Junior Umi Noritake, a 16-year-old sailor, travelled to Portugal earlier this month to compete in sailing against 280 boys from 42 different nations.

Umi, who has been sailing for over eight years, absolutely loves the sport.

“One of the things I love the most about my sport is the new places I get to travel to,” he explained.

He mentioned that he’s visited places like the Netherlands, the Bahamas, Spain, Canada, and even Oman.

He attended the 4.7 World Championship in Portugal which featured 440 competitors in total, 280 of them being guys. This lasted from August 9 to August 20th, offering six days of racing, three days of qualifying rounds, and three days of finals.

Umi mentioned how he sailed the first three days with good wind and good waves.

“I really enjoy it because we get to surf down the waves, and we go fast, which is my favorite part of sailing,” the added.

Umi was in gold fleet  and ranked in the 40’s going into the first day. They didn’t sail the first day of the championship round due to the fact that there wasn’t much wind. However, on the second day, they were able to get off two races.

“I got an 11th and then somewhere in the 30’s, which put me in 37th,” he said.

On the third day of the championship round, there was very little wind as they pushed for three races.

“I had my first good race, which jumped me up to 23rd. My next two races were nearly as good,” he recalled.

Even though Umi felt like his head was all over the place, he pushed himself to be consistent throughout the championship.

The most stressful part for Umi was the last day because it’s either you go big or you go home. The last day determines your score and achievements. Umi recommends anyone starting to sail to always spend time on the boat.

“The more time you are on the boat, the more comfortable you feel and the more you enjoy it,” he said.