Corey Quillen is Cal Poly’s Sailing Team President and he races with the varsity squad. Cal Poly has been a competitive force on the West Coast against top Division 1 NCAA teams and wrapped up 2021 with a 5th place finish at Fall Pacific Coast Conference Champs. Looking to the future, Corey plans on continuing to sail with Cal Poly as they work towards their goal of competing at the ICSA Nationals in Spring.

Corey started sailing in the beginning of high school when he joined his dad on his boat for a beer can race out of the Golden Gate Yacht Club. He became hooked on the intensity of the sport and incredible venue the San Francisco Bay is and since then, he has tried to maximize his time on the water whenever possible. Corey continued to learn more about sailing through beer can series and midwinter regattas and eventually found himself on a crew in The Bay’s J/105 fleet.

Knowing that sailing was a sport, Corey decided he wanted to pursue it further and joined Cal Poly’s Club Sailing Team his freshman year of college. While sailing dinghies he was able to solidify his knowledge learned one-design tactics. He practiced as much as his schedule allowed and studied online material to better understand Flying Juniors and roll tacks.

During the summers, Corey teaches sailing and returns to sailing keelboats in The SF Bay at as many regattas and series as he can, with the goal to gain experience on a multitude of different boats with some of his favorites including the Moore 24, J/88, and Olson 911. He has a goal of a completing a TransPac or Pac Cup crossing on top of the racing in the SF Bay.

Personal note from Corey:

I am from San Mateo, California. Despite living in the Bay Area my entire life, the first time I went sailing was the beginning of high school when I joined my dad on his boat for a beer can race out of the Golden Gate Yacht Club.

I was instantly hooked on the intensity of the sport and incredible venue the Bay is and since then, I have tried to maximize my time on the water whenever possible. I continued to learn more about sailing through beer can series and midwinter regattas and eventually found myself on a J/105 crew. I know sailing is a sport I want to pursue and joined Cal Poly Sailing Club team my freshman year of college. While sailing dinghies I was able to solidify knowledge I picked up on one-design tactics as I was no longer simply crewing for seasoned sailors.

I practiced as much as my schedule allowed and studied online material to better understand Flying Juniors and roll tacks. During the summers, I taught sailing and returned to sailing keel boats in the Bay in as many regattas I can, allowing me to gain experience on a multitude of different boats with some of my favorites including the Moore 24, J/88, and Olson 911.

Hopefully in the next few years I will also complete my goal of a TransPac or Pac Cup crossing on top of the racing I plan to continue. 

Cal Poly Sailing Team

The Cal Poly Sailing Team is a club sport at Cal Poly that competes in the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC). The team is made up of a great group of students who love to be out on the water enjoying the thrill of being on a sailboat. We offer a wide variety of sailing opportunities including highly competitive collegiate regattas, much less competitive local regattas, and fun weekend sailing practices and clinics. http://calpolysailing.com