While most Orcasites were drowning their snowy woes in eggnog Thanksgiving weekend, high school sailors Annalies Schuh and Jake White went island hopping to Oahu, Hawaii. They took home a sweet souvenir: first place in the gold fleet of the Hawaii High School Imu Invitational Regatta.
“When we left here it was 20 degrees and snowing,” said Schuh. “We got there and it was 85 degrees and sunny” – perhaps appropriate for a race named after an underground Hawaiian oven.
The duo sailed for nine hours in 22 races, sweeping into first place with a low score of 55, which was 25 points lower than the second place finish of 80 points.
“That’s a commanding, commanding lead in sailing – an unbelievable lead; they were absolutely the best team there, there is no doubt about it,” said sailing coach Burke Thomas. He said the win was “huge,” representing the first out-of-district regatta win for any of the 24 teams Northwest District of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (NWISA), which covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and British Columbia.
“Typically the teams that are coming are quite skilled. These kids represent some very high caliber sailors,” said Hawaii Youth Sailing Association Staff Commodore Thomas Pochereva. White and Schuh beat out all of Hawaii’s top high school teams.
“It’s equivalent to a state championship,” said Thomas. “Some California teams were there too.”
“It was a lot more windy, a lot more shifty there,” said White, who has been sailing Orcas waters since he was small with his father, optometrist Chris White. “You have to be on your toes.”
Racers must bring their A-game of strength, speed, and strategy to maneuver amidst constantly changing wind and wave conditions. Both White and Schuh began sailing with the Orcas team in seventh grade.
Schuh and White are both interested in attending the University of Hawaii (UH), and were given a personal tour of the campus by the UH sailing coach during their visit. The area where the races were held serves as the UH sailing team’s daily stomping grounds.
White placed third in the regatta last year, with crew Orcas high grad Josh Inch. While White usually skippers, Schuh said she sometimes takes a turn on the tiller when they’ve got a race firmly under wraps. The two are already eyeing the next prize: if they win the big Oregon-Washington NWISA regatta in April, they’ll be heading to nationals in Texas.
For more information on the Orcas high school sailing team, visit www.sailorcas.org.
“I hate it when people say sailing’s not a sport,” said Schuh, “because they have no idea what they’re talking about.”
