EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As summer comes to a close, the folks at the Grand Rapids Yacht Club are reflecting on another great year spent on the water. For one Grand Rapids sailor, her time spent at Reeds Lake and in the boat she sails in, draws her closer to the people she cares about most.
“When I’m out here it’s very comfortable. It’s very natural. I don’t have to think,” said Mary Reif.
Mary Reif has been sailing for over 30 years. “A lot of it just comes naturally,” said Mary.
She comes from a long line of sailors at the Grand Rapids Yacht Club. Her Grandparents and parents sailed on Reeds Lake for years.
“I was very competitive. My grandmother was very, very competitive and wanted to win,” said Mary. “She had won nationals with a sailor down here named Andy Rundguist and she really wanted to get back into that fame. But I don’t really think it was about fame for her. I think it was just about being healthy and athletic and participating. And if you’re going to participate, you might as well win,”.
And that’s exactly what they did. Mary had won junior nationals several times as a kid and then in 2011, the pair traveled to New Jersey to win the National Rebel Class Championship. More than the titles, her enjoyed the time spent with family.
“But what was fun about sailing with my mom and my grandmother was that we could sing, we could cheerlead, we would do cheerleading chants (in the boat) we never focused too much on the sailing we were just having fun and that’s why I sail in a boat that can fit someone else because we can have fun together,” said Mary.
And since both her grandmother and mother have since passed away, Mary is still at the Yacht Club several times a week honoring their memory. Sailing with friends in the boat she used to sail in with her grandmother, and teaching the next generation of sailors.
“I definitely feel like my role here is to show other young girls and little boys too that this is a fun place. That you’re around family and that this is a life long sport that you can continue forever,” said Mary.
If you're interesting in joining the Grand Rapids Yacht club, or learning more about sailing on Reeds Lake, click here.
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