Athlete of the Week: Julie Forbes

Julie Forbes has had a love of being out on the water since she was an infant. As a child, she accompanied her parents while they raced their sailboat on the Long Island Sound. When she moved to Sarasota, at age 14, she became an instructor for the Youth Sailing Program (YSP) at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. For the last 20 years she has been living on Siesta Key and takes advantage of being close the water as often as possible.

When did you start being competitive about sailing?
About 10 or 12 years ago when I joined the Luffing Lassies. A friend of mine and I took the incoming sailing course by the Luffing Lassies just for laughs. It was a one-week, five-day course. We used Optimist Prams — the same ones I used when I taught at YSP. But I had always had to sail backwards, so it was a whole new experience having to sail them facing forward in a competitive manner. After that course, I joined the Lassies right away.

How many women are involved in the Luffing Lassies?
There are close to 100 Luffing Lassies.

What are your sailing strengths?
Just having a good time. That’s what I do well. My motto is work as little as possible; play as hard as you can.

What is your weakness when it comes to sailing?
The weak spot for me would definitely be stamina. Especially on a long, long day.

How often do you sail?
Usually three times a week, if possible.

What is it that keeps you involved in sailing?
Where do you start? The incredible venue that the Sarasota Sailing Squadron offers, the vista, the people I sail with, the rush of racing, that adrenaline rush of starting and finishing — even if don’t do well; the ability to know you will learn something brand new every time you go out. It’s just great.

Who do you look up to when it comes to sailing?
I’d have to say the one person I always looked up to in the sailing world was my father, John. I miss him a lot. He was a great sailor and a whole lot of fun.

What is one of the best things about sailing?
Waking up in the morning on the boat to the sunrise somewhere far, far away from land. That is pretty amazing.

How did you get into sailing?
I guess it started with my parents. Both my parents sailed, and they raced together. My mother had this little chair, “the dum-dum seat” she called it, underneath the deck of the boat, and they would leave me there while they raced when I was really little. I sailed on the Long Island Sound for years. When I moved to Sarasota, I needed a summer job, so I applied at YSP and I got the job and I taught for four or five summers out here.

What has been your the worst sailing experience?
When I was 9 years old my father bought his first Laser, and a friend of mine and I decided to take it out, and we sailed all the way down wind and ended up in a marsh. It was really, really sharp on our feet and we had to be rescued. It was pretty ugly out there for a while. I don’t know if my dad ever knew.