We are excited to share the wonderful news that two young sailors training here at the Kelowna Yacht Club are going to be going to the worlds championship!
Claire Ramsey (CAN1672) and Max Chapman (CAN1315) are two 13 and 14 year old sailors who competed at the Canadian National Optimist Championship in 2019 to secure two of five spots on the 2020 Canadian International team for Optimist Worlds. They also secured spots on the Optimist South American and North American teams.
The “Opti” is one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world, with over 150,000 boats officially registered. It is considered a “beginner boat” for kids 7-15 years old.
Ramsey who also ranked Top Canadian Female and Top Female Youth Sailor in BC in 2019 is a Kelowna Yacht Club sailor, while Chapman is Victoria based. Ramsey started sailing an Optimist class boat at the age of seven here in Kelowna and has only encouraging things to say to other young people who are interested in trying out the sport. “Sailing is awesome! There is a lot is a lot physics, strategy and tactics involved as well as being physically demanding”. Thru sailing I have made some good friends, travelled the world and got to meet people from so many countries. The best thing about competing in any sport is the life lessons it teaches you, I think sailing has mostly shown me how to set goals, how to have success as a girl in a mostly boy sport and how to depend on myself and to make decisions. Oh and to never give up!”
Both Ramsey and Chapman have been training at Kelowna Yacht Club (KYC) with KYC Coach, Nicolas Tosi. “Training is going great. We are practicing in a small group now due to the virus. The boats naturally space us apart so that’s good. I love being able to train and sail in my hometown. The wind has been great the past few weeks and the Kelowna Yacht Club is an amazing place to sail out of. The Sailing Directors, Sarah and Gwen are really encouraging and supportive too! We are really grateful to KYC for allowing us to be here.” says Ramsey when asked about how training has been going under Covid-19.
The Kelowna Yacht Club is so proud of these young sailors, please join us in congratulating Claire and Max!
If you are interested in learning more about the Optimist program or the pathway to competitive sailing please contact Kelowna Yacht Club Sailing School Coordinator Sarah Mooney or visit this sailing page for more information on the KYC programs for youth and adults.
