The Barrington High School sailing team celebrated a return to competitive racing with a state championship recently.

The Eagles, coached by Victoria Guck, topped a field of 11 teams at the 2021 RI Co-Ed State Championships sailed off the Alofsin Piers in Fort Adams, Newport. 

Barrington’s A boat, skippered by Josh Dillon and crewed by Jack Culton, scored 36 points. In nine races, Dillon and Culton finished in second place three times and in third place twice. The North Kingstown A boat had a strong series, capturing first place seven out of nine races. 

Barrington’s B boat, skippered by Olin Guck and crewed by Nate Schneider, proved dominant in its nine races, finishing in first place six times, second place once, and third place twice for a total of 14 points. 

Barrington’s two-boat total of 50 points was five points better than second place North Kingstown. The Prout School finished third with 65 points, while Portsmouth Abbey School was fourth at 87 points, and East Greenwich finished fifth with 96 points.

“There are many strong teams around RI which makes it so much fun when we all get together,” wrote Coach Guck in a recent email to the Times.

“It takes an entire team to win a championship. Every one of our club members is an important part of the team.”

Throughout the regular season, private and public high school teams square off in head-to-head competitions, but only at the state championship did all the teams come together.

“The atmosphere is a fun one as most of the sailors know each other from season competitions and summer sailing in Narragansett Bay,” Coach Guck wrote.

RI high school sailing was shut down last spring, along with the other sports that compete at that time of year. Coach Guck said the team had previously completed a successful fund-raiser and was looking forward to racing. The team was poised to enter the water this past fall, but officials decided to hold off again. 

“The New England Sailing Schools Association (NESSA) coaches kept in contact during the year trying to figure out how to get the sailors on the water in whatever way the state and school guidelines would allow,” Coach Guck wrote. 

The long wait proved worthwhile for the Eagles, however, as they captured the championship against some great competition.

Members of this year’s BHS Sailing team are senior Josh Dillon, juniors Jack Culton, Nate Schneider, Olin Guck, Peter Birch, sophomores Gus Macauley, Brendan Jay, Emma Schnippering and George White, and freshmen Avery Guck and Chris Chwalk. 

Bristol-based

Due to a glitch with Covid-10 this spring, the Barrington High School sailing team practiced out of Bristol Yacht Club, and borrowed boats from the East Bay Sailing Foundation. Coach Guck said Bristol served as a nice spot for the team to train.

“It is an ideal location to hold practice as the boats are racing as soon as they push off the dock,” she wrote, adding that her husband Lars served as an assistant coach this spring. Becky Chwalk and Greg Dillon also worked as assistant coaches for the BHS team.

“We have been fortunate to use the Barrington Yacht Club boats in the past and look forward to continuing our relationship in the fall,” she wrote.