The Sage Hill sailing team has a long and distinguished tradition. The sailing team started just after the school opened in 2000. The team has had great success. In 2008, Sage finished sixth in the national high school sailing finals. In the 2010-11 school year, the team finished ninth in the Pacific Coast region, almost qualifying for the national finals again.

Unfortunately, most of the key members of the team graduated in 2011. We need new members! High school sailing is a coed sport. Boys and girls compete head-to-head. The Newport Beach area is a focal point for colleges recruiting sailors, and for good reason. The top two college sailors in the country this year both sailed on Newport high school teams, and Sage alumnus Mac Mace was a collegiate All-American skipper, one of only two underclassmen. The college sailing scene is dominated by prominent East Coast colleges and Stanford. Within the past six years there have been at least six Newport Beach sailors recruited for the Stanford team, including Sage Hill’s own Sally Mace. In the national coed finals this year, the following college teams placed in the top eight, most with several local high school sailors: Yale (3 Newport high school sailors), Georgetown (3), College of Charleston (3), St. Mary’s of Maryland (2), Hobart and William Smith (1), Harvard, and Roger Williams. Succeeding in high school sailing is a good way to get noticed by some of the best colleges in the country. Women sailors are in particular demand, since there are two divisions in college, coed and women’s.

The Sage Hill team practices on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from January through April with the Newport Harbor, CDM and Mater Dei teams. Harbor and CDM each finished in the top six in the national high school championship last year. Sage Hill has one of the best coaches in the area and competes on the level with these national powerhouses.

Let us know if you are interested in participating in the sailing team. The team needs skippers and crews. Sailing experience is helpful for skippers. No prior experience is required for crews. While it is not true for all sports, small size is actually a benefit for sailing. Come join us by contacting James Mather at 14matherj@sagehillschool.org or Mrs. Connolly at connollym@sagehillschool.org.