This year’s Newport Bermuda Race proved to be a family affair for seasoned sailor Eric Best and his three children.The distinguished journalist and author of two books sailed the 635 mile race with son Will and daughters Isabella and Emily.At age 12, Isabella was the youngest participant in the race while her 13-year-old brother was the second youngest.Emily, 31, was the most experienced of the siblings having previously sailed in the Pacific Ocean with her father.All of Mr Best’s children were making their first appearance in the biennial ‘Thrash to the Onion Patch’.Like many of her ancestors before her, Isabella took to sailing at a very young age.“I have been sailing since I was five,” she said. “I learned to sail in Maine where my family has lived for more than 100 years.”Isabella started sailing in the Optimist dinghy before progressing to the 420 and Sunfish. One of her goals is to sail for Team USA in the America’s Cup.The promising sailor sailed in this year’s Newport Bermuda Race aboard her father’s Swan 65, Feo, that did not finish the race due to lack of winds.The weather conditions at the end of the race were a far cry from the tall seas and 20 to 30 knot winds that had buffeted the fleet as they made their way towards the Gulf Stream.“It was really intense in the beginning but after that it was totally flat,” Isabella said. “It was serious and a big deal ... but I was determined to nail this thing.”One of the young sailor’s most special moments arrived during the final leg of the race.“There were some huge dolphins out there and they came right under us,” she said. “One of them turned and looked me in the eye and I thought that was really amazing.”Seventh-grader Will reckons he gained valuable experience from his maiden ocean crossing.“I thought it was a great learning experience,” he said. “I thought the race was very intense and you had to concentrate.“It was so much fun sailing with all my siblings and my dad and I’d definitely like to do it again.”Mr Best, who has made two solo trips from San Francisco to Hawaii aboard his yacht, said his two youngest children held their own during their maiden Newport Bermuda Race.“I think they did wonderfully,” he said. “My son fought sea sickness a bit and came out the other side in pretty good shape.“They both learned a lot about steering a tough downwind course and what it is like to stay at the helm for an hour — although they only had to do that once. They were good natured and said they had a lovely time and it means a lot to me that they enjoy sailing.”Mr Best made his Newport Bermuda Race debut aboard Feo in 2002. That occasion also saw the passionate sailor fail to finish the race due to lack of wind.“Maybe I need a faster boat and bigger sails,” Mr Best joked. “My boat is slow, but it’s bullet proof.“When it was blowing 35 knots we were doing very well and then when it dropped we did very badly.”Also among the youngest sailors in this year’s Newport Bermuda Race was Bermuda’s own Hannah Horsefield, 15, and Dimitri Stevens, 16.At age 82, local sailing legend Warren Brown was one of the most senior sailors in the race.Mr Brown, Hannah and Dimitri all sailed aboard the 118ft triple mast sloop, Spirit of Bermuda, that was the sole entry in the new Spirit of Tradition Division.In all, 166 boats participated in the ‘Thrash to the Onion Patch’ that was first held in 1906.