On July 20, before Race Week brought hundreds of people to Marblehead to compete on the waves, Marblehead’s youngest sailors took center stage at Junior Race Week.
The annual youth regatta drew 170 sailors from around Marblehead and the North Shore.
Ages from eight to 18, the kids sailed in Optimist and 420 class sailboats and participated in 12 races outside of Marblehead Harbor over the three-day regatta.
The conditions were perfect.
“It went really well. It was really fun to get to race at home, and me and my crew were really starting to bond throughout the week, so it was just really fun,” said Maggie Svencer, a 16-year-old sailor at Marblehead’s Pleon Yacht Club, who won first place in the 420 Championship Division alongside crewmate Jack Gabriel.
Getting a chance to win first place on their home turf was a special experience. Svencer, who has competed in Junior Race Week since she was 10 years old, said sailing continues to challenge her both mentally and physically.
“Sailing is a really great sport. There’s lots of tactics involved so you have to use your brain a lot, which I love to do,” she said. “And I just love getting out on the water.”
Pleon sailor Grafton Hamilton, who finished fourth in the 420 Championship fleet with crewmate Clare Bush, said racing against new competitors was one of the week’s highlights.
“My favorite part of the race was just being out there and meeting new people,” said Hamilton. “It was definitely really cool.”
Pleon Commodore Thomas Svencer, 18, served on the race committee boat this year, overseeing the 420 course. He said the regatta featured close competition throughout all three days.
“It was a really good regatta. We had three good days of tight competitive racing out there,” Svencer said.
Svencer, who is heading to the University of Wisconsin this fall, grew up sailing at the Pleon Yacht club, and got the chance to step up this year and lead the younger sailors as commodore. Watching from the race committee boat gave Svencer a new perspective.
“It was weird being on the other side of it,” he said. “ But it was good to see the next generation of sailors coming in and racing.”
Jim Dasilva, co-chair of the Marblehead Junior race week, said that the regatta this year showcased the talent and leadership skills of the young sailors, as well as the strength of the local sailing community.
“You don’t find many places in youth sports where the leadership is the kids themselves. We’re also really fortunate to have this community that rallies together,” DaSilva said. “It was definitely a whole-harbor effort.”
420 CHAMP
1. Maggie Svencer, Jack Gabriel, Pleon Yacht Club
2. Reed Ostrom, Layla Gustafson, Ipswich Junior Sailing
3. Nicholas Paratore Bock, Otto Richon, Pleon
4. Grafton Hamilton, Clare Bush, Pleon
5. Hudson Bryant, Quinn Macgillivray, Hingham Yacht Club
6. Maxwell Pulitzer, Oona McPherson, KSEA
7. Bodie Dengler, Reese Smith, Winchester Boat Club
8. Jack Silvia, Declan Baker, Cohasset Yacht Club
9. Sage Wadlow, Ben Fava, Pleon
10. William Breitbeil, Robbie Servidio, Sail Maine
11. Aisling Conley, Sam Guardino, Hingham Maritime Center
12. Henry Hutchinson, Levi Hutchinson, Sail Maine
13. Henry Armstrong, Zoe Pulitzer, KSEA
14. Henry Turkel, Zevin Marques, Sandy Bay Yacht Club
15. Kai Kovar, Freyja Kruuse, Pleon
16. Connor Horrigan, Will Donovan, Hingham Maritime Center
17. Gabrielle Migliazzo, Maia Morris, Pleon
18. Katy Hassanein, Maggie Maynard, Agamenticus Yacht Club
19. Will Sipes, Brody Fitzgerald, Cohasset Yacht Club
20, Benjamin Gabriel, Irma Dressel, Pleon
21. Jack Barder, Gertie Goulding, Winchester Boat Club
22. Wyatt Reynolds, Teddy Morris, Winchester Boat Club
23. Augustine Taboada, Robert Perry, Community Boating
24. Evelyn Green, Judah Helman, SailMaine
25. Fiore Finocchiaro, Nikki Carr, NSP
26. Michael Carner, Sophia Ott, MSA
27. Asa Bardsley, Anders Burkhart, MSA
28. Oliver Reynolds, Gracie Infurna, Winchester Boat Club
29. Valen Frederick, Yanze Chen, Community Boating Inc
30. Finn Wootten, Ananda Schaff, KSEA
31. Colby Bernier, Cal Patton, Cohasset Yacht Club
32. James Lamb, Arno Burkhart, MSA
33. Owen Kelley, Rui Yang, Community Boating
34. Lexa Sabattis, Kay Vazquez, Hingham Maritime Center
35. Nate Conley, Taylor Bradl, Hingham Maritime Center
420 GREEN
1. Davy Cowan, Grace Van Alen, SBYC
2. Charles Jordan, Alison St. Onge, Cohasset Yacht Club
3. Loben Fouser, Matt Plum, MSA
4. Owen McCormick, Charley Gates, Pleon
5. Fletcher Harmeyer, Wilder Kiper Phelps, Agamenticus Yacht Club
6. Lilla Petrillo, Cooper Woods, Agamenticus Yacht Club
7. Ethan Murphy, Henry Infurna, Winchester Boat Club
8. Violet Slomski, Adriaan Zur Muhlen, Pleon Yacht Club
9. Jonathan Dam, Chase Robidoux, Nahant
10. Collin Hagerty, Addy Weldon, Ipswich Junior Sailing
11. Grace Brennan, Sydney Olson, Pleon
12. Charlie Meade, Henry Sipes, Cohasset Yacht Club
13. Oscar Katsumi, Huxton Duncan-Mooney, Ipswich Junior Sailing
14. Eli Kassatly, Eamon McAllister, Agamenticus Yacht Club
ILCA 6
1. Gabriel Sweeney, Pleon
2. Benjamin De Couto, RBYC
3. Cira Sweeney, Pleon
4. Shamarr Zairre, Eleuthera Sailing Academy
5. Reed Wadlow, Pleon
OPTI CHAMP
1. Nathan Da Silva, Pleon Yacht Club
2. Holden Hayes, Pleon/CYC/NBYC
3. Sebastian McAllister, Pleon
4. Benjamin Shoreman, Pleon
5. Hunter Taylor, Pleon
6. Ellery Cowan, Annisquam Yacht Club
7. John Field, Pleon
8. Jacob Herbster, MSA
9. Jakey Osattin, CYC
10. Samuel (Sam) Rogers, Pleon
11. Miles Crocker, MSA
12. Alexandre Migliazzo, Pleon
13. Alexander Ott, MSA
14. Brendan Boulter, MYC/BYC/pleon
15. Robert Minshall, Pleon YC
16. Myles Lambertz, Pleon Yacht Club
17. Soren Lorenz, Pleon
18. Aiden Flaherty, MSA
19. Lachlan Hamilton, Pleon
20. JB Connolly, Pleon
21. Claire Taplett, AYC
OPTI GREEN
1. Mackenzie Bulger, Pleon
2. Thayer Kellogg, MSA
3. Henry Turner, Manchester Sailing Association
4. Eleanor Mitchell, Pleon YC
5. Coleman Sertich, Pleon
6. Luca Paratore, Sandy Bay Yacht Club
7. Isabelle Roosvall, Pleon
8. Jake Kurti, Pleon
9. Hudson Sheehan, Corinthian Yacht Club
10. Elizabeth Stirgwolt, Pleon
11. Wiley Reynolds, Corinthian Yacht Club
12. Charlie Fleming, Pleon
13. Elliott Parenteau, CYC
14. Charles Shoreman, Pleon
15. William Reynolds, Corinthian Yacht Club
16. Kaya Foster, Pleon
17. Calvin Gabriel, Pleon
18. Stella Wedel, CYC
19. Alder Parenteau, CYC
20. Alden Romagnoli, MSA
21. Isabella Ott, MSA
22. Ian Prost, BYC
23. Cannon Coughlan, Corinthian
24. Simon Minshall, Pleon YC
25. Trevor Umile, MSA
