For outstanding contributions to youth development through sail training. SEA is the recipient of the 2023 Garrett Horder Memorial Trophy, given annually by the Pacific Coast Yachting Association PICYA), whose constituent associations from San Diego to Vancouver represent hundreds of clubs and thousands of sailors.
PICYA Commodore Kimball Livingston said, “SEA is one of those special operations that will start kids when they’re little, keep them through their high school years, bring them back in their college years and bring them back again as adult leaders. We like it that SEA was launched with not much more than a vision and grew into something fine and valuable.” SEA emphasizes mentoring as a way of learning, volunteering to minimize cost while maximizing experience, and pursuing environmental stewardship as a way of life. From two locations on the San Rafael Canal, on the northern reach of San Francisco Bay, SEA operates a mixed fleet of dinghies, small keelboats and kayaks on the protected waters of the canal. For the advanced, there are adventures on the waters of the great bay beyond. SEA founder Jane Piereth recalls launching 49 years ago as a learn to sail program for the environmental organization, Oceanic Society. The program grew, then spun off in 1990 tobecome its own nonprofit “with just a basic sailing camp,” she said. “Now we have dinghy sailing at Marin Yacht Club—a 26 year relationship—and we start little kids at Loch Lomond Marina. That’s where we keep keelboats for adults, and those keelboats provide the stability thatbeginners need to gain confidence before we put them into dinghies. “It is important to add that we would not exist without the support of the California Division of Boating and Waterways,” Piereth said. Joe Rouse, president of SEA, observed that children often start out afraid but turn around quickly as they experience safe sailing, make new friends, and discover a larger world. “Our instructors rarely come from outside,” Rouse said. “We develop our own. Meghan Hartnett teaches sailing but also teaches ocean ecology. Meghan came here as a kid, and now she is our youth program director.” SEA today has 20 sailing dinghies and eight support boats for 120 children and youth who come to the program each year. The Garrett Horder Memorial Trophy is a 19th century Currier & Ives print of the sail/steamvessel San Francisco, displayed in the Library of St. Francis Yacht Club.
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