---
title: One Junior Sailor's Around the Island Experience
description: Join junior sailor Violet Samoza as she shares her thrilling experience in the Around the Island Race, discovering the joys of keel boat sailing.
---

[News | Narragansett Bay Yachting Association (NBYA)](https://nbya.org/news)

# [One Junior Sailor's Around the Island Experience](https://nbya.org/news/junior-sailors-around-the-island-experience)

 Written by [NBYA](https://nbya.org/news/author/nbya) | Sep 28, 2026, 8:01:01 PM

### Violet Samoza grew up in the Caribbean, on Virgin Gorda- taking a ferry to school over on Tortola. Her family moved here in 2024/25 and she came to Prout and joined the sailing team in Spring 26. She has been sailing ILCAs all summer and just cruising around the Harbor for now. She participated in the Around the Island Race and wanted to share her experience.

When I moved to Newport, I was overwhelmed by the amount of sailing here, and the sailing world. From growing up in the Caribbean, I was already exposed to lots of sailing, but never got really that into it. After decking to join the Prout Sailing team, I only became more involved in sailing. Through my sailing team, I've managed to participate in lots of different sailing events and races, including the Around the Island Race.

Before this race, I had little experience with keel boats. Most of my sailing experience comes from sailing dinghies. At first, I was nervous because of the upscale of the boat, thinking it would be way more difficult and hands on. Only after getting the sailboat (which was a J27), did I realize it was much simpler than I thought. 

 

Although it was more hands on, the layout of a J27 is similar to that of a 420, and this helped me understand the boat more. During the race, I got to see how race sequences work, and got to observe how everyone on the boat uses their sailing skills to be tactical about the race, so you can get as much of an advantage. 

Overall, even though I was nervous at first, sailing keel boats is very fun and I would gladly do it again.

\- Violet Somoza

[View full post](https://nbya.org/news/junior-sailors-around-the-island-experience)

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