Although the team has been able to exist, Boothbay Region High School Club Sailing Team Head Coach Sally Lloyd knows that sometimes a little help can go a long way.

The sailing team has been run exclusively through the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club, but Lloyd, along with former Yacht Club commodore Andy Holmes, said they would like to see Boothbay Region High School become more involved with the team.

“We started it, and we’re more than happy to keep this thing going,” Holmes said. “But, we would like to see the school get involved.”

Holmes said that more than monetary compensation, the school offers something even more important: pride.

“The kids are proud of what they are able to do,” Holmes said. “We know they would appreciate being associated with their high school.”

If the club team had the school’s backing, its numbers could increase, Holmes said. Currently, the sailing team has ten sailors, but Holmes said if the school were to cosponsor the team, the number could double. With 11 boats, the team has the equipment to accommodate more sailors, but would likely need to add additional coaches, Holmes said.

Lloyd said not being affiliated with a school does have several advantages, including the ability to draw athletes from a bigger pool.

Because the team encompasses the Boothbay Region, Lloyd said the team could theoretically have sailors from Lincoln Academy in Newcastle.

“Anyone from the area can be a part of the team,” she said.

But having the backing of the school would offer something more valuable to Lloyd.

“What would be nice for me is the stability,” she said. “It would be nice to be guaranteed that there would be a team. If I had that, then I could go out and recruit more kids.”

Lloyd said there was a lot of uncertainty in 2011 as to whether or not the sailing team would even exist, which may have negatively affected her roster.

“We were canceled early, and when (something like that) happens, it’s hard to go to Lincoln County and try to recruit kids,” she said. “It’s hard to get kids to join when you can’t promise that there will even be a team.”

Holmes said money from the Yacht Club’s junior program is used for everything from coaches’ wages, equipment, dry suits, and upkeep on the Whalers, equipment and the eleven 420s used by the team. Unlike school sanctioned sports, sailors must pay a fee to participate.

The costs associated with running the high school program are typically between $7,000 to $8,000 but sometimes broach the $10,000 mark, Holmes said.

Holmes said that the Yacht Club would be looking for help with transportation of students and equipment, and possibly other items. But, being able to write “Seahawks” across the drysuits is what the Yacht Club wants to see, Holmes said.

Boothbay Region High School Athletic Director Allan Crocker said he was not opposed to the idea of the sailing team becoming affiliated with the high school, but added that there would hurdles before the sailing team could be backed by the high school.

Crocker said the idea of affiliating the sailing team cropped up a year ago, but not much came from the talks.

Even if the team isn’t backed officially by the school, Crocker said he was happy to have the team available to BRHS students.

“My stance is, is that anything that gets the kids involved is a good thing,” he said. 

With something like this, Crocker said he see could a lot of pluses and minuses. One of the larger obstacles to a potential Seahawks sailing team would be from the Maine Principals Association, which is the governing body of high school sports in Maine. The MPA doesn’t recognize sailing among the 18 sports it regulates.

The appropriate school boards would need to approve the school’s affiliation with the program, Crocker said.

But before that time the school district would need to look into the costs involved, as well as several other factors.

“Before we could be affiliated, we would need to look at things like insurance costs,” he said. “We would also need to look at transportation costs.”

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 633-4620 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen.