For Delani Hulme-Lawrence, there’s no greater feeling than sailing a 700-pound boat in the waters off Victoria.
Feeling the power of the wind pushing the 2.4 metre minature keel boat, as she mans the roughly 32 controls is an adrenaline rush like no other.
“It’s the sensation of speed, I just live for it,” Hulme-Lawrence said. “What I enjoy about this type of sailing is it’s all tactical … It’s all a mind game.”
Hulme-Lawrence will have the opportunity to put her sailing skills to the test this summer, as she’ll be representing Team B.C. at the Canada Summer Games in July.
The 22-year-old Victoria resident, who trains at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, will be competing in the 2.4mR, after qualifying for the Games after competing in a local regatta at the club earlier this month.
Her passion for sailing was sparked years ago. Hulme-Lawrence began sailing when she was just four years old when her father would take her to a lake near her home in Alberta to sail the family’s 16-foot catamaran. She quickly fell in love with the sport and shortly after joined the sea cadet corps in her hometown, where she sailed 4-20s.
It wasn’t until she was 14 years old, when she began training with her current coach Stephen McBride at the Victoria yacht club and was thrown into the world of sailing the one-person keelboat. Going from sailing a boat with five or six controls to one with 32 was a challenge, but one she managed to get the hang of after 20 minutes of trial and error.
Since then, Hulme-Lawrence has honed her skills on the water, practicing several times a week. While she competed in the 2013 Canada Games for Team Alberta, where she finished fifth overall, Hulme-Lawrence is excited to represent B.C. and has her sights on a gold-medal finish.
“I would like to do well. Definitely going for gold,” she said.
The Canada Summer Games are a national multi-sport competition held every two years,w which brings together approximately 4,000 athletes, coaches and managers from every province and territory in the country to compete in 16 sports.
The Canada Summer Games take place July 28 to Aug. 13 in Winnipeg, with the sailing competition taking place between July 28 to Aug. 4 at Gimli Yacht Club.
Saanich’s John Owen and Oak Bay’s Makena Shepard both from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club were also named to Team B.C.