By Bridget Dolan
Emily Shields (left) and Anna Hill (right) jump to chest-bump one another after returning from a successfully started race.
For Emily Shields and Anna Hill, the goal was to start the race. Not first place, not second, not even finish the race. Just start it.
And they did.
The two, in a Flying J, managed to finish the race both times they raced. They came in last both times, but they met their goal — they started.
“My goal for today was to start and finish the races and just, not capsize, so I would say I did that,” Shields said. “It’s so nice being on the water.”
The Delaware Spring Open regatta was Easter weekend at North East River Yacht Club. The Delaware sailing team hosted, even if turnout wasn’t the best. Saturday was rainy, with intermittent thunderstorms, and Sunday was warm and windy — perfect for sailing.
The regatta was Hill’s first proper regatta, her first time really racing, and Shields, a more experienced racer, skippered. The race was about getting a feel for competitive sailing and how fun it can be out on the water, with the wind in your hair.
“I’m pretty proud of myself, actually,” Hill said. “This is the first time I’ve actually done a real regatta, a real race. I felt pretty confident going out there because I knew there wasn’t high stakes on me particularly, again, because this is my first regatta.”
In the time when they weren’t racing, the two sat at a picnic bench at the end of a floating pier with other team members, watching nine teams sail the course. The team had one boat in each race, manned by a pair of sailors — one skipper and one crew — and they never once placed. But they had fun.
When the boats would come in after finishing their race for a change of teams, everyone would momentarily get serious, as all hands rushed to the end of the dock to speed along the transition. The teams coming off were sometimes equally as serious, but teams such as Delaware and Princeton were all smiles, content with how they raced even if they didn’t win anything.
The races ran from around 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and most of it was almost quiet, save for the occasional foghorn sounding in the distance to signal the start and end of the race. Almost, being the keyword, because the folks gathered at the picnic table joked with one another about how they raced, commented on the team’s performance and relayed action from the race that was not readily accessible from shore.
For instance, Virginia Tech had collided with Shields and Hill during one of their races. In another, the pair accidentally hit a marker and “protested” themselves, rounding the marker in penalty despite not being called by race officials.
Hill learned the ropes, Shields manned the tiller, they had a good time and, above all else, they started the race.
“Like yeah, we came in last, but for us, it really wasn’t about coming in first, it was having a good time and making sure we were happy and safe, and whatever happened, happened,” Hill said.