While the view from the back of the fleet may not be so much fun at nationals, there are many sailors in the Midwest, Northwest, and South who are very happy with their situations.

"I've enjoyed the chance to sail Midwest regattas, which are more laid back and more oriented toward meeting the people in your district," says Kathleen Clark, a junior at Michigan. "But we also do a lot of traveling out East which gives you more fierce competition and strengthens your team." Clark says she was slightly burned out on sailing when she entered college and unsure of whether she even wanted to sail at the college level. But she found the mellower Midwest attitude was a perfect match for the amount of time and effort she wanted to commit to the team.

"I really wanted to go to Boston College. I had gotten in and talked to the sailing coach, but it was too much money," Clark says. "I'm actually really glad I went to Michigan. If I went out there, I would've been under too much pressure to sail, and I wouldn't have had the time to get involved in other things."

The parity is also excellent in the Midwest, perhaps as good as any district in the nation. Last spring, five different schools qualified for the six berths at nationals allotted to the MCSA. Notre Dame was the only team to earn a double.

"The Midwest sticks together, but at the same time there are huge rivalries between the schools," says Evangeline Callahan, a 1997 graduate of Old Dominion and a former volunteer coach for Northwestern. "They love to race, they love to sail, and they love to have a good time. They do it in horrible conditions, so they might as well be having a good time."

The sacrifices willingly endured for the sport, from routinely sailing in near-freezing temperatures in NEISA and the MCSA to driving 15 hours each weekend to get to a regatta in SEISA and on the West Coast, might be the best measure of how much fun, enjoyment, and personal satisfaction can be gained from college sailing.

College sailing definitely requires some effort, often a lot of effort. For the smaller programs, this effort is rarely rewarded with medals or individual accolades. But few people will deny that even the intangible rewards are well worth the commitment.