, so only those of us who have attended the CCE in the past have experience on them) and get everything down in a day's time!

Finally, we are teaming up with Oklahoma City University to make chili and corn bread for the International Dinner! Every night, a team is designated to make a traditional food from their home country to feed the rest of the international teams...Germans bring sausage and pretzels, Canadians bring pancakes and maple syrup, etc. We think a good bowl of hearty chili after a day of cold sailing will go over well!

For those interested, here is a cliffnotes version of our schedule for the coming week:

Thursday, 4/15

Depart LAX 12:30pm

Friday, 4/16

Arrive CDG 8:25am
Take bus to Paris, spend day sightseeing
Spend the night in Paris

Saturday, 4/17

Spend the morning sightseeing in Paris
Take train to Brest!

Sunday, 4/18

9am Check In
Paperwork, forms, licenses, prep work on boat, etc.
Spend afternoon practicing

Monday, 4/19

9am Skippers Meeting
11:30am First Start

Tuesday 4/20

8am Skippers Meeting
10am First Start

Wednesday, 4/21

7:30am Skippers Meeting
10am First Start

Thursday, 4/22

10:30am First Start

Friday, 4/23

10:30am First Start

Saturday, 4/24

Finals
4:35pm train back to Paris

Sunday, 4/25

Depart 11:30am CDG
Arrive 2:25pm LAX

That's the gist of it. Keep checking this site for updates from France! We will have access to internet and will hopefully be keeping up with our blogging :)

~Morgan

FOUR DAYS!

2010-04-11T16:44:00.001-07:00

We have gotten some really incredible donations this past week that have been CRUCIAL toward reaching our goal....we are doing some final calculations to figure out how close we are, but we think that after these recent donations we are now very VERY close to our $20,000 goal!! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!!! Every little bit has made a difference, and WE ARE GOING TO FRANCE thanks to you!

April 3rd Practice

2010-04-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

We managed to get everyone (except for Kassie, who is a working woman) on the same boat this past weekend for a race from Newport to Dana Point! Woo! We ended up getting 3rd due to being over early at the start, but it was a beautiful day of sailing and the 2.5 hour race back to Dana Point could not have been better. We had dolphins swimming at our bow, and even saw some whales! We took a bunch of photos that I'm working on editing...I'll leave you with one shot of the group in front of the boat at the end of the day:

As always, a big thanks to Biff, Russ and Page for taking us out. One week until EDHEC!

Photo Shoot!

2010-03-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

The faces of your 2010 Bruin Edhec Team!

Crumpler Partnership!

2010-03-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

The UCLA Sailing Team Edhec Participiants are excited to announce the support of Crumpler Bags!

Crumpler is an internationally recognized bag making company. It was created by three bike messengers, Dave Roper, Will Miller and Stuart Crumpler in Melbourne Australia in 1995 in response to a need for durable and visible bags that was not being met. Looking to branch into other markets, Crumpler began designing bags for laptops, photo and video equipment and all kinds of e-vices.

The Bruin Edhec Team is proud to have the support of Crumpler Bags! Thank you Crumpler!

GG+A Sponsorship Confirmed!

2010-03-13T15:09:00.000-08:00

Grenzebach Glier and Associates, an international consulting firm specializing in philanthropic management to educational and cultural institutions, has generously donated to the Bruin Edhec team and will be sponsoring us in our endeavors. Thanks, GG+A!

How to Donate Online

2010-03-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

This post should help any donor interested in making an online donation. Please read through before following the steps.

1) Click on the "Donate Online!" link found on the right side of this webpage. (Or click here.)

2) Be sure to direct your gift to the "UCLA Sailing Club" using the drop down menu.

3) Please write "Edhec", "France", "CCE 42" or something similar in the Comments box of the Additional Information section so that your gift gets allocated appropriately for the Edhec trip.

4) Click Review Submission and verify all information! Thank you!

P.S. If you are making a donation online but are still interested in donating to Partners in Health (and receiving a UCLA Sailing Team Sponsor t-shirt in return), please mail a check made out to Partners in Health (suggested donation $10) along with your desired size and return address to:

Morgan Glier

467 Kelton Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90024

We will promptly forward your check to Partners in Health and send you your Sponsor shirt!

EDHEC Partnership!

2010-03-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

It's confirmed! The Edhec Business School in Lille, France has recognized and valued our participation in the Course Croisiere Edhec and is providing us with an incentive to return again! We will proudly have a sticker on the hull of our boat to acknowledge their contribution. Thank you Edhec!

We are excited to have this partnership and look forward creating more! Please check out our official presentation on the right panel for information on how your business or institution can get involved with the UCLA Sailing Team's participation in the 42nd CCE or contact us at uclasailing(at)gmail.com .

Mar 6 Practice

2010-03-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

Jake, Eric, Richard and Victor went back down to Dana Point to sail in the Series #3 & #4. We finished in 1st in the Series #3 regatta and placed 5th in the Series #4. It was a bizarre day with sunny pockets in a dark and cloud sky. Winds gusted up to 15 at some points during the race, but mostly stayed below 10.

Thanks again to Bryant and Bif and their Henderson 30!

Another American Team!

2010-03-04T09:50:00.000-08:00

The UCLA Sailing Edhec Team is excited announce the participation of a second American university in the Course Croisiere Edhec!

Oklahoma City University Sailing Club, under the leadership of Glede Holman, is committed to joining us in representing the USA in the 42nd CCE. They are almost finished securing funding and are motivated to rank well.

The Bruin Edhec Team, because of our flagship participation in the 40th and 41st CCE, is proud to have paved the way for other American universities to participate! We hope to continue to motivate other universities, but it wouldn't be possible without your support, so please help us so that we can continue to lead the international engagement in collegiate sporting events!

Feb 27 Practice

2010-03-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

In preparation for the 42nd Course Croisiere Edhec, the UCLA Edhec Team is crewing at local yacht clubs. Members of the Dana Point Yacht Club have been extremely welcoming in inviting us to sail with them.

This past weekend, Eric, Jake, Richard, and Victor were aboard a Henderson 30. They were supposed to participate in DPYC's Series #2 Regatta, but the weather and tsunami warning cancelled the race. In any case, they were able to sail for about an hour in the very choppy and windy Pacific with some great sailors. A big thank you to Bryant and Bif!

If you're interested in having members of the UCLA Sailing Team crew for you, please contact us! uclasailing(at)gmail.com or sailing(at)ucla.edu

Bruins Care

2010-03-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

UPDATE (3/6/10): Although we initially intended to transfer 5% of our donated funds to Partners in Health, the UCLA Foundation has just informed us that we are unable to redistrubite the money in this manner. To circumvent this roadblock, we're asking that any donor interested in contributing to the Haitian cause send us a check made out to "Partners in Health", and in return we will mail you one of our navy blue UCLA Sailing Team Supporter T-shirts (see below) and promptly forward the check to the non-profit.

To make a donation and receive a shirt:

- Make a check out to "Partners in Health" for any amount (suggested donation of $10)

- Mail check, return address, and shirt size (S, M, L, XL, XXL) to:

Morgan Glier

467 Kelton Ave.

Los Angeles, California 90024

We were very disheartened to find out that our initial initaitive to donate to Haiti could not work as conceptualized. But we are happy to have a creative way to link your support to the UCLA Sailing Team with the relief efforts in Haiti.

Original Statement:

In light of the recent environmental and humanitarian crises, we have decided to contribute 5% of out total personal donations to Partners in Health (Stand with Haiti) in an attempt to make a difference in the Haitian relief effort. We understand that there are issues much larger than ourselves in the world, and it is incredibly important to each of us on the UCLA Sailing Team that we keep these global concerns at the forefront of our thoughts and actions. From our experience raising money for prior CCE regattas, we know that each and every donation helps.

For us, this tournament is beyond being just a regatta; it is truly a one of a kind experience. As the only American team to compete, we have been given the unique opportunity to create and build relationship with diverse student from a diversity of cultures and backgrounds. In time, we hope to be able to use these international networks to connect our ideas and efforts in an attempt to tackle these issues "much larger than ourselves."

Again, we sincerely thank all of our family and friend donors, and of course our business sponsors, and look forward sharing our achievements from the 42nd Course Croisiere Edhec!

Welcome!

2010-02-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Bruin Edhec Team is excited to present our official website and blog! Keep an eye on this site for updates on our fundraising progress, company sponsorships, media coverage, promotional photos and videos, and the overall progress of our trip to France.

The team has been working especially hard lately, meeting multiple times a week to send out emails to potential company sponsors. We've had a few positive responses, including a team discount on Patagonia gear and potential product donations from All Terrain! We're continuing to email outdoor performance companies in hopes that one will want to partner with us and provide monetary sponsorship for the CCE. If you have any ideas of companies who could benefit from international exposure to European youth/sailors in particular, please leave a comment and let us know!

Also: new UCLA Sailing Team apparel is on the way! We are in the process of ordering polo shirts, and will have order forms available shortly. We will keep you updated! Here's a sneak peek of the design, just so you can start getting excited:

More news soon!