Ice Sailing

If you are a family member or a friend then you probably all know about the amazing sport of ice sailing. But for those of you who don't i am going to talk about that today. 

I have been skiing since age two and I began ice sailing at age eleven. By thirteen I was relatively proficient at it. By now, I am pretty damn good. If I do say so  myself. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am actually an official team rider for Kitewing (the sail I use) (www.kitewing.com) and I currently am second in the world in the women's division for course racing. Sounds pretty damn impressive. But I am going to let you in on a little secret. Last year at the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships, there were only three women, including myself, competing in my division. So...yeah. But hey, it sounds good!

What exactly IS ice sailing you ask? Well basically it is using  a wind powered sail to propel oneself along a frozen surface (i.e. a snow covered field or lake). There are three methods that are used to do this. 

1) A kite
2) A windsurfer sail and ski board
3) A Kitewing (what I use)

A picture of the Kitewing

These three classes come together each year and compete in the World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships. (http://www.wissa.org/)

I have been going to these events almost every year since I was about one. Everyone that competes year after year have become more like family members than opponents. The sport of ice sailing has a very fun community vibe that I am always glad to be a part of. 

Before I continue here is a video of ice sailing with a Kitewing so you can all get a good idea of what it looks like.

 If you want to see more of those ice sailing videos please check out my YouTube channel to see more. There are TONS of them.  http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBeckham723?feature=mhee

Anyway, this year the championships are going to be in Finland, and my family and I will be attending. What also makes this year special is that Kitewing is a Finnish company, so they will have more of a presence at the races, which is great. I am very excited to compete and see everyone again. Whenever the races are in another country, they always are such an adventure. From years of travelling to frozen countries throughout Europe to attend these races with my family, I have developed a very healthy world perspective, and I always love getting the chance to further expand it.

Also, ice sailing is just super fun.

As to how that relates to my gap year, it will be the beginning to my European traveling gap year experience. From Finland, I am kicking around the idea of going right to Scotland to begin WWOOFing there. Then I will come back here, possibly do a wilderness volunteer thing, then go back over to Iceland to WWOOF. Then it will be summer. 

That's my rough plan anyway. So I will keep updates going regarding these exiting travel plans, and in the mean time, I thank you for reading this blog. I appreciate it!