Young sailors tested with winds, waters and independence at regatta

Before the boats began to launch for the first race of the 27th annual Junior Regatta, New Bedford Yacht Club sailing coach Dom Spinola described the pressure his team was under: racing on their home bay, expected to know the wind better than anyone else.

However, Buzzards Bay tends to have its own plans.

“They’ve been training hard, putting everything they have into it,” Spinola said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

For many of the 250 young sailors who converged on the bay Saturday and Sunday, it wasn’t just about placing well in a race. It was about making decisions on their own, learning to trust themselves — and dealing with whatever the wind decides to do.

Sailing director Brianna Grenier said that’s the core of what makes junior sailing unique: the level of independence it demands from kids, with many of them still not yet old enough to drive.

“This is their first interaction with something that’s completely independent,” she said. “You are in charge of your boat. There’s no one there to tell them what to do.”

“You need to read the wind,” Grenier added. “You need to read the water. You need to time everything right — do everything correct — all by yourself,” she said.

Three racing circles filled the bay across the two-day regatta: one for C420s and Lasers, another for the Opti Championship fleet and a final circle for the green fleet beginners.

Among those in the C420s were hometown teams from the New Bedford Yacht Club, including sailors Cooper Lenci with Hoyt Hottel and Ren Hirose with J.D. Lenci. Though they didn’t place near the top — finishing 48th and 47th, respectively — they were part of a competitive local team that’s been training intensely in recent weeks.

“They are going great,” Cooper said. “Dom’s a great coach … and we have a home field advantage. We know where the wind’s coming from.”

Looking ahead to the competition, Hirose said, “We’re excited and we hope that the wind will fill in, so we can get some good races today.”

Sam Sperry, racing with his brother Finn in their last year at the junior regatta, noted, “Usually in Buzzards Bay you get this nice like 15 mile per hour wind all year, but… every time this regatta happens, it’s always some weird stuff going on.”

He said this is especially difficult when all their practicing happens with the good wind.

Still, the Sperry brothers made the most of their final lap around the course, placing sixth overall under the name “Chicken Joe.”

“It’s your last year — it kind of has to be your best year, right?” Sam said. “You’ve been practicing for all these years, so this is going to be a good one, I think.”

The brothers have sailed together at the club for years, following in the footsteps of their dad, who once sailed around the world with a bunch of his friends. Last year, Finn competed in a national competition in New Jersey and won — beating out high-tech teams with what he described as “an old-fashioned club team.”

“It was a great underdog story,” Finn said.

The Junior Regatta has grown significantly since its early days, when it was a small local event organized by Mary Kavanaugh. Jennifer Vescio, wife of Commodore Stephen P. Vescio, served as chair and co-chair for 15 years and said the regatta now draws competitors from across the country.

Grenier called the event “controlled chaos” and that’s what she loves about it: “It’s definitely a lot of chaos, but it’s fun.”

Patricia Hottel, whose son Hoyt has been sailing since he was four or five, said the sport has helped shape him.

“It gives them a sense of community… and it’s so empowering because they work as a team,” she said. “Seeing him grow as the young man that he has — his sense of responsibility to be on time, his sense of responsibility to work as a team — it’s just been a wonderful club.”