Meet Rayne Duff ’25, this year’s recipient of the MAISA (Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association) Student Leadership Award, a rare and remarkable honor for someone representing a small, fully student-run team like Webb Sailing. The award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in college sailing, goes beyond performance on the water. It honors leadership, sportsmanship, and meaningful contributions to the sport.
When Rayne heard his name announced at the college sailing awards ceremony, he was stunned. Representing a small, student-run team from Webb Institute, Rayne had never expected to receive recognition on such a stage. But his leadership, dedication, and commitment to growing Webb Sailing stood out. Under his leadership, Webb Sailing has grown from a modest club into a nationally competitive team, achieving milestones like cross-regional status and a Nationals appearance, all while balancing the rigorous academic demands of Webb.
In this Q&A, Rayne reflects on the journey, the challenges overcome, and the pride of building something lasting- not just for his team, but for future generations of Webbies.
1. What was your initial reaction when you found out you had been selected?
My first reaction was that I could not believe it. At the awards ceremony, we usually do not expect any Webbies to win awards. Our schedule does not allow us to participate in team racing, which is considered heavily in the awards. Although this award, which is related to uplifting college sailing in MAISA, technically does not require the sailor to team race, I was very surprised to hear my name when they announced it.
2. Can you explain what this award means to you personally, especially as someone representing a smaller school like Webb?
To me, this award really helps me realize that somebody noticed all the work that goes into helping a small team like Webb grow and become competitive. Almost all of the non-academic activities at Webb are student-run, including sailing. This brings a leadership role and large responsibility to many of us. Leadership at Webb is what gave me the responsibility to help the sailing team succeed. At the schools we are competing against, they often have multiple full-time coaches who manage the team. When we race against these teams and perform well, it shows the strength that student leadership gives to our community.
3. The award recognizes not just athletic skill, but leadership, sportsmanship, and contributions to the sport. What specific efforts or initiatives do you think stood out to the selection committee?
Looking back, it can be hard to say exactly what stood out to the selection committee. I can think of a few factors that could have contributed, so I will list them out here. The first option that comes to mind is the promotion of the Webb Sailing team to cross-regional status. Team status does not change very often, as it requires a significant change in the organization and performance of the team. Some other options that could have played a factor are consistent participation in MAISA meetings and regattas, helping promote MAISA sailing though raising the competition level at regattas, and helping Webb sailing in any way possible through the four years here. Another consideration that likely played a factor was that before 2022, Webb had not qualified for nationals since 1976. This marks a significant growth in performance for the team, and brings Webb to a wider audience on the College Sailing scene.
4. You mentioned helping bring Webb Sailing to the national level. What were some of the challenges you faced in doing that, and how did you overcome them?
To answer this question, I have to mention Payne Donaldson and Kenna Reed from the class of 2024. They revitalized Webb sailing after COVID, and helped inspire me to sail my best at every event. Their strong performance was one of the most important factors that brought us to qualifying for College Sailing Nationals in 2022. That performance was what helped our team overcome one of the most important challenges during my time at Webb: upgrading the team to cross-regional status. Cross-regional status allows Webb sailing to participate in competitive regattas against schools from other conferences during the normal sailing season. This is an amazing privilege that is only earned through good organization, communication, and performance for several seasons in a row.
5. How did you balance your academic workload at Webb with the time and energy needed to grow and support the sailing team?
Fully committing to College Sailing at Webb requires some sacrifices in either academics, sleep, or social life. During peak sailing season, particularly in the fall, there is a regatta every weekend. This means all assignments need to be done during the week. It also means that on Friday night when our classmates are celebrating the weekend, the sailing team begins another long drive to the next regatta to represent our school. All the team members choose sailing every weekend they can, highlighting the commitment of this team.
6. How has being part of the MAISA (Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association) and the larger ICSA (Inter-collegiate Sailing Association) community shaped your college experience?
One of the most rewarding aspects of participating in sailing through MAISA has been seeing old and new friends at regattas week after week. Many of the regattas we attend are with the same schools, so getting to see friends from high school who now go to those schools is a unique and special experience in College Sailing. Also, the teams near us, like SUNY and Kings Point, have been amazing supportive friends to Webb, often offering their boats to us so we can practice together. The friendship and camaraderie from those experiences is unforgettable.
7. What advice would you give to future Webb students who want to get involved in competitive sailing or help grow a program further?
My advice would simply be to go sailing! Every regatta we are looking for more people to participate. Even if you have never sailed before, the team is always happy to coach each other and bring everyone up to speed. My best example of this is Kadi Zheng ’24, who had not sailed much before Webb. By her senior year, she was one of the best sailors on the team and competed against the top crews in the country. She did this by consistently showing up to race, even when it was inconvenient for academics. I see a lot of sailors start at Webb with some sailing experience and want to get involved with racing, but sometimes the school work makes it difficult to commit the time required. Focusing on time management early every week will pave the way to racing and representing Webb on the weekends.
8. This award also nominates you for the James Rousmaniere Award at the national level. What does that broader recognition mean to you and the team?
Nomination for this award alone is an honor. Every team captain at Webb in recent years contributed to bring Webb Sailing to where it is today, and we would all feel proud to be recognized on a national level.
9. Looking back, what moment or achievement are you most proud of from your time with Webb Sailing?
What made me the most proud in my time here was the week leading up to the National Championship of 2023. That particular year, Nationals were hosted at Kings Point, which meant that we did not need to pay for housing away from Webb. This left enough money in the budget to hire a coach, Sophia Reineke, for a small training clinic before the event as well as coaching during Nationals itself. This training clinic is what made me so proud to be contributing to Webb sailing. We managed to scrape together enough sailors to get all eight 420s out on the water for several days in a row. Even people who knew they would not race at the regatta still came out to practice to help their teammates prepare for the event. Watching us come together behind a common goal for that particular event made me proud to be a Webbie, and I still look back on it as the highlight of sailing at Webb over the past four years.
10. What’s next for you after graduation — will sailing continue to play a role in your life?
I could never imagine my life without sailing. I plan on moving to Seattle after graduation to work at Elliott Bay Design Group as a naval architect, and I already have plans to participate in several sailing groups in the area. Sailing at Webb gave me a new perspective on racing that will help me to enjoy the sport for many years to come, and I hope that many Webbies have the opportunity to experience the same in the future.
