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

Old Rochester Regional High School and Bishop Stang 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 an email from member Mike Sudofsky.

Mattapoisett residents Jonathan Pope, Bishop Stang’s coach, and Joe Guard, ORR’s coach, had spoken to Sudofsky about their need to raise money for six new sets of sails each.

“[Sudofsky] said, ‘Let me take care of that,’” said Pope.

It goes without saying that having a good set of sails can go a long way in a competition, and each team wants to present good equipment since the hosting team in a competition supplies the boats.

“It’s very important that the boats are equal so that no one has an advantage on anyone as far as the equipment is concerned,” said Pope.

For the fledgling ORR team, which just completed its second year, new sails will give the team an edge it hasn’t had yet in competitions.

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

The team is a full-fledged ORR varsity team, but is not funded by the school. When it eventually receives funding it still 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.”

Although Pope’s program has been around longer and was undefeated this year, he said it’s still a struggle to raise enough money for new sails, which cost at least $6,500.

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

Naturally, fellow sailors understand the need for good quality sails, and Sudofsky’s email to the J80 fleet was apparently persuasive. Within 24 hours, the fleet’s sailors had pledged 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.

Both teams hope to commission sails in their schools’ colors.

Because his program is more established, Pope said he wants the lions’ share of the funds to go to the ORR team.

“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.

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

For his part, 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.

Despite only a handful of competitions its first year, the team finished 8-6 this spring.

“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.

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

The coaches said they welcome donations. For ORR, funds can be donated through MattSail or the ORR Athletic Booster Club. Specify the team’s name on any donation.

At Bishop Stang, contact Athletic Director Ryan Sylvia at rsylvia@bishopstang.org or 508-996-5602 ext. 427.