1. No previous experience needed
Before joining the club last semester, I had only taken a few sailing lessons my senior year of high school so I was nowhere near being an experienced sailor. The team accepted me with open arms though, as they do anyone who has an interest in sailing, whether you’ve been sailing all your life or don’t know what a sailboat looks like. We don’t have coaches so the members teach each other the basics and then help to fine tune whatever needs fixing, which is pretty cool since it gives you a chance to meet a lot of the members one on one and form lasting friendships.
Foggy day at Marquette
2. Regattas are super fun
I was only able to go to one regatta last semester, but I’m super excited to go to a lot more this semester. We drove all the way to Marquette and the first night there I got to meet a lot of people from the other teams at a party that the Marquette Sailing Club hosted. The races were cancelled on Saturday because there was too much fog, but we had fun nevertheless by having dolly races on the shore and just bonding with the team. Team bonding is definitely the best part about the regattas. I was able to get to know everyone that went a little bit more and make better friendships with them, which makes everything a lot more fun.
First regatta!
3. Sailing relieves stress and makes you happy!
There were many times last semester where I would think twice about going to practice because I was tired or, being the lazy person that I am, didn’t want to stop watching Netflix and get out of bed. And sometimes I wouldn’t (that’s another plus…if you are too busy or have a crazy week, practice isn’t mandatory so you can go whenever you can make it). However, sometimes I would force myself to make the trek down to St. Joe’s and never once did I regret it. Whether I was able to get some good sailing in, or just chilled on the dock, I would always have a good time and would come back to my dorm in a great mood. During times when I was stressed I would force myself to go, because there is just something about being out on the water that made all my worries go away.
4. We get to paddle board
Now, I’m not sure if this is against the rules, but were were a few times last semester where we would take out the two paddle boards that are in the boat house and just paddle around. I loved these days. I paddle board on occasion back home and being able to do this here definitely made me feel like I was back in Puerto Rico.
5. The clothes
While we do have to pay for them, the sailing club gear is pretty awesome. It may be one of the reasons why I joined. The hat, the shirts, the burgees…I pretty much bought one of everything because they look pretty cool and they are super comfy. Also, you can’t get them anywhere else on campus!
6. The parties
The sailing parties are definitely the best parties. A lot of the people are part of the club just because of them. There is always an interesting theme, Flip Cup is a must, and Wagon Wheel will always be played, encouraging everyone to gather around and sing at the top of our lungs. It’s another form of team bonding and definitely one of my favorites.
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