Some 200 young sailors from around the state and beyond will be tacking and jibing this month along Blackwater Sound in Key Largo.
The 17th annual Buccaneer Blast Regatta returns to Rowell’s Waterfront Park Jan. 30 through Feb. 1. This regatta is the signature event for the Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program, a Key Largo-based nonprofit dedicated to getting children on the water and fostering a love for sailing.
John Brehm is the director of the youth sailing program. His 17-year-old daughter Alex and 12-year-old daughter Piper are both passionate sailors. Brehm strongly believes in the benefits of youth sailing.
“It gives them a lot of self-confidence, they’re on the water, they’re in a boat by themselves, where they have to learn how to control the boat and compete against the other kids,” Brehm said.
Piper Brehm, a Treasure Village Montessori sixth grader, recently took home first place in the Key West Halloween Regatta in the Optimist dinghy division. Now she’s practicing twice a week leading up to the Buccaneer Blast.
“I like the racing part of it because I get to meet new kids on the course and I get to talk to them,” Piper said.
The funds raised during the regatta help support the MSYSP throughout the year, allowing it to continue teaching Upper Keys youth the joy of sailing.
“It puts us on the map,” said John Sorensen, board chairman of the sailing program. “We get people from all over the world.”
The Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program is named after John Sorensen’s older brother, Mark, a devoted sailor who passed away in 2004 at the age of 49. Sorensen believes his brother would be delighted to see youth sailing still going strong in the Upper Keys.
“I think he’d be really pleased because he was such an avid sailor,” Sorensen said.
The youth program was started in 2006 with seed money from the Sorensen patriarch, the late Florida Keys state Rep. Ken Sorensen. Instruction takes place all year, with the next seven-week session running from Jan. 13-Feb. 28.
With the Buccaneer Blast less than a month away, organizers are hoping to secure more sponsors, people like Upper Keys resident Tony Priu.
“The mission of the Blast, to help introduce the next generation of sailors to competitive sailing, is definitely worth investing in,” Priu said.
More information is at msysp.org or via email to msyspdirector@gmail.com.
