The Jarhead Young Sailors Foundation (JYSF) will be on the 2025 Rolex Middle Sea Race starting line with a freshly branded J109 racing yacht Jarhead.The updated look reflects the Foundation’s ongoing growth, strengthening its identity both on and off the water while remaining true to its mission of introducing young sailors to the sport.
Some words from Jarhead Co-Skipper Gary Mercieca:
Jarhead’s crew have all taken part in previous Rolex Middle Sea Races and train all year round. This year, I am co-skippering with Greg Nasmyth, who is the founder of the Foundation and a brilliant sailor.
Offshore racing is a big part of my life. This is my fourth Rolex Middle Sea Race start and my third as skipper. My experience from the Rolex Fastnet taught me a lot about fleet control, as it is the largest 606nm race on the calendar, and hopefully, I will bring what I learned to this Rolex Middle Sea Race.
Since our crew members are young in age, there is a lot of responsibility involved, but at the same time, seeing our sailors improve and gain experience is very rewarding.
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about dealing with the crew, since it’s not always smooth sailing. This year, we are more prepared than ever, and through those skills, I hope to lead Jarhead and her crew to a good result.
The first thing that comes to mind is last year’s storm — we were well prepared for that, and this year, if something similar happens, we will be even more ready.
This is important because, for sailing to grow as a sport, it needs young, talented people who are willing to learn and improve their skills. These young sailors will eventually move to other boats, which helps more boats participate in races.
Since we race and train all year round, we keep our boats prepared and always ready. A lot of work goes into keeping the boats maintained, and we do most of the work ourselves as a crew — teaching our sailors that sailing is not just about racing, but also about keeping our boats in shipshape condition.
We tend to discuss things as a crew and make every decision a learning experience for them. But at the end of the day, the final decision always lies with the skippers, especially when it concerns safety.
The Foundation takes part in the Rolex Middle Sea Race to teach offshore sailing to our crews. Our goals are always to get home safe, to learn, and to do well in the race — in that order. We make everything a learning experience for our sailors to ensure that when they move to other boats, they are complete sailors.
My advice is always: learn as much as you can, and go for it.
