“What do you think you would enjoy more: sitting on the sidelines of a hot soccer pitch on a sunny Saturday, or sitting on the deck of a yacht club in the shade of water?” asked Sailing Coach Dr. Anthony “Doc” Pelletier.
Living in San Diego, known for its beautiful weather and glistening beaches, means most students share a connection to the water – whether it’s surfing, swimming, or watching the sunset at La Jolla shores after school. In one particular water sport, the open water becomes a chess board for the athlete to navigate, and athletes become one with the air and water: sailing.
Team member Cameron Rosso (‘27) explained, “The best part of sailing is the freedom you feel on the open water…all of the stress from the day just fades away as soon as you’re out there. After a long day of school, there’s nothing better than heading out with a group of friends who can share the adventure with you.”
Bishops’ sailing team currently consists of 13 members led by Captains Celeste Oder (‘26) and Max Payne (‘25). Sailing is a co-ed sport and is composed of both new and experienced sailors; Celeste explained that “people can join during any of the 3 trimesters.”
A normal day at sailing practice starts with the team leaving campus at approximately 3:25 pm, after Chemistry Teacher and Sailing Coach Doc is able to leave office hours. Doc drives the sailors to the Mission Bay Yacht Club in the team van, and once the team arrives, they change into sailing gear, unpack, and rig up small boats called the CFJ (Club Flying Junior). After a small strategy talk or overview of the day’s drills, the boats are launched from the beach and the sailors are on the water.
Cameron explained, “The thrill of high winds and the tranquility of calmer days make it such a unique experience where everything is different each time you go out on the water. Sailing never gets boring or repetitive.”
Out on the water, the team runs drills across Mission Bay. One drill is called “up-downs,” which is “basically like running sprints across a field, but instead, we follow the wind and make many turns that generate speeds called ‘tacks’ and ‘gybes’ to navigate through our warmup,” explained Cameron. The day ends with practice races and a small debrief and tactic talk, and the team pulls their boats out of the water surrounded by the sunset.
The Bishop’s sailing team ranked seventh of 33 teams at the recent Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association (PCISA) Anteater regatta, and has grown in recent years. Team Captain Celeste Oder (‘26) commented, “our last travel regatta in Newport, called Anteater, [was] the best performance we’ve had during my time on the team.” The team has grown both in performance and in size — from six members last year to 13 this year.
Doc mentioned, “I’ve ended up recruiting out of my chemistry class, far more often than you would think. We added a couple new sailors last year that came out from the chemistry class, and we added a couple new ones this year who haven’t raced, who all came out of the chemistry class.”
Both Doc and Celeste said that one of their favorite parts about the team is watching new sailors improve. Celeste explained, “I recently sailed with one of our teammates who had been struggling to do most things at the beginning of the year. Even in this short of a time, he has improved drastically, and I would now consider him among our better sailors who are ready for the travel team. I find it very rewarding to watch people grow and improve as they learn to sail.”
From another perspective, Cameron reflected on his experiences as a new member of the travel team, and said, “I didn’t know what to expect going into it, but everyone was extremely friendly and our coach, Doc Pelletier, was very supportive of all of us.” He added, “All of the parents who tagged along were cheering us on and I really felt like I was receiving tons of support from everyone.”
Sailing, however, does have a competitive aspect to it. Cameron explained, “all of my friends on the team share that competitive spirit.” Doc added, “I’m very competitive when I’m racing. There’s a lot that goes into it that, you know, that I get to teach the kids. In the beginning, it’s all about making the boat go fast and not mishandling things. And then you learn, well, going fast is good, but you really should be over there, you know, not where you are.” After sailors learn how to control the speed of the boat, Doc explained, “there’s also a chess match going on on how to position yourself around the course.”
Team member Rowan Harmon (‘27) laughed, “My favorite memory was one regatta where we were going so hard that my body was half in water head first but we kept sailing and my skipper pulled me back out from my feet and we won.”
Celeste reflected, “I have so many fun memories, but one of my favorites is always the last day of sailing, when we have a fun day. On this day, we capsize, go swimming, pirate one another, hold bailer wars, and generally just have fun on the water.”
Rowan said, “I hope Bishop’s learns more about the sport. I definitely want to see more kids join and our team to develop more.” Cameron explained, “We have come so far as a team, and there is always room for us to improve and excel. Everyone is invited to join.”
Doc concluded, “at least a few of them become sailors for life.”
