Having weathered the COVID storm alongside the rest of the world, it was with much joy that the Youth Sailing Foundation hosted its sixth annual Rock the Boat fundraiser at the Quail Valley River Club last Monday evening.
More than 250 guests gathered on the “rear deck” of the club for an evening of sunshine to sunset support for the YSF mission to provide educational, recreational and competitive sailing programs for all ages.
Guests took full advantage of the first evening of daylight savings time, as they enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before the Vero Beach Pipes and Drums officially kicked things off.
“We have over 200 kids sailing at YSF,” said board chair Pat Harris. “It’s just an amazing success story. The support of this community and donors like you really made the difference.”
After making their way to food stations laden with an impressive selection of dishes, attendees were treated to dinner and a show, as Mary Morgan, YSF sailing director, related what was taking place during a regatta demonstration.
Each of four racing heats featured sailors at various training levels, from beginners to the high school varsity team. Many guests had purchased raffle tickets bearing mast numbers and races, and the winners from each heat took home a bottle of wine and a free sailing lesson, compliments of YSF.
In the third race, the sailors showcased the Feva boats obtained through a Siebold grant from US Sailing. YSF was one of 17 centers in the country awarded the grant, explained Stu Keiller, executive director.
“The main (grant) criteria is inclusion and serving the whole community. When they looked at the demographic of our sailor group of about 200, 49 percent are from underserved homes,” said Keiller, noting that a big part of the YSF focus is enabling access to everyone.
“We gave out 40 scholarships last summer, so we had a lot of underserved kids represented at the summer camps, thanks to Quail Valley Charities funding,” said Keiller.
The nonprofit offers local students free afterschool sailing instruction, and fee-based camps during the summer. When YSF was unable to hold summer camps at Quail Valley and Saint Edward’s School due to COVID closures, the Vero Beach Rowing Club extended a paddle and invited YSF to share their boathouse so that children could continue to participate in safe, outdoor activities.
“We were able to sail right on through COVID. We increased the number of students and could have taken on more if we had more instructors. We had waiting lists for virtually every week, and then we took on people in the evenings for private lessons and on weekends. We had a blockbuster year,” said Keiller.
In true form, the debonair John Moore coaxed spirited bidding on seaworthy live-auction items before tugging at the heart – and purse strings – during a “Sponsor a Sailor” cash call. Bidders generously bid on sponsorships to support student participants in the School Squadron program, and for naming rights for the adaptive sailboats and Shelby Racing Fleet.
YSF founders Charlie and Chris Pope made a surprise announcement that they were donating $100,000 toward the Vero Beach Community Sailing Center, which YSF is currently working toward building. The facility will be a permanent structure where sailing students and residents can enjoy such watersports as sailing, kayaking, canoeing and paddle boarding. With the couple’s donation, the building fund stands at $800,000 toward the projected $3 million needed for site work and construction.
On March 27, YSF will host the South Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association Regatta, and on April 18 they host the Florida East Coast Series Steve Martin Regatta. Summer camp registration begins April 5, for camps starting June 7 at Vero Beach Rowing and July 12 at Saint Edward’s School.
For more information, visit ysfirc.org.
Photos by Kaila Jones
