By Airwaves Editor Martha Pitt
Last week, some of the best youth sailors from around the country traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas to compete in the 2013 US Sailing Youth Championships. The sailors were selected from a large group of applicants back in the spring based on previous performances at high level events. This year, Youth Champs champions were crowned in the 29er, Club 420, I-420, Formula 16, RS:X, Laser, and the Radial. The fleets were all small, the largest being the Club 420 fleet with thirty-two boats, making the racing very tight and the competition fierce across the board. While racing in all of the fleets was extremely competitive, one sailor made winning look easy. Luke Muller, a seventeen year old sailor from Fort Pierce, Florida sailed the event in the Laser Radial and crushed the thirty boat fleet, finishing with just fourteen points in eleven races over 2nd place’s twenty-eight.
Muller sails for Lauderdale Yacht Club, about two hours south of Fort Pierce. Starting as a toddler he grew up sailing with his father on catamarans, and forged on independently at age six when he began sailing Optimists. Once he outgrew his father’s coaching, Luke moved to the US Sailing Center of Martin County and has been training there ever since. Though he has proven his abilities in the Radial, he most frequently sails the Laser Full Rig and hops into just about any other boat that he can get his hands on! Living in Florida, he admits that he is fortunate to be able to sail all year round and he certainly takes advantage of it. In addition to sailing, Luke does CrossFit to strength-train, doing “a balanced amount of aerobic and weight training six days a week”.
Though sailing the Laser Radial at Youth Champs, Muller has been busy on the Laser Standard Rig circuit all year, sailing four of the class’s largest events in the country – Miami OCR, Laser Midwinters East, Laser Nationals, and North Americans, the highlight certainly being his victory at Nationals. As such a young sailor, Muller certainly has more success to come, so don’t be surprised to see him leading the fleet in the future! Currently he is training for the Oman Worlds in November; you can follow his experiences and progress at www.lukemullersail.com.
Read more about his experience at Youth Champs and sailing below:
S1D: What were the conditions like? Do you have any particular conditions that you like more than others?
It was windy most of the time with heavy short chop, definitely my conditions. There were also some light races but I fought to stay with the fast guys. I like the breeze but my coach always tells me that I’m a better light air sailor, and I don’t ever doubt his words.
S1D: How did you like sailing in Corpus Christi?
Corpus is a great venue, the sea-breeze works like clockwork, guaranteed everyday. And it’s southern hospitality, not much else to say about that other than they are the nicest people on the planet.
S1D: What was the rest of the fleet like?
Youths is the best of the best, and there aren’t many of them. This makes for tight racing where every in, every shift matters that much more. There were times where I just couldn’t get away from the fleet, it was really fun racing. Malcolm Lamphere and William Marshall both gave me a very good run for my money but everybody worked hard, it’s just that those two were on my tail the most.
S1D: You had an impressive final score, half of the 2nd place finisher’s score. How were you able to stay so consistent at the top of the fleet?
I had a slight weight and fitness advantage which helped me to the top but really it’s that attitude of never being complacent or satisfied. You just gotta keep fighting, even if your in first. I also attribute some of my consistency to starting, since being in clear air makes life so much easier.
S1D: How did your success through the event affect your mental game?
The success during the event doesn’t effect me very much, I’ll always be scared in a way for the next day. It’s not over till it’s over, till the medal’s on your neck. I would’ve acted the same way of I got three OCS’s the first day. Every day, every race as it comes.
S1D: What is your daily regatta routine? How do you prepare yourself mentally and physically before competition?
I eat a balanced breakfast of carbs, protein, sugars and fat, such as eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and almonds or avocados. And fuel up properly before and after each race with sports drinks and bars. When I come in I go into a full post race program to recover, usually lots of food, light exercise, rest, etc. All of this is per the conditions so everything fluctuates. I have a set of mental inspirational videos that I watch, I do yoga and think about all that I have done to get to where I am before the event, just get stoked to work really. I’m also always the guy with their headphones on and listening to music while I rigging, it gets me “in the zone”.
S1D: Who are your role models and people you most look up to?
I look up to the greats in the sport such as Tom Slingsby, [Robert] Scheidt, and [Ben] Ainslie. I also admire the unsung work ethic of SEALs and just guys who pour their heart out into anything they do. My coach, Canadian Chris Dold, is a very big mentor of mine and pushes me to be my very best. He is a big reason for my success.
[…] in August he was selected to be the Sail1Designer of the Month, (https://www.sail1design.com/muller/) after his first place finish in the Radial at Youth Champs in Corpus Christi this past summer, […]