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Setting sail for victory
[Times photos: Fred Victorin]
Young sailors from the St. Petersburg Sailing Center get in some practice recently on Tampa Bay. |
By NATHANIEL DIMURA
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 3, 2003
The young skippers sailing in the Valentine's Day Regatta are putting their hearts into crossing the finish line first.
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ST. PETERSBURG -- The St. Petersburg Sailing Center looks like a huge warehouse upon first glance. But once inside, you discover that it is filled with treasures of sailing equipment, boats and a cheerful sailing team.
But these sailors get serious when they get on the water to prepare for one of the year's biggest races, the Valentine's Day Regatta in Gulfport. The race, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, is just for kids ages 15 and younger.
The regatta has two fleets: the gold fleet for more advanced sailors and the silver fleet for those who are a little less experienced. Each fleet has three age categories. The skippers then compete in various heats to determine winners.
“The wind in your face and the control you have over your boat creates a really fun and relaxing experience,” says Marshall Ellis, 12.
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Marshall Ellis and his teammates practice every Tuesday and Thursday at the center. About a year and a half ago, Marshall's mother told him to choose a sport to pursue. He didn't really enjoy soccer or swimming but found sailing and loved it.
"The wind in your face and the control you have over your boat creates a really fun and relaxing experience," said Marshall, 12, a sixth-grader at Southside Fundamental Middle School.
At last year's regatta, Marshall earned first place in his division.
Andrew Jones and Mateo Vargas, who are on the same team as Marshall, have been sailing for years. Andrew, 14, who is in eighth grade at Southside Fundamental, says he has sailed for five years. Mateo, Andrew says, has been sailing even longer.
Mateo, 10, who is in fifth grade at Lakeview Fundamental, says that sailing runs in his family. He said his father was a member of a sailing team in Colombia during the early 1970s. Mateo has been on the water for most of his life.
Marshall, Andrew, Mateo and some of their teammates, Kyle Sowers, Kelsee Connon, Emily Johnson and Miller Judge, met recently with their coach in a classroom at the sailing center to receive tips on training for this year's regatta.
Then they rigged their boats and launched them into Tampa Bay near the Pier. Marshall wore a waterproof jumper to face the cold, dark and windy day.
As the team members launched their boats, they were proud to show how they had decorated them with the colors and stickers of their favorite sports teams.
The sailing team prepares both physically and mentally for the race. Members eat a hearty meal the night before a race. And they visualize themselves crossing the finish line. On the morning of the race, they do a few upwind sprints to warm up.
The team's coach is Alexis Ackman, who grew up in Newport, R.I., a large sailing community. Her family loved to sail, and she says she "followed suit and sailed like the rest of them."
Ackman was captain of the sailing team at her high school. She now is the Optimist pram coach for the St. Petersburg Sailing Center, and in her spare time still competes. Her team describes her as nice and helpful.
Ackman has accompanied the team throughout Florida. Some of the more experienced sailors, such as Mateo and Andrew, have sailed in San Diego; Rockland, Maine; New Orleans; Wisconsin; and Rhode Island.
The Optimist pram is the only sailboat eligible for the Valentine's Day Regatta. The pram is a popular learning vessel for young skippers because it is practically unsinkable and very manageable.
The pram is about 7 feet long and can carry only two people. It takes two people to lift the sailboat or one person and a rolling dolly to launch the boat. The boat accommodates two people for learning purposes, but for the regatta there will be only one skipper in each boat.
Marshall and his team look forward to the challenge of this year's Valentine's Day Regatta. A win would be terrific, but what they enjoy about sailing will still be there after the race. They share a love for the water, the sport and each other.
If you go
The Valentine's Day Regatta, sponsored by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, will be Saturday and Sunday at the Boca Ciega Yacht Club, 4600 Tifton Drive S in Gulfport. Registration will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday and 8 to 9 a.m. Saturday. The races will begin soon after registration ends Saturday.
Here's the rest of today's Xpress
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