Interview with Riley McDonald, 14 year old Falcon skipper!

You all know Matt McDonald as the builder of the Falcon, the latest light weight Formula 16 catamaran, based in Florida. But do you know Riley, his daughter? Let us introduce her.

Riley is sailing with her dad for almost a year now. She is skippering and doing a very great job! She is young, ambitious, light and the perfect skipper together with her dad as crew on the Falcon. We tought it was about time to have a short Friday afternoon interview with Riley.

Can you tell us how old you are right now?

14 yrs. old

How did you get to know sailing?

Well, my dad is a great sailor and he taught me everything I know.

What do you like about sailing?

I love meeting new people and setting new challenges for myself.

What do your friends think about that?

Oh, they love it and they support me and they are very proud of me.

How long have you been sailing the Falcon with your dad?

Almost a year now.

Tell me what you like the most when you are sailing?

The rush of it and at the same time the relaxation.

You are helming the boat and your dad is crewing. That must be a nice feeling that you can tell your dad what he needs to do?

Well, I wish I could tell him what to do, but he doesn't really listen very often :)

What did you think the first time you got on such a big and fast boat?

It was amazing and I didn't want to get off.

We heard you got a call by one of the heads of the youth sailing program and you got an invite to train with the youth girls development program? That’s awesome! When would you be starting this training?

Hopefully I will be starting this summer, but who knows. I'm really excited though.

Any tips or tricks for other young girls who are thinking of starting to sail?

Go for it and sail with someone you can trust.

When is your next race?

Kelly Park River Regatta, May 28 - 29th.

You did very well on the last races: finishing first on Saturday and Sunday at Charlotte Harbour: great job! What was the weekend like? Good winds?

Decent wind and it was fun, but GYC was more my type of wind. Spring Fever was really fun, light winds and frustrating at times. I need a lot more practice to race in that kind of wind because I really need to pay attention to the wind shifts.

What do you like the most: sailing upwind or sailing downwind?

Sailing downwind because it feels easier to me.

Your mom is also a very good sailor, do you ever sail with her too?

Nope.

Thanks Riley for taking the time to answer these questions! She is the future. Starting young on a high performanca multihull, aiming for the best and still having fun!