“Troll”
Jeremy Wilmot hails from Sydney, Australia, but has called Newport, RI home for the past ten years. Nicknamed ‘Troll’ when he was younger because of his resemblance to a troll doll, Jeremy has been sailing since he was 5 years old and comes from a family of distinguished sailors. He began sailing at Middle Harbour Yacht Club, putting together an impressive sailing resume even at a young age. He won the Manly Junior national championship in 1996-97 and sailed a 29er with a young Seve Jarvin. Growing up, Jeremy was the training partner for his brother Nathan in his 470 campaign for the Olympics, with Victor Kovalenko coaching, giving Jeremy first hand experience of what it takes to win a gold medal.
After high school, Jeremy came to Newport, RI to do some sailing on a Swan 44 as a bowman. During the season he warmed to the idea of going to college in the US, and was accepted into St. Mary’s College of Maryland. However, his college career was soon put on hold when he applied for Roy Disney’s feature length sailing film, ‘Morning Light’. Out of 538 applicants, he was chosen for the final crew of 15 to race in the 2007 Transpac on a TP52. During the training and preparation for the race, Jeremy was unanimously selected by his peers to be the skipper and team leader. Even though their result wasn’t what they were hoping for, it helped generate more public interest in sailing by showcasing the fortitude necessary to be a top sailor.
In the fall of that year through the spring of 2011, Jeremy raced with the Bliksem Racing Team as team manager and tactician. He built the team from the ground up, and it soon became a top ranked Melges 32 program: in 2009, the team went undefeated and won the Wold Championship. During his time with Bliksem Racing, Jeremy managed to graduate in 2010 with honors from St. Mary’s with a dual degree in Economics and Fine Arts, showing incredible time-management skills and discipline to accomplish both feats.
After moving on from Bliksem, Jeremy continued to sail as much as possible, from 18ft Skiff’s to Melges 24’s; in the summer of 2013, he trained with Abu Dhabi on a Volvo 70, focusing on steering, trimming, and sail preparation. Each new boat posed different challenges and different perspectives, giving Jeremy unparalleled knowledge of how to make a boat move at its optimum speed, and how to get around the race course faster than the other competitors.
Jeremy has won 14 National Championships, a World Championship in the Melges 32, and a World Championship in the 18ft Skiff on Handicap, among many other accolades. He is now hoping to bring home a gold medal for the little ocean state that adopted him.
