Student letters in boat sport

Ask most sailors why they took to the sport and they’ll say something about how they love the water or enjoy moving from point A to point B without an engine.

Some sailors say they like the competition at regattas, the strategy, the attention to details that sailing demands.

Ask sailor Wick Kelley about why he sails and be prepared for an amusing and truthful answer.

“I had to choose from sailing, horseback riding or aviation, so I picked sailing,” said Kelley, 15. “I never wanted to fly, and I don’t like horses.”

Life’s like that, isn’t it? Sometimes we end up in the middle of something and realize the way we got there wasn’t typical but the time we’re having is rewarding.

Kelley just received a varsity letter in sailing.

He’s skilled at it. He likes it. And he has an opportunity many teenagers don’t — lettering in a boating sport.

Most schools either don’t offer sailing or it’s a club sport.

Kelley goes to an elite boarding school called The Culver Academies on Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver, Ind.

Yup, he cultivated his love for sailing in a landlocked state. It’s an odd thing for a boy from Fort Myers.

The former Canterbury School student never sailed when he lived here with his parents, W. and Bridget Kelley. The couple only recently bought a boat.

But that’s OK. He was a quick study.

He first sampled the world of sails, masts and booms when he attended a Culver summer camp. That’s where the multiple choice quiz popped up.

Hmm. Loud planes, large four-legged animals or a serene, slick two-man boat. I think I’d have chosen the same.

The sophomore joined the sailing team for the first time this fall and competed in a double-handed sailboat called a 420.

“Wick brings a dedication and competitive spirit to the team that makes him a strong sailor,” coach Bruce Holaday said.

Competition is a constant at Culver, an academy of 739 ninth- through 12th-graders where boarding tuition is $25,000 and each student gets a personal wireless Dell laptop. Students come from 25 countries and 35 states.

It’s known for its aviation program, hockey and Black Horse Troop — a mounted unit that frequents presidential inaugural parades.

His friends tease him about being a sailor. “Everybody thinks it’s kind of slow and not interesting,” Kelley said.

That’s kind of what a lot of people think until they learn how.

“I didn’t expect to like it,” he said.

Now he knows about the world sailing opens. It’s a lifetime activity, he said, and an individual sport within a team sport.