Cate Lovelady and Sydney Ohs have known each other since childhood. Sydney started sailing at YSF in 2011 when she was 7, and Cate came aboard several years later. Both quickly became accomplished sailors competing on the YSF Vero Beach High School Varsity sailing team. They are fast friends as they approach graduation from college in June 2026. Sydney said, “YSF brought Cate and me together in elementary school and fostered a friendship that will last a lifetime.” Cate followed up with, “Sailing has created a bond with Sydney that is an important part of my life. Spending time together sailing, with all the challenges and rewards, is something we both will cherish for the rest of our lives.” Cate and Sydney have served as summer camp counsellors for seven years.

YSF Community Sailing’s Summer Sailing Camp brings together two hundred children from across the socio-economic spectrum. About forty percent of the sailors are from underserved families and receive scholarships. Kids from affluent families sail with those from families with limited resources. They find themselves literally and figuratively in the same boat.

Cate and Sydney know that sailing a small dinghy on the broad waters of the Indian River Lagoon requires focus, perseverance, and resilience. The first drill sailors must master is recovery from a capsize. This requires teamwork and close coordination, leveraging weight and balance to upright the boat. There is no alternative to success if they want to go sailing.

With success, confidence soars, and the crew goes on to master sailing drills – tacks, jibes, sailing upwind, and coasting home downwind. Cate remarked, “Teaching young children the fundamentals of sailing is tremendously rewarding. We are passing along the lessons we learned, knowing they can have a lasting positive impact on their life.” Sydney observed, “Getting kids together from different backgrounds is rewarding for both. Sailing opens new possibilities for those with limited resources and exposes those more well-off to new friendships that can have a lasting impact on their lives.” *see Note.

Youth Sailing Foundation (YSF) of Indian River County, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that eliminates cultural and financial barriers to sailing. YSF was founded in 2009 to use sailing as a medium to help children achieve their full potential. We operate under the banner “YSF Community Sailing” to reflect that we now serve the entire community. We make it easy and affordable for children, adults, and families to enjoy the thrill of sailing. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit: www.ysfirc.org Contact: Email info@ysfirc.org Phone 772 492-3243.

Note: Friendships made on the water are often brought ashore with a bonding that can have a major impact on the trajectory of a child’s life. Writing in the “New York Times,” David Brooks cited a Harvard study when he wrote: “One of the most powerful predictors of whether you rise out of poverty is how many people you know are well off. The size of the effect is astounding. Cross-class friendships are a better predictor of upward mobility than school quality, job availability, community cohesion, or family structure.”