Stanford sailing captured the Big Sail trophy for the 15th consecutive year after the varsity boat swept Cal in their best of three races at the Saint Francis Yacht club in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cardinal got off to a rocky start at the annual rivalry event. The event is composed of five total divisions: grandmasters alumni, masters alumni, young alumni, women and varsity. The Golden Bears started by sweeping Stanford in the first four divisions. Given that last year the Cardinal beat Cal in every division except for the masters alumni, the initial few losses at this year’s event may have furrowed many Stanford brows.

However, as they always do, the Cardinal prevailed over the Golden Bears when it mattered most. Behind junior skipper Jack Parkin, junior Victoria Thompson, senior Jacob Rosenberg, and sophomore Wiley Rogers, the Stanford varsity boat handily swept Cal, making the Cardinal victorious in the Big Sail for the 15th consecutive year.

The event marked an exciting end to what has been a successful autumn season for the sailing team. Parkin in particular has become a force to be reckoned with at skipper, as highlighted in the prowess he showed against the Golden Bears on Tuesday. Earlier this month, he also served as skipper of the varsity boat at the Match Race National Championship, an event which he and his crew won.

The sailing team will be back in action this spring when they start racing in the remaining three categories of competition held by the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association. Women’s and men’s single-handed as well as match racing are conducted in the fall, while women’s dinghy, co-ed dinghy and team racing are raced in the spring. Look for Stanford to continue the success it has had this fall when the new season starts after this winter.

Contact Niles Egan at negan ‘at’ stanford.edu.