By Dean Geddes
I&M Staff Writer
Every year the O’Day Qualifiers come, and every year, Nantucket’s top high-school sailors leave for spring vacation, forcing sailing team head coach Nick Judson to field a less than optimal team.
This year, however, with two of the team’s best skippers – junior Morgan Sutherland and senior Jim Sjolund – sailing in the event, Nantucket has its best chance in recent years to make a splash at the O’Days, named for the type of boat – a small, single-masted sailboat with a skipper and one crew member – in which the teams compete.
“We have a solid group that can participate this year. It’s probably one of the best chances we have to qualify for (the New England Championships),” Judson said.
“The nice thing about fleet racing is that it is geared around only two boats, and we are very strong at two skipper positions. Morgan and Jim are two very solid starters for this event.”
On Saturday, Nantucket will travel to the St. George’s School in Newport, R.I. to compete against 11 other schools, with the top three heading to the New England O’Day Championships held the next day at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn. The top four teams in the O’Day New Englands qualify for the prestigious national championships which will be held in Grosse Pointe, Mich. this year.
“National races are huge, but I really have no idea how possible it is for us to make it there,” Sutherland said.
Sutherland, who has competed in two other qualifying events in his sailing career, but never the O’Days, said that qualifiers tend to have less beginners and more experienced competition from top to bottom.
Sutherland will be the skipper and freshman Sarah Erichsen will be his crew. The two only began sailing together this season, and are still working out the kinks.
“She’s new to sailing this year, and it takes a while, at least a year or so, for a team to really get it down, but she is a fast learner,” Sutherland said.
Sjolund and his crew, freshman Annie Sager, will be practicing all this week to get prepared for the event.
Sjolund competed in the event last year that was held on the Charles River in Boston, but it was a particularly calm day, and spending the vast majority of his time sailing on Nantucket, the conditions put him at a distinct disadvantage.
“There are a lot people and a lot of good sailors there. How we do will depend a lot on the conditions and whether we have a good day out there or not. Hopefully I can do better than last year and get in the top ten,” Sjolund said.
Part of the reason Judson requested that the team participate in the qualifiers held in Newport this year as opposed to the Charles River race was because of the conditions.
“This area was our top choice when we signed up for the O’Day. Newport was the one place with winds similar to what we have here. We’re not used to shifty conditions (like on the Charles River) and were looking for a place with steady breeze,” Judson said.
Regardless of the conditions, finishing in the top three will be anything but a breeze. There is tough competition at this qualifying location, with St. George’s, Milton, and North Kingston, all prestigious Rhode Island racing schools, participating, Judson said.
In order to be eligible for an O’Day qualifier, each school has have competed in three races this season. Due to inclement weather, Nantucket has only competed in two, but the Vineyard was gracious enough to host a last-second meet today, so that Nantucket will be able to fill its quota and be eligible, Judson said.
Reach Dean Geddes at sports@inkym.com
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