After six hours of balancing and battling unpredictable winds, Hall of Fame windsurfer Nevin Sayre made history on Friday Sept. 6 as the first person to wing foil around Martha’s Vineyard. The Vineyard Haven resident also raised over $20,000 for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services during the circumnavigation.
While Sayre has already windsurfed around the Island, this was his first attempt on a wing foil — a detached hydrofoil board that lifts above the water.
Sayre, who was recently named an inaugural member of the Windsurfing Hall of Fame, set off from Inkwell Beach at 8:54 am, completing the loop at 3:06 pm. Despite ideal conditions early on, he encountered a setback when the wind died down near Gay Head, forcing him to sit on his board for over an hour.
“Honestly, there weren’t many people who could make it around today,” Sayre said as he recovered on Inkwell on Friday. “I had to use all of my power just to make it but I’m glad I did. I feel very sore and accomplished.”
Sayre said he was grateful for the support team and safety boat he had following him.
“The wind is blowing offshore on the south shore, so if something goes wrong, the next stop is probably a distant location,” he said Friday. “Having them there and that peace of mind goes a long way. If the wind didn’t come back, they would have pulled me into the boat.”
Sayre’s family also has a legacy of community involvement on the Island. His mother, Harriet Hart Sayre, served on Community Service’s board, co-founded the Possible Dreams auction, and elevated the Chicken Alley Thrift Shop into a cornerstone of the organization’s fundraising efforts.
“My whole family is invested in community services,” Sayre said.
Iris Albert, Development and Events Coordinator for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, was thrilled with Sayres efforts.
“We were very grateful when Nevin came to us and told us this was something he wanted to do and I think it’s a testament to the kind of community we have on the island, having someone come to us wanting to help is really awesome,” said Albert. “100 percent of the donations went to our programs and services. We’ve had some donations that wanted to go to specific programs like disability services, and through the money Nevin earned, we are going to continue to help the people of Martha’s Vineyard who need it.”
Sayre’s circumnavigation of the Island marked the potential revival of the MV Wind Surfing Challenge, a challenge Sayre spearheaded from 1988 to 2008 that attracted windsurfers from around the world to raise money for Community Services.
“Wing foiling is the new thing so I thought what the heck, let’s try it and resurrect the event for Community Services,” Sayre said. “It’s harder on a foil because you have to balance the whole time. If you lose your concentration for an instant, you’re in the water. So focusing for six hours was a real challenge.”
Sayre’s journey was tracked and shared with supporters through the Waterspeed app, allowing them to cheer him on from wherever they were.
To donate, visit mvcommunityservices.org/vineyard-challenge/
“One of the things about the Vineyard challenge that Community Services always liked is it brought in people who had otherwise no contact with Community Services in terms of awareness and in terms of raising money, so that’s a very positive thing,” Sayre said. “Are we going to open it up to more people? Who knows. Safety is a big concern.”
