Recognized for the right things

by Michelle Slade, Marin Independent Journal
A love for sailing is one of those things that can catch you almost unaware. For most of us who sail it was probably that first time you pushed off a dock with just the wind and water carrying you to a new adventure, like Mark Ivey’s experience learning to sail Sabots in Huntington Harbor (CA) when he was seven years old, sparking his passion for sailing that is still on fire 39 years later.

“Those days were pretty special, the first times you throw the dock lines away,” Ivey, 45, a professional sailor, smiled. “You don’t have a motor and it’s all about the sail, you get to control your own route. It’s a release from everything on land and something that captures sailors.”

Ivey’s list of successes as a competitor and as a coach is long and impressive; it includes distinction as four-time All-American Sailor of the Year (St Mary’s College, Maryland, where he is also honored in the school’s Hall of Fame), college and world championships in multiple classes, and as a coach taking Olympic teams to gold success.

In recognition of his contribution to the sport he loves dearly and is wholeheartedly committed to, Ivey was recently honored with the Kevin Burnham Memorial Award at the 2022 US Sailing Association Awards, presented to a sailor who embodies the spirit of the late Olympic Gold and Silver medalist Kevin Burnham: passion, persistence, perseverance, sportsmanship on and off the water, and love of the sport and love of his or her competitors.

“Kevin was a fierce competitor and a legend in the 470, determined beyond belief, so talented, this tall skinny man who could make a boat go beautifully and fly a spinnaker like no one else and trapeze off the side of the boat in any wind strength,” Ivey reminisced with deep emotion.

“At the same time, you were okay to lose to him because he raised the bar so high. I try to do the same thing; on the water I want to be the absolute best I can, I commit myself to every detail and push as hard as I can; it is what I’ve done over my whole career.” – Full report