Saltwater splashing into her face, senior Lilah Foster maneuvered her boat across the water in Santa Cruz, near the beach in front of the beloved Boardwalk Amusement Park. Donning her salt-crusted sunglasses, go-to baseball cap, hydrophobic pants, sport tech shirt and lifejacket, Foster braved a typical day on the water.
“It's super cool to sail right next to the Boardwalk because it is such a beautiful place,” Foster said, “and it is super cool to see the Boardwalk from another angle.”
During the school year, Foster sails at the Santa Cruz Yacht Club two to three times a week for drills and practice races. Every month or so, she competes in a regatta with 15 to 20 other boats. These boat races occur in locations such as Oakland, Richmond, Sausalito and Half Moon Bay.
Sometimes taking on the role of a skipper and other times the role of the crew, Foster teams up with another sailor to race other two-person boats. As the skipper, she aims to find clean air, which is wind unobstructed by other boats, and directs the boat by managing the main sheet and the tiller.
The main sheet is a rope that controls the main sail, and the tiller connects to the rudder. The crew assists the skipper with various tasks like controlling the smaller sail and moving around the boat to distribute weight in a way that maximizes the boat’s speed.
These races take place on courses that are designed to take about 45 minutes to complete. Depending on the direction and strength of the wind, the course may be shortened or lengthened, with the average course being about 3 miles long. When she is the skipper — her favorite position — Foster loves finding ways to win the race.
“I always have to look five steps ahead because I need to make sure that where I am on the course is the most optimal position and [check] if there is more wind on the other side,” she said. “I always have to be thinking what other people might do so I can get to clean air.”
Her involvement in sailing began at a summer camp in Harrison, Maine, that she has attended annually since she started as a camper at age 9. This past year, Foster attended the camp for the first time as a counselor, teaching children about sailing.
“It was a pretty smooth transition [from being a camper to being a counselor],” said Foster. “It’s nice because I also have friends who were campers, so I have a different relationship with them.”
Foster plans to continue her sailing career in college. The process for recruitment in sailing is similar to that of any other sport, in which athletes are individually recruited to the team. Not many schools have varsity sailing teams, but some have club teams that Foster may join.
Through her years of sailing, Foster has found a particular joy in “hiking out,” which is when a sailor steers the boat while leaning off the side, providing an experience unique to her sport.
“You are going fast; the wind is in your face, and it is the closest feeling to flying,” Foster said.