Duo staying on course

A moment of doubt surfaced and painful thoughts came alive.

All that work and practice was about to go for naught. Another second-place finish seemed to be made for Chris Segerblom and Andrew Mason.

It was only a year ago they settled for runner-up status to Evan Miller.

This time, with their catamaran behind Miller’s, and with 100 yards remaining, Segerblom and Mason took action, rather than just thinking negatively.

They perished those bad thoughts.

In the end, with just three boat lengths remaining, Segerblom and Mason passed Miller and Taylor Reese to win the U.S. Youth Multihull Championship Jan. 21.

“At first we looked at each other in disbelief,” said Segerblom, a Newport Harbor High sophomore. “We weren’t totally sure what we had just done. We jumped up and down on the trampoline we had on there. We wrestled each other because we were so happy. And, then I jumped in the water.”

Mason, a Corona del Mar High senior, was thrilled, too, though he felt for his friend because he knew the water had to have been freezing cold.

“That was a bad idea,” Segerblom said of jumping in the water.

The cold water muffled Segerblom’s emotions a bit, but the ecstatic 15-year-old remained joyous. No more negative thoughts. No more Uh oh, here we go again. No more We’ll get them next year.

Instead, he could plan for a trip to Denmark, the homeland of his mother.

Because they won the national title, that also came with the Arthur J. Stevens Trophy, the two boys will represent the U.S. in July at the International Sailing Federation Youth Worlds in Denmark.

That’s where Segerblom’s dad, Mike, met his wife, Mette.

To say that sailing is prevalent in the Segerblom family might be an understatement.

Segerblom’s father is the coach of the USC men’s sailing team and he’s also the director of the U.S. Sailing Center in Long Beach.

His mother is the program director of the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship.

Segerblom’s younger brothers, Daniel, 9, and Sean, 9, also sail.

“Sailing has been a big part of our lives,” Segerblom said. “There’s an importance to our family with sailing, but it’s not a crucial aspect. But it is definitely the main thing our family has in common and the thing that we love to do. We’re a sailing family.”

Segerblom has been to Denmark at least eight times and is looking forward to another trip. But it will be a new experience for Mason.

Yet Mason also had patriotic thoughts when he was celebrating the win last week.

“It has been my dream for as long as I’ve been sailing to represent the USA,” Mason said. “To come back and win it in the fashion we did, just made that dream more exciting.”

Mason, who was the skipper of the catamaran, knew he and Segerblom were plenty capable of winning the multihull title, but the threat of Miller was assuredly real.

Though he had a different crew from last year, Miller, from Panama City, Fla., showed his dominance from the first day, Mason said.

But, Segerblom and Mason stayed in contention. They were tied in points with Miller and Reese going into the final race, so they knew they had to finish ahead of the duo from Florida.

Mason noted the finish was sweet, but he also took pride in the work to get there. There was plenty of practice involved leading up to last week’s regatta in Long Beach.

And, during the competition, tension appeared between the friends who have known each other for the past eight years.

“There’s always tension when you feel your goals are slipping away from you,” Segerblom said. “Sometimes the excitement raises the temperature in the boat. When it’s all done, you move on. It’s just like any other relationship, I guess.

Said, Mason: “There were some tense moments on the boat, but we always knew we could come back.”

Tension could be expected. After all, they are rivals. The high school sailing season is ahead and the two will compete against each other. For now, they practice in the same bay. Corona del Mar wants the title Newport Harbor has: defending national champion.

Then, they’ll be teammates again in Denmark.

“Oh, the Sea Queens,” said Segerblom, who plays basketball on the Harbor sophomore team. “On the court there is blood, but you get us on the same boat, I guess we can all be Sailors.”

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].