The 25th Sail for Pride, the race organized in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks and held every year since, returns Saturday, Sept. 26, with a course around Conanicut Island.
Proceeds from entry fees and an after-race social at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard will be divided among Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders; Tunnel to Towers, which builds mortgage-free and adapted homes for those families; and Warrior Sailing, which teaches wounded and injured veterans to sail.
The one-day race is open to boats 22 feet and larger, split into PHRF spinnaker and non-spinnaker classes along with one-design and multihull divisions.
“Sail for Pride in 2001 was one of the first organized sporting events in Rhode Island held after 9/11,” said Brad Read, executive director of Sail Newport. “The way that sailors still rally for this event, raising needed funds for worthy nonprofits, shows the incredible generosity of our sailing community.”
The first race came together in about three weeks, organized by Sail Newport, the International Yacht and Athletic Club, Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard, MacDesigns, Anheuser-Busch and a group of local sailors and volunteers. It drew 180 boats and raised $110,000 for families of firefighters and police killed in the attacks. Organizers committed to running it annually under the motto “Lest we forget.”
Over 25 years the event has raised more than $1 million for close to 30 charities, ranging from the New York Firefighters’ Memorial Fund to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, hurricane relief efforts and local youth sailing programs.
Frank Siller, chairman and CEO of Tunnel to Towers, whose brother Stephen was an FDNY firefighter killed on 9/11, said the regatta is one way the foundation keeps its promise to stand with families of those who died in the line of duty.
Registration and donation links are at sailnewport.org.
