Riordan varsity sailing is back at it again, charting a course for success. Sailing made it to the City Championships this year, which occurred on Jan. 11. They placed 8th out of 11 teams putting up a fight against big teams like Saint Ignatius and The Bay School.

“It was a challenging and windy day, and we’re proud of Riordan’s performance,” said Coach Maddy Kuhn.

The sailing season is long, taking up most of the year with regattas. The team works hard, practicing twice a week at the St. Francis Yacht Club. Leading the team are Head Coach Brent and coaches Parker and Maddy.

This year’s team was made up of mainly returning sailors, so they were able to build up from the work they had put in last year. The team consists of Jai Walthew ’27, Nolan Balocki ’27, Kaia Burris ’27, Paige Walsh ’27, Elizabeth Walsh ’26, and team captain Eva Bennett ’25.

Eva Bennett ’25 said, “I think the team has a lot of potential. It’s challenging when we are part of such a competitive club of 60 private high school sailors from SF schools that has such a strict limit of how many people can sail every year, but we’ve built a strong foundation. As long as the sailors continue to support each other and put in the work, the team will keep improving.”

This year’s team captain Eva Bennett ’25 is passing down the torch to her fellow teammates, leaving words of wisdom behind.
Bennett joined the team when Riordan first turned coed as the first girl on the team, where sailing soon became a large part of her high school experience, so it is not going to be easy to let go.

“When I first joined, I was just learning how to race, and the team was so small we weren’t sure how long it would last. Now, we have a group of committed sailors, twice the size compared to when I started,” said Bennett.

Sailing has a bright future, and even though they have some room to grow, the team is getting better exponentially. They cannot wait to see what the future holds.