{"id":75378,"date":"2023-05-23T12:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T16:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=75378"},"modified":"2023-05-23T14:44:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T18:44:26","slug":"performance-play-kaneohe-youth-sailing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/performance-play-kaneohe-youth-sailing\/","title":{"rendered":"Performance and Play in Kaneohe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Kaneohe <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Jesse Andrews, Kaneohe YC\u2019s sailing director, was an early adopter of skiff and foiling craft for his youth sailors.<\/span>\n Courtesy Jesse Andrews<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Using the term \u201cepic\u201d too often makes one a kook. It\u2019s equally uncool to overhype one\u2019s sailing experiences because, let\u2019s face it, there\u2019s always someone who has won more, sailed faster or gone to a cooler place. The summer of 2022, however, was truly epic for Jesse Andrews, the Pied Piper of Hawaii\u2019s Kaneohe Bay, whose followers stormed North America and Europe, and ascended to performance sailing\u2019s world stage. Under Andrews\u2019 direction, these young sailors are charging hard in the Waszp and Olympic iQFoil classes today, and getting serious looks to fill slots on the rosters of youth and women\u2019s America\u2019s Cup<\/a> development teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaneohe sailing\u2019s epic and timely ascent into everyone\u2019s collective radar has been a long time coming, but the whole phenomenon was accelerated when the US Sailing Olympic Development Program doubled down on performance youth sailing in 2022. Kaneohe, naturally, was the first proving ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oahu\u2019s sailing teams were chasing ILCA and Club420 medals this past summer too, but most of the kids, whether because of geographic isolation or lack of interest, avoided the traditional path of racing in large Optimist and 420 fleets on the mainland. Instead, they began their careers with O\u2019pen Skiff \u201cUn-Regattas,\u201d and then went on to 29ers and eventually anything with a foil they could get their hands on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deconstructing how these junior programs have grown to become a new model for enabling dedicated youth sailing talent despite their \u00adisolation starts with Andrews, a once-frustrated New England kid who refused to wear shoes and ended up in the Aloha State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Beebe Cove, an eel-grass-filled offshoot of Long Island Sound, Andrews enjoyed a traditional sailing upbringing, flipping over horseshoe crabs, and sailing Sunfish and Dyer Dhows. His teen years on the International 420 circuit took him to Europe and Australia, which \u201cwas a great experience and lifestyle,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving the freedom to drive with other kids. Traveling and having fun is something that should always go hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few of his teammates went on to Olympic and America\u2019s Cup campaigns after college, and eventually for Andrews, Connecticut lost its appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never wanted to wear shoes in my life,\u201d he says. \u201cI was an untraditional kid living a pretty traditional life.\u201d He was also hooked on surfing, and one winter his mother boldly moved him to California. That started to feel right, but then after two years studying and sailing at the University of Rhode Island in the early 1990s, he\u2019d had enough of the cold\u2014for good this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He enrolled in the University of Hawaii and found his new tribe on Oahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been almost 30 years since his relocation to the land of rainbows. He started coaching the University of Hawaii sailing team after graduating while filling in at Kaneohe YC until becoming its sailing director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been doing the same two jobs for 25 years,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, he faces the same core challenge of his coaching peers: how to introduce kids to sailing and keep them sailing long after they leave the program. If he has a singular philosophy, it is to \u201cdo what the kids want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Australia, New Zealand, Europe, it\u2019s easy to do what makes sense,\u201d Andrews says. \u201cHere there\u2019s so much red tape, but in Hawaii, we listen to the kids. We have a small, great board of trustees, and when the kids asked, we brought in the foiling Waszps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaneohe YC has long been an outlier to the traditions of mainland American yacht clubs. When the closest national event is a five-hour flight, it\u2019s hard to get excited for or even fund dinghy racing excursions. It\u2019s also hard to hunker down to do mundane tacking drills when there\u2019s surf to be ridden and waves to be jumped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocean sports are \u201cit\u201d in Hawaii, so Andrews has had to be creative with keeping kids excited about sailing. That\u2019s where the O\u2019pens came to save the day, initially. Windfoiling, winging and Waszp sailing developed while Kaneohe\u2019s groms were hitting their teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrews started \u201cFoiling Fridays\u2019\u2019 in 2021 to keep the kids on the water during the pandemic. \u201cFirst, it was Waszps and 29ers,\u201d he says. \u201cThen iQFoil and wingfoil all starting at the same time. It\u2019s inclusive. The iQ is a little faster, but if you screw up, everyone\u2019s right on your tail. It\u2019s been a huge hit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partnering with the Hawaii Kai Boat Club, the local kids have had access to 29ers and now a fleet of iQFoil boards, which Andrews says are inexpensive and a fast track to high-\u00adperformance \u00adracing skills. Hawaii Kai sailor CJ Perez is climbing through the International Moth fleet and was one of the first females to join a SailGP<\/a> team as part of its Women\u2019s Pathway Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t lost the fundamentals and love of traditional sailing,\u201d Andrews says about the junior sailing program today. \u201cThey love all crafts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tapping into watersports stars and new disciplines, Kaneohe hosted a wingfoil clinic with Global Wingsports Tour champion Fiona Wylde. Local superstar and waterman Kai Lenny has even been a guest at the clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaneohe\u2019s sailors are now heading to Europe for Waszp and iQFoil tours. \u201cWhat we were doing [and sharing] on Instagram was all good exposure, and it just exploded,\u201d Andrews says. US Sailing took a keen interest as well and began hosting regional racing camps. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing. Now people are coming to us. We\u2019re in the right place, at the right time, with the right venue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Kaneohe program has a feeling of being \u2018loose,\u2019 but it\u2019s really extremely organized,\u201d says Leandro Spina, head of US Sailing\u2019s Olympic Development Program [Editor’s note: Spina has since resigned from his position as head of the ODP]. \u201cWe\u2019ve become really good partners. It\u2019s such an iconic sailing venue, and now with the amount of talent in the [iQFoil], it\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, Andrews\u2019 phone started ringing off the hook. The American junior sailing universe wanted what he had. Spina organized the 2022 iQFoil camps, and the US Junior Olympic Sailing Festival that came to Hawaii hosted iQFoil and Wingfoil fleets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Jesse Andrews\u2019 phone started ringing off the hook. The American junior sailing universe wanted what he had.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Spina says Andrews\u2019 creative training formats and commitment to new classes has inspired him to integrate this approach into his ODP. \u201cIt\u2019s what we envision young athletes to do,\u201d he says. \u201cChoose one class but sail everything they can get their hands on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Spina and Andrews met, they quickly started talking about Olympic pathways. Andrews\u2019 tour of European iQFoil events last summer attracted a lot of attention, especially since four Hawaiians qualified for the gold fleet in the iQFoil Youth Open World Championships in Silvaplana, Switzerland. Then came the clinics, plans for an annual performance youth event, and an international regatta. \u201cIt happened quickly,\u201d Spina says. \u201cHawaii is now a new leg on our tour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spina says Kaneohe\u2019s program opened doors to different ways to retain sailors, and using foiling to do so in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFoiling and these programs are not a replacement; they\u2019re an enhancement,\u201d Spina says. Optimist and 420 participation is still strong. \u201cIt creates another path to retain talent. It\u2019s an evolution, more \u00adopportunities to keep learning. As long as they keep learning, we can retain them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hawaiian ocean lifestyle, Spina adds, is also something that taps into an enjoyment of learning. \u201cI love to be on the water, and what we\u2019re learning now with the fast evolution of foils is that kids are having fun,\u201d he says. \u201cThe boards are light and small. My 11-year-old son went to Hawaii and now wants to surf. There\u2019s no surf in Miami, so now we wingfoil surf, and I\u2019m learning with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having CJ Perez on the US SailGP team could be enough to affirm the virtues of Kaneohe\u2019s model. The visual of America\u2019s Cup skipper Jimmy Spithill enjoying a wingfoil session is something that draws a direct connection between Andrews\u2019 sailors and the superstar. Perez has made the connection, sought her own path and, with serious ambition, broken into professional sailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grand finale of SailGP\u2019s Inspire Program, with qualification regattas held in many countries, seems to have been designed for Kaneohe sailors. And they didn\u2019t disappoint. Pearl and JP Lattanzi qualified for two American spots in the 2022 final. Early in their careers, the siblings had Andrews as a coach in Oahu and traveled with their parents to O\u2019pen Skiff regattas. They were nicknamed the \u201cFlyin\u2019 Hawaiians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearl, now finishing her college sailing career as captain of the Salve Regina University sailing team in Newport, Rhode Island, is a top-ranked Waszp sailor and candidate for American Magic\u2019s Women\u2019s America\u2019s Cup team. JP is trying out for the youth team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t grow up sailing college boats,\u201d Pearl says. \u201cThe skills have transferred over [in college sailing], and it hasn\u2019t been a hindrance at all. I have a lot of opportunities outside college. I\u2019m not thinking I\u2019m nearing the end of my sailing career like some friends feel. That\u2019s not me right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearl, who also sailed with Perez at Hawaii Kai Boat Club, says the lack of big fleets in Hawaii forced her sailing \u00addiversity. \u201cPeople like Jesse set us up for fun sailing, keeping us in the newest boats. I was never in a boat I didn\u2019t want to be in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The optics of Andrews\u2019 junior sailing approach look, as Spina says, \u201cloose,\u201d and he\u2019s not far off. Andrews\u2019 standard outfit is clashing Hawaiian floral prints and a comically large foam-front trucker\u2019s cap. But this coach is in the College Sailing Hall of Fame, was awarded the Graham Hall Award for outstanding service, and is considered by his peers as one of the best. He has carefully integrated his passion for sailing into a seriously fun and outstanding package that\u2019s now, ironically, a pathway for serious success in sailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearl says Andrews\u2019 difference is his strength. \u201cJesse\u2019s not the usual coach,\u201d she says. \u201cHe\u2019s so open to learning. In the beginning, we\u2019d just have a big talk after practice. Comparing notes, watching videos online and researching. We were learning together. Now we\u2019re both so knowledgeable about foiling and high-\u00adperformance sailing. I wouldn\u2019t have had any of these opportunities without Jesse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrews has ideas about how to expand junior sailing on Oahu. His sailors are slightly less isolated now that their secret is out. Mainland kids are coming to compete and train on the island. Hawaii Kai Boat Club, however, recently lost its lease and needs a new home, and Kaneohe YC remains too small to grow beyond its footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With racing perceived as the primary ticket to the bigger sailing world, Andrews is wary of focusing too narrowly on competition. Balance, he says, is important. \u201cWe can\u2019t take the free sailing out of junior sailing,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s great seeing ex-junior sailors as long-term friends with foiling and current races. They\u2019re not passionate about competing. They love the ocean. They love foiling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sailing and foiling first, \u00adcompetition second. That\u2019s epic\u2014an epic shift to the junior sailing paradigm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kaneohe Yacht Club and its sailing coach have found a different way to keep the stoke in the kids to keep them in the sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":75379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Chris Museler","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Kaneohe YC Coach Jesse Andrews put his charges in performance crafts and foilers and the kids are digging it.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[2899,177,340],"class_list":["post-75378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-print-march-2023","tag-racing","tag-youth-sailing"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}