Volts Sailors Place Second in Florida Race

Major congratulations to the VIMSIA Sailing team! The team placed second last week in the SAISA Keelboat Qualifiers in St. Petersburg, Florida — only one point shy of first in the regional qualifiers. They competed against three teams, Ransom Everglades High School, Lucy Beckham High School, and Plant High School. The Volts finished with 12 points in their first time ever sailing J70s. Go VOLTS!

Sailors: Santiago Brunt, Amelie Zucker, Ella Crew, Jackson Auchincloss 

https://scores.hssailing.org/f23/saisa-keelboat-qualifier/full-scores/

Coach Tyler Rice provided the following reflection to his team:

It’s hard to sum up the feelings from racing and training with the keelboat team over the past week and weekend. These sailors got to Miami never having sailed a J70 (or an a-symetrical spinnaker at all) and they left St. Pete three days later one point out of first place in the regional qualifiers.  

Where this team is short in years in these boats, they make up for with an open-mind, enthusiasm and an amazing team dynamic. The team-centered mentality, maturity, and groundedness of this group is unlike any other high school team out there. They uplift each other, support each other, and most of all respect each other at a core level. We have so much working for us and… this is just the beginning! 

With just two days of training our team was arguably the best boat handlers and had the best boat speed on the race course. We started off sailing tight with the sails over trimmed, our boat and our bodies too wound up, finishing the first race in last, but as true athletes do, we follow this up a first place in the second race by a solid margin. 

From there, we proved our worth, consistently being in the mix and beating the other more experienced teams. We were the most consistent team on the water with a slew of second and third places to follow and by the time we came to the dock we were sitting in a pretty place- a clean and clear second place with no protests against us while the leading boat was protested in 4 of the 5 races. The protests didn’t go enough against the other team to move us into first place, and served as a reminder that it’s about winning the regatta on the water, not relying on arbitration or umpires, and about showing up as sportsmanlike sailors all the way through. 

As much as it stings to be only one point away from qualifying for VIMSIA’s first ever high school national championships, it also brings the fire and excitement to keep going. To keep training, learning, and showing up for the process (falling down and getting up again and again). I’m so inspired by this weekend. It is a testament to all that we’ve done over the past few years and a nudge of encouragement for what’s to come.

A huge congratulations to the entire team for this accomplishment. Let’s keep this energy up!

Coach Tyler