Welcome to Holly Pond. . . our tranquil and amazingly beautiful playground straddling Darien and Stamford on Long Island Sound, and the place that I've been lucky to call my backyard for over 29 years.  Once again, I am helping our SoundWaters neighbors protect the pond and the rest of the Sound by joining their 7th Annual Flotilla and paddling my kayak with my family and friends from Darien and Cove Island beaches into Stamford Harbor, where the new SoundWaters Harbor Center is finally open too!

While all Flotilla paddlers are raising money to help SoundWaters introduce the incredible resource of Long Island Sound to ALL kids, regardless of their ability to pay, I am dedicating my donations raised this year to establishing a Young Mariners Scholarship Fund honoring the memory of Robert Berkeley George (RBG), my “other father,” sailing mentor to many of his family and friends and true “Young Mariner” at heart. 

Why Young Mariners?

Young Mariners Academy is a unique sailing and academic program that instills accountability, teamwork and leadership while promoting a close and supportive sense of community.  Young Mariners welcomes students at their new SoundWaters Harbor Center after school throughout the school year and full days during the summer, and the program uses sailing to build confidence and a sense of achievement in struggling middle school students.  Sailing well requires quick thinking and decisive action under constantly changing conditions, ideal life skills for all students.  Over four years of Young Mariners, students receive sailing instruction from US Sailing-certified instructors and sail progressively larger and more complex boats, increasing their sense of achievement and putting them in the unfamiliar position as role models for younger students.  When they're not on the water, students receive academic support in math and science from SoundWaters educators.  With vital support from the community, close to 90% of Young Mariners students receive a full scholarship to participate in the program.  Learn more here:  https://soundwaters.org/youngmariners

(Young RBG; Ye Old Cannonmaker; last sail on the SoundWaters ship)

Why honor RBG?

“Berke” George (June 3, 1935 – September 30, 2022):  A real “Young Mariner” that shared his love of sailing and life on the water with everyone while following the path to the ocean throughout his entire life.  Growing up as a young boy in Seattle, Berke was drawn to the Pacific Ocean early on.  As his family moved down the coast, he found his first sailing crew while in high school and started racing competitively in the Gulf of Santa Catalina and San Pedro Channel where he was hooked!  At age 17, his first international race to Mexico proved to be both challenging and tragic, as the rough seas cast him overboard and created a near-death situation that formed the beginnings of Berke’s new love affair with the ocean while gaining his never-ending and simultaneous fear and respect for the power of the sea.

Berke’s next adventures in sailing and as a young engineer, husband and father soon after college, expanded tremendously, as did his competitive boat-racing career.  His Trans-Atlantic voyages became as frequent as the boats got larger.  His professional career also became totally focused on marine life, selling marine equipment while starting his own business tied to the sea:  Ye Old Cannonmaker.  Making nautical (ceremonial) cannons in all shapes and sizes, including one for the U.S. Navy, along with being at the helm of a sailing vessel, became the core of who Berke was, and he loved nothing more than sharing his experienced “How To’s” of navigating the world’s waterways and the best ways to polish the barrels of his beloved cannon hardware with the utmost precision.  Throughout his life, Berke enthusiastically taught hosts of curious learners how to sail and always ensured their experience on the water was safe, fun and respectful of the environment—all key elements of the SoundWaters Young Mariners program that he would have wanted to share for generations to come.

So, to honor Berke’s life and legacy as the ultimate “Young Mariner,” all funds I raise here will be used to establish a Young Mariners Scholarship Fund, with these specific benefits:

· The initial $3,000 will purchase and name a new “Opti” boat for the program, the RBG Cannon.

· Each additional $500 will fully-fund one new Young Mariner student and lifelong “Steward of the Sound.”

· All donations of any amount will fund various other hard program costs, such as $50 life preservers and $25 class material packets.

If you like what I’m doing and want to join my efforts, please click on the DONATE link here and make your contribution.  Or, if you just want to help us help SoundWaters, come join our Holly Pond Paddlers team in the Flotilla and have a great time paddling and raising money with us, knowing you’re helping today's kids become tomorrow's stewards of Long Island Sound and beyond. 

Thanks for considering supporting SoundWaters, and I hope to see you on the water on July 15^th!