LONG BEACH, Calif.---Genny Tulloch sat facing the selection committee for Roy E. Disney's Morning Light sailing team Friday when one of the panelists, Leslie DeMeuse, said, "I hope you'll have a better looking life jacket when you go to Hawaii," referring to the funky orange vest Tulloch wore when she drove one of the tryout boats a day earlier.

"Tulloch responded, 'OK, I will . . . oh!' "

And that's how Tulloch, 22, of Houston, Tex., learned she had been selected from 30 finalists as one of the 15 crew members who will continue on for training in Hawaii early next year, destined in July to be the youngest crew ever to sail the Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii.

At race time, the average age of the 15 selected will be 21.2 years, a full year under the record. High- definition cameras will continue to record their experiences, as they did this week, for a documentary film scheduled for release in 2008.

Disney's plan was to assemble a young and diversified crew. The 15 come from 11 states and one foreign country, Australia.

Tulloch, along with Kate Theisen, 19, of Socorro, N.M., were chosen from among five female finalists. Tulloch said, "I don't really think of it on terms of men and women, but there aren't many women doing ocean racing. Maybe that will happen now."

Steve Manson, 21, was selected from among three African American finalists. He grew up in Baltimore's inner city and works as a sailing instructor at the city's Downtown Sailing Center. Chris Schubert of Rye, N.Y., is a Midshipman First Class at the U.S. Naval Academy.

After a week of intense tryouts of days filled with "team building sessions" each morning and sailing on four Catalina 37s every afternoon, anxiety and emotions permeated the corridors of the Hyatt Hotel headquarters as the candidates were called individually and alphabetically for an elevator ride to the 17th floor where they would learn the outcome.

Waiting his turn on the lobby floor, Graham Brant-Zawadzki, 21, of Newport Beach---"B-Z" to his new friends here, said, "Oh, man," said, I'm gonna cry---either way."

Chris Branning, 21, a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy junior from Sarasota, Fla., said, "This is like waiting to see if you're going to get into college."

Kit Will, 2q, of Milton, Mass., said, "I thought I had a pretty good chance, and later I thought I wouldn't make it. It was a real roller coaster."

All three made it, although 15 of their friends did not, and they were still a team of mutual hugs and tears when they met again in the hallway outside their rooms downstairs. Trevor Bozina, 22, of San Francisco, wasn't chosen but was there to congratulate those selected and console those who weren't.

Bozina said, "It's disappointing, but I went into it as one of the best sailors with one of the best attitudes, and you can't do better than that."

Jesse Fielding, 19, of North Kingstown, R.I., said, "It's so tough. By the end I really cared about everybody here. Some of the people that didn't get picked I'd love to sail with---any of those people."

Disney, sailing team manager Robbie Haines and DeMeuse led the panel, and selection committee members were Stan Honey of Palo Alto, who recently navigated ABN AMRO 1 to its Volvo Ocean Race victory; Carol Buchan, Seattle, a world and national champion in various classes; Scott Ikle, sailing coach at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, as well as the 2003 U.S. Olympic Committee Coach of the Year in sailing; and Andrew Campbell, San Diego, a four-time all- American and College Sailor of the Year at Georgetown University.

Disney said, "I think we got an excellent sailing team. They're all great sailors and have good character, which could be said for all 30 of them. The decisions weren't easy."

Gladstone's Restaurant at Rainbow Harbor was a supporting host of the Morning Light tryouts.


The 15 Morning Light selections:


Chris Branning, 21, Sarasota, Fla., junior, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Graham Brant-Zawadzki, 21, Newport Beach, Calif., senior, Stanford Univ.

Chris Clark, 20, Old Greenwich, Conn., sailmaker.

Charlie Enright, 21, Providence, R.I., racing coach, senior Brown Univ.

Jesse Fielding, 19, North Kingstown, R.I., boat worker, sailing teacher.

Robbie Kane, 21, Fairfield, Conn., racing sailboat captain.

Steve Manson, 21, Baltimore, Md., sailing instructor.

Chris Schubert, 21, Rye, N.Y., Midshipman First Class, U.S. Naval Academy.

Kate Theisen, 19, Socorro, N.M., planetary scientist student, New Mexico Tech.

Mark Towill, 17, Kaneohe, Hawaii, senior, Punahou High School.

Genny Tulloch, 21, Houston, Texas, sailor.

Piet van Os, 22, La Jolla, Calif., senior, California Maritime Academy.

Chris Welch, 18, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., boat prep and deliveries.

Kit Will, 21, Milton, Mass., senior, Connecticut College.

Jeremy Wilmot, 20, Sydney, Australia, sophomore, St. Mary's College of Maryland.


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