[ HIGH SCHOOL SAILING ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Maryknoll's Martin Sterling and Lisa Manusak rounded a bouy during yesterday's race.
Punahou captures
ILH title
Leave it to the mariners to split hairs and yearn for the perfect race.
Even after winning one of the five races in yesterday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu sailing championships, Martin Sterling was still analyzing.
"I would've preferred lighter winds," said Sterling, a Maryknoll junior who teamed with classmate Lisa Manuzak to win the third race. "It would've become more tactical. Plus, we're a lot lighter."
It was an idyllic setting outside Ala Wai Boat Harbor, with winds at about 5-10 mph under sunny skies. There was even a whale with her offspring less than 100 yards away from the triangular race course just outside of "Bowls," a busy surf spot.
Punahou captured the final two races of the day behind sophomore skipper Drew Robb and senior Tai Conley. "The winds kept on shifting. It's usually windy, but today was shifty," Robb noted.
Seeing other crews in the first three races didn't worry Conley. "I wasn't frustrated. I kept my head high," he said. "But it's the last regatta."
With the day's five races accounting for 70 percent of the total season score, Punahou won another ILH title -- its second in the two years that the sport has been officially sanctioned by the league.
Mid-Pacific won the first race of the afternoon thanks to skipper Sean Doyle and crewman Whitney Solman.
Sacred Hearts won the day's second race thanks to skipper Tiny Pryne and crewman Shanna Nakamura.
"They're really good," Robb said.
Conley agreed.
"There's no reason why girls can't be competitive in this sport," he said.
In fact, of the 19 crews in yesterday's races, there seemed to be an equal number of male and female competitors.
Punahou finished the season with 93.1 total points, followed by Mid-Pac (144.4), Maryknoll (153.1) and Sacred Hearts (188.7). Iolani placed fifth (208.7), followed by Academy of the Pacific (272.6) and Waldorf (328.1). Mid-Pac, Punahou, Maryknoll and Sacred Hearts also fielded extra non-scoring crews.
For now, this caps a busy period for the crews of Robb and Conley, and Sterling and Manuzak. Robb and Conley finished seventh at the Pacific Coast Championships last week in San Diego. As a team, Punahou placed ninth, the first top-10 finish for a Hawaii high school team at a national regatta.
Sterling and Manuzak placed in the Silver Fleet at the Pacific Coast Championships at Treasure Island, San Francisco.
Soccer's loss is sailing's gain when it comes to Sterling, who sailed with his father, John, at a young age. Sterling began to pursue the sport vigorously when he was 10 at Rainbow Bay Marina. Manuzak began after fifth grade in Hobie boats at the Marine Corps base.
"It wasn't really for me," Sterling said of trying soccer. "I didn't like running."
