Sam Morrell, junior BVI sailor
Sam Morell is attending the Byte CII World Championships in Newport, RI from August 24-28. This is his first attempt to qualify for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. The top 5-finishers at The World’s will gain automatic entry into the 2014 YOG.
Sam has been sailing & training with the American Yacht Club in Rye, NY all Summer. Summer training included a multiple of regattas on Long Island Sound. Sam finished on the podium in all of them, with a first place finish in the Shelter Island YC event and a resounding 6th place over all in the JSA Long Island Sound Championships.
BVIOC: How long have you been sailing and when did you start competing?
SM: I have been sailing for 7 years from the age of seven years old. I only started competing for five years. I first started sailing in the optimist class. My first coach was Chris Watters who was the active coach at the Royal BVI Yacht Club.
BVIOC: What do you like about racing?
SM: I like racing because it has an competitive edge. I enjoy competing. I also enjoy meeting new people and traveling to new countries. Racing also challenges me to think about strategies.
BVIOC: Successes are great but how do you handle disappointment when you don’t perform as well as you hoped?
SM: When I don’t preform as well as I had hoped I train very hard and consult with my coaches about what I did wrong then we break down the event and we try and work on the bad aspects and work to improve them.
