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THE
WORDS: Kara Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
It was Harrison Molesky, 12, who introduced his family to
sailing. After he and a friend completed the Manatee River
Pram Fleet’s summer sailing camp six years ago, Harrison
was hooked. By age seven, he’d been invited to join the eet’s
18-member traveling racing team. The team competes from
August to June on local, regional, national and international levels.
Today, Harrison, a sixth-grader at Rowlett Middle Academy, races
in some 10 regattas per year, all over Florida. He practices three
to four days a week at the Bishop Sailing Center at the Bradenton
Yacht Club on Snead Island in Palmetto.
Harrison’s little brother Quinn, 8, used to watch from the shore -
as younger siblings tend to do - just dying to sail, too.
“When Harrison sailed, it looked really fun,” said Quinn, a thirdgrader
at Frances Wakeland Elementary School. “So, I wanted
to try it.”
The second he was old enough, Quinn signed up for summer
camp. He enjoyed it so much he sailed all summer. By the
following year, Quinn was not only competing like his brother,
he was winning. He won his last regatta, in November, out of a
eld of about 25 kids around his age.
Now when the Molesky boys go to summer camp, they help the
other campers.
Winners on the Water
“They’ve excelled,” said coach Lisa Fath of the brothers. “Two
years ago, Harrison won every regatta he entered.” Typically,
70-100 kids are in Harrison’s division in any given regatta.
“I think he just likes it, likes to learn about it, and he’s a good
sportsman,” Fath said of Harrison. “Quinn’s more competitive,
edgier.”
For sailing, the commitment is huge, Fath said, but so are the
payoffs.
“It’s a lifelong skill,” she said. “You never stop learning.”