Hannes Leonard is busy getting ready for the 2015 Annapolis to Newport Race onboard Heron, a J/120 crewed by friends and family members. This is not Hannes’ first long distance race: he’s sailed in the Down the Bay race, he’s done Gov Cup, and he’s a Century Club member, logging 8000 miles in 20 months.
The thing that makes Hannes Leonard unique is that he’s only 11 years old.
Hannes is one of Greg and Tracy Leonard’s two children who have grown up on a sailboat. Sister Anna is six. As a cruising family, Hannes is comfortable on the sailboat for long distances. But his parents have also worked with him from the start to make him a part of the crew during long distance races.
“It sounds formidable to take your kids on overnight races,” says Greg Leonard. “But it’s a phenomenal experience, both for the kids and for the parents to see their kids in that environment.” Leonard says that as opposed to regular ‘round the buoys racing, distance racing involves less tacking and boat-to-boat maneuvering, allowing the kids to integrate in with the regular crew easier.
Hannes’ first distance race was at age six, when he raced to St. Marys for the Gov Cup. Even at his young age, he had a job to do. “When I’m racing, I like to sit on the rail,” he says. “You sit on the rail to add weight, but you can see a lot and relax some. Sometimes I like to sit at the edge of the cockpit and trim, but I like the rail.”
The watch system was something Hannes was already acquainted with, having done extensive cruising with his family. “When you’re racing, you have watches where you’re on watch, and then when you’re off watch, you can sleep and stuff. When you’re cruising, you’re on watch when you feel like it. We have a schedule of night watches, but when we get tired, you just go wake up another person.”
Racing with smaller children is something Greg recommends to sailing parents. “The overnight races are actually easier when they’re small because they generally start in the evening. The kids stay up for a while, it’s really exciting for them, and they’re entertained. They go to sleep after a while, and when they wake up, you’re there.”
It is, however, doubly important to have the right safety gear for racing. “In addition to the usual lifejacket, they need their own harnesses (that fit), tethers, safety lights, whistles, and sailing knives (if appropriate). And they need to know how to work it all independently. If you take the time to train them, they can handle it all.”
Greg and Tracy have clearly trained Hannes and Anna to be comfortable and competent members of the crew, whether on the rail or at the helm. As for whether his life’s path is as a racing sailor or a cruising sailor, Hannes is on the fence. “I really like both of them,” he says. “I think I want to get into the long distance races a little more, but still cruise some.”
We’re very confident that his parents will help make that happen.
