Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics

Three members of the sailing team competed in the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Singlehanded Championships at Brown University this past weekend. Michelangelo Vecchio ’27 led the Polar Bears in the open division, placing fifth among 34 sailors. Cole Amaral ’28 placed 23rd, while Rebecca Schill ’27 came in seventh in the women’s division.

The regatta took place over two days, and results were determined by the cumulation of seven races. This required Vecchio, Amaral and Schill to stay mentally prepared to race even when competition was delayed due to lack of wind.

“I was definitely pretty excited to get going, and I needed to find a way to keep that excitement up throughout the day,” Schill said. “Mentally you have to stay strong and keep focused once you’re racing.”

Keeping an even keel was important to all the racers. Vecchio’s second race was not what he had hoped, and he emphasized the importance of resetting afterwards.

“It was definitely tough to reset, but having a routine in place helped me do that, having support from my coach and my teammates really helped me,” Vecchio said.

While sailing, the Polar Bears stayed laser-focused, gauging the changing winds and currents to optimize their performance.

“You have to be fully concentrated on the boat … and then also the conditions around you,” Amaral said. “And that’s what’s special about sailing: You can’t control any of that really. It’s so wind-dependent and weather-dependent that you have to be aware of so many different things at once.”

For Vecchio, getting a good start to each race was of utmost importance. Every competitor started on the same starting line, and positioning his boat well at the line helped Vecchio’s mindset throughout the rest of the race.

“I was really focused on [wind] but also focused on good starts, so that you have the ability to sail your own race and make your own decisions,” Vecchio said.

Sailing is a very technical sport with strict rules governing the starting line and boat movement while racing.

“It has to be muscle memory,” Amaral said. “To be a sailor you have to not even think. It just comes naturally.”

Even though athletes sailed individually this weekend in International Laser Class Association boats, most regattas rely on communication and trust between team members as they sail in doublehanded boats called 420s and FJs. Radtke stressed the importance of having a close-knit team environment, especially when teammates are in the same boat.

“A college sailing team is pretty different from a lot of sailing teams that people have been on before. They’re used to it being a little bit more individualized,” Radtke said. “I try to work with the athletes to understand how they can establish the team culture.”

Vecchio appreciates the supportive team dynamic, as well as the co-ed nature of practices and team culture.

“We sail with males and females together all the time, which I think is a very unique dynamic,” Vecchio said. “Most of my friends are on the team, and I think it’s become like a second family.”

That supportive team culture was on full display late Sunday night when the three sailors arrived back to campus. Their teammates were waiting to celebrate with them once they  got off the bus, congratulating them after a long weekend on the water.

For now, team goals for the season are holistic and focused on improvement.

“We’re really focusing on setting a strong foundation for the rest of the fall and then going into the spring semester,” Radtke said.

A big part of this goal is having fun, something Schill is embracing.

“There have been a couple days where I’ve been sailing and I’m just having so much fun that I get off the water and [realize] wow, school exists because I’m just so in the moment having fun,” Schill said.

Next weekend, the Polar Bears will travel to a variety of regattas at Brown University, Dartmouth College, Tufts University, the University of Vermont and Boston College.