Kids set sail in annual Labor Day Regatta

Nick Lovisa, sailing director at Sarasota Youth Sailing, has been involved in the sport since he was 8 years old. 

He said the Annual Labor Day Regatta is important for introducing kids, and the viewing public, to sailing and the lifelong enjoyment it offers. 

"It's a lifelong sport, and when a kid gets hooked on it, it is definitely life-changing," he said. "It’s not just a small thing you come to and you do, and then you forget about it. It’s a community.”

In past years, the Sarasota Sailing Squadron had hosted the event, which began in 1946, however, Sarasota Youth Sailing took the helm for the regatta's 76th year.

The two-day event was off to a promising start Aug. 31 with favorable weather and propulsive winds.

The event brings together some 160 kids, some as young as 6 years old, from various sailing clubs, including the Sailing Squadron, Florida Yacht Club, Manatee River Youth Sailing and others.

“For a lot of them, it’s their first regatta,” Lovisa said. “They’re just getting a taste for what all this is.”

11-year-old Jason Herpai, who has been sailing for about a year, said he enjoys the competition of the sport, and the fact that the results are never predictable due to the wind gusts that can appear anywhere.

“It's not like a race where if you start first, you're probably going to end first, because for sailing, you could start like the middle and then get first place," he said.