Charlotte Belling (Saybrook ’16) is Yale’s youngest All-American Sailor. Read more to hear about the Yale Sailing Team, Charlotte’s sailing career, and more!
Name: Charlotte Belling
College: Saybrook 2016
Major: Art History
Hometown: Newport Beach, CA
HC: What extracurricular activities do you do at Yale?
CB: Along with sailing, I am a part of Relay for Life, Yale Theta, and Bulldog Buddies, a program where a group of Yale students tutor at a local elementary school once a week. Also, a friend of mine recently started the Yale Fly Fishing Club. I have been fly fishing with my dad for years, so I’m really excited to get involved with this.
HC: Tell us more about how you became an All-American Sailor.
CB: To be voted to the All-American team, officials look at your results and various achievements from both the fall and spring seasons. It’s basically a reflection of which events you competed at and how well you performed at each one. I had the opportunity to sail at many competitive regattas last year, and my partner and I worked really hard to improve throughout the past two years. I really owe my success to him – he is an incredible teacher. At the end of last spring, our team won two out of the three ICSA national championships and were also recipients of the Fowle Trophy, awarded to the best all around collegiate sailing team. It was amazing to celebrate our success as a team and see everyone’s hard work pay off in the year’s final results. We had trained all year for this, and everyone’s contributions played an instrumental role in the team’s success. That being said, although I was honored to be awarded individually, I would never have accomplished this without the support from my team and all they have taught me. We had five skippers and four crews achieve All American honors, which is pretty unbelievable. I was so happy for everyone, but especially our upperclassmen who had really earned it.
HC: What do you do on a regular training day?
CB: We lift twice a week in the morning and sail for about two hours every afternoon. The whole trip to the water takes around four hours, including transportation and rigging the boats. Once it gets dark or everybody is exhausted, we sail in and head home. Practice has always been my favorite part of the day. I get to take a break from school and spend time on the water with my friends. It doesn’t get much better than that.
HC: Tell us about the Yale Sailing team.
CB: The Yale team has both a co-ed team and a women’s team, but we are very cohesive. There is a lot of movement between the two, and most girls end up sailing for both at some point or another. We train as a group both on and off the water, so there’s very little separation. I have to admit, it’s fun seeing the girls beat up on the boys in practice.
HC: Did you sail before Yale?
CB: I started sailing when I was 8 and never really stopped. Although I played other sports when I was younger, I love the outdoors and eventually realized that there’s nothing like being on the water. I began sailing sabots (a one person boat) but switched to double-handed boats right before high school. This transition really helped me improve. I needed to have someone else in the boat to talk to – it’s much more collaborative and fun. Also, my older sister is a really talented sailor and inspired me to keep up with it over the years.
HC: Do you have any tips for other sailors or individual athletes?
CB: I think it is important to be confident in what you know and not get frustrated by the things you can’t control. Sailing is a humbling challenge because there are so many aspects of racing that you just have to accept – wind, current, waves, opponents. It’s both a physical and mental game, so it’s important to relax and focus on what your job is at each point of the race.
HC: Why did you choose Yale? Was it for its sailing team?
CB: There are so many reasons I wanted to go to here. Apart from sailing, I always knew I wanted to study art history, and Yale has the most incredible gallery collection and art history department. I’ve always been a visual learner, and my classes here are very hands on. When I visited in high school, I fell in love with the campus and sailing venue. At the time, my sister went here and was on the team. She had such a special college experience being able to sail competitively while also being a part of all that Yale has to offer, and that was something I really wanted. Also, our coaches are undeniably the best, and to be a part of their program was an honor and something I definitely worked toward in high school.