BSM Sailing Team Begins Another Season
Luke Evans getting ready to sail for the day.
With spring sports starting the BSM sailing team is hoping to have another successful season. Sailing at BSM is highly anticipated by the team’s members, as the season only runs from the start of April to the end of May.
BSM Sailing is a composite team, meaning they sail with other schools. The program is connected with Wayzata and includes Chanhassen High School, Providence Academy, Wayzata High School, and Orono High School.
BSM currently has four people on the sailing team: senior Luke Evans, junior Trey Brixius, junior Stella Ordahl, and freshman Maggie Weleczki. The composite team has around 20 people in total.
The team participates in regular competitions against other programs on Saturday. Events last all day with each sailor competing in multiple races a day. “I enjoy the race count down right before the sail. I enjoy competing against boats and other schools,” Brixius said.
Their first race is Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at the Wayzata sailing center. The team members are excited to be back sailing, but Evans predicts a tough start to the season. “Our first meet last year did not go super well,” Evans said.
If we advertise a little bit more then I hope to get more people on the sailing team
— Trey Brixius
The unknown of sailing and uncertainties is a huge appeal for many sailors. Evans most enjoys something called “hiking” which happens when your boat is tipping into the water because your sail is catching too much wind. “Hiking is really cool because it’s kind of the most dangerous thing to do in sailing besides actually capsizing. It’s the allure of almost having the boat flipped over on you,” Evans said.
Similar to Evans, Brixius also appreciates how sailing changes because of the weather. One moment you could be sitting still and then one moment later find yourself trying to keep the boat afloat. “I like flipping the boats over during a very windy day,” Brixius said.
BSM Sailing is a close-knit community due to its small size. However, Brixius hopes to expand the team next year and show how exciting the little known sport really is. “If we advertise a little bit more then I hope to get more people on the sailing team,” Brixius said.
