Kelsie Grant Takes the Seas

While most people might travel to Hawaii through an airline, Senior Kelsie Grant and her crew sailed in a race for ten days to Hawaii.

Grant grew up sailing with her father and grandfather. Now she is following in their footsteps. Grant’s father did racing and offshore races. She grew up sailing on their family boat and going to Catalina Island on the weekends.

In 2007 Grant’s father sailed to Honolulu, Hawaii from a starting point in San Pedro in order to compete in the Transpac Yacht Race.

Even though she was only seven years old, Grant tried to stow away on the boat while her dad was getting ready to leave.

She started to compete on smaller boats, known as Opti boats in 2008. She went from Opti boats to Cal 20 boats.

Opti boats are smaller boats used by children, and Cal 20’s are a bigger boat that can be comfortably maneuvered by up to four adults.

Grant took a break from racing to focus on school sports. She is on the Girls’ Varsity Water Polo and Varsity Swim. She continued to sail but didn’t race as much as she used to.

“It’s just very calming and it’s a different sport,” Grant said.

A few summers ago Grant competed in the Transpac Race. Funnily, it was the same race that her father had competed in when she was younger.

This race is an offshore race that starts in San Pedro, California and takes a total of 10 days to get to the endpoint in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Races are held all throughout the year. They range between one to ten days depending on the competition. Grant has even sailed to Mexico twice in her sailing career.

“I went to Catalina with her last summer.  She knows all the mechanics of the boat and knows how to sail it. She works hard on the boat and makes sure it is prepared, but she always enjoys her time on the boat,” said senior Tatjana Mandic.

“She goes with her family on the weekends. I think it’s good that she is pursuing it.”

Grant spends time on her boat whether she is working on it, sailing it, or just hanging out. If she doesn’t finish her homework, she will even go out to the boat to work on it.

After she graduates high school she wants to go to a school close to the beach. Grant will focus on her academics in college. After college, she wants to sail and travel to visit tropical places around the world.