As the wind rushes past them, sail boats speed across the lake as fast as they can, as the skippers strive to reach their goal of coming in first place.  With water splashing onto their face and the freezing air around them, all of the elements are against the skippers, yet they are determined to continue forward.

The Stillwater sailing team sails out of Hudson, WI, but also has competitions around the United States.  There are many complex and delicate techniques to controlling a sail boat.  Some general rules are knowing all the equipment necessary to control the boat, knowing how to work the tools on board and being aware of the general safety guidelines.

A sailing regatta seems quite complicated, but is actually very relaxed and simple.

“There’s an A group and a B group, A being the better of the two, and depending how many sailors are going to the race, theres at least two sailors in each group. Most of the time we had around eight sailors at the races so we had two boats out on the water and if there were more than eight we switched off for each race. Group A goes out for two races and then group B goes out for two races. On competition days we go from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. so we just sail as many races as we can during that time. The race itself is pretty simple, we go out from a starting line between two buoys, sail around another buoy, go back to the starting line, and repeat until we’ve gone there and back four times,” said junior Summer Thompson.

Although the competition seems laid back and fun, the weather conditions can be very hazardous.

“Getting hit by the boom is always exciting and painful, though it doesn’t happen much. Being cold was definitely a big part of sailing for us. Once a team member’s foot got stuck in a rope and they tipped and were pulled under but our fantastic coach Bill did a nice swan dive into the chilly and saved him,” said junior Story Schwantes.

In terms of sailing, wind would be regarded highly, unless there is too much wind, which then becomes extremely dangerous.

“There was one regatta this fall where the wind was insane. 90 percent of the boats tipped in the first race, and the second race only went out for 10 minutes before they cancelled the whole thing,” explained Schwantes.

This sailing team certainly has its ups and downs, but the sport continues to be a positive experience.  Skippers of all ages rise to the challenge and defeat the elements to achieve a goal they have set for themselves.