Railey recently won the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, defeating 35 boats from 10 countries. Prior to that, she also won US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR.

The win that means the most to her though, came in July of 2003 in Madeira, Portugal. It was there that Railey took home the title at the International Sailing Federation Youth Sailing World Championships.

“I have to say the feeling of winning is amazing,” she said. “That’s the thing that motivates me the most. When I had won the worlds and I went up onto the podium and they played the anthem for me and put the flag up, that was a pretty cool feeling.”

It’s a feeling Railey plans to continue having in the future.

Although she states Olympic gold as her “ultimate” goal, Railey tries to take each regatta as it comes and not think too far ahead.

“I just kind of take one race at a time and try to sail my best,” she said. “If you think about the end results too much then you get nervous, but it’s always in the back of my head to win or place. You just have to take one race at a time and learn as much as possible.”

Railey acknowledges feeling a slight pressure regarding her ranking and the expectations that come along with it. She doesn’t dwell on it, however, or the fact that US SAILING will only send one sailor in each discipline to the 2008 Olympic Games.

“I’m thinking about the summer, learning as much as possible and trying to get better now so that when the trials come I am prepared,” Railey said.

After she graduates this month from Clearwater High School she will head to Europe for the summer to train and compete.

“There’s more competition over there and the regattas are at a really high level so it’s more competitive,” Railey said. “A lot of people go over there and sail because they want to be sailing against the best sailors in the world.”

She’ll have plenty of experiences to pull from if she’s asked to write an essay about what she did on her summer vacation, when she returns to the States in the fall and starts classes at the University of South Florida.

Railey said she will spend her first semester living on campus and taking classes before leaving. While traveling, she plans to maintain her coursework via the internet.

The University of South Florida, where women’s sailing is a varsity sport, has been more than accommodating with her schedule, Railey said.

“They’re going to help me out a lot with my sailing,” she said. “They’re going to give me time off when I have to go away to sail competitions and they’re going to let me go from living on campus to internet schooling before coming back. They’re really willing to work with me.”

Hard work is nothing new for Railey, who trains every day of the week. As the international Olympic sailing community completes the transition from Europe to Laser Radial equipment in Singlehanded Women Dinghy division, other sailors may now have to work harder to keep up with Railey, who has been using radial equipment all along. Although it should give her a slight advantage, Railey is quick to point out that most of her competitors have an edge over her in a different area.

“I think it gives me an advantage in a way, but I’m also young, so in the racing aspect people have an advantage over me,” she said. “It all evens out.”

Although Railey’s talents may be “different” for a sailor her age, the Florida native said off the water she enjoys doing “girl things” and spending time with friends. Despite sailing three days a week to train, she also loves to spend her free time out on the water.