MELBOURNE, Fla.  — A popular regatta in St. Petersburg, Bluster on the Bay, recently packed up its sails and headed east to Melbourne for a weekend full of racing.

More than 60 sailors were registered for the regatta, but one sailor stood out from the rest.

Any day 19-year-old Matthew Smyth can put up his sail is a good day.

“It’s still the same, no matter what day it is or what conditions," he said. "It’s still fun."

His passion for the sport is evident.

“You’re just going past the water at, like, 30 knots, and you’re just so close to the waves that are going by you when you’re out there,” Smyth said.

That love for being on the water was passed down to him from his dad.

“My dad is an Olympic sailor,” Smyth said. “He has two silver medals, so it just kind of goes with the family.”

With that motivation and guidance, the Florida Tech student took his knowledge up a level by building his own boat.

“I’ve done a lot of work to it to make it how it is,” he said.

To be precise, it was a year’s worth of work that totaled more than 150 hours.

“I actually built it and know it inside and out,” Smyth said.

That knowledge makes it that much sweeter when he suits up and gets the boat in the water.

“It feels pretty good going out there and racing it,” he said.

Others can see it, too.

“You don’t have that many sailors (his age) who, when they get the time and coaching, can get through frustrating moments,” said Mark Herendeen, a fellow sailor and Bluster Regatta organizer. “When they compete against a sailor who has sailed a long, long time, he can hold his own.”

Smyth keeps his body above the water while creating a new legacy for his family’s name.

“(Don’t) give up, and just race every race and do it the best you can,” Smyth said. “Even if you’re in last, you just have to keep trying because you can catch back up.”​