From the first time I set foot on a sailboat, I understood the appeal of sailing, the crisp ocean breeze coming from the crashing waves, the freedom of the wind as it lets you glide seamlessly across the water, but most of all, I love how easy it is to be adventurous, to let your soul run free, to be able to go anywhere and do anything. I am not Moana, but I and my friends consider ourselves to be as close as anyone can get.

We sail for Narrows Race Team (NRT), a program that consists of people from Gig Harbor, Bellarmine, and Peninsula. We all have a passion for sailing, and we practice sailing in the harbor, and in the fall and spring, NRT gives us the opportunity to sail a boat called a Flying Junior, or FJ for short; they have two sails, the main sail (the big one) and the jib sail (the smaller one). “FJs are probably my favorite,” said Aiden Spiker (9). The boat is made for two people to race: the crew, who balance the boat and man the jib, and the skipper, who man the main sail and steer the boat. I do both, as do many sailors, but I prefer to crew, like my friend Cameron Siegert (10), who is a gold fleet varsity crew who crews for the best skippers in the biggest regattas. “I love sailing because I am good at it, and my friends do it,” says Seigert. But we cannot talk about the best skippers without mentioning Finn Deprez (12); he is a gold fleet varsity sailor, and he is also ranked number one youth skipper in all of the Pacific Northwest, which includes Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. “I was seven when I first learned to sail, and I just never stopped. I love that you can go fast without any engine sound,” said Deprez.

Sailing has never stopped amazing me, from the physics of the sail to the feeling of sailing, but one thing in particular that surprised me was the sailors spirit. Before I started sailing, I found it hard to try consistently at any given thing. I was spotty, but after learning to sail, I felt like I could hold onto things and learn them better. Sailing has taught me to never give up, be tenacious, and give it your best effort, because in the end you will be glad you hung on and kept going.