Peter Schoen: Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Champion 2015

The annual Bitter End Yacht Club Pro-Am Regatta is an adult fantasy camp held each October in the British Virgin Islands. With several events combining professional sailors with amateur resort guests, there is one event that excludes the pros: the Gill Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Championships.

Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck checks in with Peter Schoen, the 2015 champion:

Where do you normally sail?
Mostly sail in northern California, campaigning my Moore 24 and crewing on an Etchells and an 8-meter on San Francisco Bay. I also enjoy ocean races like the Pacific Cup and Transpac.

Had you been to the Pro Am before?
No, this was my first trip. I’d heard of the event but had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew friends that were going and my girlfriend, who’s been once before, thought it would be fun to join them.

Describe the Club Championship.
The amateurs competed in Lasers, Hobie Waves and Hobie Getaways on Sunday and were told that finalists would be selected from the outcome of the day’s races. I chose to sail a Laser which I hadn’t sailed in 15+ years, hoping to have the best chance for success since I had never sailed on the Hobies. Competition was fierce among the Lasers – there were several very good sailors among the group.

After I was announced as a finalists, I liked my chances when I heard that we would be sailing the finals in IC24s, but the next race was to secure crew for the finals. The finals consisted of five fleet races held on Thursday afternoon. The plan was to take some of the lessons learned from the pro’s earlier in the week and apply them to the finals. My crew took care of the rest with Luke Ramsay trimming main and calling tactics, Craig Healy trimming the jib, and Leslie Richter on the bow. The competition was close, and it was really a lot of fun!

Did you have a routine during the week?
We sailed hard every day and partied every evening. The non-sailing competitions like volleyball, spike-ball, and flip cup were also great fun.

What were the offerings from the mixologists?
The first night started with Treasury Wine. Spiked Selver provided refreshing drinks at the volleyball event. Mount Gay sponsored one night so Rum Punch and Painkillers were in order. Thursday night was sponsored by Absolut with every flavor of vodka being served along with some interesting mixers. Favorite drink of the week: Cruzan Dark and Ting.

Any other favorite moments during the week?
Trimming for Dave Ullman in the Team Racing event was a special treat. With the short courses the racing was very tight and the team racing maneuvers were close. As a jib trimmer, it was challenging and rewarding to work with Dave on the quick tacks and gybes, and the teamwork paid off with wins in each heat.

Fill in the blanks of this sentence.
Beware of the excellent food at Bitter End Yacht Club. It is easy to leave several pounds heavier than when you arrived.

BEYC website – Facebook