HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i sailing team opens the spring season this weekend hosting the Peter Wenner Rainbow Invite, Jan. 19-20 in its home waters of Ke'ehi Lagoon.
 
The regatta will feature fourteen schools with both coed and women's teams competing in a diverse field. While the majority of school hail from the West Coast, a pair of East Coast teams will join the fray. There will also be an international flair with teams from Canada and Japan. UH will sail three squads in the regatta with both the coed and women competing. Last season, the UH coed squad won the regatta for the straight time.  Salve Regina captured the regatta in 2015, and will be competing again this year.
 
This year's Rainbow Invite has added significance as 2019 is a milestone year for the University of Hawaii Sailing Team. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the program, which started as a varsity sport at UH in 1969 under program founder Ted Livingston.  Along with women's volleyball, UH sailing is the only program in school history to capture a team national championship. UH claimed the women's national championship in 2001, and the coed team won the ICSA dingy national title in 2004. 
 
The list of accomplishments don't stop there. They also include:

• 61 National Championship event appearances
• 34 All-America Citations
• 5 Olympians 

Meanwhile all three of UH's head coaches have been inducted into the college sailing Hall of Fame – program founder Ted Livingston, Charlie Dole, and current head coach Andy Johnson
who is in his 30th season at UH. He is assisted by Jesse Andrews a former UH All-American sailor.
 
Regatta Information
What: 2019 Peter Wenner Rainbow Invite
Date: Saturday, Jan. 19 - Sunday, Jan. 20
Time: All day; first race begins at approximately 10:00 a.m. (weather permitting).
Where: Honolulu Community College Marine Education Center – Ke'ehi Lagoon.
Who: California, Cal Poly, Cal State Channel Islands, Cal State Long Beach, Hawai'i, Hosei University (Japan), Rutgers, Salve Regina, Washington, Western Washington, University of British Columbia (Canada), UCSD, UCLA, and Victoria (Canada).