When thinking of athletics here at Lake Forest High School, there are many mainstream sports that come to mind. Most play simply for the love of the sport they are involved in, but there are definitely some who do it purely for the study hall they in turn become eligible for. Still, there is a group of individuals that slip through the cracks. The Lake Forest High School club Sailing Team puts in more time and commitment than almost any other team. The sport has two seasons–the fall season as well as the competition season in the spring. Their spring season will hopefully include both Qualifiers and Nationals.

The 2018 competition season opened up this weekend with an ice-breaker tournament and practices began on Monday. This season, the team will be led by co-captains seniors Su Yardimci and Connor Sheridan. The two have been on the team and expressed the dedication that is required to, “make the dream work.” The team practices four times during the school week and then spends ten hours on both Saturday and Sunday perfecting their skills in the water.

While most people know that there is a sailing team at LFHS, the majority do not understand what they are actually doing. There are two different types of racing: Fleet and Team racing. Fleet is standard and the boats all start together and go around a course. Team racing, on the other hand, is when three boats from two different high schools go head-to-head and use tactics and rules to try and get less points than the other team. The scores are determined by the umpires and the book of plays. Connor and Su, as mentioned prior, work together in Fleet racing. In the boat, one will steer and facilitate how the boat turns (known as the Skipper) while the other is in front controlling the rocking and the sail of the boat. The Lake Forest sailing team is expected to do well, yet the team as a whole is predicted to thrive in team racing this season. According to both captains, there has been a lot of focus and stress on it.

The team will begin to tackle their competition these next few months and are predicted to make it to Nationals. The team is extremely hopeful that they will be attending this year. They have attended in the past with the help of some notable alumni, such as Will Curtiss (‘16), now a sophomore at College of Charleston. The C of C team was ranked No. 1 in coed sailing this year and #4 in women’s sailing. Some other successful alumni include Malcolm Lamphere (‘13) at Yale University and Will Haeger, a three-time All-American at Tufts University. Connor Sheridan also plans to sail at Tufts in the fall and will be following in Haeger’s footsteps. Su is undetermined but will definitely be sailing in college.

Overall, the team has a bright future and deserves a lot of recognition. Hopefully this season, the team will be able to solidify their famous saying: “Teamwork makes the dream work.”