The recently-founded Hillsdale College Sailing Club placed third during its first official Regatta of the year on Sept. 15 and 16.
This impressive feat was accomplished in part at the hands of Leahi Johsens, a sophomore who has been with the team since its recent conception. The Hillsdale crew beat out large schools at the Fall 2018 Sloop Championship, including the University of Michigan and one of Indiana University’s two teams. The Detroit Yacht Club has hosted the event for the past 40 years.
Johsens served as skipper of the three-man crew, her first time. Her duties entailed being in charge of “the tiller, which steers the boat, working the main sail and communicating with her crew while making directional and strategy decisions,” she said.
Johsens had never sailed before coming to Hillsdale.
The Sailing Club was only “made official this last January in the eyes of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association and the College,” according to senior Pearce Pomerleau, co-founder of the Sailing Club.
