(Newport, RI)- Sail Newport and its fleet of J/22s got welcome support from the
National Football League’s New England Patriots’ Coach Bill Belichick (the American Football Conference representative in the 51st Super Bowl in Houston, Texas). Bill donated his powerboat to Sail Newport, the Rhode Island community sailing center. The non-profit public Sailing Center, located in Newport RI, will use the 24' Grady White vessel “V-RINGS” (get it, 5 Superbowl rings?) in its youth and adult sailing programs, regattas and sailing events on Narragansett Bay.
"We are thrilled and grateful to Coach Belichick for donating his boat for use in our public sailing programs. The boat will be used as a support and safety vessel for all of our instructional programs and regattas, including J/Fest in August (a regatta for J/Boats owners) and the May 2018 North American Stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race,” said Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport.
The boat donation was facilitated by Albury Brothers Boats and will be delivered mid-February to Sail Newport. According to Albury Brothers President, Jeff Lichterman, he and Coach Belichick have done some boating together. More importantly, Belichik has done some sailing, grew up in Annapolis, and boated on the Chesapeake Bay. Plus, Belichick had an opportunity to sail on former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chaffee’s J/100 on Narragansett Bay!
Sail
Newport is a non-profit educational organization with a mission to
foster the sport of sailing and to attract and manage sailing events in
Newport, RI. In its 34th year of operation, Sail Newport is a thriving
organization with thousands of regatta entrants, adult students, youth
sailors, and sailboat renters visiting its facility in Fort Adams State
Park in Newport Harbor. The organization also offers their nationally-recognized Youth Sailing Program for young sailors starting at age 5. Sail Newport also hosts many local, national and world championships each year.
Currently, Sail Newport is running the “Campaign for Blue Space” to raise funds for a new Marine Education and Recreational Facility and expand its educational programs. The new center is anticipated to open in July of this year at Sail Newport's campus in Fort Adams State Park. For more information, please contact Kim Cooper at (401) 846-1983/ kim.cooper@sailnewport.org For more Sail Newport information.
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