Seldom do a brother and sister attend the same university at the same time, let alone compete in the same sport. In the case of Kelly and Jack Ortel, they wouldn’t want it any other way.
Kelly, ’14, and Jack, ’15, grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, and are members of nationally-ranked Stanford sailing. Both have been key contributors to the most successful team in school history, Stanford sweeping all six Pacific Coast Sailing Conference titles in Santa Barbara, California, in late April—a league first.
Varsity sailing comprises six divisions: singlehanded one-person sailing for men and women in the fall; match racing, where three people are on the boat; two-person sailing—team—in the spring, which puts your best three boats in the water against an opponent’s, with the lowest score getting a win in round-round format; and coed and women’s sailing, where there is an A and B division.
Kelly, a sophomore majoring in computer science, crewed on the team and coed racing boats, and was one of 10 all-conference sailors from Stanford . Jack, a freshman economics major, faces stiff competition every day, as three skippers ahead of him were named all-conference.
“I think it is a very unique situation, especially when they’re not the same age,” said Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer. “It usually detracts the other sibling from coming or they choose to do something else. They work really well together and push each other a lot. They don’t sail together, but they both sail at different times in the same boat, which is also extremely rare.”
And get this: With the exception of a few squabbles over the TV remote, they seldom bicker.
“I don’t think we ever fight,” Jack said. “We fought some in high school, just because we were really competitive, mainly outside of sailing. We get along pretty well.”
Added Kelly, “Jack skippers, too, and I like sailing with him. We know each other so well that we can comment on things. We don’t get worked up over anything and help each other.”
Sailing is a part of the Annapolis culture. Many kids attend camps, Jack starting when he was a youngster and beginning racing when he was 12. He finally convinced Kelly to take up the sport when she was in the eighth grade.
“I really didn’t want to do it at first,” she said. “I was like, ‘Sailing? What is that?’ I played field hockey, swam, and did stuff like that.”
Once Kelly started, she was hooked.
“I went to practice for the first time and was amazed how hard it is and how much I didn’t understand,” said Kelly. “It was like going to field hockey practice in China where they’re speaking Chinese. It was a challenge.”
You might be surprised to learn that Stanford sailing has a playbook. It consists of three plays with an infinite number of variations.
“It’s a lot of memorization and being on the same page with all your teammates, communicating across the course,” Kelly said.
“It’s mainly staying two or three steps ahead, knowing how other boats are going to react to your reaction and what you should do then,” said Jack.
Stanford sails out of the Morrison Boathouse in Redwood City and racks up huge frequent flyer mileage to compete against the best teams in the nation. The team traveled to the East Coast seven weekends in the fall and five in the spring, often going to multiple locations. When Stanford hosts a regatta, its fleet of 18 boats, which they use for practice, are used by competitors. Significant support for Stanford sailing comes from theBuck/Cardinal Club for its annual operating expenses.
“The Buck/Cardinal Club is our team’s lifeblood to competition,” Vandemoer said. “Without the generous support of the Buck/Cardinal Club members, we would not be able to travel to the East Coast and prove we are among the best. Our team’s success is dependent on sailing against the country’s best, and as a team, we don’t shy away from competition. We go find it and the Buck/Cardinal Club gets us there.”
What is the biggest misconception about college sailing?
“It’s not at all what you would imagine,” said Kelly. “There’s so much more to it than sitting on a boat. People go, ‘Oh, where’s your martini?’ It’s challenging like chess, but the board is moving and you use the breeze to move your pieces. It’s a lot of fun, but also a long day. On weekends we’re out there from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.”
Both Kelly and Jack will sail for Stanford in the coed national semifinals in Annapolis on Saturday and Sunday. The top 9 teams out of 18 advance to the nationals later this month near Austin, Texas.
The Cardinal coed team is ranked fourth in the country, while the women’s team is ranked third. Stanford won the team competition in 1997, but has yet to win in coed fleet racing or in the women’s division, placing third in the latter in 2008.
“They’re both part of our top boat and sail with Kevin Laube,” Vandemoer said of his sophomore skipper. “Kelly is the normal starter and light air crew; Jack is the situational and heavy crew and steps in when the breeze builds. I’m very comfortable with either of them in the boat at any time.”
Vandemoer has youth on his side. His 23-person team has only 3 upperclassmen—all juniors. Of Stanford’s 10 all-conference selections, 9 were underclassmen.
“It’s a very special situation because not only did we make history by winning all six conference championships, we’re also doing it with a very young team,” he said. “We’re starting mainly sophomores and freshmen. So it means a lot to be able to reach this level so early in their careers and get this experience right away.”
The team and women’s boats have already qualified for nationals. Now, the Ortels will try and do their part to help the coed boats join them.
“We are definitely a very competitive team going into nationals to take away at least a win in one and maybe more than one,” said Vandemoer. “Kelly and Jack are a big part of that.”