[SailingStNick]

If anyone is concerned about young people and their involvement in sailing, fear not. This is the Ocean Springs Sailing Team from coastal Mississippi, and they won their first Mississippi High School Team Racing Championship this past weekend. The local private school, St Patrick's, had won championships the first five years of organized high school sailing in Mississippi.

The sailor kneeling has been on a boat since he was an infant, so his experience leads the team in every competition. The two holding the trophies have only been sailing a few years and have come a long way in competition sailing. All are 15-16 years old, so we have a great future in racing!

Three years ago the OS team barely had enough sailors to field a team. Now we have 15 in training and 12 Varsity sailors at each week's practices.

 

[paulk]

Sounds good! Our local High School team has 30 some students trying out... as soon as it stops snowing. (more expected tonight) They like the that the competition can be statewide against both public and private schools, and that it's co-ed. We're also lucky in Connecticut that the Coast Guard Academy in New London makes their facilities available for high school regattas when they can.