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Now 20 years strong, the Robert Demere Sailing Scholarship continues to help young Savannah-area sailors grow on and off the water.

For Savannah Country Day School rising senior Payton Brown, sailing started as a one-week summer camp.

Now, six years later, it has turned into an opportunity that could help shape his future on and off the water.

Brown was recently named the 2026 recipient of the Robert H. Demere Sailing Scholarship, a long-standing Savannah tradition that helps young sailors continue developing their skills through advanced instruction and training opportunities.

“This scholarship would allow me to continue to develop my sailing and sailing instructor skills,” Brown wrote in his application. “I’m very interested in pursuing a career on the water. I’m particularly interested in marine engineering.”

The scholarship program sends selected sailors to a week-long sailing course, and they are now making the arrangements, according to Brown.

Brown said the award means a lot because it gives him another chance to grow in a sport that has become a major part of his life.

"Well, I think it’s a big step in my sailing career,” Brown said. “Every camp teaches you something different, and this opportunity will help me see where I can improve and continue to grow as a sailor.

Brown’s sailing journey began after moving from Connecticut to Savannah. What started as a simple summer camp at the Savannah Yacht Club quickly became something much bigger.

“My mom only wanted me to do one week,” Brown said with a laugh. “Then one week became two weeks, became the whole summer.”

Over time, Brown moved from local camps into competitive sailing. According to his application, he has competed in different boat classifications while traveling to regattas and clinics to improve his skills.

One of the experiences that stands out most came last summer when Brown sailed across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a 112-foot double-masted schooner named Argo.

During the trip, Brown said the crew was caught in a sudden squall (storm) while carrying full sail.

“We had five knots (6 mph) of breeze the whole day,” Brown said. “Then in about 10 or 15 minutes it went from five knots to like 45 knots (50 mph). We had full sail up, so it was crazy.”

The experience taught Brown an important lesson about staying calm under pressure.

“A lot of stuff happens out on the water,” Brown said. “To really have that mindset to know what to do and stay calm when that happens instead of getting stressed out, I think sailing helped me with that a lot.”

Brown also said sailing has become a mental escape from the pressures of school and daily life.

“When I go sailing, there’s nothing really else I’m going to think about other than trying to be the fastest on the water,” Brown said. “It’s kind of my getaway place.”

In addition to competing, Brown also coaches younger sailors at the Savannah Yacht Club. He said teaching others has helped him better understand the basics of the sport.

“It really brings me back to the basics,” Brown said. “The basics in sailing are very, very important.”

Brown credits his mother, Yael van Hulst, along with coaches Martin Botolo and Mark Newman, for helping him reach this point in his career.

“My mom is really the big pusher,” Brown said. “She’s always there. She’s always helping me.”

As he enters his senior year at Savannah Country Day, Brown said his future plans include finding a college with both a sailing program and strong engineering academics.

“I’m really looking for mechanical engineering or marine engineering,” Brown said. “If I could go to a school like that, that would be amazing.”

For now, though, Brown is focused on continuing to improve on the water while representing Savannah’s growing sailing community.

And thanks to the Robert H. Demere Sailing Scholarship, the next step in that journey is already underway.

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Previous Recipents

NOTE: Winners were researched through Savannah Morning News archives, reporting by Savannah Morning News freelance reporter Mary Carr Mayle, and the Prep Sports Report.

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Photos courtesy of the Brown family, Hannah Lee Noll and Lexi Pline Photography.

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