By Airwaves Writer Julia Brighton
Making their debut in the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) conference this spring is Colby College, located in Waterville, Maine! After previous attempts at starting a club sailing team over the past few decades, they were finally successful this spring. Through persistence, teamwork, and determination, Colby Sailing has officially launched as a club program and is now competing in its first season.
The team worked closely with Colby’s recreation and club sports departments to gain official recognition, which was granted to them by the school in February 2025. For co-presidents Stella Reynaga and Gabrielle Henry, the road to that milestone was anything but easy.
The journey to creating the team began well before official recognition. “At the beginning of my sophomore year, I reached out to a contact in Colby’s athletic training department about starting a sailing team,” Henry said. That contact connected her with the school’s head of recreation, who oversees club sports. While the administration was initially hesitant due to previous unsuccessful attempts, team leaders were determined to succeed this time.
During the first year of working towards being officially recognized as a club, the leadership group made it a priority to lay down a strong groundwork to ensure the future success of the team. They made sure to form a good relationship with administration and the greater school community, promoting a positive and strong club culture, and began fundraising efforts.
Once recognized, the team faced another challenge: they had missed the deadline to join the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) and would need to wait for the chance to join the ICSA and compete as a team. Just as pressing, they had no boats to start practicing. Student interest in the team grew quickly, and the team was eager to get on the water. With the help of Adam Werblow, head coach at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Colby was able to secure a fleet of twelve boats from Connecticut College, and high-quality leftover nationals sails from Greg Wilkinson at Boston College. In a matter of days, Colby had gone from owning no equipment to having everything they needed to start practicing.
In fall 2025, Colby Sailing applied to be officially recognized by the ICSA and anxiously waited for the December vote. During the December NEISA meeting, they patiently sat through a five-hour Zoom call to hear the decision: they had been approved! Henry recalled hearing the news and said, “It was an exciting moment for the entire team and felt like all the hard work had paid off.”
As the spring 2026 season approached, Colby Sailing began to truly come together as a team. Student-athlete coordinators organized twice-weekly workouts, bringing together sailors of all skill levels to prepare for competition. Interest in the program continued to grow rapidly, with more than 170 students joining the team mailing list and 64 officially joining the roster by the end of the fall semester. This spring, Colby has filled its roster at every regatta.
Although restarting sailing at Colby came with setbacks, uncertainty, and long hours of work, the result has been well worth it for everyone involved. What began as an ambitious idea has quickly grown into a thriving and enthusiastic program as Colby Sailing competes in its inaugural NEISA season!
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