SJND’s Brand New Sailing Team
Written by Ella S. ‘27
SJND has a sailing team now! This September the Oakland Diocese finally pronounced sailing as an official sport for high schools in Alameda County. The team currently has five players, which is not very many, but they are currently looking to expand. The two captains Amanda Wheeler ‘25 and Luke Probst ‘26 were overjoyed to be an official team. The three other sailors are Melina A. ‘27, Reuben B. ‘27, and Ella S. ‘27.
Amanda has been participating since she was a freshman. She was originally the only person on the team sailing solo, but Luke joined last year as a freshman. The two sailed all year last year together, where Amanda the skipper (the person driving the boat and controlling the mainsail) and Luke was the crew (the person controlling a smaller sail called the jib and maintaining the well being of the boat). The two did quite well together and often continue to sail together despite the additions to the team.
The team is centered at Encinal Yacht Club (abbreviated by EYC) where they practice every Thursday and Sunday. All gear is owned by the yacht club as is required by the Diocese. EYC provides various coaches to provide sailors an opportunity to grow in their sport.
The team participates in regattas all season long from our own yacht club to all the way to Newport. A regatta is a series of boat races. There are two separate types of regattas. There are regattas called NorCals which are more locally located at places like Richmond Yacht Club and EYC itself. The others are located at places called PCISA regattas which often involve some travel such as Monterey, Newport, and Santa Barbara.
The team offers two separate seasons: the fall season which extends from August to January and the spring season which extends from March to May. You don’t even have to limit yourself to one because most people on the team do both!
Overall, our new sailing team is soaring to new heights, from a freshman who simply wanted her sport to be represented to a full-blown team that is funded by the school. So far the sailing season has been an extreme success and there will hopefully be many more to come.
