After nine years of providing fair winds for the nonprofit Sail Martha’s Vineyard, executive director Brock Callen has announced his retirement, the organization said.

Mr. Callen began his affiliation with Sail MV in 1995, a year after it first started with a mission to teach sailing to Island kids for free. As he put it in an interview with the Gazette, he was “volunteered.”

It turned out to be a perfect match. He soon became a board member and the executive director in 2009, with his wife Hope serving as the administrative director. Over the years Sail MV has become a feeder program to the regional high school sailing team. Mr. Callen also teaches a class in maritime sciences at the high school.

“The thing I enjoy most was managing its continuation,” Mr. Callen said in an interview with the Gazette, when the organization turned 25. “I’ve gotten more pleasure out of this than anything I’ve every done in my life. I get to work with kids on the water. What’s better than that?”

Mr. Callen will continue as the executive director through the upcoming season until a replacement is hired.

“During his tenure the organization has grown from a small sailing program for Island youth to a multifaceted nonprofit,” said Peggy Schwier, president of the board of directors. “We are truly sad to see him go.”