Sailing through September

Wondering what your neighbors are up to this September?

Peter Shope, a new resident to Portsmouth, has big plans for this coming Monday. Shope is headed to The Laser Masters World Championship being held on Hayling Island, England, where he will be competing against some of the best sailors from around the world.

Shope, 50, will be competing in the Standard Masters Division (ages 45 to 54) and finally fulfilling aspirations that had been put on the shelf long ago.

Growing up in Branford, CT, Shope was always in close proximity to the water and, when a friend introduced him the sport of sailing at 12, it was love at first site. It wasn't until age 16 that he tried out the Laser Class.

In 1980, Shope was in his junior year at Connecticut College and competed in the Laser Midwinters Regatta. After placing second in his class and talking to a few friends, he decided to take some time off from school and focus solely on sailing and the World Championships.

Between the ages of 21 and 22, he competed in many regattas and didn't do quite as well as he had hoped. Shope decided to put his dreams of sailing competitively behind him and went back to finish school.

It wasn't until last year that he finally accepted his passion for Laser sailing, moved from southern New Hampshire to Portsmouth, and pulled in the mainsheet once again.

After living in New Hampshire for 13 years, "It is a different world down here with so many unique towns surrounding Narragansett Bay. I'm really loving getting to know all of the areas," Shope said.

Having spent much time in Southern Rhode Island back when he was competing in college, Shope was quick to get back into the sailing community here.

Since spring 2009, he has been sailing in the weekly winter frostbiting series at Sail Newport and the summer Tuesday night racing in Bristol. He finds that whenever he hops in his boat to go out and practice, there is always another sailor out there ready to sail against.

As for his upcoming Masters World regatta, "I'm incredibly excited, although a little nervous, hoping that I'm fully prepared and ready to go when I reach England."

This is not the first World Championship that Shope has competed in. Last year, he sailed the Masters World Championship in Nova Scotia in 2009 where he finished 16^th out of 84 competitors.

Just this summer, he competed in all the local regattas, as well as the Laser North Americans and the Canadian Nationals.

"When I was younger the only thing important was winning," he said. "Now, I enjoy the whole process of training, racing and finishing. It is the process you must enjoy. I think it is a healthier way to go about it."

In regards to his mindset going into next week,"My attitude towards the Masters' is that I'm going to just have fun, test myself and not be too disappointed if I don't have the best finishes," Shope said.

To stay up to date on the racing results next week, check out the venue's Web site here.