Solomon called last spring with a dilemma, he had committed to Oakcliff but had just been approached by the American Youth Sailing Force to race in the Youth America's Cup.   In about 3 seconds our reply was - go! We knew that Americans were going to be in short supply on the water in San Francisco and were so happy that one of our SapGrads was going to be representing Oakcliff and our country.

Solomon is smart, strong and determined and we see no reason why he won't be on the next US America's Cup team... whenever and wherever that may be. Solomon came to Oakcliff to expand his match racing experience in the summer of 2012. While here, he excelled in many areas. In the fall he went back to school and won the ICSA Match Racing National Championship as main trimmer & tactician for the Tufts University Jumbos.

We can't wait to see what Solomon does next but as he reports, Oakcliff will be a part of the basis for his successes.

Seth recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with Composite Rigging, a division of Southern Spars, where he works as an R&D engineer developing their EC6 carbon rigging and other components.  

Living in Newport where you trip over sailors just walking down the street Seth can typically be found on Newport Harbor frostbiting a Laser, nearly regardless of the weather.  Newport's Laser Fleet 413 is well known and very competitive with America's Cup sailors and designers rubbing gunnels with one-another and up to 40 boats on the line throughout the winter.  Though Seth has scored wins in several fleet 413 races, he has yet to 'win the day'; that is this winter's top objective.  Though, a trip to Key West or Antigua hasn't been ruled out.

OD graduated from the Sapling program in 2012 and went straight to the IRYS to specialize in composites technology and worked as a mate on  the 12-meter Northern Light.  OD reconnected with us when we bumped into him last summer at the Nantucket Pro Am Regatta. He asked for a drink ticket and ended up with a job instead!  OD will be replacing Koko as the boat captain of the Ker 50 Temptation-Oakcliff and is currently using his significant composite and painting skills refurbishing the 76 strong Oakcliff fleet.

OD originally came to Oakcliff because he was attracted to the incredible energy and flexibility at Oakcliff. As he explains, "If you have an idea and you think it's going to work everyone here is going to help you make it happen."   

Specifically, OD is inspired by SapGrad Jeff MacFarlane who trained and built his campaign for the 2013 Mini Transat while at Oakcliff. Jeff continues to provide encouragement as OD becomes increasingly interested in single-handed racing.

OD now embodies the Oakcliff energy which initially attracted him. According to Bill Simon, "OD showed up early last year as one of the first Saplings to report. He has been a hard worker, who is always trying to learn, with a can do attitude from day one. Everyone wants OD on their team. "

Dan Flanigan arrived at Oakcliff slightly late because he and his friends were finishing up building and launching a robotic boat that would attempt to sail from Newport to England and it just kept getting better from there. Dan jumped into and became a leader on the Oakcliff Youth Farr 40 Team and finished out the year rebuilding the prod for the Ker 11.5 and teaching fellow Saplings as he was doing it. Clearly we were happy to have Dan here and from a note he sent over, he feels the same.

"Oakcliff allowed me opportunities in the sailing world that many sailors only dream of. From racing to Halifax to skippering a grade 3 match race, these experiences have had an enormous impact on my sailing ability, but also on my person. After a summer sailing and working at Oakcliff I have gained an appreciation for the hard work, organization, and motivation that it takes to make up a quality race program.

In particular I would like to acknowledge the amazing opportunity to race as a youth team in the Farr 40 circuit, culminating with the Farr 40 Worlds. The team put a huge amount of effort into making the program happen and in the end it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever been part of. Asking Terry Hutchinson or any other one of the top sailors in the world about rig tune, or sail trim is something not many sailors will ever get to experience.

I am now pursuing a Master's Degree in Yacht and Small Craft Design at the University of Southampton.  The skills and knowledge that I developed during my summer at Oakcliff has created a sense of confidence that has allowed me to be a leader on the water and even in the class room, as a student who understands key practical aspects as well the theory behind yacht design."

We have a feeling Dan will be back.

Last August we received an email from Sena, a woman in Istanbul Turkey. She explained that there was a fleet of Farr 40s in a harbor on the Bosporus and while she very much wanted to sail, they were less than enthusiastic about giving a woman a shot. So we invited her to train at Oakcliff.

Three days later Sena arrived and immediately started doing everything the Acorns did and with extreme enthusiasm. The crowning achievement of the two weeks she spent here was passing a Turkish Farr 40 as she sailed the Oakcliff Farr 47 into Newport Harbor.

Sena 's training was such a success that she inspired a new offering for 2014.

Back in Turkey, Sena continued to train on and off the water, working with a trainer 6 days a week building on her Oakcliff experience with Hammer Human Performance and Sport.  Her hard work is paying off as she has just been invited to try out for White Knight racing, the most competitive Turkish Farr 40.

"I am so excited of course, this is a dream for me", Sena emailed. "I am committed and will do my best. I will work hard.  I am bearing great responsibility with your name now, simply because these people know that I spend time at Oakcliff, trained there, hence, it is of the utmost importance that I succeed."  

Additionally,this Fall Sena hosted SapGrad Chris Smith for a week in Istanbul. We didn't really correctly envision how far and wide the Oakcliff family was going to spread but we are not complaining!