MARION — On Sippican Harbor, the sun shone brightly and echoes of laughter could be heard across the waves as over 250 youth sailors boarded C420 and Optimist sailboats to compete in the Beverly Junior Regatta.

The two-day regatta began on Tuesday, August 12. Young competitors from across Southern Massachusetts gathered at Silvershell Beach in Marion to prepare to sail to the starting line.  

“Anyone is welcome to come and we have many different levels,” said Adrienne Greenwalt, chair of the junior regatta. “We have the beginner groups up to the older teenage sailors that are excellent racers.”

Younger sailors with less experience competed in one-person, single-sail Optimist boats, while older kids and teens raced in two-person teams on C420 sailboats. In 2024, the yacht club also added a new windsurfing competition.

Nine-year-old and summertime Marion resident June-Ellen Greenwalt and 10-year-old and summertime Marion resident Lucius Walsh both competed in the regatta for the first time in the Optimist Green Fleet. Sailors in the Green Fleet are novice competitors with the least experience.

Greenwalt and Walsh emphasized that they had fun during the race while navigating different challenges.

“It was a little challenging when I was trying to go upwind, trying to go around the mark,” said Greenwalt, adding that she wanted to make sure her movement was “really controlled” at that moment.

“Upwind was a little hard because the wind just died at the mark,” said Walsh.

His favorite part was successfully making it to the end of his laps.

Ultimately, the yacht club hopes that the regatta helps strengthen the youth participants’ passion for sailing.

“We really hope everybody has fun. We want them to learn something, and we’re hoping that the kids will be able to take away something from pretty ideal sailing conditions, which we don’t always get on Buzzards Bay,” said Greenwalt.