Lake Wauburg suffered damages to its north shore Dec. 14 because of high winds, which also damaged most of the UF Sailing Team’s equipment.
Their fleet was severely battered, with eight of their boats totaled and two suffering minor damages, said Nate Keyes, the sailing team’s vice president.
Keyes, a 20-year-old UF mechanical engineering sophomore, joined the team his freshman year. He said that the team’s goal this year is to make nationals, despite the loss.
Since all their boats are unusable this semester, they are working on purchasing newer vessels, which will cost up to $100,000, said Meredith McIntosh, the team’s treasurer.
McIntosh, a 21-year-old UF mechanical engineering junior, who also joined the team her freshman year said that she hopes they can get everything fixed and replaced.
“This was a pretty devastating blow by mother nature,” McIntosh said. “It was pretty heartbreaking, but I think we’ll make it through as a team.”
All of their masts, which are large poles that hold sails, are irreparable, and the dock where they secured their boats was obliterated, McIntosh said. However, the boathouse and their sails were spared.
The team is fundraising on GoFundMe and selling team merchandise such as T-shirts to purchase new equipment, he said.
Their main method of raising money is through the team’s alumni, McIntosh said. They hope that alumni will spread the word of the damage on social media and donate during the Stand Up & Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day Feb. 20.
“It’s just going to be a really big task to fundraise all this money, but I think that we can do it,” Keyes said.
They plan to continue practicing with other teams, Keyes said. The team has practiced at Jacksonville University before, and they might in the future, Keyes said.
They might also practice with the Lake Eustis Junior Sailing Team at Lake Eustis, which is about an hour and a half away from UF, McIntosh said.
The team planned on hosting two home regattas, a series of boat races, but they will be moved to other schools. Yet they still plan on attending all other regattas, Keyes said. They typically attend six to seven in the spring, and more if they make championships and nationals.
“After we just barely missed nationals last spring, we were really looking forward to practicing this semester,” Keyes said. “It was a really big hit to us to not be able to practice.”
Contact Meghan McGlone at mmcglone@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @meggmcglone.
Most of the UF Sailing Team’s equipment suffered damage on Lake Wauburg from high winds.
Meghan McGlone is a UF junior majoring in journalism and English, and this year she’s the City and County Commission reporter. In past years, she’s served as the University Editor, the Student Government reporter, and other positions. Her favorite past time is eating gummy worms and reading a good book.
