Provo Sailing Academy have partnered with the Andrew Simpson Foundation

Provo Sailing Academy have partnered with the Andrew Simpson Foundation © Nick Downes / Provo Sailing Academy

Provo Sailing Academy (PSA) is delighted to announce that they have partnered with the Andrew Simpson Foundation. "This is a huge step for us. ASF are a world renowned sailing and water sports organisation which is highly respected and has impacted many lives through sailing. Our island community will benefit significantly from their involvement and we are excited for the future of sailing in Turks and Caicos," said PSA President, Rebecca Reaston-Brown.

The Andrew Simpson Foundation (ASF) is a sailing charity founded in memory of, and inspired by, Olympic Gold medalist sailor Andrew 'Bart' Simpson who died in 2013 whilst training for the America's Cup in San Francisco Bay.

The founding trustees are Sir Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy OBE and Andrew's wife, Leah Simpson. The foundation honours the life and legacy of a sailor who was passionate about encouraging and helping others fulfill their ambitions. Their vision is to provide thousands of young people life changing opportunities on the water and "transform lives through sailing", driven by the belief that all young people have the ability to excel and succeed in life and work; the challenges of Sailing and Watersports do this by promoting health and well-being and building essential personal skills of young people across the world.

ASF partners with not-for-profit sailing initiatives and organisations around the globe, offering a range of support, both financially and on a practical level. Each partnership is selected and assessed against the foundation's objectives to ensure they are in line with Andrew Simpson's own values and achievements. At Provo Sailing Academy, involvement with the Andrew Simpson Foundation aligns both parties' belief that it is possible to transform and make a difference to young lives through sailing.

The ASF's wealth of knowledge and vast expertise will help ensure PSA's continuity, particularly as they develop their youth scholarship programs. ASF will also assist with marketing the Turks and Caicos as a sailing vacation destination, encouraging more visitors not only to PSA, but also the island. This in turn will strengthen PSA's ability to sustain the sailing scholarship programs and continue to create opportunities for new students.

Speaking on the matter, Reaston-Brown says, "This year, we are excited to have the expertise of Pheobe Twigg who has been working with ASF at their Lake Garda facility since 2018 and is one of their RYA Senior Instructors. Phoebe will be working with us at PSA as our lead community programme instructor over the winter months. ASF will also be on hand to lend support to PSA by sending managers over to assist with our progress in the development of our community sailing programmes, race and foiling clinics, assistant instructor training and with our goal of obtaining RYA recognition for the Academy."

Current and newly trained students who demonstrate a high level of both practical sailing skills and theory knowledge, and who also possess a good attitude, will be allocated spaces on RYA Dinghy Instructor courses at UK centres. They will then have access throughout the network of ASF Centres to seek out job opportunities. Reaston-Brown says, "This is such a fantastic opportunity for us. We are thrilled to be partnered with the Andrew Simpson Foundation. This huge step will help us to achieve our goals, making us a better sailing facility for everyone, and give our local youth new and exciting worldwide opportunities. We hope to have a long and rewarding partnership with the Andrew Simpson Foundation".

"In collaboration with Provo Sailing Academy, we are thrilled to announce our winter programme in Turks and Caicos and incredibly proud to support young people who were affected by Hurricane Irma, further to supporting victims in Sint Maarten. We continue to recognize the benefits of using sailing as a tool to help development of key skills and confidence within young people across the world. Through the Discover Sailing and Train the Trainers Programme this Winter in Turks and Caicos and made possible by funds allocated through our Partnership with Sail Aid UK, we are able to offer both experiences and career opportunities that are life changing for all who participate" - Richard Percy, ASF CEO

PSA is located in the Bight Park, Providenciales. For further information and to express interest in learning to sail, please email Provo Sailing Academy at

In Great Britain, visit www.andrewsimpsoncentres.org to find out what to expect as we manage social distancing and activities at each of our Centres: you can also view the temporary COVID-19 Operating Procedures in place, outlining how we plan to keep you safe this Summer.