The Sports Informant

I went one-on-one with 43rd annual Camellia Cup winner Wade Hough of Palermo, Calif. today, and he had some interesting things to say about his experience. Being the first to win the cup in a Raven boat is an accomplishment all in itself, but Hough did so in a storm on Folsom Lake, over the course of two days.

Wade Hough's No. 263 "Quicksilver" Raven boat took top prize at the 43rd annual Camellia Cup. (Photo courtesy Tom Paniagua)

I was fascinated by his story in a sport loved by so many across the nation and yet still so tragically unpublicized by the media.

The Sports Informant: Wade, first off, congratulations. How tough is the competition in the Camellia Cup?

Wade Hough: Folsom Lake is a difficult venue to win a regatta. Usually the wind is quite variable, adding a crapshoot quality to the competition. Nonetheless, some of the local sailors do consistently well there. We have been sailing there on and off for 30 years and never before won anything of significance, in either a Thistle or the Raven.

The Sports Informant: Interesting. So what was different this year?

Wade Hough: This time, everything went our way. Because the regatta was held in a storm, the wind was more consistent. This favors the larger boats, who are usually at a disadvantage in lighter, more variable winds because they do not accelerate as quickly or plane as early as some of the smaller, lighter designs.

The Sports Informant: What did it take down the stretch to win?

Wade Hough: The open centerboard handicap fleet was the largest fleet. It included a former winner sailing a smaller Lido 14. Also, two other Ravens were in the fleet. The second place finisher was Naim Shah, sailing another Raven. He chose to use an oversized spinnaker, which turned out to provide not enough extra speed to overcome the handicap hit for carrying the extra sail area. Shah’s boat was slightly faster than us, but we were able to stay close enough to win consistently on corrected time.

Another factor in our favor was that our boat and team were well tested, haivng had success in other regional regattas in the past. In a blow, the Raven is a lot of hard work. All four of us onboard gave 125 percent effort. Our good boat handling in the breeze was probably a most important factor in our success. Also, nothing significant broke down.

The Sports Informant: Was there a little bit of luck involved in your win, too?

Wade Hough: Always a factor is the make up of the various divisions as the Camellia Cup is usually awarded to the best performance in the largest fleet. So if the Thistles had a couple more boats or the Raven could have mustered a four-boat fleet, we would have been scored in a smaller size fleet. Some years new designs show up with handicap numbers which may or may not prove to be valid over a period of time. Had any of these variables occurred, someone else might have won the cup.

The Sports Informant: I guess it was just your time, then. Congrats.

Wade Hough: All you can do is sail hard and enjoy the event. If all the variables go your way, you might bring home the silver. Sometimes it takes 30 years before that occurs.