The Barrington High School sailing team made history recently.

For the first time ever, the BHS sailing team will compete in the Keelboat Nationals. The event will be held at St. Petersburg Yacht Club in Florida in December. 

The Eagles finished second at the qualifying meet in Maine in September. St. George’s School in Newport captured first place and secured an automatic bid to nationals. Barrington earned one of only three at-large bids to nationals. Only 10 teams from across the country qualify for nationals — the winner of each of the seven district qualifiers, plus three at-large teams. (The other at-large bids went to a team from the Mid-Atlantic region and a team from the Pacific region.)

The chance to earn a national title caps a stellar fall season for the Eagles. Barrington High School won the  NESSA District Great Oaks Qualifier and was one of three New England teams offered a spot to compete in the National Great Oaks Invitational held recently in Louisiana. Twenty-eight teams from across the country competed in a total of 21 races across two days. 

Barrington finished in first place overall — the Eagles won 13 of the 21 races and finished with 47 points. Second place went to Jesuit High School and third was New Albany High School.

Nov. 29 event

The Barrington High School sailing team, which has more than 30 team members, held a special event on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Barrington Yacht Club. The Eagles invited Charlie Enright to speak at the event — Enright, a Barrington resident, recently won the World Sailing Team of the Year award, and he is the only US skipper to win the Ocean Race.

The Barrington High School sailing team is 100 percent funded by donations — the team must pay for everything, including use of boats and equipment, annual registration fees, regatta fees, transportation, marks and more. 

Students have to have their own gear to participate but the team does have some life jackets for students who want to try sailing on the team in the fall. 

There are more than 30 student-athletes on the team. Practices for the club start in September and run through October — the competitive team practices through November or December. The club is open to anyone who wants to learn to sail or spend a few afternoons on the water. No experience is necessary. The competitive team sails with the sailing club and then competes on the weekends.

Ben Chwalk is coach for Barrington High School this season.