Near the southernmost end of campus, a small gray cabin, surrounded by boats, kayaks and windsurf boards, sits a short distance from Lake Michigan’s shore. Although it may not seem more than a lakeside house to passersby, for 68 students, the Northwestern Sailing Center is a home away from home.
“It’s a great sport because it is such a social sport,” said Tod Reynolds, former NU sailing team captain. “You meet a ton of people all over the world.”
Founded in the late 1950s, the NU Sailing Team has grown from a small, social team to one of the largest in the country, said Reynolds, the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association’s commodore. The team continually ranks at the top of the MCSA, placing second in Spring 2008 and third in Fall 2008, he said.
“Since I came to Northwestern, the sailing team has been one of my main priorities,” the McCormick junior said. “Growing it and making it into a bigger and more competitive team has been a major goal.”
Although the team ranks high among programs at other Midwestern schools, some sailors hope to make their team even better, Reynolds said.
“We are placing in the back third nationally and we want to place in the top third, but to do that we need new facilities and a new coach,” he said.
With the expansion of the music school, a facelift to the sailing facilities, built in 1974, is no longer solely a priority of the sailing team, Reynolds said.
“One of the big things is that the university itself is trying to figure out what it wants to do in terms of a new boathouse as it develops south campus with the new music buildings,” he said.
The team’s main concern, however, is finding a new coach to run practices instead of the team’s two captains, Reynolds said.
Sarah Hughes, one of the co-captains, said they are responsible for running practices, deciding who will sail in a regatta and who will comprise the pairs in individual boats. A separate official, the commodore, handles the team’s administration.
“It is frustrating though because it would be so much better to have a coach,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “Many of us don’t know how to run drills and would rather be out on the water.”
Even though they don’t have a permanent coach, the sailing team does get help from Chicago sailors and high school coaches, Reynolds said.
“We are really lucky to have top high school programs around us,” he said. “The coaches are very generous and help us out whenever they can.”
In order to make sure these plans come to fruition, an advisory board compromised of Chicago sailors, alumni and student representatives was established in the fall, Reynolds said. The main function of the advisory board is to oversee the long term development of the team, he said.
Newly elected Commodore Andrew Wien said he hopes to address the team’s dynamic. Even though the sailing team is strong this year, he said he plans to place more emphasis on competition.
“I’ve come in at a very special time,” the McCormick senior said. “I want people to remember that we are a competitive team. I want my captains to run more defined practice drills, get more people to come to practice and hold them accountable.”
However, some sailors said they like that competition isn’t mandatory for all. Monica Scheer said she joined the team to become part of a campus community and still have time to devote to academics.
“You can dedicate as much time to sailing as you want,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “You can choose what you make of it, while still being part of close-knit family.”
