Hi! My name is Samantha Mikesell, and I am a sailor who has been sailing for a short 3 years. As short as I have been sailing, I have quickly caught on to most everything you can know at my age. Like any athlete, I can easily say that my sport completely influences my life and actions, and without it, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. Most every weekend in the fall and summer, my step-dad and I race on Lake Maxinkuckee. Sometimes we travel to other big sailing lakes and race at regattas there. So, as you can tell, I am a pretty busy person throughout sailing season! When I’m not racing, I am either regaining my energy from the previous race of continuing to train for the next one. I have learned throughout my years that sailing is very unpredictable. Sometimes, I decide that I might train really hard for an upcoming race. And then, after all my hard training, we might not even have enough wind to race! As disappointing as that is, it taught me that not everything goes how you might’ve planned, and I couldn’t be more thankful for learning that at my age. Another interesting thing I have learned is that you don’t always have to be in the most popular sports in order to have fun. Yea, soccer and football might be really fun, but I think its the most unique sports that are the best (since I show horses, sail, and run, I like to think that all my sports are unique). When I first got into the sailing community, it was really cool to just connect with the small group and become friends with the people in it. There are very different people in the sport, but throughout it we all connect in ways that you couldn’t imagine! For anyone looking to get into an upbeat and social sport, I would definitely recommend that they start sailing.
Month: September 2014
http://www.cscow.org/?page_id=2888Sailing Interview
While trying to find a local sailor I could interview, I thought of a lot of options. In the end, I chose to interview my step-dad, who I sail with. He was the one that introduced me to this sport, and I am beyond thankful for that. So, I thought that it would be cool to interview the one who got me started in the first place. So without further ado, Steve Schaub!
Q: When did you start sailing?
A: “I started sailing when I was five years old”. (He is currently 50)
Q: What is your first memory of sailing?
A: “My first memory is when the pro sailor dude, Bruce Moore, asked me to sail with him in the Fall Regatta when I was only 7 years old. We ended up winning the whole thing!”
Q: Do you prefer to sail in really windy days or semi windy days? Why?
A: “Semi windy days, because when it is really windy it is hard to figure out how much weight you want in the boat and who you want in it”.
Q: Do you hope that you will be able to continue sailing for as long as you can?
A: “Absolutely! Sailing is a lifetime sport!”
Q: How far have you traveled to race in a regatta?
A: “The farthest I’ve traveled is to Key West, Florida, in the Key West Melges 24 Regatta”.
Q: In your opinion, what is the best part of sailing?
A: “I could make this a really cheesy answer, but I’d have to say that its the experience of sailing together with family”.
Q: Where is the coolest place you have gone to race? Why?
A: “Crystal Lake, Michigan. The lake is super deep- like 500 feet- and you can see around 100 feet deep so its really cool to see everything underneath you when you’re racing”.
Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment in this sport?
A: “Winning the Lake Springfield Spring Regatta”.
Q: If there was no wind and you couldn’t race, what would you be doing?
A: “I would most likely be paddleboarding with my family”.
Q: What do you do to get ready before a race?
A: “I have to prepare the crew, prepare the boat, and prepare myself mentally for the conditions ahead of us”.
Q: What is something unique about your sport?
A: “I think the coolest thing about it is that almost no one does it. Also, unless people know someone who does it, they haven’t heard of it so its really secluded and non-busy”.
Q: What is the most difficult thing about your sport?
A: “As simple as this sounds, the hardest thing about it is being good at it. You have to have lots of experience and even if you think you’re good, you might go to a different lake and sail there and you might stink compared to how you do on your home lake”.
Other Websites
For anyone interested in my other social media sites and other sailing blogs (although mine is undoubtedly the best), here are a couple!
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/sammikesell_
Other sailing blogs:
List of Most Recent People to Have Sailed Around the World
Now, I’m sure everyone has at least thought about what it would be like to sail around the world, but how about doing it completely solo? Now, I can say that that doesn’t entirely appeal to me all that well, but it must for some people!
Jeanne Socrates- Jeanne became the oldest women (at 70 years old!) to sail solo around the world non-stop. She started in October of 2012 in Canada, and it took her exactly 259 days to cover over 25,000 nautical miles. This was her third attempt at making this record. Her inspiration comes from her husband George, who died of cancer a couple years earlier. She continuously holds fundraisers on her boat that benefits cancer cure centers.
Laura Dekker- At 14 years old, Laura sailed around the world completely by herself (personally, I can say I would never be able to do that at such a young age). She set sail in 2010, and completed her mission in January 2012 after 17 months. Her journey was considered so incredible that a movie documentary was actually made about her!
Zac Sunderland- In 2009 at age 17, Zac sailed solo around the world in 13 months and 2 days. He was the first person under the age of 18 that made this journey. He made around 23 stops around the world, stopping just so he could restock, make repairs, and quickly sightsee.
Jesse Martin- In 1999, he became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, unassisted, and non-stop. At age 18, his trip took around 328 days, almost 11 months! His 27,000 mile trip inspired many young sailors to attempt similar circumnavigations.
Ellen MacArthur- On February 7th, 2005, Ellen broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe! Although her record has since been broken, she was the first woman to do this trip that quickly. It took her 71 days and 14 hours to complete the 27,354 nautical mile trip. She still continues to race, and used her popularity to create a charity that helps with business and education for young people.
Jessica Watson- Jessica is a sailor from Australia. In May of 2010, she unofficially became the youngest person to sail non-stop with no assistance around the world. Sadly, her route didn’t meet the World Sailing Speed Record Council criteria for circumnavigation of the globe. She departed from Sydney, Australia for her trip on October 18th, 2009, and returned on May 15th, 2010, three days before she turned 17! She was later named the Young Australian of the Year.
Michael Perham- In 2007 at the age of 14, Michael became the youngest person in the world to successfully sail around the world solo. It took him around 4 and a half months to cross 40,000 miles. He uses his trip’s publicity to raise money to donate to charities.
Daily Sail 