Graphic by Yujin Kim ’23/The Choate News
After two seasons of being unable to sail due to the pandemic, the Varsity Sailing team has finally returned to the water. The team has thoroughly enjoyed sailing together during the start of this season and are back to their busy schedule of practicing at the Yale sailing facility in Branford, Connecticut and competing in regattas against several of the highest-ranked high school teams in New England.
The team attended their first regatta of the season at Greenwich Super 10’s on April 2. Due to canceled practices because of inclement weather, the regatta was the team’s first opportunity to be on the water together this year. Undeterred, the team won two series of five during each of the three races.
The team faced high-level competition; however, they remained persistent and strong. Varsity Sailing Coach Mr. Sam Doak said, “It was a rude awakening for us on our first outing to be against such talent – national contenders – but our young and scrappy team fought hard, and I think that’s really good.” Although the team had to deal with the difficult circumstances of not having been on the water in two years and having varying levels of experience within the team, Mr. Doak was very impressed with their overall performance. He said, “I was very happy and very proud of what we were able to achieve.”
Two years off the water caused a lot of uncertainty for the team during the beginning of this season. According to Mr. Doak, “There was a lot of uncertainty about where things would fall in place, but we seem to be progressing pretty well. We’re getting back to sort of normal.” Although the School is slowly making the transition back to pre-Covid conditions, there have still been safety protocols put into place to protect Choate sailors at Yale University’s sailing facility. Nevertheless, in comparison to the constraints that have confined the team to land workouts, chalk talks, and whiteboard explanations of the technicalities of sailing these past two seasons, these comparatively minor protocols have been able to provide some normalcy in the face of the ongoing pandemic. Initially, Varsity Sailing Co-captains Will Stork ’22 and Cecilia Connor ’22 felt uncertain about the team’s readiness to compete because Stork was the only returning team member. However, despite a hesitant start, Connor said, “We are back to what we were doing freshman year with no Covid. Everyone is getting back in the groove.”
The team is excited to get to know each other and to improve over this next season. Mr. Doak said, “We are getting used to, comfortable, and happy with each other and getting that team spirit. We are one of the only co-ed sports teams on campus, so that makes things kind of fun. We spend a lot of time together on the bus, so there is a lot of silliness.”
For Connor, sailing provides an escape from the stress of school and she is looking forward to “getting to know everyone on the team better while having fun on the water.”
Stork noted, “There’s a range of skill levels, so watching everyone mesh together is a really good dynamic.”
With a competitive schedule filled with water practices and intense regattas, the Varsity Sailing team looks forward to collaborating and continuing a successful season together.
