Summer was a busy and successful season for several members of the Richmond Hill sailing team.

The biggest local stars of summer on the high seas were graduating senior Ryan Tillman and current RHHS junior Devon Rohde. Not far behind them were Richmond Hill’s Emerson Stephens, Kelly Muhlenberg, Dana Rohde, Austin Schneider and Chad Stephens.

"This summer has been a huge learning experience for these kids," Richmond Hill sailing coach Carrie Rohde said. "I’m very pleased they decided to sail outside of the high school season, and it has definitely made them better sailors."

The summer sailing action was all individual competition as opposed to teams. The action kicked off May 30-31 with the Savannah District 12 Laser Regatta. Tillman placed fourth in the laser radial fleet division while RHMS eighth grader Dana Rohde took second in the smaller laser 4.7 division.

"Ryan did exceptionally well in that race," Coach Rohde said. "He came very close to third place."

Fast forward to June 14-15 in Charleston for a competition sanctioned by SAYRA (South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association). Devon Rohde took first place in the junior division while Tillman placed fifth in laser radials.

"Devon had an awesome race," Coach Rohde said. "She defeated many adults in the race. Ryan had a great start but struggled near the end."

Several days later, in Beaufort, saw several top local finishes in SAYRA competition. Emerson and Chad Stephens and Austin Schneider just missed a top placing, but Tillman took fourth in laser radials while Devon Rohde nabbed third place in the 420 race.

The girls took part in two national championship regattas in July.

From July 6-11, in the Ida Lewis Junior Women’s Double-handed Championship Regatta in Hampton, Virginia, Devon Rohde teamed with Kelly Muhlenberg while Dana Rohde teamed with Lake Norman, North Carolina resident Sarah Chambers. Although neither had a top five finish, all gained valuable experience against some of the toughest competition in the country.

The same could be said for the Junior Women’s Single-handed Laser Championships, which took place July 19-26 in West Hampton Beach, New York. This event played host to the first ever pairing of sisters Devon and Dana Rohde in actual competition. The sisters held their own in the laser radial event.

"It was a real stretch for young Dana, but they did really well," said coach and proud mom Carrie Rohde. "The conditions varied as there was a big breeze the first day and no breeze the second day. The girls got some awesome exposure and learned a lot."

In late July, in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, the Rohde sisters, Tillman and Beaufort resident Nathan Akers formed a team and took part in the SAYRA Youth Challenge event. They blew away the competition and took first place overall.

The Rohdes won first place in the 420 race. Not far behind them were Tillman and Akers, who nabbed second place for the 420.

The Youth Challenge was a tune-up for the SAYRA regatta at the same location the following day, which was successful for the three Richmond Hill participants.

Devon fared best with third place finish in the junior division and fifth place overall ranking, out of 19 sailors. Tillman finished 11th and sixth overall. Dana finished 10th in the junior division and 13th overall.

Coach Rohde said the Wrightsville Regatta saw fierce conditions, including a high breeze of just under 28 knots, which "were probably the toughest conditions I’ve ever seen."

The regular sailing season is about to get underway. The first regatta is in September, but there will be a meeting next week for all that are interested in taking part in this year’s team, which is open to both middle school and high school kids. For more details, call Coach Rohde at 596-5624.