Nichols Sailing finished the season ranked 15th in the Mid-Atlantic District, which spans from New York down to Virginia. This is the second-highest the team has placed in its history as a Varsity sport at Nichols. The team finished 1st in more than one Friday night BYC local regatta, and overall finished 2nd in WNY to finish the season. The roster was a nice mixture of upper and younger classmen and the team has high hopes for the future from the younger sailors. Mason Howell ’24 and Sophie Kimelberg ’26 were the Most Valuable Sailors. Rixi Lagutaine ’24 received the Coaches Award and Olive Donaghy ’27 was the Most Improved Sailor. The team thanks the three seniors for their dedication to the program. They will be greatly missed!
Program Overview
Sailing began at Nichols in the fall of 2016. High school sailing takes place in FJ’s, which are double-handed dinghies. Participants learn and practice the finer points of boat-handling, racing tactics and the rules of racing sailboats. Students practice three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Buffalo Yacht Club under the coaching eye of RJ Bouchard, a science teacher in the Upper School. Nichols district includes Buffalo, Rochester, and Chautauqua and the team attends weekend events at each venue. Students need to provide their own gear (life jackets, etc.) and should enroll in the Buffalo Yacht Club’s program in order to participate. The enrollment forms and more information on high school sailing in Buffalo can be found at the following link. Questions should be directed to Coach RJ Bouchard at rbouchard@nicholsschool.org.