Two teens from Ledyard and Mystic take to the high seas
Peter Cronin’s journey to sailing wasn’t typical.
Like many young kids, the Ledyard resident got involved with mainstream sports: soccer, basketball, baseball.
But in fourth grade, his diagnosis of the rare Perthes disease — in which a temporary disruption of blood flowing to the ball part of the hip joint causes bone cells to die — and the resulting surgeries meant no more high-impact sports for Cronin, now 15.
“My parents looked at it in a way of, what can I do now, not what can’t I do,” said the soon-to-be Ledyard High School sophomore.
Inspired by his childhood best friend’s brother, Cronin began sailing during the summer between fifth and sixth grade.
Five years later, he said with a laugh, he realizes he isn’t “as bad as thought I was.”
That’s because Cronin — a competitive sailor with Ram Island Yacht Club in Mystic, which operates in the summer, and MudRatz, which has spring and fall sessions — is coming off a successful summer season.
On their 420 sailboat, crewman Cronin and skipper Zach Champney of Mystic started their season by winning the Secor Volvo Fishers Island Sound race: a four-leg race that went from one end of Fishers Island to the other and was organized by local yacht clubs.
Because their best finish in all of the legs was fourth of 34, they were expecting, at best, to have a top-seven finish, Cronin said.
“When they were announcing the winners and got to the top five and hadn’t said our names, both of our parents were whispering, ‘there must be a mistake. We’ll straighten it out,’” Cronin said.
But there wasn’t a mistake: with their consistent performance, Cronin and Champney had earned the No. 1 spot.
The duo would go on to take second place in the silver category, or 67th overall, at the Club 420 National Championship in Newport, R.I., where almost 200 boats from across the United States and even other countries competed.
On Aug. 10, they finished fourth at the USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival in Jamestown, R.I., the last major race of the season.
During the races, Cronin admitted, he doesn’t make the technical calls — that’s on Champney. But he does have a favorite part: hanging off the edge of the boat over the water, holding on to the wire.
“The feeling of being held up by something and relying on the wind to keep me up … it gives me a rush,” Cronin said.
But Cronin likes how peaceful sailing can be outside of racing, too, and, “last but not least,” the sunglasses tan he quickly acquires.
Champney, who’s been on his parents’ boat since he was a couple years old and has been competitively sailing since he was about 8, said he loves windy days — the more speed, the better — and long-distance races, like the one around Fishers Island.
Going into his sophomore year at Fitch High School, Champney, also of Ram Island Yacht Club and MudRatz, said participating in a sport that few of his high school friends do isn’t a problem.
“I have so many friends from sailing,” he said, adding that he practices about five days a week. “We’re out there almost every single day.”
Both Champney and Cronin used the word “definitely” to answer whether they want to keep sailing long into the future. Next summer, Cronin hopes to teach younger kids how to sail, too.
“I love sailing,” he said. “Why not have your summer job be something that you love?”
l.boyle@theday.com
Twitter: @LindsayABoyle
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