06/01/2026
What a wild couple of days! Southern battled with the 20 best high school sailing teams in the country this weekend and left New Orleans with a hard fought 10th-place finish in the High School Sailing National Championship.
Lake Pontchartrain, we quickly learned, is a very difficult place to sail. Saturday morning, very little wind, 90 degrees. Chop everywhere. Some sailors figured it out, others didn't.
Our A Division duo of junior Jude Ryon and sophomore Sergio Santos did a pretty good job of it with three top 10 finishes in the first two sets. Good thing. Let's just say our B Division team was among those who didn't. After the first two sets we were sitting in 17th place when the wind dropped out completely and we waited all afternoon.
A little after 5 pm a bit of breeze finally filled in and we got back out on the water for one more set. At this point the chop had subsided and junior Gannon Botwinick and sophomore Ella Linkewich found some speed in the flatter water. Their fifth in the final B division race of the day, coupled with a fifth in the final A Division race, left us with a bit higher spirits as we left the club as the sun was setting at 8 pm.
The lake greeted us with little wind Sunday morning, but it gradually filled in and eventually provided some excellent racing in 6-12 kts and relatively flat water. Jude and Sergio continued battling in the top of the extremely tough A Division, posting four top five finishes to help us climb in the standings.
But the real difference Sunday was in B Division. After that bad start on Saturday, Gannon and Ella settled in and sailed really, really well. On Sunday, they were in the top 10 in eight of the 10 races. If you took away those first two sets, they would have finished 6th in B Division. As is, their 19-20-18-20-14-5-18-2-6-10-5-8-7-4-17-4 series was 12th in the division. Jude and Sergio ended up 10th in a tightly bunched A Division with a 11-5-9-8-13-5-8-13-2-12-6-19-6-14-5-8.
These were the top 20 schools in the country and the talent ran top to bottom - evidenced by the fact that only one team finished the series with no races worse than 15th. And that was not the team that won.
I'm really proud of how our sailors battled through the long days, intense heat and mental stress. In most sports, games last a couple hours. Sailing requires staying focused all day. On Saturday, that meant 9 am until almost 8 pm. Both fleets sailing at the same time, no breaks, through 32 races. But we handled it really well. When other teams faltered, we kept moving up.
In the end, Severn (Annapolis) won, followed by St. George's School (Rhode Island) and Mater Dei (California).
Just getting to the nationals is a big accomplishment. This was our third straight appearance, having finished ninth in Charleston two years ago and 11th in Connecticut last year. With no seniors graduating, hopes are high for next year.
Now about New Orleans... We arrived a day early and saw a lot. From Bourbon Street to the Riverwalk to Sail 250 which was in town. From the WWII museum to the aquarium to something called an escape house. Southern sailors and their parents could be seen all very town. All the sailors had parents there and it was a fantastic experience spending time with them.
A final note. This was an expensive trip, and we are so, so grateful to our loyal supports, and to our new supporters, who made this possible. We are a public school competing with some deep-pocketed private schools. Together we are doing a pretty good job! Thank You. We would also like to welcome you to our annual awards dinner/fundraiser at 6 pm Sunday at Surf City Yacht Club. Just drop a line in the comments section so we know how many people to expect.
For those who would like to add their support, tickets are $25 and can be purchased with Venmo -SouthernSailing or by check made out to Friends of Southern Sailing and mailed to Steve Warren at 16 N. Bay Ave., Cedar Bonnet Island, NJ 08050.
It's been a great year and we look forward to seeing a lot of you on Sunday!
