Laser Focus

Katharine Doble Sets Sail for Youth World Championships in The Netherlands

Five weeks from now, Palisadian Katharine Doble will be among 450 of the globe’s best youth sailors from 69 countries participating in the 2022 Allianz Youth World Sailing Championships. The eight-day competition takes place off the coast of Scheveningen in The Hague, The Netherlands, from July 8-15 and sailors up to the age of 19 will test their skills and wits against rough waters and North Sea winds. Doble, a 17-year-old from the Riviera, will represent Team USA in the Female One Person Dinghy—ILCA 6 (laser radial) Class. Other categories include Windsurfing, Skiff, Multihull and Kiteboarding. Doble attended St. Matthew’s from preschool through 8th grade (helping the volleyball team win the Delphic League title in 2016) and is currently a senior at Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City. She will attend Brown University in Rhode Island in the fall. Growing up, Doble honed her waving craft at the California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey. For the past 50 years the Youth Sailing World Championships have been the pinnacle of youth sailing performance, showcasing the future stars of the sailing world and launching the careers of many future world and Olympic champions. The event was first held in Sweden in 1971. Notable winners include America’s Cup skippers Chris Dickson, Russell Coutts and Dean Barker; Olympic medalists Nathan Outteridge, Iain Jensen, Robert Scheidt, Amelie Lux, Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy, Alessandra Sensini, Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson; and Volvo Ocean Race sailors like New Zealand’s Stuart Bannatyne and Canada’s Richard Clarke. Doble is one of 15 athletes on this year’s USA team, which was announced April 22. In December, she represented the U.S. at the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships in Al-Mussanah, Oman, and placed 10th in a field of 46 competitors. She totaled 117 points in nine races in the ILCA 6. Last September, Doble took first place at the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association Singlehanded District Championships in Long Beach, a two-day regatta comprised of 40 sailors from California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. The CYC product paired with Zoey Ziskind to win the U.S. Sailing Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championships in July 2019, taking first in a 33-boat national fleet. Only three months before that she won the Ken Hoover Memorial Regatta in Redondo Beach for the second straight time. Doble made the Palisadian-Post Athletes of the Year list in 2021 and recently shared her thoughts about sailing, the upcoming Youth Worlds and her future plans with Post Sports Editor Steve Galluzzo:     

PP: Who introduced you to the sport and how old were you?

KD: I learned to sail when I was 8 in the junior program at California Yacht Club. My parents owned a cruising sailboat and I enjoyed sailing with them, so I joined the summer camp as soon as I was old enough.

PP: What was the name of your first boat and what type was it?

KD: When I turned 10 I got my first boat, an Opti which I named Swift.

PP: Where do you typically like to train? 

KD: I train out of the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey. It is convenient to the Palisades and the Santa Monica Bay is a great training venue.

PP: How did you qualify for the Youth Worlds?

KD: There were two qualifying regattas for Youth Worlds, the Clearwater Olympic Classes Regatta last February in Florida and the ILCA Midwinters West Regatta, which took place in California in March. There are two regattas in the series to ensure the qualification is representative of a range of sailing conditions. I qualified to be the female representative in the ILCA6 by having the lowest sum of finishes over the two regattas.

PP: How often do you go sailing?

KD: I train on the water each weekend and work on strength and fitness for sailing during the week.

PP: Do you train with a team or by yourself?

KD: There are no competitive local race teams, so I attend camps with the team at the Lauderdale Yacht Club and the Olympic Development Program. Between clinics, I train independently, often out of the California Yacht Club.

PP: Did you play any other sports growing up?

KD: I participated in volleyball and track at St. Matthew’s and I ran cross country and track at Harvard-Westlake.

PP: Do you have any brothers or sisters?

KD: I have two younger siblings. My sister Emily also sails competitively and my brother Graham plays basketball, football and swims.

PP: How would you describe the ILCA 6 (laser radial) division? Do you own a boat or are you sponsored?

KD: The laser class of one design dinghies is widely sailed around the world.  It is the only event at Youth Worlds which is sailed on Olympic equipment so a number of the athletes competing train with their country’s Olympic team.  I own a boat which I train and compete with.

PP: Why did you decide to go to an Ivy School like Brown?

KD: I chose Brown because of the open curriculum, the competitive sailing team and the location in Providence, Rhode Island.

PP: What do you like most about sailing?

KD: I love sailing and racing in all conditions, but sailing in waves and strong wind, where you can surf waves, is especially fun.

PP: What skills must one possess to be a successful sailor?

KD: Sailing takes patience, perseverance and attention to detail.

PP: Where and when do you start training for Youth Worlds?

KD: I began training more specifically for Youth Worlds after making the team. The U.S. team will train together in Long Beach this month before traveling to the Netherlands on July 5.

PP: What are some of your hobbies outside of sailing?

KD: I love to run at Will Rogers Park and go to the beach with friends.

PP: How many competitions do you participate in each year?

KD: I competed in 11 events in 2021 and have a similar schedule this year.

PP: What is your proudest sailing accomplishment so far? 

KD: I am most proud of winning the ILCA Midwinters West in March.