Some believe that living in Michigan means there aren’t a lot of opportunities to go to the lake in the middle of February. Pytell isn’t one of them. Pytell competes in sailing regattas in different places around the U.S. all throughout the year. She started sailing at 10 years old, when her parents signed her up to help her make friends.

Since this is her last year sailing the Optimist, Pytell has been trying to make the most out of every regatta she attends.

“It’s a challenge, but I’ve really found my confidence this year,” Pytell said. “I had a whole new mindset. I wasn’t freaking myself out and I realized, ‘Oh my god! This is awesome!’”
Pytell recently qualified to compete in a regetta in Florida where she could go on to qualify for Team USA.

“Being on Team USA would be so amazing because it’s been my goal since I started sailing,” Pytell said.
Her dreams of representing the U.S. partly came true in late March when Pytell competed in Italy.
Pytell and four others from New York, Wisconsin and Colorado competed for the U.S. against 38 other countries.

“They’re from everywhere,” Pytell said. “It’s cool because we’re all from different places and we’re all coming together to represent the U.S.”

However, all of these competitions can get really overwhelming for Pytell. Whenever she feels nervous or stressed, she just reminds herself of why she loves sailing: the community.
“Everyone wants to sail and you know that everyone there really loves it as much as you do,” Pytell said.