Dear Member,
The Storm Trysail Foundation is completing our 12th year of operation, supporting the educational and safety-at-sea activities of the Storm Trysail Club and other organizations. John Fisher retired as Chairman and President this year after putting the Foundation on the map. I am taking over as Chairman with Barry Gold as Vice Chairman and President. We thank past Board member Eric Kreuter for his service and welcome Gary Jobson to the Board. John Browning, Secretary, will also take over as Treasurer with Lars Forsberg continuing as Legal Advisor and Vice President. Commodore A.J. Evans rounds out the Board with Vice Commodore Ed Cesare as an observer.
The 2019 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta was a huge success with 52 boats and over 400 college sailors from the USA, Canada and France. Thank you Event Chairman and PRO Butch Ulmer, our sponsors, and the huge number of volunteers.
We supported five Junior Safety at Sea (SAS) seminars for over 400 young sailors, and continued to offer our advanced Level 200 program for juniors who had already taken a seminar. Thank you Program Chairman Kelly Robinson, your Committee and volunteers.
In May we ran our annual Hands-On SAS Seminar at New York Maritime (SUNY) with over 260 attendees and 60 volunteers! I chaired and moderated with the support of a great team. We also offered Level 200, the most advanced training available in the USA. It included actually abandoning ship into life rafts. In 2020 the SUNY seminar is scheduled for May 16 and once again we will offer a Texas SAS seminar, partnering with the Houston Yacht Club under the Chairmanship of Chris Lewis on March 28.
During 2018-2019 with the direct participation of Vice Commodore Ed Cesare and others, we raised almost $900,000 to support the Collegiate Offshore Racing Circuit (COSC) founded by member Rich Wilson and friend Pierre Jean. Our grants allowed COSC to acquire ten 33 foot Figaro2 ocean racers from Europe to seed a new intercollegiate sport: offshore racing. Boats have been distributed to Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Webb Institute, New York Maritime, and Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy. Other colleges will soon join, and there is a great opportunity for Storm Trysail members to assist as coaches. It’s exciting to note that in 2024 there will be a mixed (male/female) offshore double handed class at the Paris Olympics based on the Figaro concept.
We wrapped up 2019 with a fantastic Foundation dinner, chaired by Joey Moffitt, and honoring the Fifty Years of Carina. Our host at Indian Harbor Yacht Club was Jonathan Nye, of the family that owned Carina for 25 years before Rives Potts took over. Tied to the Club dock for tours were Carina, looking as new as the day she was built, and one of our Figaros. More than 180 sailors attended (57 who had raced on Carina) and the net contribution to the Foundation exceeded $100,000. Thank you to our donors and sponsors.
As we grow the Foundation, our vision looks to the establishment of multi-year curriculum Junior SAS programs in locations across the country and supporting the growth of Intercollegiate Offshore Regattas and COSC in other US locations. This growth and development will foster our mission to give training to help transition young dinghy sailors to a lifelong love of safe blue water sailing. while providing wonderful volunteer opportunities for Club members.
Our Annual Fund Chairman Steve Minninger will (or has been) in touch with you! Please consider an unrestricted gift to the Storm Trysail Foundation as you make your charitable giving decisions. The future of our sport rests with today’s youth, and creating real life learning opportunities helps prepare them for the future. You may make a gift (cash or stock) to the Storm Trysail Foundation by using one of the links below, or by contacting Whitney Kneisley, Executive Administrator of Storm Trysail, at 914-834-8857.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Richard du Moulin
Chairman, Storm Trysail Foundation