Gary Bodie awarded US Sailing's Most Prestigious Award

Gary Bodie was awarded the 2021 US Sailing Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy at a ceremony at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. The Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy is US Sailing's most prestigious award. This is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in this country in any associated activity.

We couldn't think of anyone more deserving of this award! We are fortunate that Gary, a founding Board Member of Youth Sailing Virginia, continues giving back to the sport as a Coach and valued member of our Board of Directors.

To read more about Gary's many accomplishments and the award, visit www.ussailing.org.

Congratulations Gary!

Who We Are

Youth Sailing Virginia (YSV) is 1 of 43 accredited US Sailing Community Sailing Centers in the United States. As a community sailing center, YSV serves as a hub for High School Racing, hosting regattas for VISA and MASSA, and is a REACH US Sailing STEM Education Center.

We are committed to providing access to all waterfront activities starting with teaching youth water safety. Our sailing program provides sailing instruction by US Sailing Certified Instructors to youth in Beginner, Intermediate, Intro to Racing, Water Safety and Survival and Family Learn to Sail (all ages).

We work diligently to design programs with four goals in mind.

• Build diversity into our programs so that our programs reflect our community
• Maximize access to sailing programs for youth from all socioeconomic backgrounds
• Incorporate applied science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) into our training curriculum
• Teach youth skills that will benefit them throughout their life, such as leadership, Independence, concentration, self-reliance, decision making, and teamwork.
• We hope that you will explore our site to learn more about all YSV has to offer!

Our Story

During the fall of 2013, board member Gary Bodie presented his dream of a new youth sailing facility at Fort Monroe to a group that included coaches, parents, and other members of the local sailing community. Following this meeting the discussions continued and the dream became a reality with the support of sailors and community business leaders alike. Board Member, Kevin Eley was recruited to head up the organization that became known as Youth Sailing Virginia, Inc. (YSV). With the support of Glen Oder, Executive Director of the Fort Monroe Authority, YSV moved forward to create a practice site. With repaired floating docks anchored in Mill Creek, and seven old FJs, Coach Allen Kilgore’s Kecoughtan and Phoebus High Schools teams began sailing in Mill Creek in March of 2014.

In May of 2014 the opportunity to purchase 18 gently used Flying Juniors from Dartmouth College provided YSV with the matched fleet necessary to host regattas. In August, volunteers began rebuilding a larger float dock donated to YSV. With the 18 boats on the water YSV could now practice for Hampton, Kecoughtan and Phoebus High Schools and Hampton Roads Academy. In October YSV hosted its first scrimmage regatta for the 14 teams of the Virginia Interscholastic Sailing Association (VISA).

Let us introduce our boats that allow sailors to enjoy Mill Creek on historic Fort Monroe.

YSV continues looking forward and is committed to improving and upgrading our fleet of 18 Club Flying Juniors. Today the FJ is the predominate class of boat sailed by high school and college sailing teams in the United States. High school sailing is a coed sport. The boats are sailed by a crew of two and spinnakers are not used.

Mission

Youth Sailing Virginia’s mission is to teach life skills to high school, middle school youth and their families through sailing programs, inspiring learning, personal growth and leadership that provide pathways for their future.