Get in the Flow!

Welcome to Flow State Sailing! We are four young sailors with a dream to go further offshore than we’ve ever been. Flow State Sailing is our team. The name comes from the fact that all four of us are constantly working towards more opportunities to go sailing. We just want to be on the water and we’re willing to work really hard to make that happen. We got our start in blue water sailing back in 2018 when we all separately had the crazy idea to apply for the MudRatz Newport to Bermuda Race youth team. The MudRatz are a non-profit organization that started out, as Megan, one of the original Ratz, puts it, “for a bunch of kids who wanted to stay on the water after summer sailing was over.” The sailing program has grown steadily since and gave us the incredible opportunity to race 635 nautical miles to the Onion Patch. We were all hooked.

Who are we?

I’m Annie, a sucker for the ocean, an environmentalist, and a life-long sailor. I’m motivated by adventure, I want to see as much of the world, and particularly of the ocean, as I can. In this group though, these descriptions are not abnormal. Also, I like writing about our story. And I love bragging about my friends.

Lindsay is the one who gets us going and keeps us organized. She was a watch captain and safety officer in that first Bermuda Race we did (we won our class and the youth trophy) and then took on the role of skipper for the MudRatz 2019 season when we took second in class in the 352 nautical mile Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race. Lindsay is unstoppable. Did I mention that during the particularly rainy Connecticut spring of 2019, she had to organize and facilitate an entire refit of the 48 foot Swan from the 70s to make sure this group of youths were able to safely race from Massachusetts to Canada? As you can imagine, that wasn’t easy.

Megan is that friendly face you need offshore. She’s always making jokes and making sure everyone has enough sugar to get through their watch. She’s tough and she’s smart and she’s strong. She’s also hilarious. Most importantly, she knows what she’s doing. She was a watch captain for the MHOR. She’s also one of the top sailors on the University of Rhode Island Varsity Sailing Team. Oh also, you might’ve noticed Lindsay and Megan share a last name. You guessed it! They’re sisters.

Sarah is sort of our personal photographer. I would have a lot less headshots and résumé photos if it wasn’t for her, anyway. She captured some of the most beautiful moments on our way from Newport to Bermuda that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Sarah has this natural ability and eye for photography and videography that we’re grateful to be able to reap the benefits of. She’s also one of the best and most knowledgeable sailors I know (I feel the same about Megan and Lindsay, too). She’s my roommate and my former high school sailing 420 crew. And let me tell you something, that girl is never not doing, watching, or talking about something sailing related. It’s awesome.

I hope you enjoyed my little intro of Flow State Sailing. There will be plenty more where this came from! For now though, let me tell you what we’re up to now and what to expect if you’d like to follow along.

What are we doing?

Right now, we’re getting ready for the biggest adventure of our lives: the 51st edition of the Transpacific Yacht Race. We’re joining TRADER Sailing, a military veteran performance sailing team based in Hawaii to compete in the craziest thing race we’ve ever done in July of 2021. The 2,225 nautical mile race from

Los Angeles to the famous Diamond Head Buoy off of Honolulu is better known as the Transpac.

Wait… how many miles?

I’m sure my mom isn’t a huge fan of that number but she will support us tirelessly, nonetheless. I got to admit, though, that’s a lot of miles.

Financially, physically, and mentally, this will be a challenge. We are up for it 100%, but we could definitely use your support! Contact us if you’d like to know how you can help us out.

Subscribe to our blog updates if you want to get to know us a little better and learn more about how we got to this point, what we’re doing to make it happen, what we’re up to on a daily basis, and more. I promise you won’t regret it!

Like my mom always says, and how I’ll sign off on this first blog post…

Sail fast and have fun!

~Annie L