> US SAILING Media > Sailor of the Week > 2011 > Sailor of the Week - February, 2011 > Larry Ledgerwood
Larry Ledgerwood
Sailor of the Week: February 10-16
US SAILING’s National Sailing Program Symposium (NSPS) Chairman Larry Ledgerwo od of Walnut Creek, Calif. was ecstatic with the turnout from last month’s NSPS in Clearwater Beach, Fla. Over 270 sailors attended the event. Larry has played a significant role in the growth and the direction of this signature US SAILING event for sailing education, and was honored at NSPS with US SAILING’s Ginny Award for service and support to sail training.
Larry is a true believer of NSPS and the value it has as a catalyst for new programs and a support base for existing ones. “At this year's NSPS, I was struck by how many people are touched by all the organizations that attend NSPS,” Larry said. “The fact that we have the reach that we do, and the talent, experience, and dedication that is represented by the attendees is nothing short of astounding.”
Larry feels right at home at NSPS. He is surrounded with people that share two of his biggest passions, sailing and training. He has done it all at NSPS, from his role on the training committee, to serving as a Keynote Speaker and session presenter, and introducing new ideas for session formats and general session communications. Larry has also been instrumental in improving the method of presenting awards and upgrading the standards for presenters. Larry gave an interesting presentation this year on listening, as a way to show unique presentation techniques for attendees. He is also a certified Keelboat Instructor now.
Larry got hooked to sailing later in life. He and his wife were camping on a lake in northern California in the mid-1980s. The windy conditions made it impossible for water skiing, so they decided to rent a sailboat and had a blast. Soon after, they found OCSC Sailing, a San Francisco Bay sailing school, and took lessons in Cal 20s and J/24s. The rest is history.
Larry explained, “Racing has been important over the years, but sailing into a cove of a remote location and dropping anchor just like sailors have been doing for hundreds of years has been some of the best days of our lives.”