An American Sailor in Belgium 
Three years ago at age 11, I kept hearing how the Orange Bowl was one of the top regattas to attend. My dad and I looked in to it, and realized there was a boat I could compete in at age 11. So started my training and racing in the Optimist sailboat. I quickly moved from only racing in Southern Californiato racing nationally. When I raced in my first Opti Championships I finished high enough to qualify for the USODA Team Trials.
While I did not qualify for the team that year, this year I did, and I was invited to represent BYC and TeamUSA in Nieuwpoort, Belgium over the summer at the Flanders Youth Championships, which is by invitation only. You know you are not in the United States when a youth regatta is sponsored by a beer company and the European 15 year olds are drinking free beer after the racing!
The racing was on the North Sea in some extreme and some very mild conditions. The first two days were very light with only one race on the second day even though we spent 8 hours on the water. By the last two days the wind was picking up again and I started finishing in the top 10’s.
While I did not earn a trophy, the experience was one of the best I have ever had. The training and team camaraderie made it all worth while, and I feel very lucky that Balboa Yacht Club and BYC Maritime Sciences and Seamanship Foundation have given me support throughout this endeavor.
Christophe Killian