By: Kevin McManus, age 17
The sailing world is one of which comes with more opportunity to connect, learn, and
grow than essentially any other field, whether its career or sport wise. The ability to be ready to take opportunities on a whim and learn by doing in the sailing world will take you far and build you a reputation that only provides more opportunities.
The chance for me to compete in the Ida Lewis Distance race on “Eclipse” was one of those opportunities I just had to say yes to immediately, I wanted to ensure the offer wasn’t given to anyone else so I said yes with two days to prepare and without knowing whether or not I could go. I said yes and figured it out from there, an opportunity which has now given me the ability to race with Mark Coleman on his boat “Eclipse” for a full season this summer. I met most of the crew the day of the race, I showed up to the boat with a sense of eagerness to help, learn, and prove myself, I was the youngest on the boat and wanted to be seen as capable, useful, and competent.
Everyone on the boat was very nice and all quite knowledgeable, it felt great to be surrounded by people who I could learn from first hand in the moment. Meeting new people in the sailing community is always a great feeling because nobody understands the joys, struggles, and experience of sailing like other sailors. The starting area of the race was chock full of boats from all different classes. I learned that a good watch and well planned strategy were necessary for finding success there. Those first four hours are where everyone has the most energy and wants some on deck action. If I wasn’t sitting on a rail I wanted to be on a winch in the pit, I’m almost certain I had enough energy to swim alongside the boat in its wake.
As the first day progressed and the sun began to set the boat fell into a rhythm of one group resting and the group other on deck working to keep the boat moving. It was during that sunset hour somebody pointed out that there were dolphin riding in the wake of the boat, they glided effortlessly through the water jumping up out of the water on both sides of the boat. As the night began I went below deck with my group to rest.
I enjoy sleeping on boats and haven’t faced any trouble in doing so but the excitement of being in the race kept me up most of the time. At night it was apparent the headlamp I had brought was too bright even with the red light on, so I waited for my eyes to adjust and checked extra well that whatever line I was holding was the right one.
As the second day rolled around, the deck turned into a frying pan and the wind was absent as the sea breeze had not come in yet. We went through many would you rather scenarios and rested to pass the time, eventually the sea breeze did come in and with it some energy to keep racing. The last legs of the race held the most excitement as boats got closer in position and were all trying to get an advantage over one another.
After crossing the finish line I began to wonder what position we had finished in, fourth
in our class and I was overjoyed to have crewed. It was a surreal feeling crossing the finish line
with people cheering from land, ended all too soon by the realization that I soon would be on
land hence no longer sailing.
The Ida Lewis Distance race was no Newport-Bermuda but it did give me a taste of offshore sailing and the direction I want to take in my sailing career. In this upcoming sailing season I look forward to competing in my second Ida Lewis Distance race, as well as a full season on “Eclipse”, and as many other races as I can. I would like to thank Mark Coleman and the crew of “Eclipse” for the opportunities they have provided me with and skills I have learned from them, I would also like to thank Joe Cooper for the opportunity to write this piece and share my Experience with the sailing community.
A note from NBYA: We are so grateful for Kevin for sharing his story. We are actively seeking more junior authors to share their sailing stories. If you are a junior sailor interested in sharing a story, please click the button below. We are also taking content from adult authors, as well.