Teen Program

 

The Orcas High School Sailing Club participates in an exciting racing season. A core group of juniors and sophomores returns to the team each spring, some have sailed on the team in previous years. They have worked hard each year, and with the experience gained, look forward to competing boat for boat with the other teams in our district. The Sailing Club often hosts our district’s doubled-handed championships at the end of April on West Sound, with the winning team moving on to the National Championships at the Mallory Cup. Many other weekend regattas are on our schedule each year as well, including the Junior Olympics, end of August at Shilshole Bay, hosted by the Seattle Yacht Club. New to the club is the addition of a high performance sailing skiff called a 29er. Designed as a trainer for the Olympic class 49er, this boat is projected to bring the same excitement to sailing as the snowboard has to winter sports. We plan to race the 29er on the summer youth circuit. We also aim to send some of our young women off to the Ida-Lewis & Leiter Cup regattas, which are the junior women’s championships.

The Orcas High School Sailing Club is sponsored by Sail Orcas and is a member of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (our national high school organization). We sail on West Sound, using the Orcas Island Yacht Club’s picnic shelter as our home base. We welcome teens in grades 7-12 to sail with the club. We sail and race to have fun, increase our skills and learn to enjoy this lifetime sport. Our sailing season runs from March to October, and the sailors are instructed with coaches that are U.S. Sailing Certified. Sailors in the club commit to our spring season (March-May) and then choose how involved they want to be throughout the rest of the year. The club sails two-person Vanguard-15 sailboats in team events, and lasers and laser radials in single-handed events. We encourage parents and adult sailors to participate with us on the water or dockside.

General Information:
Teens in grades 7-12 are invited to join the Sail Orcas Teen Program. Participants in the Sailing Club sail and race to have fun and increase their skills. The Orcas High School Sailing Club is a member of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (I.S.S.A.), and all coaches are U.S. Sailing Certified Instructors.

Equipment:
Team sailing is in Vanguard 15's. Sailors are to provide their own life jacket (with name marked inside). Warm clothing is required! This includes polar fleece, caps, gloves, fleece socks, etc, but NOT cotton! Sailor are to bring a change of clothing and a towel to every practice.

Parent Involvement:
The Sailing Team has a goal to represent our district in the Nationals Competitions. We will need everyone's help to achieve that goal each year. Here are some ways you can support our team:

  • Organize two fund-raisers that the kids can do (funds will help support clothing and travel).
  • Chaperone outings with the team.
  • Organize snacks and lunches for the team during practices and home meets.
  • Write press copy and submit photos to the Sounder.
  • Participate in a phone tree to help contact students and parents so that coaches can have weekly updates on participation.