USING the term "epic" too often makes one a kook. It's equally uncool to overhype one's sailing experiences because, let's face it, there's always someone who has won more, sailed faster or gone to a cooler place. The summer of 2022, however, was truly epic for Jesse Andrews, the Pied Piper of Hawaii's Kaneohe Bay, whose followers stormed North America and Europe, and ascended to performance sailing's world stage. Under Andrews' direction, these young sailors are charging hard in the Waszp and Olympic iQFoil classes today, and getting serious looks to fill slots on the rosters of youth and women's America's Cup development teams.
Kaneohe sailing's epic and timely ascent into everyone's collective radar has been a long time coming, but the whole phenomenon was accelerated when the US Sailing Olympic Development Program doubled down on performance youth sailing in 2022. Kaneohe, naturally, was the first proving ground.
Oahu's sailing teams were chasing ILCA and Club420 medals this past summer too, but most of the kids, whether because of geographic isolation or lack of interest, avoided the traditional path of racing in large Optimist and 420 fleets on the mainland. Instead, they began their careers with O'pen Skiff "Un-Regattas," and then went on to 29ers and eventually anything with a foil they could get their hands on.
Deconstructing how these junior programs have grown to become a new model for enabling dedicated youth sailing talent despite their isolation starts with Andrews, a once-frustrated New England kid who refused to wear shoes and ended up in the Aloha State.
Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av Sailing World.
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Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av Sailing World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Tips for More Successful Epoxy Projects
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Auxiliary Rear Station Build
From past fishing experiences, I've learned that quick changes in speed and direction are often required when retrieving a hooked fish.
TARGETED PERFORMERS
Defending their title at the 420 Youth Worlds in July, Freddie Parkin and Asher Beck were on a roll-until they weren't.
BALANCE ON THE PINNACLE
The path to gender equity in the Olympics has been a long and twisted one, but when the sailors assemble in Marseille next year, we'll finally see what's been a long time coming.
SIMPLE STEPS TO CONSISTENT SPEED
Boatspeed is the magic ingredient for winning races because we can get away with bad decisions if we are fast, but we can't make good choices if we're slow.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL JIB-LEAD ADJUSTMENTS
Floating jib leads give trimmers more dynamic control of the headsail profile.
BETTER TOGETHER
Success over three decades comes down to making it meaningful.
JUSTINE THE MACHINE
This self-effacing Swiss sailor has-in her quiet and understated way become one of the stars of offshore ocean racing in recent years, whether as part of a winning crew in The Ocean Race or building her credentials as a top-class solo racer.
THE MULTITASKING MULTIHULL MOM
Competing in Olympic sailing's most challenging discipline is one thing, but doing so with a tyke in tow takes the campaign hustle to a higher level.
CONNECTED COAST TO COAST
From sunny St. Pete to historic Marblehead, the 34th edition of the Regatta Series linked sailors and friends across the country, with a few new twists.
