THESE BADGERS GO BIG

Collegiate offshore regattas provide inland teams the opportunity to develop big-boat skills and sail in premier offshore locations

- LUCAS MASIELLO

COLLEGIATE keelboat sailing does not get nearly the amount of attention it deserves. While offshore teams were long seen as a secondary option for sailors either too big or not experienced enough to compete in dinghy fleets, several teams are shifting away from traditional collegiate dinghy sailing to focus on the growing number of competitive collegiate offshore regattas held across the country. In the 2022 college offshore season, a new squad made its mark on the world of collegiate keelboat sailing: the University of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is an unlikely candidate to win in offshore sailing; as a club team that practices on an inland lake, the university is hard-pressed to match the resources of government-funded teams, such as the US Naval Academy, or teams located near coastal sailing hotspots, like the College of Charleston or the University of Rhode Island. However, Wisconsin's record speaks for itself: Having won the 2022 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in Larchmont, New York, and the 2022 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in Chicago, it is clear the big-boat Badgers are a force to be reckoned with.

"It's been really cool to see the Midwest be represented in college offshore sailing," University of Wisconsin team captain Kate Thickens says. "When I was a freshman, offshore sailing wasn't cool. Now there are a lot more people on our team interested in sailing big boats, so we are going to as many offshore regattas as we can."