Being a sailor was in his blood. With a father who had been a champion competitive sailor in Long Beach, California, Jim Zellmer was thrown onto the deck of a boat before his memory can recall. “I have been sailing my whole life,” he says. Blowing into first place in 1986 at the 25th Annual Marina del Rey to San Diego race, finishing 10th out of 20 boats selected across the country in the Division 12 US sailing championship for the Alter Cup in 1996, and a handful of podium placements and titles in the years between and thereafter, Zellmer made a name for himself across oceans. He’s competed in numerous Nacra North American Championships, the New England 100 and the Canadian National Championship. After a long-winded reign of racing up and down seaboards, southerly winds drew Zellmer to warmer waters for retirement. “After having sailed in many locations in the US, on both coasts and many lakes across the country, and abroad in St. Martin, I still prefer Sarasota.”
AWARD-WINNING SAILOR JIM ZELLMER TAMES THE MAINSAIL OF HIS FORMULA 18 CATAMARAN.
Drawn to the variety of year-round conditions for sailing and the fervent multihull community here, Zellmer retired to the Gulf Coast of Sarasota with his F18 catamaran in tow. “You could say I moved to Sarasota largely because of the reputation of the Sarasota Sailing Squadron,” he says. “One of the first things we [his wife, Norma, and he] did was join the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. The kids showed such an interest in multihull sailing, I wanted to share my passion and boating skills with them.” Wanting to pass the torch on to these bright-eyed wind navigators, Zellmer retired from retirement and was officially brought on board as a sailing instructor by the Sarasota Youth Sailing program for the next decade. Whether his students’ experiences lead to a lifelong recreational hobby or a professional career—some having gone on to compete in the Olympics—Zellmer has guided and mentored countless youth sailors not only in high-performance sailing but also in sportsmanship, leadership, teamwork paired with diligence, and always choosing the right path for success. “I have many memorable experiences sailing, but coaching the Sarasota Youth Sailing multihull team has meant the most,” he says, proudly noting the seven national championships in the 10 years he coached and representing the USA in the Junior Olympic World Championships in which his teams finished in the top fourth and fifth several times.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN
“Kids know a lot more than we give them credit for,” he says. “I’ve always spoken to them like adults and challenge their brains to think like playing chess on a moving board—the players never stay the same, they shift back and forth, like the waves. How do you get from here and there to the next square most proficiently? They seem to take to that kind of talk.” Zellmer has since retired from coaching full time (for real this time), but he still takes his catamaran out frequently and regularly sails with the young sailors at the club. “Whenever an opportunity arises, I share my knowledge and passion with the students involved with the youth sailing program,” he says. “In the spirit of passing on a rich tradition of a sport that requires self-discipline and commitment, I’m always going to devote myself to teaching youth sailors the tools they need for success and self-evaluation of what sailing means to them in their current and future lives.” SRQ
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN
