Sailors juggle travel, training, fundraising to make Olympic dream possible

They say it takes more than just skill and athleticism to get to the Olympics: it takes support from friends, family, and a lot of money.

That's even more true for Olympians whose chosen sport is both new to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Gamesandkind of obscure. Just ask sailors and first-time Olympians Danielle Boyd and Erin Rafuse.

Boyd, from Kingston, Ont., and Rafuse, from Halifax,will head toRio thissummer, sailing in a newly recognized Olympic classcalled49erFX.

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"Our sport is probably one of the most expensive, unfortunately," said Boyd. "Alot of our costs go towards equipment, backup equipment, accommodation, coaching, feeswhen we need [to pay]them. And flights, travel, food ...pretty much anything you can think of. But the largest cost is definitely equipment and travel."

Speaking of equipment and travel:Maple, the boat they'll be competing with in Rio, is already in Brazil.

It was shipped there at a cost of about $2,500, said Boyd.On Friday, the pairheaded to Rio to set itup for training, where it will remain until the Games get underway.

The boat itself and the sails cost about $40,000, she said. They're required to have three boats.

Tragically Hip help with fundraising

The team had a goal to raise $82,000 or $10 per kilometre to Rio and they just about reached it Thursdaynight at an auctionfundraiserat the Kingston Yacht Club, where Boydgot her start in the sport.

Theirwebsitemarks their progress with a donation tracker and includesvideosthat illustratethe daily work that goes into Olympic-level sailing.

Among the items on offer at the auctionwasa pair of tickets to the final show of the Tragically Hip's farewell tour on Aug. 20at the K-Rock Centrein Kingston.The tickets were donated by band member Gord Sinclaira family friend of the Boyds who performed at the fundraiser with his side project The Taxi Dancers, alongside Hip bandmateRob Baker.

"I went to [elementary]school with ColinSinclair,Gord'sson, and we became quite good friends at a young age. And our parents just stayed in touch over the years," said Boyd.

"So we just asked. And this is before they even announced their final tour. AndGordagreed completely and was like, 'I'll bringRobbieBaker as well,'"she said.

With their Olympic fundraising goal now reached, the pair say theycan place more time and energy on these crucial trainingdays leading up to the Rio Games.

Solo to tandem

The pair come from different sailing backgrounds:Rafuse spentmost of her development sailing solo, while Boydmostly sailedintandem. After spending more than three years together as a team, however,they say they've gotten so close that they can practically read eachother's minds.

"When we're sailing, and it's windy sometimes, we can't even hear eachother. So we've definitely developed quite a strict script and dialogue for situations and what we're trying to execute at the time," said Boyd.

"I remember in the beginning sometimes [Erin] justmight not say the same things that she was thinking becauseshe would just assume that I would do it," she added. "So that's one thing we've worked on. And it's come a long way, and we're doing a lot better with that, and it's made a huge improvement in our sailing overall."

"We live together 24-7 so it can get a bit intense attimes, said Rafuse. "But we know how to work around eachother and put it all together."

Rafuse and Boyd both draw on their psychology degrees to get into each other's heads, with Rafuseearning her degree at Carleton University in 2012.

Boyd's degree, in psychology and English, is from Dalhousie University. She said she also draws on the English degree to help her cope with the demands of living anOlympian's life.

"I tend to live in a little bit of a fantasylandwhilewe're going around, so when I need to be happy I think of...my favourite books and... what those heroes always learn," said Boyd.

"I'm a big Game of Thrones fan, so I'll mostlygo with, 'OK, my life isn't as hard as how Arya Stark is doing right now.'"