“I’m good at boat speed and staying fast and also my legs are strong so when it’s windy I can hike all the way out – I’ve been working on that for a long time!” Opti sailor Storm Husky Kim smiles. “The things I’m not so good at and need to work on are light wind and heavy wind tacks, and handling the boat in really heavy conditions.”
For this 12-year-old from Noe Valley, San Francisco, sailing is the thing he looks forward to every day. A 7th grader at the International School of San Francisco, he was just 8 when he started at the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF) in Redwood City. His dad, Walter, got him involved even though sailing wasn’t something that the family really did.
“We felt like it would be a good thing for us to do,” Walter notes. “I was somewhat interested in sailing but Storm definitely spent much more time at it and really liked it from the start.”
Husky Kim recently took 3rd at the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) Asian and Oceanian Championship (a continental level regatta) held in Oman competing against 176 kids registered from 26 countries. His goal going into the event was to get top 10. Husky Kim raced well over four days of fleet racing where the young sailors were divided into three flights.
“I was super proud of myself as it was a really big event and really close racing; I actually tied with the person who got second but they won the tie breaker,” Husky Kim said. “They were all really good at roll tacks as well as being really fast but the conditions were good for me. It was also a fun experience just to go explore the country, my sailing friends from back home were all there which made it more fun.”
Husky Kim has stayed with the sport because he enjoys the racing aspect; he’s doing well in all of the local California regattas he competes in. He is coached by Jack Barton who runs Best Coast Sailing (BCS), a private group out of Richmond, CA. Storm joined Barton’s group a few years ago; sailing from the Richmond marina is close to the Berkeley Circle and being close to that venue was important to Husky Kim.
“I’m sailing the whole time – on the weekends I go to Richmond to practice,” Husky Kim notes. “I think it is the competition part of sailing that is exciting to me, and I have made lots of friends in sailing. I also like learning about sail trim and weather – I’m definitely interested in knowing about where the wind is and climate in the world – it’s fun!”
Husky Kim’s parents are happy supporters of their son’s sailing adventures. They’re enjoying the regatta travel even though it can be overwhelming.
“It’s a lot of travel but it’s really nice to visit all of these places – a lot of the venues are
on the water and beautiful so enjoyable for a parent too but it really is every weekend and school vacation when Storm is either practicing locally or traveling for clinics or regattas,” Walter commented. “He does miss some school to go to certain competitions but it’s great to see him really engaged with the sport, he listens to his coach and considers the learnings after races so I feel like he’s learning the skill of how to put effort into something and get better at it. The fact that he is doing well in these competitions of course also feels really great and for a kid to be able to spend their time on the water in nature and being outside, I’m happy about it!”
Husky Kim’s next international event is the International Palamos Optimist Trophy in Palamos, Spain February 11-15. His goal for this regatta is to be more consistent on the racecourse.
“I was consistent in Oman but I could be more consistent – I would like to do well in every race and not do it high risk,” Husky Kim explained. “My roll tacks are good but they could be better – most people don’t have really good roll tacks! I’m fast at boat speed so while I may not have a good roll tack but I still can catch up because I’m fast.”
At the end of the day, however, he’s content at home on San Francisco Bay and perhaps moving into the 420 down the road.
“Sailing in San Francisco is really good, I really like sailing here,” Husky Kim smiles. “There are a perfect number of waves, it’s never not windy enough and it’s always fun when I go out there. I’m looking forward to getting into a 420 – I feel like those are going to be good and they have a 420 team in the high school at my school.”
Oman Final Results:
https://2025asianoceanians.optiworld.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall
Storm Husky Kim is a St Francis Sailing Foundation grantee.