The Foundation takes pride in the growth of junior sailing in Michigan, the fastest growing high school sport in the state. Close to home, University Liggett School now joins Grosse Pointe North and South high schools in varsity high school sailing competition.
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The Foundation works closely with the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club to provide a “home base” for the high schools sailing teams, that use Club facilities for practice and regattas, Spring and Fall.
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YNEF financial grants support teams and individual sailors with equipment, maintenance, travel and regatta expenses helping high school sailors develop their skills and hone their competitive edge.
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College scholarship applications continue to grow. For 2022, $2,000 scholarships are to be awarded to area student/sailors, based on academic and sailing accomplishments. Thankfully, the number of funded perpetual scholarships has grown.
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Funding for Challenge the Wind is anexample of the YNEF’s impact throughout the area sailing community.

From YNEF President Jim Morrow 2025 and BEYOND

2025 marks our 16th year as a 501(c)(3) Foundation, however, our team has been raising funds to promote nautical education and youth sailing since 1986. Today, the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club has the finest sailing venue in the Midwest with top notch equipment and Coaches. We have 28 high school sailing teams in the Detroit Metropolitan area, and very strong summer programs at all the DRYA clubs in the area. The Detroit Community Sailing Program, supported by YNEF, delivers a first-class program to the inner-city of Detroit. These programs provide a fantastic opportunity for young folks to learn a lifetime sport and have a safe competitive environment to enjoy our great lakes. There are over 450 kids enjoying sailing in our community each year.

We are committed to supporting and growing the Sailing programs at the GPYC and throughout our community. The High School programs are fall and spring and a varsity sport at many of the 28 high schools in our Metro Detroit Area. The Grosse Pointe Yacht Club continues to have outstanding young sailors competing throughout the country. We are looking to promote more regattas to enhance the competitive environment in our Area and hope to host some regional events in the spring.

While strong programs exist at Crescent and Bayview, the Detroit Community Sailing Center on Belle Isle continues to offer learn-to-sail programs. They have now partnered with the University of Michigan to offer S.T.E.M. related courses. They introduced a boat building woodworking program, and this past year delivered two Optimist Dinghy sailboats. This program hosted 100 youth and 50 adults this past year.

YNEF has a special program to assist Junior teams that are setting their goals for top sailing competitions. The Walz/Griggs Olympic team are on a campaign for the 2028 Olympics. Our program allows them to fund raise for their campaign through the Foundation to provide the 501c3 status for their fundraising. This year we also sponsored Mike Kirkman who was competing in the World Team racing event in Dubai.

or 2026 we will be awarding 13 scholarships for those with Jr. Sailing experience, even if it was only in the learn-to-sail category. Many parents are unaware of the qualifications and miss out on a $2000 Scholarship. All details can be found on our website www.ynef.org

For the coming year we are hoping to engage parents more in the junior sailing activity and will be sponsoring events to encourage their involvement. We will continue to work with the clubs to ensure they are able to provide the equipment and training needed to improve our junior programs.

Your Kids may be eligible for a $2,000 scholarship if they EVER participated in a Junior or High School Sailing program ……… check the web site www.ynef.org

Annual Reports

From YNEF President Jim Morrow 2025 and BEYOND