Sailor Spotlight - Claire Calkins '28

Although Claire Calkins had sailed a lot before coming to University of Virginia, you might have not guessed it because when you ask her where she’s from, she’ll tell you Phoenix, Arizona. 

Claire is a second-year and has been on the Race Team since she started at UVA. She is on track for a double major in History and Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law. She plans on going to law school. Outside of sailing, Claire is incredibly involved at the University. In addition to being Virginia Sailing’s 2025 Technical Manager, she is also a founding member (and the Marketing Chair) of the Zeta Chapter of Kappa Omega Alpha, a professional public policy fraternity. She is a member of Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity and Tri Delta Sorority, and a lifeguard on Grounds.

Prior to coming to the University, most of Claire’s sailing experience was on the West Coast. Although she had been exposed to sailing before, she “didn’t truly learn how to sail” until working as a camp counselor on Catalina Island at Camp Emerald Bay. Claire worked at Camp Emerald Bay for five years. She spent her first two summers as a counselor learning how to sail on RS Quests, and by her fifth year, she was the Sailing Director for the entire camp. 

Although Claire says she was nervous to join Virginia Sailing at first, she quickly became an unforgettable member of the Race Team and the club as a whole. She recalls, “I was probably the luckiest first year because of my roommate. She sailed too and we basically agreed to be roommates because of this shared interest.” Claire and her first-year roommate, Morgan Rathjen ‘28, attended several regattas in their first three semesters on the Race Team. “By my first practice, despite never having raced before, I felt so comfortable with the team. Capsizing with Max Penders may have been the final push to help me realize that the team wasn’t that scary after all,” Claire said. Since then, she has stayed incredibly involved.

Claire recalls her favorite regatta as also being her first regatta — just a month after starting her first year, she went to the McCurdy Memorial Regatta, hosted by the University of Delaware. “I sailed with Morgan, and we have the most epic photo of our boat, probably a football field ahead of all the other boats. Needless to say,  we have yet to be that far ahead in a race since, but are always working towards it,” she said. The team stayed in an AirBNB made from a trailer (which had alpacas in the yard) and made lots of friends from other teams, ultimately getting second place in the regatta. She says that regatta “cemented [her] commitment to the team.” Claire has sailed at seven more regattas since that first one, travelling up and down the East Coast from Oriental, North Carolina, to New York City. 

Claire has been the 2025 Technical Manager for Virginia Sailing, responsible for maintaining the Virginia Sailing website, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as designing, ordering, and distributing merch from the team. Her favorite part of that has been the actual board meetings, saying, “Board meetings are always filled with good banter … I think that it has been extremely fun. I feel so much closer with the other board members.” 

She is incredibly social and positive, and is often the first to make friends with other teams at regattas. Although she didn't race before joining Virginia Sailing, she has become an amazing crew. We are so excited to see what else Claire has to bring to the team.