A sailing journey that began in the waters off of Sooke is traversing the globe with a stop at the Youth World Sailing Championships in Portugal later this year.
Theo Stolth,17, and Averi Kuo,15, are set to represent Canada at the championships this December, where they'll face the world's best 29er sailors.
"Going into the event, it was our goal to be selected to the championship," Stolth told Victoria News. "When we got the call that we were selected, it was an exciting surprise."
Stolth, a Grade 12 student at Sooke's Edward Milne Community School, was previously home-schooled. Stolth’s journey in the sport began in Sooke, where they first discovered sailing at a local summer camp through the Sooke Sailing Association, which was followed by an invitation to join the race team. They coached for the Sooke Sailing Association until summer 2023, before starting at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club this summer.
Stolth trained under the team led by Canada's own nationally and internationally renowned coach Steve McBride. Under McBride's guidance, Stolth transitioned into the high-performance 29er skiff — a fast and demanding two-person boat.
In their second year of 29ers, their then sailing partner of three years went to university, leaving Stolth looking for a new partner. That's when Kuo moved up to 29ers and the pair started sailing together.
Kuo, a Grade 10 student at Glenlyon Norfolk School in Victoria, transitioned to 29er in September 2024 and has already been making waves in the sport.
She says she has always loved being out on the water, and trained at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. She recently competed in Nieuwpoort, Belgium representing Team Canada.
Her first time sailing at Canadian Optimist Nationals she earned a top 25 position and the following year, where she placed 12th overall and was the top third female. Both times she qualified for the Europeans and the North and South Americans representing Team Canada.
At the B.C. Games last year, she earned the gold medal in the Optimist Class. She has sailed 29er for one year and attended her first Midwinters West Regatta in Alamitos Bay Yacht Club and the 29er Canadian Nationals in Kingston, Ont.
To make the trip to the championships possible, the duo has been fundraising via a GoFundMe.
"I'm honoured and grateful for the opportunity we have been given to represent Canada. I would like to extend my thanks to anybody who would like to help," Stolth added.
