Sailing Story: Kirk Richardson

Kirk’s sailing story began with Go Sail Flathead Lake. While he had been out on many a boat, none had been a sailboat.

“I expected that it would be pretty fun,” he said. “I have a decent amount of experience with boats so I assumed it would be kind of like that but with the power of the wind, more quiet and more peaceful.”

For Kirk, there was so much joy in being able to experience the water in a way he never had before.

“I guess I would compare it to fly fishing vs fishing,” he said about sailing vs other types of boats. “You have to be a little more intune with the cycles of nature and there is more skill involved which I personally find more exhilarating.”

Kirk was also relieved to find he thought the act of sailing was actually much easier than he thought it would be after reading his ASA books for his course pre-work. 

“It felt a lot less intimidating and a lot more intuitive. Everything just made sense,” he explained. 

With a few ASA courses under his belt, Kirk felt ready to take the plunge into sailing more seriously — and off he went to buy a boat! 

Now, as the proud owner of a Catalina 22, Kirk is looking forward to exploring Flathead Lake and maybe even venturing out to other waters. 

“Hopefully [we’ll] progress to the point we can do coastal trips and slowly open up the possibilities of where we can go,” he said of his future sailing plans.