Brenna Hood, a freshman at FHN, has been sailing ever since she was 1. She first started sailing with her family, but by the age of 9, she was sailing by herself and she hasn’t stopped since.

“I’ve been sailing since I was really young,” Brenna said. “Sailing with my family kinda sparked my interest in sailing.”

Brenna’s family has shaped her passion in sailing. Both of her parents, Emily and Mark Hood, are highly involved in sailing. They constantly are encouraging their children to partake in this passion and to compete or sail recreationally.

“My husband is a sailor,” Emily said. “It’s his passion, and he wants our kids to get into it as well, so he gives them as many opportunities as possible to go sailing and to learn how to sail.”

During summer break, Brenna sails almost every weekend and even sails into the first few weeks of school. She also participates in a junior sailing camp in June. Both her mom and dad, along with other people they hire to help, run this week-long sailing camp in June at Lake Carlyle in southern Illinois. The week-long camp is for kids ages 10 to 16. Over the week, they learn various sailing skills, as well as how to race, with campers being able to participate in the Firecracker Regatta at the end of the week. They also  have the opportunity to free sail throughout the week.

Though she prefers sailing recreationally, Brenna and her family have sailed competitively together in the past. They have competed together over 10 times in various regattas and races. And Brenna finally raced without her family for the first time with adults in the Whale of a Sail Regatta, which was held this year on Sept. 16-17.  It consisted of multiple races throughout the day, with participants’ race times being averaged at the end to determine a winner.

“Competitive makes me nervous because I have to do good,” Brenna said. “I enjoy racing with my family because it’s just fun being on the water with them. They make me feel like I have to do good but I still have fun.”

Brenna plans to use the skills she has learned from her family for the rest of her life, whether it is in competitive or recreational, as well as club sailing.

“I love that she knows how to control a boat,” Emily said. “She knows how to sail. She knows how to recover if her boat flips. I love that it gets her outside. Sailing is a cool skill that not many people have. And she enjoys doing it too.”