Juniors

Editor’s note: With each season, more and more young sailors are getting aboard big boats for overnight races. WindCheck applauds the owners giving these capable, enthusiastic racers a berth, and we’re pleased to share some of their stories from the Storm Trysail Club’s 74th Annual Block Island Race.   Forever a Child at Sea By Marisa DeCollibus In my almost quarter century of life, I have met a lot of sailors. It’s easiest to categorize a sailor…

Editor’s note: The inaugural Oakcliff Sailing/Sail Black Rock/WindCheck Youth Essay Contest was a success. With the most exciting prize in the history of junior sailing up for grabs, we received entries from as far away as Georgia, Florida, California, and France! All of the essays were thoughtful and well written, but of course there’s only one winner. As this issue was going to press, Owen McClung of Norwalk, Connecticut was packing his bags for a one-week Foiling…

By Dave White “If you don’t like the weather in New England, wait a few minutes.” Do you know who said that? Was it Mark Twain, or someone named Samuel L. Clemens? Yes, it’s the same guy, but did you know he also had other pseudonyms including Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab, Sergeant Fathom, and Rambler?   Sail Black Rock at Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport, CT, the home of the intercollegiate sailing teams of…

By Laura Beigel Sailors and enthusiasts alike gathered at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT on Tuesday, March 12 for the first MudRatz fundraiser of the year where “Chief Executive MudRat” Brandon Flack announced the donation of two keelboats to the organization and its new initiatives for youth sailors. The evening, billed as “Charlie & Sam: Stories and Surprises,” featured a special presentation by The Ocean Race (formerly the Volvo Ocean Race) skipper Charlie Enright…

By Debbie Huntsman and Joan Thayer AdventureSails are about small steps. We have been told that girls are most vulnerable when they enter the 7th grade. They have moved out of grammar school. They are growing awkwardly. Their bodies are changing. It is a time of wonder and each girl should be able to experience positive wonders. But for a variety of reasons, many girls do not have a support system in the family or schools. Thankfully there are organizations…

Foiling is the hottest thing in sailing right now, and our friends at Sail Black Rock in Bridgeport, CT and Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, NY have teamed up with WindCheck to present a unique writing contest with perhaps the most exciting prize in the history of youth sailing! The winning essay will appear in an upcoming issue of WindCheck (No, that’s not the prize), and the author will receive a scholarship for a one-week Oakcliff Foiling…

By Whitney Peterson, Gowrie Group Gowrie Group and the Burgee Insurance Program are proud to offer important safety materials and resources to sailing organizations nationwide. We believe one of the most important documents that all sailing organizations should have in place is an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). At the most basic level, an Emergency Action Plan covers these important things: The key steps to take if an emergency or life threatening injury occurs What to tell 9-1-1…

If you are looking for a great place to have fun and learn how to sail, check out the program at Shennecossett Yacht Club (SYC) in Groton, CT. Located next to UConn’s Avery Point Campus, SYC is just minutes from I-95, I-395, Route 1 and Route 117. In 2009, Bill Gaynor, SYC’s Director of Sailing, restarted the club’s junior sailing program. If Bill’s name is familiar, that’s because he’s the recently retired Head Sailing Coach at Stonington…

  Foiling is the hottest thing in sailing right now, and our friends at Sail Black Rock in Bridgeport, CT and Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, NY have teamed up with WindCheck to present a unique writing contest with perhaps the most exciting prize in the history of youth sailing! The winning essay will appear in an upcoming issue of WindCheck (No, that’s not the prize), and the author will receive a scholarship for a one-week Oakcliff…

One of the primary goals of junior sailing programs should be retaining kids long enough for them to develop a passion for the sport and a personal desire to continue. Far too often, however, before that happens kids are asked to spend too much time (years) in boats that do not align with their version of fun and pressure to “succeed” comes much too soon. The current junior sailing recipe is driving kids out and resulting in…