Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront — Get Involved

Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront

1276 Skipjack Road • Kinsale, Virginia 22488 • Yeocomico River • Northern Neck

A Call to Partnership → Everyone knows someone who served. This is for them — and for you.
Lawrence M. Coclough, Founder • Retired U.S. Army Veteran • 23 Years of Service • SDVOSB Owner • Sandy Point Marina Veterans Initiative LLC

I am a retired Army veteran acquiring and redeveloping a dormant waterfront marina on the Yeocomico River in Kinsale, Virginia. The property — Sandy Point Marina — has been dormant through an estate disposition. I am acquiring it, stabilizing it, and building it into something that serves the veteran and military community for the long term.

This is not a marketing piece. It is an invitation — to organizations, leaders, and individuals — to understand what is being built, why it matters, and how to become part of it.

The Direct Ask

If you served, support those who did, or simply believe this matters — there is a place for you here. Whether you represent a veteran organization, a corporation, a foundation, or you are an individual who wants to be part of something meaningful, we want to hear from you. Not after we open. Now — while the foundation is being laid. The people who engage first shape what this becomes.


Location
Yeocomico River, Kinsale, VA — Northern Neck
Waterway Access
Yeocomico → Lower Potomac → Chesapeake Bay
Acreage
2.953 acres across three tax parcels
Marina Capacity
50 slips (42 covered, 8 open)
Infrastructure
Fuel dock, boat railway, ship's store, maintenance building, picnic grounds
Ownership Entity
Sandy Point Marina Veterans Initiative LLC (SDVOSB)

We are acquiring the property through the estate, stabilizing the waterfront asset and redeveloping the marina infrastructure through a phased approach over the next three to five years. This is not an investment property managed from a distance.


Note on timing: Phase 1 is acquisition and stabilization. Phase 2 is infrastructure restoration. Phase 3 is full operations and community programming. The programming below is the destination — not a promise for next month.
Waterfront Access
  • Wet slip rentals at affordable rates
  • Boat launch and haul-out
  • Fuel dock (restoration planned)
  • Dry storage
  • Fishing from docks and piers
  • Picnic grounds and gathering space
  • Guest and transient dockage
Community Programming
  • Annual veterans fishing tournaments
  • Family fishing days and youth clinics
  • Coast Guard Auxiliary boating safety classes
  • Vessel courtesy inspections
  • Chapter and post event hosting
  • Memorial Day and Veterans Day events
  • Annual community waterfront gathering
Veteran Mission
  • Suicide prevention through connection
  • Workforce development — marine trades
  • Transitional employment pathways
  • Caretaker housing model
  • Partnerships with VA, DAV, SSVF, HUD-VASH
  • Veteran mentorship and career development

Slip rates and event fees will be set to be accessible to veterans and military families. This will not be priced as a premium destination.


The veteran crisis is real

More than 6,000 veterans die by suicide every year. Tens of thousands experience homelessness on any given night. The common thread in what protects veterans from both: connection, purpose, and belonging.

A place, not a program

The fishing tournament, the Saturday morning at the dock, the cookout with the post — these are not incidental activities. They are the mechanism. A place where veterans show up regularly, feel known, and feel useful.

Rural economic development

Waterfront marina properties with existing infrastructure on the Chesapeake Bay watershed are rare. Environmental permitting makes new construction largely impractical. This property exists. What is built here cannot easily be replicated elsewhere.

The Northern Neck is underserved

Virginia's Northern Neck has a large veteran population and no dedicated veteran-focused waterfront destination. Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront will be the first.

Everyone knows someone who served

You may not have served. But you know someone who did — a parent, a sibling, a neighbor, a colleague, a friend. They came home carrying things that don't always show. What they need most is not a program or a service. It is a place that is theirs — where they are known, where they belong, where they can breathe. That is what Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront is being built to provide. Supporting this initiative is a way of standing alongside everyone in your life who wore a uniform.

“Veterans who thrive after service have three things in common — purpose, people, and a place that is theirs. Sandy Point Marina is being built to provide all three.”

Lawrence M. Coclough — Founder, Sandy Point Marina Veterans Initiative LLC


Own Your Event

Most venues offer space. Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront offers something different: recurring events that carry your name permanently. When your chapter, post, family, or company sponsors a recurring event, that event belongs to you.

Your organization's Annual Fishing Tournament runs every year at Sandy Point Marina as long as your post or chapter wants it. No financial commitment required. Date exclusivity reserved. Multiple organizations may hold the same type of event on different dates.

Named events are available for organizations, individuals, families, and corporations:

  • [Your Organization] Annual Fishing Tournament — for veteran posts, chapters, and civic organizations
  • [Your Organization] Youth Boating Day — for chapters, companies, or community groups
  • [Your Organization] Waterfront Cookout — annual summer gathering for members and families
  • [Your Name] Annual Fishing Tournament — individual legacy naming, yours in perpetuity
  • In Memory of [Name], [Branch] — a memorial event honoring a veteran, service member, or Gold Star family
  • [Family Name] Family Waterfront Day — an annual family legacy event on the water
  • [Company Name] Veterans Appreciation Day — corporate employee and veteran community event
  • [Your Organization] Community Giveback Day — volunteer and service day on the waterfront
  • [Your Organization] Crab & Cookout — annual late-summer waterfront social

Additional categories available. The calendar is being built around the community — not the other way around.


Type of EngagementWhat It Means
Founding Partner OrganizationFormally commit your organization as a founding partner. Priority access to facilities and event scheduling when the marina opens.
Letter of SupportProvide a letter of organizational support. Strengthens USDA applications, grant submissions, and community standing.
Spread the WordShare this page with your membership, your district, and your national network. The most important thing right now is that veterans know this exists.
Plan a Future EventReserve intent for your chapter or post event, fishing tournament, or cookout. No commitment required — just a signal of interest.
Volunteer SupportExpress interest in volunteer work days during the restoration phase.
Financial SupportDonations and sponsorships at any level directly support marina rehabilitation and veteran programming. Tax-deductible structure being established.
Individual MembershipVeterans and military families who want to be part of this community from the beginning. Founding members receive priority access and recognition.
Corporate SponsorshipCompanies with veteran hiring programs, ESG commitments, or community investment goals. Program sponsorships, event naming, and waterfront legacy recognition available.
Memorial & Legacy DedicationHonor a veteran, service member, or Gold Star family member with a named event, a memorial bench, a dedicated slip, or a permanent waterfront recognition.
Community SupporterYou don't have to have served to support those who did. Anyone who believes in this mission is welcome here — as a member, a donor, a volunteer, or simply someone who shares the word.

Express Your Interest & Partnership

For veteran organizations, corporations, foundations, political contacts, community leaders, and individuals who want to engage with the initiative. No financial commitment required. We will follow up directly.

Your information will only be used to follow up on your expressed interest. It will not be shared or sold.

One more step — make it official

Your interest has been received. If you would like to formally support this initiative with a Letter of Support — which carries significant weight with USDA reviewers, grant foundations, and community partners — complete and submit one now. Two minutes. No financial commitment. Entirely optional.

Lawrence M. CocloughFounder, Sandy Point Marina Veterans Initiative LLC
1276 Skipjack Road, Kinsale, Virginia 22488

Dear Mr. Coclough,

I am writing to express my support for Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront, a veteran-led waterfront destination being acquired and developed on the Yeocomico River in Kinsale, Virginia.

As someone who believes in the mission of this initiative, I believe Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront represents a meaningful investment in the welfare of those who have served. The preservation and redevelopment of a rare waterfront asset on the Northern Neck — combined with a mission focused on veteran connection, purpose, and community — addresses real and urgent needs.

I support the goals of Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront and I encourage lenders, grant reviewers, community partners, and elected officials to recognize the significance of this project and the community it will serve.

This letter represents my personal expression of support. I look forward to being part of what is being built.

Respectfully,

Your Name

By checking this box, I, your name, confirm that the above letter accurately reflects my support for Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront, and I authorize its use as a letter of support with USDA, grant foundations, elected officials, and community partners.
Thank you — your Letter of Support has been received. Your letter has been recorded and will be used in support of the Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront Initiative. We will be in touch directly.

One last ask: Share sandypointmarina.org/join with your members, your post, your district, and your network.
Thank you — your interest has been recorded. We will be in touch directly.

One last ask: Share sandypointmarina.org/join with your members, your post, your district, and your network.

Become a Founding Member

Choose a monthly membership level or make a one-time donation. Every contribution builds the community that makes this waterfront possible. Founding Members are recognized permanently when the marina opens.

You don't have to have served to support those who did. Everyone is welcome here.

Select Your Membership Level

Harbor Member
$10 / month
  • Founding Member status
  • Newsletter & updates
  • Early project access
  • Name in founding record
Marina Member
$25 / month
  • All Harbor benefits
  • Founding Member Certificate
  • Annual member gathering
  • Priority event access
Commodore
$50 / month
  • All previous benefits
  • Founding Member Wall
  • Priority registration
  • Challenge Coin
Founder's Circle
$100 + / month
  • All previous benefits
  • Founders Wall recognition
  • Founders Page listing
  • Priority slip & event access

Your Information

Complete Your Membership

Completing payment via Stripe. Your membership selection and information will be recorded.

Thank you — your Founding Membership request has been received. Your membership level and information have been recorded. We will follow up directly to complete your enrollment.

You are one of the founding members of Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront. That matters.

One last ask: Share sandypointmarina.org/join with fellow veterans, your post, and your network.

Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront is a veteran-led rural economic development, waterfront preservation, and community revitalization project on the Yeocomico River in Kinsale, Virginia — on the Northern Neck, with direct access to the Lower Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.

The acquisition of Sandy Point Marina preserves a rare waterfront asset that cannot be replicated. Environmental permitting requirements, shoreline management regulations, and limited waterfront land make new marina construction on the Chesapeake Bay watershed largely impractical.


Phase 1

Acquisition & Stabilization

Months 1 – 24

  • Acquire the property through estate disposition
  • Secure and stabilize the waterfront asset
  • Complete full due diligence — environmental, engineering, title
  • Inventory marina infrastructure and develop restoration plan
  • Build founding community — partners, members, letters of support

Phase 2

Infrastructure Restoration

Years 2 – 4

  • Dock and pier rehabilitation
  • Fuel dock restoration and environmental compliance
  • Electrical, water, and utility upgrades
  • Ship's store and maintenance building rehabilitation
  • Picnic grounds and waterfront amenities

Phase 3

Full Operations & Veterans Initiative

Years 3 – 5+

  • Full wet slip operations and fuel dock revenue
  • Annual fishing tournaments, family events, community programming
  • Veterans Waterfront Initiative — recreation, workforce, housing
  • Marine trades workforce development
  • Regional destination for Mid-Atlantic military community

Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront is built on the belief that connection, purpose, and community are the foundations of veteran wellness.

Veteran Suicide Prevention

More than 6,000 veterans die by suicide every year. Isolation, loss of purpose, and disconnection from community are the primary risk factors. Sandy Point Marina addresses all three through a physical place where veterans show up regularly, feel known, and feel needed.

Partners: VA Make the Connection • Mission 22 • Team Red White & Blue • Bob Woodruff Foundation

Veteran Homelessness Pathways

More than 35,000 veterans experience homelessness on any given night. Sandy Point Marina provides pathways to stability through marine trades workforce training, transitional employment, and a caretaker housing model.

Partners: SSVF • HUD-VASH • National Coalition for Homeless Veterans • Volunteers of America Virginia

The Research Is Clear

Veterans who thrive after service have three things in common — purpose, people, and a place that is theirs. Sandy Point Marina is designed to provide all three.


18M+
Veterans in the U.S.
1st
Veteran Waterfront on the Northern Neck
50
Boat Slips Restored
2.953
Acres of Waterfront Preserved

The redevelopment creates direct employment in marina operations, marine trades, and waterfront services. It generates local economic activity across the Northern Neck, supports regional tourism, and preserves a working waterfront on the Chesapeake Bay watershed.


Sandy Point Marina & Veterans Waterfront offers multiple channels for organizations, corporations, and individuals to invest in the project.

OpportunityDescription
Waterfront Legacy SponsorshipNamed recognition on permanent waterfront assets — docks, piers, Flag Plaza, Veterans Memorial Walk, picnic pavilion, and memorial benches.
Veterans Access Slip SponsorshipSponsor the restoration of a marina slip. Permanent dock plaque. Funds restoration and subsidizes veteran waterfront access.
Event Naming & Program SponsorshipName a recurring annual event or sponsor a veteran program — workforce development, adaptive boating, family events, suicide prevention initiative.
Corporate Community PartnershipDefense industry, financial services, and technology companies with veteran hiring and community programs aligned with ESG objectives.
Founders Circle — Major DonorsPermanent recognition on the Founders Wall, listing on the Founders Page, and priority access. Legacy naming opportunities available.
Grant & Foundation SupportAligns with rural economic development, veteran welfare, waterfront preservation, workforce development, and community revitalization grant programs.

Detailed sponsorship documentation available upon request.


The acquisition of Sandy Point Marina is underway. The property exists. The vision is clear. The founding community is being built right now — before the marina opens, before the infrastructure is restored, before the first event is held.

Organizations, donors, and sponsors who engage at this stage become part of the founding story. That distinction — Founding Partner, Founding Sponsor, Founding Member — does not come around again.

For detailed sponsorship documentation, a project briefing, or to discuss partnership opportunities: