Pendleton News
Nothing but smooth sailing for CSSG-15
Wayne Short
It became real clear, real quick, the Commanding General's Cup Sailing Regatta on Sept. 30 was nothing more than a race for second place.
Combat Service Support Group 15 sailors had complete control of the No. 1 spot early in an event held beneath overcast skies and winds that never ventured too much above 5 knots.
With these conditions - which translate to winds less than six miles per hour - the competition favored more experienced sailors.
Maneuvering their sailboat in response to the gentle breeze, CSSG-15's team of Jeremy Quinton and Chris Grevemberg, both of whom were competitors in the 2003 event, teamed up this year to sail six undefeated heats.
Despite their mastery of the field - winning every heat by at least a 50-yard margin - the duo said the conditions were difficult.
"The low wind is hard to sail in; it's frustrating," Quinton said. "You just have to stay focused."
While both Quinton and Grevemberg are veteran sailors, Quinton brought a lot of racing experience to the boat.
"I race a lot of dinghies, mostly up in Dana Point," Quinton said.
When asked the secret to beating out the competition, Grevemberg didn't hesitate.
"It's all in the start," he said.
CSSG-15's closest competition came from the second-place team of Steve Bronaugh and Kevin Dowgiewicz, who were representing Marine Aircraft Group 39.
The race for third place was tight. It came down to the last of three heats in the final, pitting Mitch Criger and Brian Schadd from Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron 164 against Assault Craft Unit 5's duo of Bill Lynum-Young and Paul Bischoff.
Only one point separated the two teams going into the final race; HMMT-164 had eight points and ACU-5 had seven, with a lower point total indicating an edge. HMMT-164 had to top ACU-5 by at least two places in the finals to take home the third-place trophy.
Mission accomplished.
HMMT-164 beat ACU-5 across the line for the start and never looked back, finishing the final heat in third place, two spots ahead of ACU-5.
ACU-5's Lynum-Young said the light wind was definitely a challenge.
"It was extremely difficult. It had me flustered," Lynum-Young said.
"I had no idea," Lynum-Young said about finishing out of the top three. "If I would have known that, I would have let (Bischoff) sail the last race."
The women's division had only one entrant, but after sailing some practice races against several of the men's teams, Jamie Fluellen and Angelica Hutt from Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity showed they would have been worthy opponents to any challengers.
"We kicked their butts; we were second against them, so at least we have bragging rights," Hutt said.
It was only Fluellen's second time in a sailboat.
"It was fun, I had a really good time," Fluellen said.
In addition to the awarded trophies, CG's Cup points were given to the top finishers in all four divisions. The women's first-place points went to MCTSSA (Hutt and Fluellen).
Division 1 points were given to CSSG-15 and MAG-39. In Division 2, points went to ACU-5. In Division 3, points went to MCTSSA and Assault Amphibian School Bn.
