Sailing
Situated in one of the most beautiful areas of New England, Dublin School has its perks in terms of outdoor opportunities. A favorite destination is Dublin Lake, a deep, spring-fed body of water that's within a short walking distance from our campus. Protected by stringent motorboat laws, and graced with a lot of good wind, the lake also serves as the home to our sailing team.
Because of the lake's proximity to the school, the sailing program has a long history at Dublin. It flourished in the 1990s, then after some brief inactivity in the early 2000s, returned to form in recent years. Headed up by coach Rich Connell, the squad, which attracts students with a broad range of experience, practices daily during the autumn, beginning soon after students arrive on campus in early September. These are exciting practices, with Coach Connell and his coaching staff setting up challenging courses in the late afternoon autumn light for the students to navigate. It's an invigorating feeling to be in the middle of beautiful Dublin Lake, taking on the wind and taking in an unimpeded view of nearby Mt. Monadnock, the most climbed mountain in the world.
While still a small program, the sailing team does offer an impressive fleet of boats, including six Vanguard 420s, four Sunfish, which were donated to the school by a generous supporter in 2010, three JY15s racing boats, and one Flying Scot. Working closely with the coaching staff, all members of the team are given valuable experience at handling these boats, while also gaining a better understanding of what it takes to work with others on a team.
October 15th -- Dublin vs. NMH @ Dublin Lake
The Dublin School sailing team competed in and hosted its first regatta of the fall season on the Saturday of Parents' Weekend. This race marked the 2nd annual duel held between Dublin and Northfield Mount Hermon. Set on Dublin Lake under partly cloudy skies, and aggressive wind conditions, Dublin and NMH fielded four boats each, making a total of eight hulls on the water and creating quite a sight for spectators on shore. The race course consisted of a basic port-triangle: three marks to round and a finish line.
Right away, it was clear that the Dublin sailors had the upper hand: they were comfortable with the strong winds, and were more accustomed to the heavy gusts that frequently tore down the length of the course. Northfield, however, was not to be counted out, as they demonstrated they were far more prepared than the previous year's regatta, being more apt to handle to the harsh conditions.
Email Article November 5th -- Pickney Fleet Regatta @ Lake Winnipesauke
The Dublin School sailing team competed in the Pickney Fleet Regatta over the first weekend in November. Hosted by Brewster Academy, this marked Dublin’s first ISSA (Interscholastic Sailing Association) sanctioned race since its reestablishment as a competitive team in 2010. The regatta was open to all New England high school programs, and attracted 12 teams.
The regatta was held on Lake Winnipesauke, which typically has aggressive winds, but remained relatively light on this day. Each team present was allowed a total of four sailors to represent their respective program: two in the “A Division”, and two in the “B Division”. Since there were a limited number of hulls available, races between the A and B Divisions were switched off every two races. Originally set to hold 24 races total (12 for each the A and B Fleet), only 14 were completed due to the light winds and waning daylight. There was also some alternating between using the standard windward-leeward course and a port triangle depending on the strength of the wind at the time. All races consisted of one rounding of the course.