The Christchurch Waterfront
Home of Champions
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The Christchurch Waterfront is the premier facility in high school sailing. The school is perched overlooking the beautiful Rappahannock River and students can walk out of the classroom at the end of the academic day, throw on a life jacket and be sailing immediately. The conditions on the river and our extensive fleets of boats allow us to prepare for every upcoming event. Our mild winters allow us to sail all year and many of our sailors bring their own boats to train in the winter off season for non-high school events. This winter Christchurch sailors will compete at the Eurocup in 29ers, the Orange Bowl in ILCAs, C420s, and Nacra 15s, at all of the ILCA and C420 midwinters, and participate in a number of Olympic Development Program clinics. The waterfront is much more than an athletic space. The entire student body joins us for academic classes, academic research projects, and recreation.
The Rappahannock River
At 2 miles across and more than a 10 mile fetch each way we have incredible sailing conditions. During Northerlies and afternoon sea breeze out of the East we get waves and hiking conditions. The mild to moderate current creates steep chop at times and adds training opportunities on starting lines and laylines. Wind out of the South and West, over land, is shifty and puffy with flat water. Each day our practice plan takes advantage of what the weather gives us and replicates the various venues we travel to. We leverage the diverse conditions to develop mastery in technique and decision making.
The Clyde V. Kelly IV Sailing Pavilion
Our building houses the locker room/meeting room space, sail and equipment storage, tools and repair equipment, as well as faculty housing. While you will often hear loud music and laughter before an after practice, we also get a lot of work done here. We often use the Board Room in the Bishop Brown building for longer meetings, but the locker room space is perfect for before and after practice meetings, video review, and our short form meetings with Coach Groen, our mental performance coach.
Our Fleets
High School Racing
20 Zim E 420’s - Just arrived!
21 Zim Fjs
18 Vanguard 420s
Club Racing
6 Club 420s
1 I420
1 29er
4 ILCAs
Safety Boats
Far East 580
3 16ft Zodiac Ribs
19ft Center Console
21ft Zodiac - on loan
24ft Carolina Skiff Oyster Boat
13ft Boston Whaler
Student Owned Boats
ILCAs
C420s
29ers
Space for Nacra 15s
Recreational Sailing
4 Flying Scots
1 UFO
1 Zuma
1 Hobie Wave
Paddling
Kayaks
Canoes
Paddle Boards
Co-curricular Programs at The Waterfront
Every Spring and Fall students can join our non-competitive sailing program. New sailors can learn the basics and many of our returning sailors advance their skills in the Flying Scots. This is a natural pathway to joining the competitive team for those who choose.
Students can choose the Aquaculture program in the fall. Christchurch has a number of oyster reefs that the students will measure and maintain. They will also work with oysters at every stage of the life cycle from spat in the upweller to mature oyster in our cages of the dock. They will process mature oysters for some campus events and join the fun at the Urbanna Oyster Festival.
In the Spring students can join the River and Outdoors program and explore the entire peninsula with the ultimate outdoorsmen, Mr. Cola. They canoe, kayak, sail, and fish the local rivers and tributaries. They will also have some bigger excursions on the weekends to Parrot Island, Tangier Island, and various camp sites in the area.
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