Given its proximity to the coast, La Jolla High School has a lot of ties to the sea, from the art and science classes that go to observe the ocean to the sports teams that play or practice on its shore.
But like the ocean tides, participation in the La Jolla High sailing team has been ebbing and flowing in recent years.
The team most recently was revived in 2022 after a four-year absence due to a lack of sailors. Since then, the team has consistently dedicated two days a week to practicing out of the Mission Bay Yacht Club and has competed in regattas up and down the state.
This year, however, the team is facing a shortage of sailors and is looking to boost its numbers. Student Trevor Dunklee said there currently are five student sailors and the minimum to compete in a regatta is four.
“Sailing is incredibly fun while offering physical challenges and complex decision-making,” Dunklee said. “Our two-person boats are manned by a skipper and crew who work together to sail with precision and speed. … So when we race, it is a true test of sailor and crew skills and abilities, not equipment.”
Given that the sailing “season” aligns with the school year from May to September, it offers flexibility to those who also want to compete in other sports, he added.
“The team is a great place to grow and learn,” Dunklee said. “Competition is an option, regattas are an option. There is no pressure.”
Aside from general athleticism and knowing how to swim, sailing requires few prerequisites, said coach Joshua Pelletier.
“It is a pretty athletic sport in that it requires a lot of leg and core strength, but the nice thing about sailing for the most part is that it is coed, so anyone with any athletic ability can get started,” he said.
“Because sailing is also a strategic sport, the sailors build analytical skills, planning skills and the ability to multitask. You have to plan around what is ahead of you on the course and make quick decisions.”
Despite the team’s small size, “we are able to be competitive against large programs having significantly greater scope and resources,” Dunklee said. “Through generous grant , we have been able to attend all five Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association regattas this year as well as a number of smaller regattas … which do not count toward rankings but are valuable nonetheless.”
The Vikings currently are ranked 29th out of 68 schools in the PCISA.
Recruitment will be the team’s focus in coming months, Dunklee said. It will have a booth at the school’s club fair in the fall and is building a development program to include eighth-graders who want to build their sailing skills ahead of high school.
“We can teach them and prepare them for high school sailing,” Dunklee said. “They attend practices and we practice as a team and can compete in regattas that don’t contribute to our overall ranking.”
Home- and remote-schooled students who live in the La Jolla High School area also may apply, he said.
One of the team helping to usher in the next generation of sailors is freshman Katie McQuaid, who ed this year.
“Having a small team is nice because everyone gets the chance to sail,” she said. “With bigger teams, not everyone gets the chance to compete in a regatta. But with this group, we all get to. And when we’re not sailing, we’re talking and bonding.”
Having spent three years in Vienna, McQuaid had experience with leisure sailing, but nothing competitive. Now, she said, “I have the experience and skills needed to compete. I’ve learned so much about how to maneuver a boat and racing tactics. It’s been great so far.”
Learn more about the team at sites.google.com/view/ljhssailteam. ♦
