Indian River County - Friday June 2, 2023: The Youth Sailing Foundation (YSF) held its First Annual Awards Picnic on May 6 at the Environmental Learning Center (ELC).
Over one hundred and fifty sailors and families attended.
The event gave gave parents and sailors a chance to explore the learning center and gaining a better understanding of the Indian River lagoon.
The first annual “Seamanship Award” sponsored by Barth Construction had co-winners Moses Hightower and Nicholas LaRochelle accepting their plaques from CEO, and community sailing member, Phil Barth.
The award is given to a sailor who exhibits outstanding seamanship skills - rigging, navigation, rules of the road and safety.
These two sailors are proficient sailing the Feva, Sunfish, Laser, and Hobie classes. Moses joined us in the afterschool Adventure class this past Fall, while Nicholas is a multi-year participant of our homeschool adventure class.
The first annual “Corinthian Award”, sponsored by Tom and Louise Kappus, was given to Kenleigh Flynt for exceptional sportsmanship following the Corinthian principles of fair-play. Kenleigh is another multi-year participant of our homeschool Adventure program and has shown us years worth of outstanding character and sportsmanship.
The New York Yacht Club “Sailor of the Year” award was presented to Alex Delamater. Alex sailed the 2022 United States Opti National Championship regatta on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon during the summer of 2022 and finished in the top 50% to qualify for the 2023 finals. He, his family, and YSF Coach Roberto Ayala were in St. Petersburg Florida competing in the 2023 Optimist Team Trials so the award was accepted on Alex’s behalf by Sailing Director Ben Chafee.
Jennifer LaRochelle was awarded “Parent of the Year” for her tireless work organizing and inspiring homeschool families to join her two sons sailing at YSF. Over forty homeschool sailors participated in two per week sailing classes during the 2022-23 academic year. In addition, Jennifer served on YSF’s “Rock the Boat” gala committee that staged a very successful fundraiser on March 13, 2023 and has helped YSF find new and unique grant opportunities, increasing our fundraising capabilities and expanding our community outreach.