A gust of wind blows through your hair, a slight breeze brings you chills and you look out onto Lake Michigan to realize you’re sailing on a C420 sailboat with what used to be one of Marquette’s largest clubs.
Setting sail from the Milwaukee Yacht Club, the Marquette University Sailing Team (MUST) and the yacht club share a special part of their history because they tend to host several different regattas – an event that consists of racing yachts and sailboats.
To preserve this and create more awareness, MUST wanted to showcase its past. Therefore, they partnered with Marquette Raynor Memorial Libraries Special Collections and University Archives to express its heritage.
Founded in 1953, the club celebrated its 70th anniversary this year. Back in the day, the club had 400+ members, but over time, that number has shrunk down to a team of about 30. Caroline Bielski, a graduate student in the School of Management and club fundraising chair, said she values what being on the team really means.
“Sailing is losing steam in global numbers,” Bielski said. “Being able to be stewards of the sport is really important to myself and the team as a whole.”
Of the 28 different teams in the division, MUST is enrolled in the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association. Within the MSCA, Marquette competes against teams like Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The MSCA is one of seven conferences that is within the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.
Bielski said she is most looking forward to the Emma B. Regatta hosted by Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
“It’s my favorite regatta because my first season of racing resumed after COVID. I made so many friends on other MCSA teams that I get to see every year at this race,” Bielski said.
Jenna Kozal, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and club president, has a special connection with this regatta. Growing up in Michigan, she would stay at her grandparent’s house and sail out of the same yacht club that the regatta will be hosting at this year.
“The club that is hosting is actually where I learned to sail, so that’s super fun,” Kozal said.
The team has created such a close bond that whenever a regatta takes place they will crash for the night at someone’s house rather than booking a place to stay.
“The team is a family, and I know that every team says that but it’s such a unique bond,” Bielski said.
After talking with the executive board, Kozal said that the team might be able to make it a whole season without having to pay for a hotel.
Bielski believes that MUST is a family rather than a team, and that the impromptu bonding activities help create a team of “older siblings” Bielski said, that help expand interest in the club.
Ally Younkin, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, believes that being able to have a team that is so different allows them to “mesh together well.”
“Getting to know each other outside of practice definitely helps us all in practice to feel comfortable with who we’re sailing with” Younkin said.
The team hopes to bring both recreational and competition experiences to those involved, emphasizing the fact that you don’t need any experience to be a part of the MUST legacy.
“Our main value is inclusivity,” Kozal said. “We want to spread the passion that is sailing because we all love it and we want to share that with everybody else who might not have access to sailing.”
The team believes that by recruiting new members, passing down wisdom and experience and going through the sailing process is one of the major ways that the MUST can keep adding to its already storied past.
“MUST is a unique team on campus,” Bielski said. “Milwaukee is an amazing city with this great resource (Lake Michigan), and one of the greatest ways to appreciate where we are is to get on the water and harness the power of nature.”
This article was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @raquelrz15.
