© Dr. Harry Heller

It wasn't the Rose Bowl, but Amherst College¿s first home regatta, held on Arcadia Lake in October 1999, was a momentous occasion for all in attendance.

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Unfortunately for college sailing, the best means of recruiting prospective college sailors might be the monthly rankings that appear in this magazine. Since the sport gets very little publicity, and many college sailing teams are run on a shoestring with little time or money for active recruiting, the Sailing World collegiate rankings are a primary source of information about college sailing programs. Because of this, many up-and-coming scholastic sailors mistakenly think that to get the most out of their college sailing experience, they must attend one of the few powerhouse programs.

"The perception among junior sailors is, if you're a good sailor and want to be big in college sailing, you've got to go to one of the top few schools," says Dan Winters, the head coach at Christopher Newport. "The names that keep showing up in Sailing World in the top 20 are the ones on the kids' minds."

On the surface, the evidence seems to support this point of view. Sailing varsity for Tufts, Charleston, or St. Mary's is about as close as one can get to a guaranteed spot on the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association All-America list. From 1995 through 1999, those three schools earned a third (39 of 115) of the All-America honors given out by the ICYRA and won 11 national titles.

It's important to remember, however, that each of these schools annually attracts a bevy of junior rock stars, some of whom sit on the bench for three years before earning a chance to start or who grow disillusioned long before they get the chance to strut their stuff in an intersectional. It takes only four good sailors to win a national coed or women's dinghy title, and there are over 150 schools recognized by the ICYRA, collegiate sailing's governing body. Many of these schools are just one or two great sailors away from a top-10 national ranking.

In addition, the values of college sailing go well beyond the results. Team trophies and individual honors are, in many cases, a small part of the overall experience.