Marie Kent steps onto a plane headed for France today, where she will compete alongside three team mates in the first of five regattas in the Women's International Match Racing Series.

Marie Kent's spent a lot of time in and around boats growing up. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

For the 20-year-old former Otumoetai College student, this is the first step in her professional sailing career and one she hopes will only lead to bigger and better things.

But she knows it won't be a walk in the park – or a sail along the stream.

'It's the first step to being the best, and I think it's going to be a really steep learning curve, but I think we'll be able to hold our own.”

Marie and her five team members – all in their earlier twenties – make up one of, if not, the youngest teams in the competition series.

The team, who sail together in Auckland where Marie now lives and studies, applied for entry into the competition and were thrilled and shocked to be accepted five weeks ago.

'It was a mixture of excitement and panic, but we're all really excited. It's kind of the first step onto the professional league.

'It's a pretty cool for us to have this opportunity.”

They will sail in either four person or six person boats, against Olympic teams in five regattas this year: in France, Korea, Denmark, New York and Sweden.

The daughter of Tauranga Boat Sales owner Brian Kent, Marie has spent much of her life on and around the water – and she says it was a natural progression to the professional league.

'I've always been around boats and Dad's been sailing since he was little.

'I got into dinghies here at the Tauranga Yacht Club and when I moved up to Auckland, I joined a youth programme, training and doing regattas.

'It's a really good pathway to getting to do this sort of thing.”