Fresh air; warm sun; breezy wind; cool waters. These are some words that may come to mind when thinking of sailing.
But mother nature had other ideas for Minnesota sailing teams this past season.
Fresh air? More like frostbite.
Warm sun? Nonexistent.
Breezy wind? A high school student at Benilde went into hypothermic shock.
Cool waters? Frozen lakes, to be exact.
So with Minnesota snow and ice all the way up through May, what happened to sailing?
According to Charlie Christianson, ’13, “The season started off rough with a late ice out. Eventually we did get out on the lake, dodging ice for the first few weeks. Once the ice cleared, we started practicing like we normally would.”
Though the weather was not ideal in the least, the sailing team embraced the merciless weather, and faced the waters with a determined attitude. After practicing in semi-normal conditions for a while, the sailing team headed to multiple regattas, which are boat races, and ended their season at co-ed state.
“All in all,” Christianson concluded, “It was a short but good season.”
There you have it. Hopefully next year the lakes will not be frozen in the middle of spring, but if they are, the sailing team has a year of experience under their belt.