Koralina Pior did not come from a family of experienced sailors, growing up in a coastal suburb of Houston, TX. “My hometown was kind of like Annapolis, but things were more spread out because it’s Texas,” she says. Regardless, the appeal of sailing snagged her at an early age. “I started sailing when I was about 12 on a Sunfish I got from my brother’s friend. My grandfather and dad helped me fix it up, since they didn’t make the parts anymore. My grandfather made all the pieces out of bronze or brass, fashioning me a new daggerboard and rudder.”
Despite all the hard work, the boat fell apart during its first race. But that didn’t stop Pior from tinkering with the boat, and sailing it every chance she had.
“One day, I was out sailing, it and this guy from the yacht club saw me. He needed somebody small to crew for him on a J/24, but he thought it would be weird if he just went up to me and asked, ‘How much do you weigh?’ So after I got back to shore, he had a female crewmember come up and ask me. We had a weird start, but it turned out to be a great fit.”
Pior’s first big regatta was on the J/24 during the North Americans. From there the boat went on to race the Texas circuit with Pior on the foredeck. When it was time for her to go to college, she didn’t think of sailing but instead went to school on an art scholarship. Like her grandfather and father, she has a gift for welding metals.
After graduating college, Pior spent the early part of 2009 looking for jobs. A friend and former J/World coach introduced her to Jeff Jordan, co-director of J/World Annapolis, who said he was interested in bringing her onboard. “I don’t think Jeff knew that I physically lived in Texas, because one day I got an email that said ‘Spring Training starts this weekend!’ When I told him that was a little short notice, he said if I came out, he’d give me a job. And everybody said I’d be crazy not to take it. I was only 20, and I wanted to do something fun before going corporate.”
Pior ended up working five seasons with J/World before she was approached by the Chesapeake Boating Club (CBC) to come work for them. The CBC had recently purchased Getaway Sailing, in Baltimore, and was looking for someone to run their day-to-day operations. “I don’t think anyone knew what my role was going to be at the beginning, but we’ve really come a long way.”
And how does sailing in Baltimore compare to Annapolis? “I love sailing into Baltimore because you feel like you’re being enveloped in the buildings. You’re sailing on a skyline; the hustle and bustle of the city and the calming environment of sailing. Of course, because of the buildings, the wind won’t be the same 10 feet from where you are. If you can appreciate different, you can appreciate Baltimore.”
Tell us a favorite sailing memory. Sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar was probably the most terrifying. I was on watch in the middle of the night, recovering from a cold, and I couldn’t get the auto pilot to work. I sailed manually through the Strait with all these gigantic ships… it was just insane.
What’s on your sailing bucket list? I’m hoping to do the New Caldonia to New Zealand (roughly 900 miles) with my Strait of Gibraltar partner.
How can we get on your good side? I’m really into dinosaurs. And cookies. And M&Ms. So bring me a dinosaur-shaped cookie with M&Ms.
Favorite sailing movie? Wind. I wish I could have a better response to this!
What’s your most essential piece of gear in your gear bag? I always have my Texas state flag bandana on me. It’s so useful! And, it’s the Texas state flag.
If you could sail with anyone, who would it be? My grandfather. He was a really skilled craftsman and he custom-built all the pieces for my first Sunfish. He passed away a few years ago. On my dad’s 50th birthday we were out sailing together, and he told me that my grandfather had never gone sailing. He helped launch me into this life I love so much, and he never got to experience it himself. I’d like for him to experience it with me.
