J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO: Kevin and Hazel Mahony stand by a picture of how the lakeshore looked when Kevin’s father first built the Tradewinds. (Staff photo by J. Edmund Barnes) NEW ORLEANS – Kevin and Hazel Mahony have sailing in their blood, literally. Kevin’s father was owner of Tradewinds, a sailboat store that was a long time fixture among the marinas that line Roadway Street along the lake shore in New Orleans. The story of how the family got into sailing is similar to many: Kevin’s father had a motor boat, but was introduced to sailing by Paul Shrek. Shrek talked Kevin’s father into buying a boat and liked it so much he was a sailor from that point on. Now Kevin’s 12-year-old daughter Hazel is getting into it. Hazel has been sailing since she was six years old, and sailing solo since she was eight. She said when a kid first starts taking sailing lessons, they are put into a Flying Scot, a class of 19-foot sailboats ideal for beginners. On board, the kids are given individual jobs related to the larger aspect of sailing a boat. Hazel was been sailing Optimists for the past few years – the Optimist, or Opti’s to those who know them well, look like a shallow bathtub propelled by a trapezoidal sail. The might be ugly, but they are the best way to learn how to sail solo. Kevin said the sailing camps are safe. The children in the boats are followed by scat boats – motor boats there for the specific purpose of following the kids and making sure no one gets hurt. Hazel said she does not like to race alone. “It’s boring to race alone, if there’s no wind. It’s exciting if there’s wind,” she said. Kevin and Hazel had similar opinions on why they liked the sailing the smaller boats. “I like to stay small, because you’re closer to the water,” said Hazel. “They’re so easy and simple. You’re close the water. It’s cool and wet.” Kevin also mentioned the Sunfish, calling it a board back because you sit onto of the boat, rather than inside a cockpit as one would inside a larger boat. On Wednesdays they sail Kevin’s larger boat, but rarely participate in the races that go on out on Lake Pontchartrain. “Its more fun to goof off,” said Kevin. Kevin also said that it is about half an hour from New Orleans to out onto the lake where the vastness of the distant horizon can be seen. They set the boat up for swimming, because out there the water is nice and clean. “I don’t go out if the weather is going to be a concern,” said Kevin. He said that they wear life jackets and carry a radio and a cellular phone. That, and they never really sail that far from shore.