Sofiane Karim, is an 18-year-old French sailor, a sailing coach, and when it comes to describing his love of the sport, a poet.

“You play with the elements,” he says of sailing Laser Radials. “You play with the water, you play with the wind, play with the current, with the clouds everything,” he says.

“And you also have to take care of the boat and you have to take care of yourself.

“You learn a lot by sailing, that is why it is my favourite sport.”

Sofiane is in Australia on a gap year, coaching at Woollahra Sailing Club and here to “learn English” even though he can speak it perfectly.

Home is Antibes (“Have you visited? You must”), between Cannes and Nice on the French Riviera, where the winds are lighter than Sydney Harbour and the water often choppier.

Two months ago he swapped one beautiful sailing locale for another, for Sydney offers the additional pleasures of skating and surfing. “I can sail in the morning and go surfing in the afternoon,” he says.

Tall at a young age, the Laser Radial suited him, but he is aiming for a Laser full rig or 49er, although he is a bit light for those at the moment but he is confident he can put some weight on.

He was seven when he went on water for the first time, his stepfather booked him in for a holiday activity. The Summer holiday sailing camp lasted a week. But Sofiane immediately went back for a second week, and by the next month he returned a got a licence.

Fast forward to now and Sofiane is sponsored by Banc Populaire. He dreams in the future of making enough money to live and sail.

Also: “Go to the Olympics and have medals there. And sail at the SailGP and America’s Cup and steer those boats. That would be the dream.”