Some say sailing is the highest form of multi-tasking.

"It’s pretty complicated so, if the wind is shifting you can use different tactics, you can go different places on the course," Plant High graduate Connor Nelson explained.

The only constant in sailing, is change.

"You’re adjusting your sail shape for different wind conditions, wave conditions. You have to check the current, take the current into account. Just so many different things you’re thinking about all the way up the race course," Nelson said.

It requires an unwavering mindset.

"Before the first start, I just, I like to visualize myself where I hope to be. Standing on a podium or with a trophy or medal, or something or just crossing the finish line you know in first," said the former Panther.

For Nelson, it's all about routine.

"I get excited and ready to go and once the gun goes off for the first race, I completely clear my mind after that," he said.

Nelson's love for sailing began ten years ago at the Davis Island Yacht Club.  For the past four years, he's been training to qualify for the Youth World Championship.  It's a dream he achieved last month, as he represented the United States in Poland.

"My coach was going crazy. I was super excited. It was awesome. I was one of the best feelings I ever had just to accomplish what I’ve been working towards for 4 or 5 years, or pretty much my entire sailing career actually," remembered Nelson.

Nelson recently returned from Worlds, where he competed in two-hour long races for five straight days, finishing just off the podium in fourth place.

"It was just such an honor, first of all, to be able to represent the United States at this regatta. And it was a different experience than anything I’d ever done before," Nelson said.

He's now getting ready for his next challenge... sailing for Brown University, while also training for an Olympic bid.  For Nelson, the countless hours of practice don't feel like a sacrifice.

"My biggest thing is being out on the water. I do it — if I’m not sailing I’m fishing, I’m you know, I’m always on the water so that’s a big part of it and I’m also a very competitive person, he said.

While the winds may change, there's nowhere else Nelson would rather be.