News
How She Sails: Laura
Published Mon 18 May 2020
How long have you been in the sport of Sailing?~5 years when I was young (followed by a rather long break), 5 years recently
What Club, Association or company are you involved with?
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club
What Part do you play in our sport?
Sailor
Tell us how you first got involved with Sailing.
I grew up in land-locked Germany but my grandparents lived in northern Germany near the coast and I learned to sail there with my brother and sister on the many great lakes. I didn't like sailing very much back then, I was sort of just following what my older brother was doing. It was rather cold and wet and complicated.
There are many pathways in sailing, where has your journey taken you?
My love of sailing really took off when I came back to Australia to complete my studies with a PhD program. I stumbled upon the local sailing club where I met a skipper that had a small 15ft skiff sailing training group that I quickly became an enthusiastic member of. After two training sessions he offered me a permanent crew spot for the season and I jumped at the opportunity. I have crewed for him for 3 consecutive seasons, the last 2 of which we won. I was lucky enough to be able to progress to training as a helm and skippered his training boat for nearly 2 seasons with one of the girls from the training group. In parallel I have also discovered my passion for offshore racing and have managed to gain experience aboard various different mid-size yachts taking part in some of the CYC blue water series. Some highlights include the Groupama around New Caledonia Race and the Sydney to Hobart on a 46ft Dehler cruiser racer as trim/pit.
Whatever part of sailing you belong to, tell us about what you enjoy about your sport?
I love the feeling of being out on the water and particularly enjoy being offshore (I love sailing at night). I have always loved the ocean (I am a marine scientist, scuba diver, surfer) and the idea of harnessing the wind and wave energy to ride a wave and sail. But I most enjoy the thrill and excitement of racing, there's just something really special about working in a team to make a boat go as fast as possible. There is a competitive aspect there for sure and I love challenging myself.
What would you say to someone thinking about getting into sailing?
Find your local sailing club and just chat to the sailors. They might have learn to sail classes you can participate in or if you're lucky they might even offer you a crew spot.
Tell us your favourite story ….
That's a tough one - there are so many! Competing in the Sydney to Hobart was a dream come true, I will never forget the adrenaline rush at the start when there are so many boats tacking out of the Sydney Harbour! Crossing the finish line in the dark on the river Derwent and having those celebratory drinks on the dock was pretty special. But I am probably most proud of my transition from crewing to helming on the 15ft skiff. Being relatively new to sailing and being able to do your first race start to finish (with a crew that was also learning on her first race) was kind of cool.
That's a tough one - there are so many! Competing in the Sydney to Hobart was a dream come true, I will never forget the adrenaline rush at the start when there are so many boats tacking out of the Sydney Harbour! Crossing the finish line in the dark on the river Derwent and having those celebratory drinks on the dock was pretty special. But I am probably most proud of my transition from crewing to helming on the 15ft skiff. Being relatively new to sailing and being able to do your first race start to finish (with a crew that was also learning on her first race) was kind of cool.
"I most enjoy the thrill and excitement of racing, there's just something really special about working in a team to make a boat go as fast as possible." |
