The 2009-2010 sailing season is a rebuilding year for Richmond Hill High sailors after graduating seniors Ryan Tillman and Emerson Stephens last spring.

That being said, they are performing quite well and have been placing high in many area regattas.

In the first two regattas of the season, the team traveled to Charleston and posted a 5th and 7th place overall finish. The highlight was first place finishes in Charleston with the RHHS A division team of junior Devon Rohde and freshman Austin Schneider, overcoming rival Ashley Hall. Winds were very heavy - conditions which both Rohde and Schneider prefer - and the team posted two first place finishes and a 2nd place finish before the regatta ended. B division in both regattas was sailed by junior Kathryn Johnson as skipper and Kelly Muhlenberg and Tradd Stephens as crew.

The fall season progressed with two regattas in November. The first was RHHS’s home regatta, sailed on the Medway River off of Sunbury. Richmond Hill posted a 3rd place overall finish.

With top B division skipper Kathryn Johnson unable to sail in the event, the team looked to freshman Austin Schneider to skipper B division. Schneider teamed up with 8th grader Dana Rohde and the two sailed to a 6th place finish in B division.

"This was an awesome result for Schneider’s first regatta as a skipper," RHHS Coach Carrie Rohde said. "These two young sailors will contribute many future successes for the team."

With Schneider sailing B division and the light winds that prevailed in this event, the team looked to freshman Ashley Kennedy to crew for skipper Devon Rohde in A division. The two sailed to a 2nd place finish, 8 points behind rival Ashley Hall and a great finish for Kennedy’s first regatta.

The team traveled back to Charleston for the second regatta in November and the last regatta of the fall season, which proved to be their best. Winds were not like the previous Charleston Regattas and proved to be very challenging - up and down in velocity and very shifty. RHHS sailors prevailed and posted a 2nd place overall finish. The race actually ended with tie for first place against rival Ashley Hall, but RHHS lost the tie breaker to finish in 2nd place overall.

Junior skipper Kathryn Johnson was back and saw success while skippering B division. With the help of crew Ashley Kennedy and Tradd Stephens, they posted their best result ever, finishing in 2nd place in B division only one point behind Ashley Hall. A-division finished in 4th place with Rohde and Schneider back together.

RHHS has proven to be a team to watch. With the improvements the team has achieved thus far this season, they appear to be well on their way to qualifying to sail in the gold regatta in March and hopefully on to the District Championship April 10-11. Districts this year will be co-hosted in Sunbury by Richmond Hill Sailing/Savannah Sailing Center and Brunswick Sailing/Golden Isles Sailing Association.

More exciting than the great results this year so far is the growth by all members of the team.

"This is the most active and dedicated group of freshman sailors I have worked with in the seven years we have been in existence," Coach Rohde said. "We have much more depth and options than ever before and again a few eighth graders joining us as well."

RHHS sailors will get underway on their spring season with their first regatta at Lake Mayer in Savannah on Jan 30.