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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Wrightsville Beach sailor among youngest at Olympic qualifying event

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The Olympics are just downwind from one Wrightsville Beach athlete this week as the youngest of an elite field of international competitors at a world cup sailing regatta in Florida.

Cape Fear Academy sophomore Chase Carraway said he’s prepared for the biggest race of his sailing career: competing in the Laser class at the Sailing World Cup Miami, from Jan. 25-30. Carraway has been one of about a dozen Americans in the class, and among nearly 780 athletes that have come from around the world for 10 Olympic and two Paralympic events.

The race is the first of a pair that the U.S. Olympics sailing committee will use to choose a competitor for the upcoming 2016 Olympic games in Rio, Brazil.

So far, Carraway is holding his own in the regatta. On Monday, Jan. 25, he finished in 21st place out of about 50 sailors in the day’s first race, and ended in 38th place in the day’s second race. He placed 25th in the first race on Tuesday, Jan. 26, and 39th in the day’s second race.

As the youngest member on his American team at age 15, Carraway will be up against older, stronger more experienced sailors, though he’ll have an advantage of his own. With more than half a year in training in Florida, Carraway knows the course at the U.S. Sailing Center in Biscayne Bay, near Miami.

“I have sailed at the venue a lot over the last two to three weeks. It gives me a pretty big advantage, I can pick out some trends,” Carraway said.

Carraway said he’s not too concerned with winning the race, only facing up to the competition.

“I’m using it as a learning experience,” Carraway said prior to the event. “It’s going to be a tough regatta.”

But he has the added boost of being at the starting line with the world-class sailors he follows.

“I want a chance to meet some of the big guys,” Carraway said. “They do it for a living, so I know they’re going to be extremely good.”

But unlike the “big guys,” Carraway is still a high school student and will have to balance the week’s racing activities with studying. His mother, Boo Carraway, said he’ll have homework to do in between the two races a day he’ll be sailing.

Carraway started sailing when he was 6 and began competing at age 8, following his brother Trey into the sport. He learned the waters of Banks Channel and the Atlantic Ocean, where he once competed with the Carolina Yacht Club.

However, Carraway advanced his training last summer when he joined a high-performance sailing program operated out of the Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Club in Florida.

This has created a busy schedule for the high school sophomore but is producing results on the sailing circuit. Carraway placed third in the laser radial class in his most recent race, the 2015 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta.

“He’s much more disciplined than I was at 15,” his father Stanley Carraway said.

Carraway flies to Fort Lauderdale every Friday after school, where his team trains. He spends the weekend at friends’ places before flying back for school Monday morning.

While home during the week in Wrightsville Beach, Carraway trains with Kate Humber at Port City Crossfit. There, Carraway executes workouts that will play a vital role in the upcoming races, tailoring to the specific muscles he will use while sailing, such as his abs and legs. He even works with a local sports psychologist to battle nerves.

“He teaches me breathing exercises and gives me keywords,” Carraway said.

At 155 pounds, Carraway falls 30 pounds less than the ideal body weight for the laser boat he’ll sail. His competitors, however, will most likely weigh around 185, giving them an advantage with higher winds.

Carraway and his parents said they’re hoping for low winds and calm conditions.

Regardless of the race conditions, Carraway said, “Getting a good start is the most important thing. You want to accelerate as quickly as possible. I’m only nervous right before the race starts.”

Intern Alexandra Golder contributed to this report.

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