By Elizabeth Dudley, Airwaves writer
A 7th grader at Buckingham Brown and Nichols school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, blue fleeter Henry Marshall is the overall Opti winner for the 2011 Orange Bowl hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club in South Florida. Beating out second place by only two points, and third place by only three, Marshall was excited but knows he has to keep a level head and look forward to his future events. Marshall was introduced to sailing at a very young age by his family. He, his parents, and his brothers Jack and William took off around the time Marshal was in kindergarten and lived and sailed on a boat for two years. They visited places like the Caribbean and even sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean. Since then, and understandably so, Marshall has always loved being near the water.
A member of Team FAST based out of Newport, Rhode Island since 2008, Marshall says he became addicted to the sport after sailing his first Green Fleet regatta. He says “I loved the aspect of racing and I have always been very competitive by nature so [sailing] was a good fit”. His brothers have also found and enjoyment in competitive sailing. As with many sailing families, it is a family affair.
With Team FAST, practice days consist of a morning workout, six to eight hours on the water, and then a long debrief at the end of the day. Marshall says he loves being a part of the team; that joining Team FAST was how he made his first transition from simple summer sailing to a more serious racing focus on the sport. Although while school is in session he says does not get to sail nearly as much as he would like to.
For Marshall, FAST has changed the way he sails and clearly in a very positive way. He says, “The coaches at FAST take personal interest in you and your style and really help you break it down to a simple problem or aspect”. At only twelve years old, with a few good years left in an Opti, he has placed 21st at Opti Midwinters hosted by Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, 18th at the IODA Asians in Singapore, 1st at CORK in Kingston, Ontario, and 4th at the Southeast Championships in Marco Island. Focusing on being consistent and taking one race at a time he says is the key to his success: worrying about his performance minute by minute and not necessarily the regatta as a whole.
Two weeks ago in Miami, Marshall did just that: finishing top five in seven of the nine races. When asked about his mindset after the two races where he finished out of the top five he said, “You just have to take your races one at a time and stay focused”. Going in to the final race of Orange Bowl, Marshall, who does not typically keep an eye on scores, was fully aware that he was in a position to win the regatta. After calculating Will Logue’s scores, who was then in first, Marshall knew he had to place himself in the top five the final race and so said he “played a covering game around the gate”, keeping things conservative. Earning himself a third place finish in the final race of the event, Marshall was successful.
But even with such an exciting win under his belt, Marshall is already looking ahead to his next event: the USODA Team Trials which will be hosted by Brant Beach Yacht Club in New Jersey in late April. Doing well at this event is Marshall’s current short term goal. He says, “I hope to do well there but there are some really great sailors in the Opti class who will be big names in sailing soon enough”.
It seems to me though that Henry Marshal is one of those threats. Long term, Marshall hopes to continue competitive dinghy sailing in the United States as well as abroad with the hopes of reaching the top of the Opti circuit. When asked what advice he might give young sailors looking to achieve success in their sailing he simply says, “Train hard. Never give up.”
It seems to me though that Henry Marshal is one of those threats. Long term, Marshall hopes to continue competitive dinghy sailing in the United States as well as abroad with the hopes of reaching the top of the Opti circuit. When asked what advice he might give young sailors looking to achieve success in their sailing he simply says, “Train hard. Never give up.”
Watch out for Henry Marshall, and Congratulations!!
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