What were you doing at 14 years old? For me, it was failing Algebra, and pretending to be one of the cool kids in school.

But for Merritt Sellers, she's literally sailing the world, and winning races with her dad. In fact, she's the most recent champion of the 2022 Bayview Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Island.

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Merritt and her dad, Scott Sellers, competed in the Cove Island Course. That one starts at Port Huron, takes them across the Canadian border on Lake Huron to Cove Island, and then back across the Lake to Mackinac Island.

Last year, the Sellers competed and won the race as well, but at that time, Merritt was only 13, and they took a full crew of 8 people.

This time, it was just Merritt and her dad, with Merritt putting her exceptional skills on display.

How good is she? Well, Merritt sailed at night on her own, while her dad slept, which proved to be the difference.

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Scott laid it out.

"We got'em at night. I worried they would they (The Utah) would get us. We went from two miles back, to two miles in front."

The Sellers brought their boat, "nosurprise" in at 9 pm Sunday night, completing the race in just 33 hours. The second-place Utah docked an hour later with her full crew of eight.

An incredible job by Merritt, but for Scott, the trip isn't over yet. Next week, he'll be sailing with his older daughter, Hannah, from Chicago to Mackinac along the shore of Lake Michigan.

RETURN TO MACKINAC ISLAND

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