What’s skiing doing on a sailing website? It can only be the Ski/Sail National Championships, held in Tahoe every spring since 1994. Sunny, windy weather made for crash-and-burn sailing on Saturday; on Saturday night, the area got a dusting of corn snow; then the sun came out again, although with much less warmth, for Sunday’s skiing.

A thin layer of fresh snow topped the icy snowpack on Squaw Valley’s Exhibition run, down near the Village. The cold temperatures hadn’t loosened up the snow in time for the race, so the run was hard and slippery.

No world class skiers competed this year (gold-medalist Jonny Moseley is a Ski/Sail vet), and the sailors varied in ability on the ski slope, with one choosing to snowboard instead. (Telemarking is okay too: it’s a casual, friendly event.) Each skier did four runs. Then their best three scores were averaged. The Vanguard pairs were scored as teams.

As might be expected, the lead shifted from Saturday’s sailing results. Kevin and Sarah topped the Vanguard 15 fleet, but fell to third place after the ski races. Chad and Adam went from second on Saturday to first on Sunday, with Matthew and Avery going from third to second place. Nick was the top Laser sailor, but the Kiwi Paul was the top skier in that group, so Luke, who placed second in both events, won overall.

Not appearing on the results, but important nonetheless, was the intermezzo of this three-part regatta: the Saturday night party. The crowed enjoyed an excellent catered barbecue dinner and a live band at Tahoe Yacht Club. Race organizer Ralph Silverman announced the top finishers of the day’s sailing, and then the Vanguard 15 fleet presented a special award: a bright yellow skin-tight ski race suit.

Shane explained: “Everyone clearly works out a lot and tries to get buff and tough for Ski/Sail, and this is a perpetual trophy to whoever Avery and I deem deserve and will look good in said trophy. And this year Avery and I have given it a lot of thought. Mostly in the hot tub about half an hour ago, and there were a couple of rum drinks involved. This year we decided to give it to the good lookin’ man out in a Chris Craft boat on a Lake Tahoe today, who will be doing a lap in said suit: Ralph Silverman!”

Ralph tried to insist that he was not qualified as he was not a competitor, but Shane claimed that there were no rules, and if there were he and Avery made them up, so Ralph could not wiggle out of it and had to wiggle into the suit and take a lap through the clubhouse lounge.

But the Vanguard fleet was not done with the party competition. When the band took a break, the Vanguard teams lined up across the table from each other for some beer drinking games. We’re not quite sure what the rules were; we’re sure they must have made sense to the competitors - or not. A lot of laughter and some spilt beer ensued.

Another awards ceremony was held on Sunday after the ski race, this time at Squaw Valley, and this time real trophies were given out to the top three finishers in each division.

So practice your dinghy sailing this summer, then get in shape for the ski season, because it will be here before you know it, and Ski/Sail 2009 will welcome you. As the NOR says, “Competitors have been preparing for this one for a long, long time.”

“What is the future of Ski/Sail?” we asked Ralph.

“We're really excited about next year because we're going to have the first fleet of adaptive sailors and skiers. We’re going to do it in Access dinghies and 2.4 meters. You’ll see adaptive sailboats and on the ski course you'll see sit skiers and kids with Down’s syndrome.”

Our Ski/Sail Movie is now available online. Check out our photo gallery and slideshow of the skiing and partying. Be sure to read our report on Saturday’s wild time on the water, and view the sailing photo gallery/slideshow.