A generous donation from a local sailing fleet will help two high school teams stay afloat.

Bishop Stang High School and Old Rochester Regional High School have received more than $13,000 towards the purchase of new sails for their 420 boats thanks to the J80 sailing fleet of the Beverly Yacht Club and yacht club member Mike Sudofsky.

Bishop Stang coach Jon Pope and ORR coach Joe Guard—both Mattapoisett residents—had spoken to Sudofsky about their need to raise money for six new sets of sails each.

“[Sudofsky] was concerned because these kids really need good, safe equipment, and to be competitive, they need up-to-date equipment,” said Pope. “That’s what got the ball rolling.”

Sudofsky’s email to the J80 fleet received an overnight response pledging five figures to the two teams.

“Joe Guard and Jon Pope get to go into the next season with this tremendous set of sails,” said Sudofsky, whose son is on the Bishop Stang team.

Each team wants to present good equipment since the hosting team in a competition supplies the boats. “We’d like more color and more infrastructure so [the competition] knows we’re a good team,” said Pope, saying the current equipment is not in great condition. “We take this sport seriously.”

Although Bishop Stang’s sailing team has been around for about 15 years and was undefeated this year, Pope said the team is still $2,000-3,000 short of its $6,500 goal. The team was able to raise about $2,000 from parent donations before Sudofsky’s email. Supplying all six boats with two sails each totals to about $6,500.

The team’s boats, which belong to the Community Boating Center in New Bedford, aren’t “grand prix” racing sails, and Pope has been trying to figure out a way to get new ones for two years.

Because Pope’s program is more established than the fledgling ORR team—which just completed its second year—the ORR team received the majority of the donation.

“It’s more important to concentrate on our community that we live in, to make sure that the ORR team gets well taken care of. It’s important that we give them a really good start,” said Pope. New sails will give the team an edge it hasn’t had yet in competitions.

Pope said the Fall River diocese will help the Bishop Stang team out, if possible, and he’s spoken with the administration about getting more funding for its team.

Mattapoisett Community Sailing is funding much of the program and supplying the 420 sailboats as the ORR team works to become an established sport at the high school, but Guard said, “It’s not an inexpensive sport.”

The team is still considered a club sport for now, but even when it is a full-fledged varsity team, funding from the school won’t cover costs, said Guard.

“With cuts at the school level, there’s just no money there,” he said. “We have to continue putting money into the bank account.”

Guard said he’s grateful for the support the team has received so far. A number of local sailors have stepped up to volunteer with the team, and it’s paying off.

“It’s been such a positive thing for our kids,” said Guard. “We’d love to see the momentum grow amongst the community with all the people that live within our tri-town and extended tri-town area.”

Guard said the beauty of team racing is that many skill levels can come together and still be successful. Despite only a handful of competitions it’s first year, the team finished 8-6 this spring.

“You don’t have to be the best sailor to be able to win,” said Guard.

The 420 sailingboat is a two-person boat used to prepare young sailors for Olympic-class boats, said Pope. “They’re primarily used in junior sailing programs, but also on the collegiate level,” he said.

The sailing season begins in March and runs through early June. Bishop Stang closed this season with a 12-0 record in the Cape and Islands League, and both the men's and women's teams took the Cape and Islands championship. For the first time in Bishop Stang history, the men's sailing team qualified for the national championship and took fourth place.

Both coaches said they welcome donations. Contact Bishop Stang’s athletic director Ryan Sylvia via email at rsylvia@bishopstang.org or call (508) 996-5602, ext. 427.

For ORR, funds can be donated through MattSail or the ORR Athletic Booster Club. Specify the team’s name on any donation.