Out on Lake Mascoma, where the wind plays tricks and the water doesn’t care who you were last season, Dartmouth sailing is staging a comeback. Not a quiet one, either. It’s loud in its intent, bold in its structure, and kind of poetic in its symmetry. A team once crowned national champion, twice, actually, in 2018 and 2019, is now rebuilding with a roster that looks more like a revolution than a revival. Eleven first-years, the largest freshman class since 2021, have joined the fray. That’s not a ripple. That’s a wave.
At the helm is Rebecca McElvain, a name that already carries weight in Dartmouth sailing lore. She won those back-to-back titles as a student. Now she’s back, not as a nostalgic alum but as the Ivy League’s first female head coach in the sport. She’s flanked by an all-female coaching staff, which feels less like a statement and more like a flex. It’s not about gender. It’s about excellence. And they’ve got it in spades.
McElvain’s return isn’t just sentimental. It’s strategic. She knows the terrain, the culture, the weird wind patterns on Mascoma that can flip a race in seconds. She’s not here to relive glory days. She’s here to build new ones. “Why not us?” she tells the team. It’s not rhetorical. It’s a challenge. A dare. A mantra.
The team’s vibe is part boot camp, part think tank. There’s a handbook. Not just about sailing mechanics, but about values. Passion. Integrity. Curiosity. Every week, sailors nominate teammates who embody one of these. It’s like Hogwarts’ house points system, but for grit and growth. This week’s word was curiosity. Next week? Who knows. Maybe chaos. Maybe calm. Depends on the wind.
Vice commodore Olivia Drulard, a first-year with the poise of a senior and the vocabulary of a TED Talk, says the coaches recruit for mindset as much as skill. They want sailors who buy in. Not just to the sport, but to the culture. The grind. The weird rituals. The early mornings. The late nights. The constant recalibration of ego and humility that sailing demands.
Drulard’s take on the all-female coaching staff is refreshingly blunt. “People talk about it because it’s unique,” she says. “But when your coaches are elite, it doesn’t matter what gender they are.” That’s the kind of quote that should be stitched onto a sail. Or a hoodie. Or both.
Then there’s Sudi Zhao, co-captain and crew. She didn’t come to Dartmouth as a sailor. She walked on. Learned to sail at ten in Charlestown, Massachusetts, but didn’t race competitively until college. Now she’s steering boats and mentoring rookies like it’s second nature. Her partnership with Drulard on the women’s team is part choreography, part telepathy. In crew sailing, you don’t just share a boat. You share instincts. You read each other’s minds. Or at least each other’s body language. It’s intimate. It’s intense. It’s occasionally infuriating. But when it clicks, it’s magic.
Zhao calls walking onto the team “the best decision I made in my life.” That’s not hyperbole. That’s gospel. She talks about the early days feeling out of place, surrounded by top-tier sailors and how that discomfort became fuel. Now she’s the one others look to when the wind shifts and the race gets messy. She’s proof that pedigree isn’t everything. Hunger counts. So does heart.
The team’s current record is a mixed bag. Fourth place after day one of the Open Team Race Nationals. Third in the ICSA Fleet Race National Championship. Not bad. Not enough. But promising. They’ve taken down Ivy rivals like Harvard and Yale. Dropped races to Stanford and Navy. Bounced back against Boston College. It’s a rollercoaster. But one with momentum.
What’s striking isn’t just the results. It’s the energy. The sense that something’s brewing. That this isn’t just a team trying to win races. It’s a team trying to redefine what winning looks like. Not just trophies, but transformation. Not just speed, but strategy. Not just legacy, but leadership.
There’s a kind of cinematic quality to this season. A former champion returns to coach. A new generation arrives, wide-eyed and hungry. A lake that’s both playground and proving ground. It’s got all the beats of a sports movie. But it’s real. And it’s unfolding in real time.
McElvain’s vision is clear. She’s not chasing ghosts. She’s building a future. One where Dartmouth sailing isn’t just remembered for its past, but revered for its present. One where walk-ons become captains. Where curiosity is currency. Where excellence isn’t inherited, it’s earned.
So what’s next? More races. More wind. More chances to prove that this isn’t a fluke. That the Big Green is back. Not as a shadow of its former self, but as something new. Something fierce. Something worth watching.
Because on Lake Mascoma, the wind doesn’t care about history. But this team does. And they’re writing it, one race at a time. For more Dartmouth athletics coverage, follow the Independent.
