Local youth sailors compete in national championship

SANDUSKY — They're young, but they made history, breaking a 72-year-old drought in the process. Four high school-aged sailors representing the Sandusky Sailing Club placed 18th out of 20 total participants at a prestigious youth sailing event happening earlier this month in California. More specifically, the foursome — Cameron Bert, Molly Keane, Charlotte Langolf and Hadley Langolf, who all attend high school — became the club's first team since 1953 to compete at the Chubb U.S. Youth Triplehanded Championship for the Sears Cup at the iconic St. Francis Yacht Club on San Francisco Bay. "Getting the chance to sail in such a major sailing port, surrounded by incredible sailors, is a really big deal," Keane said. Throughout the three-day event, Sandusky's team faced many challenging conditions, including strong tides, heavy winds and rolling fog. Despite these obstacles, Sandusky's crew did, at times, find itself near the pacesetters but ultimately came up short of winning. Yet they still all found many victories during this event. "All in all, it was an unforgettable few days on and off the water," said Brett Langolf, the father of Charlotte and Hadley, who are sisters. Established in 1921, the Sears Cup is the nation's oldest youth sailing championship, drawing top sailors from across the country. The championship divides the U.S. into 11 regions, with only two teams per region qualifying for the national event. Sandusky qualified from a territory covering Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, western Pennsylvania and western New York.