Norfolk Collegiate junior sails her way into another season
NORFOLK, Va. — Clara Murphy ’23 is at home on the water, and it shows in her beaming smile. It was her love of the water and her friends that initially drew the Norfolk Collegiate junior to sailing and it’s her passion for being on a boat and competing that keeps Clara chasing the wind.
She’s a member of Collegiate’s varsity sailing team and coaches sailing at the Norfolk Yacht & Country Club. This spring Clara was named to the Virginia Interscholastic Sailing Association (VISA) All-State Crew and All-VISA Women’s Team Crew.
“The biggest challenge is learning all of the techniques for each wind condition,” said Clara. “I manage this challenge by talking to my coach about what happened in the race.” She and other members of Collegiate’s sailing team work closely with their coach Randy Stokes, who has been behind the helm of the sailing program for more than 20 years and continuously takes the team to Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Sailing Association, the Interscholastic Sailing Association competitions and to national competitions. “We have the best coach who keeps us all motivated,” she said.
This spring Clara and the team competed in the Mallory Double Handed National Championship in Cleveland, Ohio.
“It was a great experience to compete with lots of other teams who are extremely talented and have lots of sailing experience. It was intimidating at first for me, but once we were out on the water it was fun,” she said.
Now that she’s entering her junior year at Collegiate, she’s looking ahead to college and hopes to continue sailing at the collegiate level.
“My goal is to learn as much as I can and one day sail in college,” she said.
Until then, Clara will continue working on her craft, spending time with her friends and enjoying her time with her teammates (one of which is her sister, Maddie ’25). And of course, checking the weather forecast!
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