All hands on deck: sailors rig up and hit the open seas

Two Fridays ago, the club sailing team made their usual trip down to the Inner Harbor for what they thought would be an ordinary day of sailing. What they found, however, were 40-mph gusts of wind, rolling waves and the most intense sailing experience of the year. "It was nuts, the most crazy day!" freshman sailing instructor Greg Shultz said. That Friday, the experienced sailors to had a blast and the novice sailors learned basically every possible situation they would need to know regarding sailing.

Though images of shipwreck and The Perfect Storm come to mind, the conditions were not so rough that anyone was in any serious danger. "Everything was pretty safe," freshman sailing instructor Jack Lewis said. "It was actually a great time. It was a fun crash course for people, especially people who had never sailed before."

The club sailing team was fortunate to gain the leadership of four sailing instructors this year: Shultz, Lewis, freshman Roxi Radi and senior John Criezis. Every Friday they help new sailors rig the boats, set sail and instruct those who need help. The success of the program was mostly made possible from the efforts of Criezis, who has been involved with club sailing since his freshman year. When Criezis began sailing in 2002, the program was stricken with a number of problems regarding organization, finance and commitment. Transportation also became a problem, forcing the team to pay per session.

"My first year was kind of a mess," Criezis said. "In a sense we actually didn't go sailing my freshman year. We got out once or twice in the spring." However, as Criezis gradually took the club sailing reins, the program improved dramatically. Over his four-year span, the sailors were able to sign a contract with the Downtown Baltimore Sailing Center, allowing them to sail in different locations, take out four boats at a time and most importantly, pay a flat fee instead of paying per session. The club was also able to gain the sponsorship of the Outdoor Pursuits program, which alleviated financial strain.

However, despite Criezis' success at rejuvenating the program, the club sailing team still sees its share of troubles. When asked about difficulties regarding recruitment, transportation and scheduling, Shultz said, "All of the above! There are only four instructors who really do it all the time, every week (Criezis, Lewis, Radi and Shultz). We haven't had that many people show an interest in doing it all the time."

Again, transportation was an issue earlier in the year. When the program started up this spring, the club had difficulties finding vans to transport the sailors to the Inner Harbor. The instructors were often forced to ask for rides from their friends who had cars on campus. However, Criezis took charge once again, certifying enough drivers and renting enough vans to allow the sailors to get out on the water every week.

Possibly the sailing club's biggest obstacle is completely out of their hands. "The biggest problem for sailing is the weather," Lewis said. This year's fluctuating weather patterns made setting sail a gamble for the club team. They were either blessed or cursed from the second they set out, facing either gentle breezes or torrential gusts.

Though the club sailing team currently sails just for sheer enjoyment, they do have their eyes on the competitive circuit. The Downtown Baltimore Sailing Center, from which the team sails, sponsors a Friday night racing program.

"We were thinking of doing that on Fridays eventually," Shultz said. "We've tried to look into it, but it's really expensive just getting boats, so if we had alumni who would like to donate money to the sailing club, that would be great!"

But will the club be able to move forward without the leadership of Criezis, who has practically saved the program? Criezis has faith that it will.

"We have fraternity instructors who are abroad but will be back next semester, so we should be in really good shape going out," Criezis said. Combined with the young leadership of Shultz, Lewis and Radi, it looks to be smooth sailing for the club team in the years to come.