Favorites of Flow State Sailing
- Anne Longo
- Apr 27, 2021
- 6 min read
Get to know the ladies of FLOW STATE!
We thought it might be time to get to know us a little better so I asked Megan, Lindsay, and Sarah a couple of questions about their sailing “favorites.” I’m hoping that this gives you a clearer picture of who we are as sailors and as dreamers. I also included a Spotify playlist that you can listen to while you read through this blog, catch up on the previous posts, or peruse the Flow State Sailing website a bit. I’d also recommend listening to this playlist if you’re going offshore anytime soon. These are our “sailing songs” and I think you’ll like them.
To be honest, I asked my teammates some pretty tough questions:
Favorite boat to sail
Favorite boat to race
Best regatta you’ve been in
Favorite sailing song
Best sailing instructor moment
Dream place to go sailing
Your favorite sailing photo (interpret this however you’d like)
Here, I’ve shown all of our answers - direct quotes from the women of Flow State Sailing! With each of our names, you’ll see the photos we chose that first came to mind when I asked for a favorite sailing picture. It’s cool to see how we all interpret that question differently. I think it goes to show how our differences as people help us when we’re competing together. We all fill in the blanks for each other. We’re a great team because of that and because of our common love for the sport of sailing, which is definitely reflected in the answers you’re about to read.
Megan Gimple
1. Favorite boat to sail: My favorite boat to sail is any boat I get to go out on the water on.
2. Favorite boat to race: I love racing keel boats, I love the tactics and strategy of small boat buoy racing combined with the amazing atmosphere that comes with racing as a team.
3. Best regatta you've ever participated in: Absolutely my favorite offshore race was Bermuda. I also have had so many awesome experience sailing weekend regattas for the URI Sailing Team, from sailing in Newport to Boston.
4. Favorite sailing song: Paradise Waiting by Vacationer and Driving to Hawaii by Summer Salt.
5. Best sailing instructor moment: My best instructor moments are the ones when my kids have a good day on the water. I love when I can share my energy and enthusiasm for the ocean with them, whether that be sailing, swimming, some coach boat rides, or beach clean ups.
6. Dream place to go sailing (besides Honolulu):
Australia.
Sarah Wilkinson
1. Favorite boat to sail: My favorite boat to sail is the VX One, it's super fun and simple. It’s a fast boat and the people in the class are awesome!
2. Favorite boat to race: My favorite boat to race is the Melges 24 because it’s so competitive. Whether it’s watching or racing, I’m always learning something when I’m on that course. Locally, we have a really awesome and competitive fleet of 9 boats on Mudheads Wednesday Night and there’s definitely huge bragging rights at stake! In general, the Melges 24 is the boat that made me fall in love with racing so it’s a special boat for me.
3. Best regatta you've ever participated in: I’m not sure what the best/my favorite regatta is but I really enjoyed sailing the IC37 last summer in Newport, the conditions were really great and we got to race against some excellent sailors. I’m excited to get back on the water with the fleet this summer!
4. Favorite sailing song: Bob Seger’s NIGHT MOVES!!! Not sure why but I love listening to that song so much, but especially love listening to it during deliveries.
5. Best sailing instructor moment: My best sailing instructor moment is when something finally clicks and it’s an “aha” moment. Sailing isn’t always that easy and it’s really awesome when it all comes together and they’re super excited about it!
6. Dream place to go sailing (besides Honolulu): Cascais, Portugal. It has a reputation for being breezy and epic. I also really want to do a Sydney Hobart Race!
Lindsay Gimple
1. Favorite boat to sail: Oh man, that's hard. I love sailing SVDC (aka Dreamcatcher, the MudRatz Swan 48), J24s, and my laser!
2. Favorite boat to race: So far, Melges24 and FJs. I love athletic boats with competitive fleets!
3. Best regatta you've ever participated in: I absolutely loved Women's College Nationals in Newport in 2015. It was crazy windy and I had one of my best performances with my skipper. It was hard work but it was worth it! I also liked grabbing breakfast and wandering around Newport with my teammates. For offshore, no question, 2018 Newport Bermuda Race, it's the genesis of everything I've been doing since. Honorable mention to the 2011 Buzzards Bay Regatta with Walter Johnsen.
4. Favorite sailing song: No Money (Jetski) by Joe Helter & The Rainbow Seekers ("I ain't got no money, spent it on a laser...too true), Chasin' Honey by Wild Party, Sunshine by Matisyahu. Of course, anything Jimmy Buffett (Pirate Looks at Forty, Jolly Mon, Fins).
5. Best sailing instructor moment: One of my favorite sailing instructor moments was when I jumped in a 420 to teach Peter Cronin to trapeze with the spinnaker. It was one of the only windy days that summer and I enjoyed teaching a difficult performance skill to such an enthusiastic young learner. I also really enjoyed all my time coaching green fleet regattas - providing encouragement, snacks, and sailing jams! Beyond that, I am also really proud of creating the game Water Baseball at RIYC (if you know, you know...).
6. Dream place to go sailing (besides Honolulu): New Zealand!
Annie Longo
1. Favorite boat to sail: EASILY the beloved Mudheads J24 DZB. I’ve been so lucky to be the co-captain/bow-woman on that legendary boat for the past few summers. Getting to sail her every Wednesday night is the highlight of the summer season for me. That’s my happy place!
2. Favorite boat to race: Going back to my roots for this one: besides Dreamcatcher offshore, my favorite racing has been on Club 420s. I was a skipper for many, many years and there’s still few things that top the feeling of racing that boat fast and performing well. Some of my best events were with Sarah as my crew!
3. Best regatta you've ever participated in: I have to say my favorite race was the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race in 2019 with the MudRatz and Lindsay and Megan. We got super lucky with the weather and for the first time offshore, I felt really good with my sea sickness. I had that dialed in with my scopolamine patches and was able to enjoy the race and sail the boat fast without worrying about getting sick. It was a super fun race and I’m so lucky to have been part of that team.
4. Favorite sailing song: Real Love Baby by Father John Misty. Great memories of the Bermuda Race when I listen to it. So dreamy...
5. Best sailing instructor moment: In 2019, I took two of my 420 students at RIYC to a regatta. It was a particularly windy morning but we’d been practicing all summer. The girls told me about how they were nervous and I listened and remembered that feeling from when I first started racing 420s (I was particularly small so big wind sometimes meant many capsizes, which can be scary at that age). I told them that I knew how they felt and that I would never put them in an unsafe situation. I told them that I wanted them to compete in this regatta because I knew they could do it. After that event, I saw a change in those girls and they started to get really into racing and would take every opportunity to improve their skills. They found the fun in it. That confidence building is my favorite part of teaching sailing because it helps kids on and off the water. I know I wouldn’t be here today without the help of every single one of my sailing instructors in the past. I owe a lot to them. If any of you are reading this, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
6. Dream place to go sailing (besides Honolulu): Also Australia. Preferably somewhere near the Great Barrier Reef so I can SCUBA dive off the boat. But I’m not picky.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post! This is probably one of my favorites so far. I always like writing about my love for the sport of sailing. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of who we are. If you’re interested in helping us make the Transpac happen, please keep reading these posts and checking out our social media! If you want to help us financially, that would be a huge weight off of our shoulders. Preparing for the race is one of the hardest parts of the race itself and a little bit of monetary relief goes a long way. If you have any questions about this or want to support us in a different way, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
To everyone who has helped us get here and to all the blog readers and subscribers, THANK YOU! It’s impossible to put our gratitude into words. We’re so lucky to be here.
Sail fast, have fun, and don’t forget to listen to our playlist!
~Annie L
Comments