Larchmont Yacht Club’s Waterfront Director, Joel Labuzetta, saw a missing link in the club’s sailing pipeline, both for young sailors moving from high school into college, and for college sailors looking to stay connected to the sport and the Club as they enter the next stages of their lives. But creating that kind of continuity would take more than LYC could do on its own.

Labuzetta was already familiar with Columbia’s sailing program, and the University’s proximity to LYC made a partnership a natural fit. Columbia had moved through several home bases over the years, creating an opportunity for LYC to offer something more permanent: a consistent place to sail, access to boats and coaching and a connection to an active sailing community. What started with a place to sail grew into a relationship between two institutions with a shared interest in keeping sailors on the water.

For Columbia, the value was more than simply having a place to practice. LYC provided consistent access to the water, boats, coaching and the structure of a regular sailing program. For LYC, that relationship has become part of a broader effort to build a more active waterfront beyond the summer season. As the Club has expanded its fall and spring programming, Columbia has become part of that activity, bringing college-age sailors into the LYC sailing community. Their presence gives younger sailors a visible example of what continuing in the sport beyond high school can look like, making that next step more real and accessible. For those college sailors, the relationship also keeps a door open to sailing at LYC beyond graduation, and perhaps eventually becoming part of the LYC community themselves.

That connection is already visible at different points in the pipeline. After more than a decade away, Columbia’s women’s team returned to ICSA Collegiate Women’s National Championships last spring. At the other end of the spectrum, Columbia’s Learn to Sail program has introduced new students to the sport, including one sailor who progressed from a first experience with sailing to competing at Women’s Nationals and winning two races. For LYC, both are examples of what can happen when sailors have access to a place to learn, develop and keep moving forward in the sport.

The partnership is still relatively young, but it has already added something new to the rhythm of the LYC waterfront. A college team has a home here, college-age sailors have another place to continue sailing, and younger sailors can see that the sport does not have to stop when high school ends.

For a yacht club, those connections matter. Sailing is a sport built on continuity, and sometimes growing the sport means making sure there is somewhere to go next. The goal now is to keep building that relationship and see how much further the two institutions can take it together.