Northern VT HS Sailing Team Hits the Lake

Report by Mike Curkov, mychamplainvalley.com (abc22/Fox44)

Burlington, VT — This week at the Community Sailing Center on Burlington’s waterfront, the Northern Vermont high school sailing team raised their sails for the first time this year. They may not play under the lights, but there’s just as much athleticism, teamwork and positional expertise as any sport.

“There’s two people. One is the crew.” said Rice Memorial sophomore and NVHSST member Darcy Lavoie. “They usually control the jib. And if there’s a spinecker, they control the spinecker. Which is another sail. Then the skipper steers the boat.”

“When the wind picks up, you really get moving out there and things can go bad pretty fast if you’re not on top of it.” said Ben Hunt, Burlington High School junior. “You just really have to concentrate and you’re working out your mind as well as your body.”

“It’s really just a sport for every single person out there sitting in a boat.” said Community Sailing Center Associate Director Jen Guimaraes. “So, we have sailors that are tall, short, broad shouldered, skinny. It’s neat because it brings together such a diverse group of students.”

The students are diverse in many aspects, including their school. The NVHSST is made up of sailors from CVU, Burlington, South Burlington, Rice Memorial, Essex, Colchester and some home schooled students.

“I think it’s great.” said Hunt. “I meet a lot of people that I wouldn’t meet at school. It’s a different crowd. Other teams, it’s pretty much just your school. You’re not meeting people from other schools as much. It really brings the whole community together.”

“Without the help of grant support that we write each year, we wouldn’t be able to run such a big conglomerate team.” said Guimaraes.

The team’s first regatta is 9/7 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME.