Olympia Area High School Sailing Team Sets Sail For A Great Season

olympia youth sailing
Photo courtesy Alex Dzinbal
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By Eliza Ramsey, Capital High School intern to ThurstonTalk

duncan sponsorThey are a multi-age, multi-school group but the Olympia Area High School Sailing team is bound together by a common love of the freedom that comes from gliding across the water under only the power of the wind.

The 15 young sailors that populate the team bring a range of backgrounds and experience in sailing. Some are seniors who will soon head off to college with aspirations to sail competitively while others are just starting out. The students from Olympia High School, Capital High School, Washington Middle School and NOVA Middle School meet Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at the Olympia Yacht Club to head out on southern Budd Inlet in Optis, Lasers and 420s. The boats range in size from small dinghies to 15 foot racing craft.

olympia youth sailing
The Olympia Area High School sailing team gathers on the docks at the Olympia Yacht Club.

Coaches Andrew Cannard and Erik Brown both had their interest in sailing jump-started at an early age and hope to pass on their love to the next generation. “I looked up to my coaches and I hope to continue to build a strong tradition of youth sailing,” said Cannard. Both believe that sailing can be an incredibly effective tool for teaching life skills. “Sailing teaches self reliance with an emphasis on adaptation,” added Brown.

Many of the sailors on the team developed their interest by sailing with their parents. Olympia High School Senior Alex Dzinbal has been on boats since he was less than a year old and lives on one part-time. He also sails both with the high school team and in the larger boat races on weekends and Wednesday nights in Puget Sound. Fellow Olympia Senior Laura Smit had a similar experience, “When I was 7 my parents bought a boat for me and my sister, and they taught us to sail in that.”

Several others got their start in the summer sailing programs offered by the Olympia Yacht Club and Olympia Parks and Rec Department. Owen Timms is a 6th grader at NOVA Middle School and after sailing 4 summers and loving it he’s in his first full year with the team. “In the past conflicts always got in the way, but this season I’m really trying to qualify for Opti Nationals,” said Timms.

The team participates in about 10 regattas a year, and racing is the #1 highlight for most of them. “Racing is physical but also kind of a chess game, and you can win without having the best boat speed,” said Dzinbal.

The composite high school sailing team gathers students from throughout Thurston County.  Photo courtesy Alex Dzinbal.
The composite high school sailing team gathers students from throughout Thurston County. Photo courtesy Alex Dzinbal.

At regattas the high school team participates in two types of racing. The first is fleet racing where it is your boat against everyone else and first across the line wins it all. The second, team racing is a bit more complicated. Two teams each with three boats vie for the lowest total score of all the added places. “Fleet racing is much more about tactics, and that’s why I like it more,” said Dzinbal.

When asked about how to best get involved in sailing Dzinbal suggested, “Come down and try it out on a nice day,” which drew laughs from the rest of the team. Sailing in Budd Inlet, the team faces an array of weather from beautiful sunshine to gale-like winds and the all too familiar rain. To fight back against the wet and cold, the team layers up and some even choose to wear wetsuits.

Team coordinator, Jan Visser, has been working the high school team for over a decade, and is excited about the current season. “We have a great class of kids and right now we’re growing as a team.” Visser says sailing is a great sport to continue competing throughout college. Over the past years, several students have gone on to sail in college including several who have drawn interest from Ivy League schools. Dzinbal will be attending the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in Long Island, NY where he plans to sail competitively, racing against the top collegiate teams on the East Coast.

All the young sailors say they hope sailing continues to be a part of their lives, over the next few years and beyond. “I love the thrill of being on the water and the feeling of the wind powering you. Sailing is a great way travel and make friends and do a really, really cool sport,” said Timms.

The team can be seen dotting the southern part of Budd Inlet with their white sails throughout seasons, they love what they do and they would love for you to try it out. Dzinbal says, “Sailing can be whatever you want it to be, from really intense racing to cruising to anything in between and you can do it your entire life.”

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