Founded in 1992, Blue Water Foundation is an all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to bringing the joys and challenges of sailing to under-served youths of the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the years, BWF has taken over 35,000 children to sea and has been granted dozens of community awards and commendations.
Several Modern Sailing School & Club members are or have been volunteers serving BWF's mission to offer young people the experiences of learning, teamwork, leadership, and building self-confidence by trying unfamiliar, challenging activities such as sailing. Modern's CEO Leigh Hunt previously served as President of the foundation. Members Scott and Jill Barnes and Richard Pon are currently active volunteers - and there are many others. The Foundation has awarded Scott the Bosun of the Year award for 2024 and Richard was awarded Volunteer of the Year for 2023. Perhaps 20% of BWF's volunteers have now come through Modern Sailing. Modern has partnered with BWF to offer a scholarship program to deserving volunteers. Scholarship recipients nominated by BWF receive ASA Sailing Courses from Modern Sailing, at either their Sausalito or Berkeley locations.
Learn more about Blue Water Foundation in the words of Modern Sailing members Scott Barnes and Richard Pon.
Scott and Jill Barnes - Blue Water Foundation Volunteers and Modern Sailing Members
"Several years ago, Jill and I took our ASA courses through Modern Sailing in Sausalito. Shortly afterwards, Jill started racing with an all-women's racing team out of Modern Sailing. She heard about Blue Water Foundation and the two of us became volunteers.
"As volunteers for Blue Water Foundation, our first priority is to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience on the water. Sailing, in general, can be a very intimidating experience for a child, especially an at-risk, under-served child who has never set foot on a boat. We first meet everyone at the dock, introduce ourselves, explain how a sailboat moves over the water, explain in detail our procedures for a man overboard (MOB) and then issue everyone a PFD. Once on the boat and under sail, we allow each child a chance to be at the helm, raise/lower the sails as well as work the winches if they are comfortable doing so.
"We use three sailboats for our sails. Two are located at the Berkeley Marina. Aleta is a 46’ Peterson custom racer berthed at 'K' dock and Benjamin Walters is a 43’ Hans Christian cutter berthed at 'O' dock. Our third boat is Golden Bear (formerly Bravura), a storied 46’ Frers designed racing sloop located in San Francisco. We have one to three sails a week taking out various groups from the SF School District, SF Police Department, the juvenile probation departments of Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, and in the past, San Francisco. We also work with a dozen community groups in Alameda, San Francisco, and Marin counties ranging from Huckleberry House to Epileptic Foundation. Our sails range from educational field trips to teaching incarcerated students sailing over a three-month period. We are also expanding our work to formerly incarcerated individuals transitioning back into society.
"Today's children are exposed to various external stressors whether it is through their social media accounts, school, or in the household. Blue Water Foundation provides an escape from all of that through sailing. I have heard many times from some of our young sailors that it is the most calm they have had in their lives when out sailing one of our boats.
"Every sail with our various groups is rewarding, but the most memorable sails are seeing a young person very nervous/skeptical before getting on one of our sailboats, and a half hour later, watching them have the time of their life, whether it is steering the sailboat or sitting on the bowsprit smiling and laughing.
"As I stated before, we take out Alameda County Juvenile inmates every two weeks as part of a three-month program. For these sails, we use a mentor/mentee format which means each youth sailor is assigned the same volunteer for each three-month program. On the first sail of the program, it is typical for them to be very closed-off and guarded in their interaction with us, but as time goes on, relationships form between the mentor and mentee. They begin to see life through a different lens on the water as well as what it looks like for a group of volunteers from different walks of life working as a team while treating each other with trust and respect.
"Volunteering, in general, is an amazing experience, but how many people can volunteer on a bluewater cruiser or racing sailboat weekly? Not only do we enjoy the pleasures of seeing our young sailors with smiles on their faces, but we also get to observe our beautiful Bay Area on the water along with the abundance of marine wildlife all around us. Although it is preferred that our volunteers have some sailing experience, it is not required. We provide training and certification tracks for crew, second captain, and first captain.
"Blue Water Foundation prides itself with giving back to the community in the form of empowering youth while sailing. We are an all-volunteer non-profit 501(c)3 organization with no paid staff, so we rely solely on donations, and as we all know the costs associated with the never-ending maintenance required for sailboats, we are challenged every year with funding our program. Insurance costs have skyrocketed for us and our donations have been in decline since the pandemic, so it has been extremely difficult for us. Donations from the community are what keep our program successful and alive.
"Volunteering is simple. Just sign up on the website at www.BlueWaterFoundation.org. Once signed up with Blue Water Foundation, you will have access to all of our scheduled sails."
Richard Pon - Blue Water Foundation Volunteer and Modern Sailing Member
"What inspired me to volunteer at Blue Water Foundation is their vision and mission statement, which can be found on their website. The vision and mission statement speaks to me as a long-time volunteer with several organizations and as a supporter of youth development.
'All young people in the San Francisco Bay Area should experience the joy and the collaboration of sailing.'
'Our primary objective is to provide at-risk and under-represented youth an opportunity to sail.'
"I volunteer as crew, second captain, and first captain in as many sails as I can, which is typically two to four sails per month.
"The rewards for me are the expressions on the faces of youth who take the helm for the first time... When they tell me of their joy sailing for the first time... When one young person who I was instructing at the helm told me she liked how I drove the boat when I took the helm. The student becomes the teacher - and the teacher the student. I loved that.
"Everyone should consider volunteering or donating funds to Blue Water Foundation because you can make a difference in a young person’s life.
'It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.' Frederick Douglas
"Blue Water Foundation is 100% all volunteers; there is no paid person in the organization. You do not have to sail to help further the vision and mission. Also important to the program are those who volunteer to help with fundraising, social media, and boat maintenance… just to name a few volunteer positions."
For more information on Blue Water Foundation's programs, volunteer opportunities, or if you would like to donate towards this worthy cause, please visit www.BlueWaterFoundation.org. You can also follow Blue Water Foundation on Facebook and Instagram.
