DI teen Summer Mykols sails to national title as America’s top female Optimist

Summer Mykols had already crossed the finish line. The boats were out of the water. Three races were in the books. But there was one thing the 14-year-old still didn’t know: She had just become a national champion. 

Neither did her parents. 

For nearly 15 minutes before the awards ceremony, the Mykols family waited as protests were settled and points were finalized at the 2026 Optimist National Championship in New Jersey. An Optimist, or Opti, is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy 

Mykols’ coaches thought she had done it. They had even sent a message to the club chat. Still, nobody wanted to celebrate too soon. 

Then her name was called. 

“I was surprised,” Mykols said. 

The trophy officially named her America’s top female Optimist sailor, a title earned four years after she first stepped into a sailboat at a summer camp on Daniel Island. This year’s nationals were hosted by Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club and brought together 160 female sailors from around the country. Yacht clubs from California, New Orleans, Florida, New York, Maryland, and elsewhere sent competitors in the Optimist’s experienced Red, White, and Blue level. 

It was Mykol's third nationals and an especially unforgiving one. 

“It was very windy,” she said. 

Changing weather and shifting winds limited the competition to three races, leaving little room for a bad result. Mykols tried to keep the math out of her head. 

“I was focused on doing my best and not the standings. You never know how many races they will get in, because of weather or shifting winds that change the race course, so I just sailed my best.” 

A year of racing, including international competition in Monaco earlier this year, had prepared her for the pressure. 

“I feel stronger,” Mykols said. “We had some great regattas this year that helped me gain even more confidence. The international experience did help my confidence.” 

Her sailing roots trace back to Daniel Island. In June 2022, Mykols was one of three students in the Daniel Island Yacht Club’s first sailing camp. She later moved into competitive racing with the Carolina Yacht Club, where she credits coaches Alex Zimmermann, Austin Ando, and Collin Porter for getting her to where she is today – and she recently returned to camp in a different role, helping teach younger Carolina Yacht Club sailors. 

Now Mykols is moving toward bigger boats, practicing and racing 420s, a two-person dinghy, in preparation for the Philip Simmons High School sailing team. She and her crew recently finished third at Mount Pleasant’s Hobcaw Regatta, and she is excited about eventually taking on the Laser class. 

First, America’s newest female Optimist champion may be heading overseas again. Her national title earned her an invitation to represent the United States at the RenRe Junior Gold Cup in Bermuda this fall. 

“I really want to do well in Bermuda representing the USA, so a lot of practicing,” Mykols said. 

For her parents, who are still learning the sailing world alongside her, there is no telling how far that first Daniel Island camp might take her. 

“Summer puts the hard work in, and we want to allow her to soar as high as she wants to go,” her father Dan said. 

Four years ago, Mykols couldn’t have pictured any of it. “It’s all pretty surreal!”