From sailing dinghies and small racing yachts at a young age to winning the Marian-to-Bermuda race on corrected time, Choate History teacher Samuel Doak has proved to be a successful sailor. Growing up, Doak, like many sailors, started out sailing dinghies, small racing boats. Some time later he followed this with “five years in which I was doing some competitive sailing.” During those five years, Doak sailed on Dakota, a Nautor Swan 46 sailboat then based out of Milford, Connecticut. He sailed in various New England Ocean Races including the Around Long Island Race, Vineyard Race and Block Island Race. Doak culminated his racing experience by winning the Marian to Bermuda race. The Marian to Bermuda Race required Doak and the other members of the Dakota crew to sail from Marian, Massachusetts to Bermuda, a distance of 650 miles. This was a “navigator’s race,” and Doak was the crew’s navigator. This position required Doak to plot the most feasible course to Bermuda as well as plan for dangerous weather. Doak guided the Dakota through these obstacles on the journey and on to victory.
During his time in New York City, Doak became proficient in sailing boats known as J24s. J24s are small, fast sailboats that use a keel to stabilize the boat. Doak’s home port was the New York Boat Basin, located right below the World Trade Center. Because of the close proximity to the World Trade Center, many of the J24s were damaged as the result of the 9/11 attacks. Doak described sailing after 9/11 as “a very strange experience.” However, Doak enjoyed his experience at the Boat Basin, calling it “a great place to sail out of. You could sail out in the harbor and watch the sun set over the Statue of Liberty.”
Sailing is a sport whose complexities drive away many potential participants, but Doak was not driven away. Doak’s enjoyment of the sport is derived from his passion for sailing. Doak notes, “There are few experiences that are as joyful as just being out on the water. In some sense, it is the spiritual connected-ness you feel on the water, the camaraderie with the other sailors, and the adrenaline, the thrill of approaching the starting line, and the thrill of slowly, methodically creeping up on the boat you are overtaking.”
Recently, other time commitments have kept Doak off the water. However, his move from Lawrenceville to Choate puts Doak closer to his boat, which is currently docked in Connecticut. Doak is looking forward to renew his passion for sailing when he finds some free time.
