Youth big boat sailing goes to next level

Published on March 22nd, 2018

Rye, NY (March 22, 2018) – The Young American Sailing Academy, Inc. (YASA) has been formed and incorporated as a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide high school and college sailors opportunities in competitive offshore sailing.

This new initiative is the natural progression of the successful Young American Jr. Big Boat Sailing Team, known for racing the Tripp CTM 41 High Noon in the 635-mile 2016 Newport-Bermuda Race and crossing the line second behind the record-breaking Comanche.

Based at American Yacht Club (Rye, NY), the program has been setting the standard for non-dinghy junior sailing for the past six years. The YASA philosophy is twofold: first to empower junior sailors to take command of vessels by building experiences and skills that create confidence and comfort in any number of conditions at sea, and second, to support junior offshore sailors with an extremely high level of coaching and mentoring.

YASA believes sailing empowers young men and women by developing critical 21st century skills in leadership, teamwork, project management, decision making, and critical thinking. With mentorship and coaching from highly experienced sailing veterans, these young sailors will not only participate but take command in various offshore sailing races where adaptability and confidence become keys to success.

Peter Becker and Robert Alexander have provided guidance since the conception of the Young American team in 2013 and will continue to lead YASA.

With a dedicated J/105 focused on basic training, the team actively sails in both one-design class racing and coastal distance races. Building upon High Noon’s 2016 successes – first in Class, third in St. David’s Lighthouse Division, winner of the Onion Patch Series and winner of the Stephens Brothers Youth Trophy – YASA will continue to present opportunities to grow the numbers of young sailors competing in renowned sailing ocean races.

About Young American Sailing Academy, Inc.:
The Young American Sailing Academy is a not-for-profit with a mission to develop a new generation of American offshore sailors. The goal is to work with high school and college aged junior sailors to give them the tools required to compete at the highest level in the sport of ocean racing.

The goal is to field winning entries in premier national and international sailing events including the potential future Olympic class of offshore sailing. The Young American team has over six years of experience racing coastal and offshore events with numerous and notable victories such as the Block Island Race, Vineyard Race and Newport Bermuda Race. For more information: YASailing.org.

Source: Peter Becker, info@yasailing.org

comment banner

Tags: , ,



Back to Top ↑

Get Your Sailing News Fix!

Your download by email.

  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

We’ll keep your information safe.