Sports
Raise your sail with the Rainbow Spinnakers
It’s the best way to enjoy the Chesapeake Bay
With images and stories of the BP oil spill filling up our media outlets, what better time to get out and enjoy the Chesapeake Bay?
Team DC has a sailing club on its roster, which offers a great daytrip out on our local waters. The Rainbow Spinnakers Sailing Club (RSSC) is a diverse group of mostly gay and lesbian sailing enthusiasts who stay connected through their Google Group e-mail list, which has close to 400 names.
The Spinnakers generally do short day sails on the weekends and the occasional weekday. If you sign up for the Google group, you will receive notices as to when the next sail is taking place and how many sailors are needed to fill the boats. If you would like to become a member, the dues are $20 for an individual and $30 for a couple. The RSSC also welcomes those who are just interested in going out for a day sail. They do not offer sailing lessons, but many people have learned to sail by going out sailing with the Spinnakers. If you let the skipper know that you want to learn how to sail they can provide extensive, but informal instruction. Formal instruction is offered at both of the launch locations, Belle Haven Marina in Alexandria and the Downtown Sailing Center in Baltimore.
The group sails on rental crafts obtained from their launch locations and occasionally a member will offer up their boat for a sail. The number of boats that depart on any given weekend depends on how many skippers are available. A skipper is defined as the person who has command of the boat, but may or may not be the owner of the boat. The rental boats are either Sonars or Flying Scots. The Flying Scot, ideal for beginning sailors, is a 19-foot day sailer dinghy used for pleasure sailing as well as racing throughout North America. It has a large deep cockpit and provides comfortable sailing for up to 6 people. The Sonar is a 23-foot keelboat with a contoured sit-in cockpit that seats 3 to 5 people. The Sonar was adopted years ago by the world’s disabled sailors as their premier boat for racing. Its large cockpit makes adaptations easy for handicapped sailing.
The costs associated with going out for a sail with the Spinnakers range from $20 to $40 depending on the length of the sail. All you need to bring is a change of clothes, a beverage, sunscreen and a hat. Whether you want to learn to sail or just be out in the water is your decision. The Chesapeake Bay has an abundance of osprey, blue heron and other wonders of nature. What are you waiting for? Visit rainbowspinnakers.org for more information.
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
Sports
Attitude! French ice dancers nail ‘Vogue’ routine
Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry strike a pose in memorable Olympics performance
Madonna’s presence is being felt at the Olympic Games in Italy.
Guillaume Cizeron and his rhythm ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France performed a flawless skate to Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Rescue Me” on Monday.
The duo scored an impressive 90.18 for their effort, the best score of the night.
“We’ve been working hard the whole season to get over 90, so it was nice to see the score on the screen,” Fournier Beaudry told Olympics.com. “But first of all, just coming out off the ice, we were very happy about what we delivered and the pleasure we had out there. With the energy of the crowd, it was really amazing.”
Watch the routine on YouTube here.
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