Sarasota teen continues to triumph on the water
In June, Chris Stocke, a 17-year-old junior at Sarasota High School, won the 2009 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Conn. Only the top 20 eligible sailors qualified even to compete in this regatta.
Chris Stocke (center) holds the traditional duck trophy for taking first place in the 2009 U.S. Laser Radial Championship.
He had won the 2008 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta (beating 110 other boats) and the 2009 Atlantic Coast Championships.
He has sailed against, and made friends with, young men and women from around the globe who are competing at the highest level of high school sailing.
Chris Stocke sails in the 2009 Orange Bowl Regatta, hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club.
If there were any doubts that Chris is the best, they were all put to rest on Aug. 9, when Chris took first place over 142 other sailors in the 2009 U.S. Laser Radial Championship in Brant Beach, N.J.
Chris was born in Atlanta. When he was 5, his mother, Ann, moved him and his older brother, Will, to Boca Grande. There Chris was introduced to sailing by his grandfather. Six years later the family of three moved to Sarasota and Chris started sailing out of the Sarasota Youth Sailing Program (YSP).
"When you first start sailing you’re in Green Fleet," he said. "Clarke Mills Regatta, in Clearwater was my first. I can’t tell you how I finished, but that was the first one. Back then it was just for fun."
Chris had plenty of competition in the Orange Bowl Regatta this year.
He continued, "Oh, I still have fun. I just like to win. I mean I don’t win all the time."
Chris has participated in more than 100 regattas, from San Francisco and Long Beach in California to the Northeast – New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Many people consider him the best laser radial sailor in the country.
"Chris is an exceptional sailor and deserves lots of credit," said Jon Dowd, Chris’ coach in the early years. "He was always more intense than the other kids on the team. He stayed in his boat all day, kept his focus on sailing. That intensity has definitely made him one of the most successful sailors to ever come out of our youth sailing program. I can’t wait to see how far he goes this year!"
Stu Gilfillen, who ran the YSP from October 2006 until April of this year, said, "I think he’s either the best Laser Radial sailor in the country, or at least one of the top three. He’s still developing as a double-handed sailor."
According to theboathouse.biz, the Laser Radial was designed for single-handed and youth sailors. It has a smaller sail and a shorter bottom mast section than the standard Laser.
"It’s easy to see the talent," Gilfillen said. So is he the best? "Radials, yes; overall, not yet. One of the top 20, definitely."
While he sails – and sails very well – Chris doesn’t drive. What 17-year-old isn’t clamoring for a license and a set of wheels? This one.
"I bike everywhere I need to go," Chris said. "Plus I have friends that have their licenses and I can get a ride, pretty much, when I need one."
He is quick to mention that all his friends are not sailors. "No, I have friends in and out of sailing. A lot of the kids at my school don’t even know I sail. Whenever I say I have a regatta, people always ask if I crew. Or if I row. I tell them I sail and they’re like, ‘Oh, where do you do that?’"
"I’ve been with the YSP ever since I was a little kid," Chris explained. "I’ve been places and sailed at yacht clubs I probably never would have been to, all because of this program."
So where is his favorite place to sail? "Right here in Sarasota. My favorite regatta every year is SailFest. It’s a great event, and there is no better place to sail than the Squadron. You know, I have friends that play other sports and that’s fine and everything, but sailing is the best sport."
He continued, "You know when you’re done and showered and changed and you’re usually in a nice yacht club and you get to hang out with your friends by the pool or whatever. ... The sun is setting and we just spent two great hours out [on the water] having fun. Yeah, sailing is the best sport there is."