news release

Youth Sailing Foundation (YSF) will host the Seventh Annual Steve Martin Regatta on Sunday afternoon, April 18, 2021. Sailing from the Vero Beach Waste Water Treatment Plant campus south of the 17^th Street Bridge the first gun will sound at 12:30 PM. The public is cordially invited.

The Regatta is the Florida East Coast Series #4 with sailing teams from Daytona Beach to Miami converging on Vero Beach to race on the Indian River Lagoon. Four classes of sailboats will compete:  Opti, Feva, Club 420, and Open Skiff. Over fifty boats sailing courses both east and west of the Intracoastal Waterway will create a beautiful panorama of white sails against the blue Lagoon.  

Steve Martin was a dedicated volunteer who taught sailing at YSF. He was a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy, sailed in the 1964 Olympic Trials, and was inducted into the Academy’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. After meeting is wife Eileen they sailed the world before coming ashore in Vero Beach to raise a family and build a citrus business. An environmentalist and staunch protector of the Lagoon, Steve served as Chairman of the Marine Advisory Commission for thirty-eight years. He passed away in 2013 doing what he loved, rigging a sailboat for a junior sailor.

Steve Martin’s legacy of seamanship and sportsmanship will be on display April 18 as sailors ages 9 to 18 venture out to compete in a sport they all love. Like Steve, many will “Sail for Life”.  Sailing disciplines young minds to focus on the dynamic problem of powering a boat by wind alone. One can go from sailing to swimming in a heartbeat if not concentrating. The exhilaration of sailing builds confidence and self-esteem enabling a young person to achieve their full potential.

Come enjoy an afternoon along the banks of the Indian River Lagoon and watch the pageantry as fifty boats and eighty sailors rig, launch, and silently sail out to the line for the thrill of racing.                                                                                                                                  

Youth Sailing Foundation of Indian River County, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit devoted to eliminating cultural and financial barriers to sailing. Numerous youth programs are offered throughout the year, many of them free to participants.  For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit:  www.ysfirc.org.