by Julia Soes
Sail Orcas Head Coach
When I finished my instructor course for teaching sailing, I was asked which program I thought I might want to work for. My answer, without pause, was Orcas. Having spent years in the sailing community, I was drawn to Orcas for a number of reasons. At every event, youth and adult, their sailors seemed to have the most fun, but what was more impressive to me was how well they did in spite of being from such a small population.
Sitting in my coach boat in mid-December as some of the youth sailors headed out in their single-person Lasers to train, I felt like I was starting to grasp why they did so well. But their success goes beyond just the sailor’s level of dedication and willingness to fight the cold. Orcas, as a community, supports their sailors like no other that I’ve come across.
The high school sailing team has a long and impressive history under the leadership of Burke Thomas and Hannah Tuson Turner, but over COVID, both Orcas and San Juan Island decided not to take part in the Northwest Interscholastic Sailing Associsations regattas to avoid putting their communities at risk. Now that things are starting to look a little bit more like normal and classes at Sail Orcas have re-opned, the team is back and growing fast.
High School Sailing has two main season in the northwest, one in the fall and another larger primary season in the spring. This year the fall season turn out was one of the largest the Orcas program has ever seen. While the fall season was a definitely a success, we anticipate that the spring will be even better with more away regattas, weekend clinics, and much better weather.
Currently, the majority of the team’s sailors are in 8th and 9th grade, which means they have a long time to learn the ropes and hone their skills. The team is open to any 8th-12th graders on Orcas with 7th graders being allowed to practice with the team if they wish to get a head start for the future.
The Spring 2022 season will run From February 10th through May 20th, practices will be three days a week and run out of the Orcas Island Yacht Club in West Sound. Opportunities to sail single handed or as a part of the keelboat team will also be available. The Spring Season informational meeting will be held over zoom on Feb. 2, anyone who wants to learn more should contact Sail Orcas through their website or Facebook page.
