Learning the Ropes with YSF Community Sailing

Imagine you’re a child in a two-person sailboat gliding soundlessly along the Indian River Lagoon with your teammate. You’re learning how to judge the wind’s speed and direction and how to set the rudder and trim the sails. You’re gaining confidence, enjoying being outdoors after school, and, in general, having fun!

That’s exactly what youth aged 8 to 18 have the opportunity to experience in Indian River County, thanks to YSF (Youth Sailing Foundation) Community Sailing.

It doesn’t matter what school you attend, or if you are homeschooled. It also doesn’t matter where you live, or even if you’re homeless. Do you have a disability? That’s not a problem, either, because YSF has a program for you, and will pick you up if you need transportation.

And did we mention that if you can’t pay for the sailing lessons, they’re free?

These are just some of the reasons YSF is thriving and now serving over 300 youngsters a year with its roster of certified instructors, fleet of 80 sailboats, and cadre of dedicated volunteers. It’s also why the program is ready to break ground on its own 10,000-square-foot sailing center, located on a 3-acre waterfront park, furthering its mission to enrich the lives of children through sailing.

“We are truly a community sailing center, with the emphasis on ‘community,’” says Stu Keiller, YSF’s immediate past executive director and current project manager for the construction of the new center. “Sailing was once deemed to be a sport only for the affluent, but YSF has made an effort to dispel that notion. We serve children in 35 to 40 schools in the county and have a homeschool group of around 40 students.”

He continues, “About half of our kids are from underserved homes. Twenty-seven percent are minority sailors, split equally between Hispanic and African American. We work with the Homeless Children’s Foundation to introduce sailing to homeless children. We pick them up, give them snacks, clothing, water shoes and make them feel welcome and part of the program.”

In addition, YSF operates a robust program for children and adults with special needs, as well as their caregivers.

YSF offers fall and spring semesters of lessons, plus a summer camp. The first semester is free to everyone. Thereafter, families that are able pay a modest fee, which amounts to only 15 percent of the actual cost. Donations, grants, and fees from both youth and adult sailing programs offset the other 85 percent.

YSF promotes the sport to teach life lessons such as perseverance, focus, and teamwork. It has also formally introduced STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning into the program.

“The students learn academic principles through the experience of sailing,” explains current executive director Chris Drake. “Before each lesson, the instructors explain what they are going to do, then they get into a sailboat and put those things into practice. Afterward, instructors explain how and why what they did on the water achieved the desired result.”

Students are tested at the beginning and end of each semester, and YSF documents that the children are learning and retaining the academic principles.

“Attendance is required, which teaches another life lesson,” Drake adds. “We ask for 90 percent or better attendance.” Parents and caregivers attend an orientation at the beginning of their children’s participation.

YSF was founded in 2009 by Charlie and Chris Pope, initially to teach youngsters in Vero Beach how to build a simple sailboat and sail it. By 2016 the organization was ready to advance to the next level, and it selected Keiller—a sailing enthusiast and retired business executive, entrepreneur, and naval officer—as its first executive director.

Keiller determined that building YSF one child at a time would take too long. “So,” he says, “Mary Morgan, who was our only instructor, and I went to three schools—Beachland Elementary, Gifford Middle School, and Osceola Magnet School—and we recruited 16 students from each school. We called them a squadron, and that was our start.”

The numbers grew quickly, and today there is a waiting list. Keiller is not surprised. “We have a wonderful product, and it’s free or almost free. The kids promote the program among their friends, and parents recognize the value.”

Initially, YSF chartered school buses to transport the children after school, but a grant from the Homeless Children’s Foundation enabled the organization to purchase two vans and a bus.

In late 2023, to reflect its expanding mission, YSF changed its name from Youth Sailing Foundation to YSF Community Sailing.

A sailing director and three full-time instructors work with the students, and some 30 volunteers help maintain the facilities and the fleet of 80 sailboats and 10 small motorboats that serve as safety boats. Volunteers also fix up boats that are donated so they can be sold to generate extra funds. Another 20 volunteers help on the water. The program for special needs students is manned solely by volunteers. “Our volunteers are a dedicated group and put in over 5,000 man-hours a year,” Drake says.

Drake, who joined YSF as executive director in 2023, retired from the Shelter Island, New York police force, where he ran the department’s patrol division and marine patrol. “One of my goals is to formalize the process of accreditation by U.S. Sailing, which is the national governing body for sailing in the United States. We are already meeting or exceeding the standards through our current practices, and it’s now a matter of documenting them and applying for accreditation.”

YSF relies primarily on donations and grants, most of which are local, to make up its annual $800,000 budget. In addition, a successful building campaign raised $5.25 million, of which $500,000 is being set aside in a maintenance endowment fund to pay for the future upkeep of the Community Sailing Center and surrounding facilities and park.

The Miller Family Foundation provided a $1 million naming grant and decided that the facility will be called the Pat Harris Community Sailing Center. Harris, who died in 2023, was chairman of the YSF board for eight years and served in myriad other volunteer roles. He was a true lover of sailing, dedicated to introducing others to its benefits.

Keiller sums up YSF’s vision for its future standing in the community: “We want to be on par with the other major community-based institutions in Indian River County, such as Riverside Theatre, Vero Beach Museum of Art, and Vero Beach Rowing.”

YSF is definitely on the right heading!