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Southern Regional Sailing Team, Ship Bottom, NJ (2026)

06/01/2026

What a wild couple of days! Southern battled with the 20 best high school sailing teams in the country this weekend and left New Orleans with a hard fought 10th-place finish in the High School Sailing National Championship.
Lake Pontchartrain, we quickly learned, is a very difficult place to sail. Saturday morning, very little wind, 90 degrees. Chop everywhere. Some sailors figured it out, others didn't.
Our A Division duo of junior Jude Ryon and sophomore Sergio Santos did a pretty good job of it with three top 10 finishes in the first two sets. Good thing. Let's just say our B Division team was among those who didn't. After the first two sets we were sitting in 17th place when the wind dropped out completely and we waited all afternoon.
A little after 5 pm a bit of breeze finally filled in and we got back out on the water for one more set. At this point the chop had subsided and junior Gannon Botwinick and sophomore Ella Linkewich found some speed in the flatter water. Their fifth in the final B division race of the day, coupled with a fifth in the final A Division race, left us with a bit higher spirits as we left the club as the sun was setting at 8 pm.
The lake greeted us with little wind Sunday morning, but it gradually filled in and eventually provided some excellent racing in 6-12 kts and relatively flat water. Jude and Sergio continued battling in the top of the extremely tough A Division, posting four top five finishes to help us climb in the standings.
But the real difference Sunday was in B Division. After that bad start on Saturday, Gannon and Ella settled in and sailed really, really well. On Sunday, they were in the top 10 in eight of the 10 races. If you took away those first two sets, they would have finished 6th in B Division. As is, their 19-20-18-20-14-5-18-2-6-10-5-8-7-4-17-4 series was 12th in the division. Jude and Sergio ended up 10th in a tightly bunched A Division with a 11-5-9-8-13-5-8-13-2-12-6-19-6-14-5-8.
These were the top 20 schools in the country and the talent ran top to bottom - evidenced by the fact that only one team finished the series with no races worse than 15th. And that was not the team that won.
I'm really proud of how our sailors battled through the long days, intense heat and mental stress. In most sports, games last a couple hours. Sailing requires staying focused all day. On Saturday, that meant 9 am until almost 8 pm. Both fleets sailing at the same time, no breaks, through 32 races. But we handled it really well. When other teams faltered, we kept moving up.
In the end, Severn (Annapolis) won, followed by St. George's School (Rhode Island) and Mater Dei (California).
Just getting to the nationals is a big accomplishment. This was our third straight appearance, having finished ninth in Charleston two years ago and 11th in Connecticut last year. With no seniors graduating, hopes are high for next year.
Now about New Orleans... We arrived a day early and saw a lot. From Bourbon Street to the Riverwalk to Sail 250 which was in town. From the WWII museum to the aquarium to something called an escape house. Southern sailors and their parents could be seen all very town. All the sailors had parents there and it was a fantastic experience spending time with them.
A final note. This was an expensive trip, and we are so, so grateful to our loyal supports, and to our new supporters, who made this possible. We are a public school competing with some deep-pocketed private schools. Together we are doing a pretty good job! Thank You. We would also like to welcome you to our annual awards dinner/fundraiser at 6 pm Sunday at Surf City Yacht Club. Just drop a line in the comments section so we know how many people to expect.
For those who would like to add their support, tickets are $25 and can be purchased with Venmo -SouthernSailing or by check made out to Friends of Southern Sailing and mailed to Steve Warren at 16 N. Bay Ave., Cedar Bonnet Island, NJ 08050.
It's been a great year and we look forward to seeing a lot of you on Sunday!

05/29/2026

Fleet Race Nationals 🔜

Twenty teams from across the country descend on Southern Yacht Club to compete for the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy this weekend!

Follow the regatta at scores.hssailing.org.

05/26/2026

Save the date! Please join us at the Southern Regional Sailing Awards Dinner - Sunday, June 7, at 6PM at Surf City Yacht Club - to celebrate our exciting achievements - including making Nationals for a third straight year! Price per ticket is $25 and features light bites, dessert and lots of opportunities to support the team! Please make a check to "Friends of Southern Sailing" and mail to Friends of Southern Sailing c/o Steve Warren, 16 N Bay Ave., Cedar Bonnet Island, NJ 08050, or by Venmo -SouthernSailing. If you can't make it, please consider making a tax deductible donation to FOSS to help defray the costs of attending the nationals and ongoing support of our sailors. If you've already donated, thanks again for your continued support!

05/18/2026

The Southern Regional Sailing Team needs your help! We are thrilled to be representing the school and the state of New Jersey at the high school sailing national championship in New Orleans. It's our third straight nationals and, first off, we want to thank all who supported us when we needed help getting to the previous two. But geez, have travel expenses gone up! New Orleans presents a funding challenge. So, again, we are asking for your help. Please consider donating. Our Venmo address is -SouthernSailing, or checks made out to Friends of Southern Sailing can be mailed to Steve Warren at 16 N. Bay Ave., Cedar Bonnet Island, NJ 08050. Also, if you live in the LBI area, mark your calendars for Sunday, June 7, for our annual awards dinner and fundraiser. More details to come. Friends of Southern Sailing is a 501(c) 3 organization and donations are tax deductible. Thank you so much for your continued support. We simply cannot do this without you!

05/14/2026

Behind outstanding efforts from both its boats this past weekend, the Southern Regional sailing team is headed to the national championship regatta for a third straight season. The Rams sailed to an impressive second-place finish during the Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Sailing Association Championship, i...

05/11/2026

Southern sailed to an impressive second place finish in the Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Sailing Association Championship this weekend, and in the process qualified for a third straight trip to the National Championship.
Eighteen of the best sailing schools from NY, NJ, VA and MD sailed 10 races over two days in tricky conditions on the Severn River in Annapolis, with only the top four qualifying for the nationals, which will be sailed later this month in New Orleans.
Our A Division team of skipper Jude Ryon and crew Sergio Santos got us off to a strong start winning a race in the first set, and the B Division crew of skipper Gannon Botwinick and Ella Linkewich mirrored their results.
From. there, were never worse than second place, and at times challenged leader Severn - a perennial national power - for the lead.
We have been fast in both divisions all spring, and we were able to use that speed and some really smart sailing to stay consistently in the top of the fleet all weekend. While other competing teams were suffering the occasional bad race, we were the only team entering the final set with no finish worse than 10th.
Jude and Sergio posted a 7-1-1-6-2-3-8-4-7-13 to finish fourth in A, while Gannon and Ella sailed a 6-1-5-7-3-2-6-4-6-7, good for third in B. The combined second place is Southern's highest finish ever in a Mid-Atlantic Championship.
Severn (MD) won, with Christchurch (VA) 3rd and Key School (MD) fourth.
Qualifying for Nationals is our No. 1 goal every year, but we've had a lot of really talented teams in the past fall just short. And a lot of really good teams had their seasons end this weekend. Qualifying is an incredible feeling, even more incredible to have done it three years in a row. A we are so looking forward to New Orleans!

05/04/2026

Southern Regional finished second in the NJ State Championship this weekend in a series that again featured Southern and CBA in a closely fought, really well-sailed, two-day duel on the Toms River.
After beating CBA in the past two events, CBA got the best of it this time. The series was sailed in a full range of conditions, from super light on Saturday to strong and gusty Sunday, and through it all there never seemed to be much distance between the two teams.
In the end it came down to who made the fewest mistakes.
It's a series we definitely wanted to win, but I left really excited with our speed and how well we are sailing.
A Division skipper junior Jude Ryon, with sophomore Sergio Santos in light air and junior Evan Colon in heavy air, posted a 3-1-1-2-2-5-1 to finish second in the series, a point out of first. Junior Gannon Botwinick, with sophomore Ella Linkewich in light air and freshman Hudson Landgraf in heavy air, sailed a 2-4-2-1-2-5-2 to finish second in B Division.
We have a big event next weekend - the Mid-Atlantic Championship in Annapolis, which will determine whether we travel to New Orleans for our third national championship event in three years. The top four teams in that event, which features the top teams from NJ, NY, MD and VA, qualify for the nationals. In the fall Mid-Atlantic Championship, Southern finished third.

04/13/2026

Southern Regional won the NJ State Fleet Championship this weekend, coming out on top of a close two-day battle with rival Christian Brothers Academy on the Toms River.
It's the second straight event in which we edged out CBA, and CBA is a pretty good yardstick of just how well we are sailing right now. CBA is a very, very good team, having finished second in the Atlantic Coast Championship in the fall (we were 6th).
The fleet championship also served as the first qualifier for this year's national championship in New Orleans. Donovan Catholic, which finished 3rd, and The Pingry School, 4th, will be joining us and CBA at the Middle Atlantic Championship next month in Annapolis. The top four in that event move on to the nationals.
This weekend, Southern, CBA and Donovan battled all day Saturday, never separated by more than a couple of points. After 14 races, we led CBA by two points with six races remaining to be sailed on Sunday.
In the first set Sunday, B Division skipper junior Gannon Botwinick and freshman crew Ava Stabile sailed a 1-3, continuing a tend of alternating first places with CBA's Cole Buczkowski, but Cole put a boat between them in the second race to cut the margin to one point. In A Division, junior Jude Ryon and sophomore Sergio Santos sailed a 2-3, good enough to win A Division, but CBA's Chris Small sailed a 3-1 to tie the series with just two B Division races remaining.
Things looked pretty grim for a while. Cole won the start and closely covered Gannon up the first leg, dragging both of them back in the fleet and putting important boats between them. But downwind, Gannon and Sergio, who had taken over for Ava, got off by themselves and just sailed fast around the clump of boats that Cole was stuck in. Gannon rounded third and held his position the remainder of the race, while Cole never really recovered and finished 6th. With a three-point lead going into the final race, Gannon just needed to sail clean and stay near Cole - but when Cole was called over early, the series was essentially over. Gannon and Sergio put an exclamation point on the weekend by winning the race by a wide margin. Jude, Sergio and junior Evan Colon won A Division by a point with a 3-3-1-2-1-3-3-4-2-3 series. Gannon, Ava and Sergio won B Division by five points with a 2-1-2-1-2-1-1-3-3-1.
Next up is the state championship, followed by the Mid-Atlantics and hopefully the nationals.

03/29/2026

The Southern Regional sailing team opened the season with two strong showings - an impressive win in Saturday's intersectional regatta at Larchmont, NY, following a close second in the season opener at Toms River last weekend.
On Saturday, 17 teams from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut were greeted with temperatures in the 30s and a shifty wind that ranged from 5 to 20 knots. For much of the day, Southern battled with Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) and Stony Brook (NY) before breaking out by winning four of the last six races. Junior Jude Ryon and sophomore Sergio Santos started the surge with a first in the last race of the second A Division set followed by a 2-1 in the final set. Their 4-7-3-1-2-1 won A Division by six points. Meanwhile, in B Division, junior Gannon Botwinick and freshman Ava Stabile - sailing in her first high school regatta - went 1-1-2 in their final three races. Their 3-2-2-1-1-2 series finished a close second in B. Combined, Southern won the event by 12 points.
Last week, Southern battled with CBA in the season-opening Barnegat Bay Spring Invitational, and despite a capsize in one race and an over-early followed by penalty turns in another, came within a point of winning that event. Jude and Sergio sailed a 5-1-1-9-2-2 series and came within a point of winning A Division, while Gannon, sailing with freshman Hudson Landgraf and sophomore Ella Linkewich, won B Division with a 3-3-1-5-2-1.
We are sailing well as we approach the all-important qualifiers for the national championship in New Orleans. That journey starts in two weeks with the state qualifier at Toms River.

11/11/2025

Southern sailed to a 6th place finish in this weekend's Atlantic Coast Championship at St. Mary's College in Maryland. The event, the biggest fall high school regatta in the country, featured teams from Washington state to Chicago, New England to Florida, all of whom made it to St. Mary's by sailing in state and regional qualifying events.
We hope to see many of those same teams on the water again next spring when the high school national's are held in New Orleans.
Junior Jude Ryon and sophomore Sergio Santos sailed by far their best series of the season in an extremely tough A Division. They fought in the top of the fleet in nearly all of the 13 races - finishing with a 3-6-11-6-17-9-6-3-5-4-4-9-2 series, good for a close 6th place in the division.
Junior Gannon Botwinick and sophomore Ella Linkewich sailed enough good races to stay among the leaders in B Division with a 4-16-9-14-4-6-5-9-14-14-5-7-11 series.
Severn School from Annapolis won the championship, followed by Christian Brothers Academy (NJ), Christchurch (VA), St. George's School (RI) and Barrington (RI).
The sixth place finish ties our best result ever at the ACC's with our 2016 Rams team.
It was a tough fleet in tricky light air conditions, which are not our favorite, but the result has us looking forward to the spring season with high hopes.
But that's all for now. See you in March!

Southern Regional Sailing Team

06/01/2026

05/29/2026

05/26/2026

05/18/2026

05/14/2026

05/11/2026

05/04/2026

04/13/2026

03/29/2026

11/11/2025

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