A yacht sails off the coast of Beavertail Lighthouse during the 2021 Sail for Hope as a cargo ship cruises into Narragansett Bay in the background. The 2022 edition of the regatta is Sunday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN CLOUTIER
On the 21st anniversary of 9/11, a fleet of sailboats will circumnavigate Conanicut Island during the Sail for Hope, which was created in 2001 to raise money for families affected by the terrorist attacks.
Sail Newport is sponsoring the regatta Sunday for sailboats at least 22 feet in length, the nonprofit organization is welcoming everyone to participate in the casual race. Sail Newport will assign a handicap rating all boats that would like to participate, including sailors who are not avid racers.
Power boats are also encouraged to join the cruise around Jamestown to raise money for three charities.
The first event was founded 21 years ago as the Sail for Pride in the weeks following 9/11. The race gathered nearly 200 boats that raced or cruised around the island, flew their ensigns in a show of national pride, and raised more than $100,000 for victims, survivors and first responders.
After that successful event, one of the co-founders, Scott Murray, rallied fellow sailors, families and friends to vow to hold the event annually. Because, he said, “Lest we forget.”
“After the first year we changed the name of the event to Sail for Hope,” Murray said before the 10-year-anniversary race in 2010. “The idea for that was that ‘Hope’ was the state motto, and our idea was to help more local charities.”
Proceeds will benefit the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit NGO that has built the largest food-relief operation in Ukraine, reaching more than 230 cities and towns. The kitchen has now served 25 million meals, which would not be possible without the 4,300 team members — cooking in restaurants, stocking warehouses, delivering meals and driving trucks — who work tirelessly to feed their neighbors in need, even as they are under attack.
The second charity is Save the Children, which believes every child deserves a future. Since their founding more than a century ago, the group has changed the lives of over 1 billion children. The global enterprise gives children a healthy start in life, protection from harm and the opportunity to learn. Save the Children does whatever it takes for children to transform their lives and their future.
The final charity is a new fiveweek after-school sailing program that also will explore the science, sustainability and story of Narragansett Bay. Fifth and sixth-grade students in the program will dive into hands-on experiments that investigate topics like wave energy, water quality, sustainable engineering and vessel systems. The program also will introduce students to careers in the marine trades.
Immediately after racing, a social will be at the Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard from 4-8 p.m. Registered boats will receive five tickets to the social, and extra tickets will be available at the door for $30 each.
