The N.C. State sailing club has been at full speed this year, acquisitioning third place overall in the North Division of the Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association. The racing team, also known as SailPack, has attended over 20 regattas during the fall and spring seasons, bringing bragging rights back to Raleigh with two first place finishes and three second and third place finishes apiece.
“This is a program that’s on the rise, and is starting to be recognized by others in the college sailing community as an up and coming program,” head coach Dana Magliola said. “The enthusiasm and commitment that our students and sailors put forth is really paying off. They’re positive when they go to regattas, they have great sportsmanship and they’re competing well.”
The club has approximately 60 members, 25 of whom participate in competitive races. The officers have been more than happy with the strong turnout this year.
“We’re all about teaching, and we’re all about bringing new people into the sport and showing them what it is,” junior race-team captain David Rogers said. “With the [racing] team, we really don’t mind if you haven’t sailed before either. Most of us have sailed at least a little bit before, but we just want someone that is committed and athletic and we’re happy to teach you.”
The club is well known for their comprehensive Learn to Sail program, consisting of classroom teachings and hands on practice with the club’s 19-foot dinghies. Club president Dustin Simons began his sailing career as a sophomore after transferring to N.C. State.
Having qualified for the conference championships six consecutive seasons, the SailPack is noticeably gaining traction in the collegiate sailing scene. Over a few years, SailPack has improved from No. 12 in the division to the current No. 3, behind College of Charleston and Clemson. Surprisingly, nearly half of SailPack this season is comprised of freshmen, with enthusiasm among members being the main cause of its success.
“The level of commitment that our team has shown, especially with this year, compared to a lot of teams that we go up against, is really staggering,” Simons said. “We want to be the best, we don’t want to ‘kind-of’ qualify. We love to go [to conference regattas] because we want to be there.”
But not all the success should be attributed to the young and eager faces.
“Communication is big for us. As officers this year I think we really nailed that down,” said Simons.
“We’ve got great student leadership,” Magliola said. “The program really runs on the backs of the student leadership, the commodore from the club, or our race team captain or our women’s teams captains. Our students drive the ship so to speak.”
One of the most persistent problems the club faces is raising money.
“Funding is always a challenge for a sports program, especially one involving boats. Boats are expensive,” Magliola said.
Every sailing organization has to keep equipment such as rigging, sails and the boats themselves in tip-top shape for safety and maximum performance. According to Rogers, most organizations replace their sails every two years and the boats every five. The SailPack boats are at least 25 years old and its sails are almost 20. A recent effort from Magliola and the club members to start independent fundraising projects on the side has marked a noticeable presence in the community for the rising club.
“We get involved with the city, we’ve been advocating for improved facilities at Lake Wheeler, where we practice and sail,” Magliola said. “We’re also involved with other sailing groups in the area like the Carolina Sailing Club.”
The club meets on Thursdays at 7:30 in Carmichael Gym. More can be read about SailPack on www.sailpack.org and on the club’s Facebook page.
“We’d love to have anyone join, we don’t care about how much experience you already have, we just love teaching and showing people this sport,” Rogers said.
