Whiplash Fast The Whiplash fast: The crew of the J 35 ocean racing sloop hikes to windward during the 2005 Seguin Races. (Photo Judy Leoni)

And, oh, how the young crew is serving the health and future of the sport of ocean racing on the Maine coast in return.

Whiplash is currently on top of the Gulf of Maine Ocean Racing Association standings and is the boat and crew to beat this year

Five years ago, Sash Spencer, owner of the high performance J 35 sailing sloop Whiplash, decided to expose the young sailors of the Southport Yacht Club to the joy of big boat sailboat racing.

Spencer invited several talented young members of the 82-year-old club on his boat as crew. Sash's guests enthusiastically and energetically responded by quickly learning and mastering the tasks needed to make the Whiplash go fast in GMORA regattas.

Whiplash's successful formula of bringing aboard young talented dinghy sailors has attracted attention.

Inspired by Spencer and Whiplash's youthful SYC crew, GMORA recently introduced a new initiative to encourage more youthful engagement in the sport of youth racing. GMORA, beginning earlier this season, awards the Hank Spencer Trophy (named for the Sash Spencer's younger brother, a frequent Whiplash crew member who passed away two years ago), to the best performing boat with at least 30 percent of its crew being 18 years old or younger.

"Anyone who has followed the exploits of Sash Spencer's J 35 Whiplash over the last few years knows what youth can do for your performance," said Geoff Emmanuel, GMORA's president and director.

Concerns for the future of ocean racing have arisen following an increasing trend over the past two decades of young sailors of leaving the sport at age 15 or 16, according to Emmanuel.

Thousands of young sailors hone their skills in sailing dinghies including Turnabouts, Optis and 420s in many outstanding junior sailing programs, such as the Southport Yacht Club, only to then leave the sport.

"Fewer young people are engaging in racing,' said Emmanuel. "There are so many choices these days, we need to provide incentives to keep them involved."

Ocean sailing racing, both nationally and locally, is increasingly comprised of older participants primarily in their forties, fifties and older. This ongoing trend of not "priming the pump" with young talent diminishes the quality and talent level of the regattas.

Whiplash's young sailors underscore the widely-held belief in yachting circles that dinghy sailors make the best big boat sailors.

"My personal belief is that dinghy sailors are just plain better at understanding the nuances of how to make the boat go fast," said Emmanuel.

"Yes," said Ben Leoni, the youthful helmsman of the Whiplash. "There's a well-known quote in sailing circles that `Big boats get the glory while small boats make the sailor.'"

Leoni, a graduate of the Southport Yacht Club, has sailed aboard Whiplash in nearly every GMORA regatta for the past five years.

Leoni credits Whiplash's GMORA successes, in large measure, to the quality of instruction and support of the Southport Yacht Club.

"Southport produces good sailors from the get-go," said Leoni. "The program focus on teaching the fundamentals right from the beginning. The skills we learn on the small boats at the Southport Yacht Club are directly transferable to the larger boats, such as the dynamic of flying a 420 spinnaker is the same as on the larger racing boats.

"Yes, our success," said Finn Carroll, a 16-year-old crew-mate of Leoni, accomplished foredeck sailor and an SYC instructor, "comes in part from the small boat skills learned at Southport as well as the team confidence building we receive on Whiplash."

Young Southport Yacht Club members that regularly join Leoni and Carroll on Whiplash are Anna McConnell, Meredith Leoni, Tristan Berne, Jay Darwin, Harrison Smith and Clara Carroll.

At the recently held Seguin Island Trophy Races, the Whiplash crew took first place in Class A competition, as well as the Hank Spencer Trophy.

The confidence of Whiplash's youthful sailors was evidenced in last year's Seguin Regatta when the crew decided to fly a spinnaker in very strong wind when the rest of the fleet opted against it. "Sure we blew out the chute a few times," said Leoni, "but the kids were comfortable with wiping out and we continued to pass many boats as a result."

At the Southport Yacht Club, it is all about sailing, particularly supporting the development of their youthful sailors. Since the founding of the club's junior program in the 1950s the yacht club has sparked the love of sailing in hundreds of young people and produced countless accomplished sailors.

The Southport Yacht Club prospers today, having an enrollment of nearly 150 sailors. Many of the program's current youngsters are children of former students

The club has a fleet of twelve 420s, eight Optis and a sizable number of (privately owned and collectively used) beloved Turnabouts.

Perhaps the yacht club's greatest asset are its devoted, caring and accomplished sailing instructors. Many of the instructors, such as Leoni, were former students.

The Southport Yacht Club's support of its young sailors was evident in 1999 when the club raised $4,000 to support national collegiate sailing champion Pete Smith in an international regatta in France.

Ted Smith, of Hodgdon Yachts of East Boothbay, contributes his sailing acumen and talents as Whiplash's skipper. "These kids have remarkable talent and it shows with how successful they have been," said Smith. "They are enthusiastic, very agile, bright, are able to focus and very energetic. The crew is also very ego-free."

"Ted Smith allows everyone to give him input," said boat-driver Leoni. "Decisions are made through group consensus. He allows the crew to have fun, but when the racing begins it is all business."

"We all get along great all the time," said Carroll, "it is great fun to be on the water."

Thanks to the contributions of the Southport Yacht Club, Sash and Hank Spencer, Ted Smith and GMORA, the thrill of ocean sailing is being perpetuated.

Reporter Daniel Fayen can be reached at (207) 633-4620 or at danielemmett@yahoo.com.