Sailing team qualifies for 89th All Japan Intercollegiate Sailing Championships

Comments from participants

Snipe team leader Kazuki Sasa
4th year, Chemistry

I am very pleased to have qualified for the All Japan Intercollegiate Sailing Championships. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported us. At times, it was difficult to practice sailing while working on my studies and research, but I tried to be efficient and dedicate time to both activities. I am proud that the efforts of the team members have led to this result. We will continue to do our best to meet the expectations of all those who have supported us, and we ask for your continued support.

Snipe vice-captain Kohta Fukuda
4th year, Physics

I am very happy that we made it to the All Japan Intercollegiate Sailing Championships. I would like to thank my seniors, juniors, and above all, my classmates and parents for their support. I am actually pleased that I have recently realized how inexperienced a sailor I am. I never knew that taking things this seriously could have such profound effects. In the future, I plan to study hard and apply my sailing experience to my research at the graduate level. I hope many of you will continue to support our team.

Snipe incoming captain Yuki Takahashi
3rd year, Computer Science

I was the only 3rd-year student competing in the Kanto Intercollegiate Student Sailing Competition, while my teammates were all 4th-year students. My pair and I were able to communicate efficiently despite our age difference, and I experienced significant growth. We are all balancing our club activities with our studies, but we stuck to our practice schedule and were able to achieve our goal of qualifying for the All Japan Intercollegiate Sailing Championships. I hope to utilize my experience during my team captaincy next year, as well as in my future research.

Sailing: A sport of mind and body

Competitive sailing is a sport that requires a high level of strategy and tactics, such as reading the constantly changing winds and tides, and deciding on the best course for the boat while maintaining speed. In a race, participating boats start at the same time, sail around buoys in the prescribed order a specific number of times, and compete to cross the finish line first. At the All Japan Intercollegiate Sailing Championships, sailors compete in two classes — the Snipe class and the 470 class.

Snipe-class dinghies use two sails — a mainsail and a jib. Speed can be hard to come by, so sailors must utilize the wind skillfully while maneuvering strategically in relation to the other boats. Sailors lean over the edge of the boat to achieve balance while holding on to a belt with their feet.

In addition to a main sail and a jib, 470-class dinghies also use a spinnaker sail. This gives the boat more speed than a Snipe-class dinghy, but also makes balancing more difficult. To prevent the boat from capsizing, "trapeze" wires are attached to the boat, allowing sailors to hang outside the vessel with their feet on the edge of the dinghy.

Science Tokyo Sailing Team

Most members of the Science Tokyo Sailing Team joined the official student club with no sailing experience, but they have achieved outstanding results at national championships and other competitions by utilizing the knowledge they have gained through daily practice and from senior members and alumni. The Kuramae Ushio Association, an alumni association boasting 400 members, fully supports the activities of the current club members. Their motto is "developing full-fledged sailors, full-fledged members of society."

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