Jesse Fielding on the Lasting Impact of the USMMA Sailing Foundation
by Gwen Neches | November 30th, 2025
Jesse Fielding’s connection to the USMMA Sailing Foundation is built on the experiences that helped define his journey as a sailor. In his reflection below, he shares the experiences and lessons that stayed with him long after leaving the dock:
“I owe my ocean racing career to The Sailing Foundation and the hardworking team that makes the magic happen. My very first experience with the foundation was the 2006 Block Island Race onboard Alchemy. I will never forget motoring around before the start with Rambler 90, Bon Bon (ex Carrera) and the new Blue Yankee 66. For me and the cadets onboard, this was a moment of awe and unprecedented opportunity.
Ralf Steitz and Chris Gazorek were our leaders onboard and we earned a metric ton of experience over the next 36 hours. Because as Ralfy says, “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” No one wants a crossed set of mast head halyards or the wind to die in the patch of water known as “the Race” in Long Island Sound, or a jib to come out of the tuff luff headstay. But these things happen and the only way forward is through each challenge with enough existing experience around to keep things safe and simultaneously provide an environment for the cadets to push their boundaries at sea.
Ralf, Chris, and everyone I have ever worked with in the Foundation does just that and then some more. That extra bit is one of Ralfy’s most inspirational life lessons: to pay it forward. “If you do something good first, then something good will happen for you.” Call it Karma, call it a commandment, call it whatever you wish but the result is the same: A network of good things happening for good people over generations of cadets and partners of the Foundation throughout its life.
I wouldn’t have crossed half the oceans or done most of my professional sailing and made very few of my closest friends in life without Ralf, Larry and the Foundation. I wouldn’t be as capable in the maritime world or the “real” world as we refer to it on land. I am grateful, lucky, and motivated to pass down what I know when I can because of the good things that were paid forward to me. Sailing big boats in the ocean makes me smile, and sharing that smile with partners, sponsors, and fellow crew members makes it that much more fun.
Roy Disney once told me, “The Sea teaches us many things, the most important thing is what is in our heart. You just have to listen,” and for my time on the sea, and for the tools to listen, I say thank you.”