By: Izzy Blansfield ’18 & Hannah Bolandian ’19

The Staples sailing team is one of the less popular sports in the Staples community, with a lack of super fans at their regattas and knowledge surrounding the intricacies of operating a sailboat.
According to team member Andrew Breschard ’18, sailing is a more skills-based sport that requires patience, adaptability and precision.
“You need to really understand the sport and realize that the sometimes slow pace of it can often make it more exciting. When the wind’s lighter, it’s important not to let yourself fall behind and to sail much smarter.”
Captains Burke Anvari ’17 and Nicole Welch ’17 elaborate on the demands of sailing, explaining that intense concentration, knowledge, practice and fitness levels are also important to the success of a sailor.
While the sailing team might not be spending day in and day out in the gym lifting weights and bulking up, they do focus on maintaining a strong core and strong hands in their team workouts to perform their best on the water.
Many members of the team have been working on developing and strengthening these qualities since early on, whether it be picking it up as an activity at summer camp or learning the ropes on Sundays from mom or dad.
“I’d say the average amount of time people on the team have been sailing is around six or seven years,” Breschard said.
The team’s hard work has paid off, as they had their best season in history last year. The team finished with a 12-4 record and placed second in the Fairfield County’s sailing league. They remain in high hopes that their success will continue into this season.
However, half of the members of last year’s team graduated, with four key sailors moving on to Division I sailing schools. Despite the loss of great talent, Anvari remains high in spirits.
“We have big shoes to fill, we have a lot of new talent on the team and are confident that we can repeat our success of last year,” Anvari said.
By practicing four days a week at the Cedar Point Yacht Club and attending many workout and classroom sessions, the team is prepared to give their best efforts on and off the water to have a successful season.
Additionally, the team’s coach, Samantha Parisi, has been a huge contribution and role model that has beneficially impacted the success of the team.
Due to the work of Parisi, “The team as a whole has seen improvement in understanding the rules of sailing and team racing concepts,” Will Rudaz ’18, a member of the team, said.