After ending last year with a state championship title, the Wellesley sailing team are currently division champions with the best record in the league.
Going into this season, the team faced a challenge to replace one of their top sailors, Jack Welburn, who is currently sailing at the Naval Academy. But they have also benefited from new boats and new sailors. The one thing that has not changed? The team’s motivation and hard work.
The team practices almost every day at Lake Cochituate in good weather. They race against other schools to see who is the fastest. Some of their steepest competition comes against the nearbySharon High School, and in their league, Winchester High School and Hingham High School. Last year the sailing team finished the season with a record of 9-4, at the top of their league.
For Coach Mr. Larry Lovett, in 11th year with the Sailing team, the most exciting part of a new season is seeing the younger sailors progress.
“Last year, I was pleasantly surprised by our young sailors and how well they were doing by the end of the season. So I’m excited to see how many of them move up to varsity and sail well,” he said.
Summer Mills ‘23 was a part of the team that won the state championship last year and this year she is co-captain alongside Genna Gallico 23’.
“I think the team has been successful, because we all want to prove to ourselves and prove to everyone that sailing is not a joke and it’s still a sport,” Mills said. “I think that everyone who’s on the team just wants to do as best as we can.”
A big contributor to the team’s success is their camaraderie. In addition to the competitive aspect of the sport, the sailing team is a great environment that focuses on developing leadership, sportsmanship and teamwork skills, which are valuable on and off the water.
When asked whether the team can repeat the success of last season, Mills believes that they can. “We have a good energy to bring and I think everyone is really excited to come out firing.”