CLSA Youth Sailing News

Youth Sailing Camp 2011 is now history! Check out the slideshow posted in the gallery of the CLSA website.

This year had great attendance in all of our age groups, with a complete roster of sailors in prams/Optis, Sunfish, and Laser radials. The teens opened the program with an all-day hands-on seminar in sailing big boats. Thanks to CLSA Flying Scot Fleet 1 for their support on this day. We had Flying Scot skippers working with teams of our sailors teaching them the art of spinnaker flying as well as big boat steering and teamwork. For many of these teens this was their first time steering anything bigger than a laser. On the second day the teens worked on Laser technical skills under the shelter of the patio while Mother nature got the rain out of her system. At 1:00 the rain stopped, and each of our teen sailors were assigned to Thistles and Flying Scots to participate in the club racing program. Sunday evening we shifted focus and completed a CPR and First Aid certification course. Monday brought us to a new evolution of capsize drills in a full size boat, another new experience for these sailors. This was followed by some serious work in the Lasers – learning the techniques to keep these volatile craft upright and moving fast in a breeze. All-in-all, a great time was had by all the youth, parents, and instructors.

On Tuesday our youth counselors spent the day working on lesson plans and equipment set up in preparation for the biggest group of pram sailors that CLSA has seen. Wednesday was our safety training day with the youth sailors, and included the ritual swim test with and without life jackets, and the annual capsize drill. In addition to capsizing prams and sunfish, this year we loaded the juniors on a big boat and capsized it to teach them how to react if and when that eventuality occurs. There were some very wide eyes at the beginning of this exercise, but by the end of it there were lots of grins and happy campers!

The ‘first sail’ on Wednesday afternoon is always a somewhat stressful event – especially with a lot of youth who have never sailed before. The pre-sailing instructions and lessons leading up this sail paid off –we had an extremely successful afternoon, setting the stage for an incredible rest of the week. This group of youth were incredible – and as we adjusted to and accommodated different weather during the week were happily engaged in whatever activities we partook – sailing, dryland lessons, jumping on the water trampoline, or successfully sailing their boats to the beach in very light air.

The bottom line . . . we had a great time this year. When you see one of our camp graduates sporting their tie-dye camp shirts, ask them about sailing – and be prepared to get a grand story! Please also thank our youth counselors when you see them sporting their bright red instructor shirts-they did a great job this year.

Camp also heralds the opening of junior racing season. Junior sailors will race on their own race course each Sunday.  These courses will be staffed with 2 support boats – parent assignments are listed on the race roster assignments page of the CLSA web. After last year’s success, we are bringing back our youth counselors on Sundays to run the junior races. Parent assignments are still required – parents will serve as support/safety.

The Junior support boats (the rib and the small club john boat) are now stored in docks next to the pram dock.  All junior racing equipment is also stored in the same location.  (The RIB is kept locked, and may only be used for junior functions). Parents who are on race duty should see Chris Japikse on the morning of their race duty for coordination of race duties. All junior program activities are mandatory life jacket programs – adults and youth must wear their life jackets on the water at all times.

Our next organized youth event comes up on August 20 and 21 – the annual FUN-gatta / Bring-a-friend regatta. Save this weekend on your calendar, and watch for a communication from our organizers so you can reserve your spot.

Boats and equipment on loan from CLSA-T may be used through September, but were returned to storage on September 18^th. This was a required work party - families using these boats must participate as a condition of the loan. If you are unable to attend, you will be responsible for moving your own boat back to the storage area prior to September 18^th so that we can check the equipment back in.

Listed below are the key areas of leadership where we rely upon parents to support the program.  If you are available to help on one of these or another area, please send an email to Pete Japikse with your interests.

	CLSA-T Board:		Judy Hearn John Eilers Pete Japikse Matt Vallo
	CLSA Youth Programs Coordinator:		Pete Japikse
	Sailboat Maintenance & Repair		Matt Vallo
	Fun-gatta Chairperson:		Connie Conrad and Jenny Hatfield
	Sailing Camp Meals		Maribeth Japikse
Laser & Laser Radial		Sunfish		Prams and Optis
Eliza Rehard		Martin Moore		Avery Lawrence
John Raker		Sally Hatfield		Jordan Lawrence
Wick Hardenbergh		Megan Vallo		Eddie Hatfield
Jen Irwin		Emily Conrad		Quinn Ring
Dana Larison		Cameron Owen		Robby Shondel
Gabby Schrand		Katie More		Keelie Allmon (Carey)
Caroline Khoury		Mackenzie Owen		Brayden Dofson (Carey)
Natalie Thompson		Katie Gaffney		Christine Moore
Natalie More		Jenny Gaffney		Mikey More
Jack Moore		Kristina Reynolds		Allyson Mozeliak
Taylor Gardner				Luke Schumann
				Sara Schumann
				Annie Schumann
				Drew Vecelio
				Madison Conrad
				Sarah Gardner
				Elizabeth Hardenbergh
				Taylor Nadal (Nelson)
				Sydney Nadal (Nelson)
				Evelyn Frutken
				Crawford Frutken
				Luke Thompson